There are approximately five million Egyptians on Facebook (http://heidicohen .com/social-media-egyptian-revolution/). I have never been to Egypt, nor do I know much at all about their culture, but I would assume that Egyptians use Facebook and other social media at least somewhat similar to the way Americans do. I check Facebook a few times a day, so if there is a big event happening near me that one of my friends knows about then I am probably going to find out about it on my Facebook. It is said that many Egyptian Facebook groups started to promote early protests (http://mashable.com /2011/02/11 /egyptian-president-steps-down/). In America it is sad to say that not everyone knows much about what is going on in our country, and that may be able to be said about Egyptians as well. However, if at least one of my Facebook friends finds out about something major going on with our country or government or state, they’ll usually post something about it on Facebook, and I will probably read about it there. That’s kind of how social media works. It is taking news, information, media etc., and making it social and personal. I believe this may be how many of the people of Egypt found out about what was happening in their country, and it probably influenced how they felt about it. If their friends on Facebook say that they are going out to protest, that will probably convince some of their other friends to spread the word and come out and protest as well. A benefit of Social Media is that instead of some president or a publisher or an editor or director of a news station being a gatekeeper as to what is broadcasted, the people you know, your friends, your acquaintances, and yourself become the gatekeepers on your social media applications. I think it is for that reason how Egypt was able to organize and come together on much more of an intimate level. Knowing that you’re friends and your fellow countrymen and women are taking a stand and coming together to protest the government, and learning this information from your friends and family through your own social network of people rather than through a news network helped make this a peaceful organization.
“We are all Khaled Said” is a Facebook group that was started some six months ago. The group was created anonymously after Egyptian authorities brutally beat an Egyptian blogger to death. This group slowly grew into the online version of Tahrir Square (http:/ /www.good.is/post/amazing-photos-from-the-facebook-group-behind-egypt-s-revolution/ ). This page had an estimated 600,000 followers, which turned into a news hub for Egyptian protesters. Disturbing photos and videos were posted on the page to help fuel Egyptian citizens to come out and protest. The maker of this page, who was later revealed to be an activist and a Google executive, definitely had an agenda on his mind while creating this page. By posting photos and videos of police brutality on harmless citizens for example, was a good way to frame his agenda and to get other Egyptian citizens concerned about their well-being.
Like Erik said how the automobile had changed the way we make, serve, and eat food, social media has and is changing the way we communicate. Instead of people going around from house to house and gathering people to go down to protest, Egyptians could arrange these protests in advance from the safety and privacy of their own home. Face to face communication is almost becoming a thing of the past, and to see hundreds of thousands of people come together face to face in Tahrir Square says something major. The events in Egypt have shown the strength of these social media tools for both organizing and informing people (http://mashable.com/2011/02/11/ egyptian-president-steps-down/). After the events in Egypt, and maybe in a few years down the road, I think America might see some kind of similar social media organized protests to help check the power of our own government. I think with this new social media the technology helped determine the overall attitude and decision by the Egyptian people to come together and protest until a change was made.
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