Social Media as a Springboard to Social Reform: Egypt and the Arab Spring

In many countries of the Middle East and North African region there has been revolutions, characterized by their efficiently, speed, and organization; these factors all attributed to social network. In order to understand why social media sites (SNS) played such a major role in the Arab Spring we must first understand what specifically constitutes as a social media site, the reasons behind the protests in the first place and the ways it which SNS were used. Only after these bases are covered can we then begin to see the significance of such utilities today and in the near future. In Tunisia and Egypt, we have witnessed a new genre of revolution whose distinguishing feature lies in its organization by networks and particularly in social networks, which played an important informational and organizational role (Allagui and Kuebler, 2011).

The essential Social Network Sites (SNS) are the core, web sites that help bring people together. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are a few of the fastest growing resources on the Internet. Most of these sites work in the same way; they relay on users for their content, they allow people to interact with one another, the foster relationships, and they are more heavily focused on the feelings of people rather than factual news representation.

Social Network Sites, while not dependent on facts for news stories, still give a user access to a broader range of current events and goings-on that they not normally be aware of, or couldn’t find else where as well as unique perspectives on almost any given topic. Many mainstream news stations such as FOX, BBC, and Al-Jazzera use SNS to gain information on current events and stories, in difficult to get to locations or situations which might not be ideal...

... middle of paper ...

...wazna.org/details.php?recordID=502 (accessed 9 April 2014).

Mainwaring, S. (2011), "Exactly what role did social media play in the Egyptian revolution?", available at: www.fastcompany.com/1727466/exactly-what-role-did-social-media-play-in-the-egyptian-revolution (accessed 30 March 2014).

Niekerk, B., Pillay, K., Maharaj, M. (2011), "Analyzing the role of ICTs in the Tunisian and Egyptian unrest from an information warfare perspective", International Journal of Communication, Vol. 5 pp.1406-16.

Paul, B. (2011), "How social media mobilized the Arab revolution", available at: www.siliconindia.com/shownews/How_social_Media_mobilized_the_Arab_revolution-nid-80376.html (accessed 30 March 2014).

Taute, S. (2011), "What Egypt's revolution tells us about the nature of social media", available at: http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2011/02/25/what-egypts-revolution-tells