A wave of protests and popular revolution are sweeping across the Middle East, all thanks to Facebook, Twitter and a handful of other social media networks.
Last month some sneaky organizers posted an event on Facebook to unite people in protest in Cairo on January 25. More than 80,000 people hit the "Like" button and twice that many said they would "Maybe" attend. No telling how many non-tech savvy people got word of the same event from someone they knew who had a Facebook profile.
The result: After 30 years of autocratic rule Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned and a new democracy has been born.
Today, similar efforts have led to protests in Bahrain, Iran, Yemen, Algeria and Libya. Not everyone will win the day, but their voices are being heard.
Unfortunately, thanks to social media, we can also hear their cries of anguish as despotic regimes seek to hold on to power no matter what....
@AJEnglish For the latest news on the protests in #Bahrain, #Libya, #Algeria, #Egypt, #Yemen & #Iran visit: http://english.aljazeera.net
@SultanAlQassemi Al Jazeera breaking: Multiple reports confirm that military airplanes are bombing protesters in Tripoli. #Libya
@AlArabiya_Eng Libya's ambassador to India tells media he has resigned in protest at Tripoli's crackdown on protesters http://www.alarabiya.net/english
@libyanfsl People arming themselves with kitchen knives, fishing tools, and defending their homes #Tripoli #Libya #feb17
@abdo @abdo of course I'm talking about the Libyan government crony #Libya #Tripoli
@LibyanThinker More graphic photos. Warning, not safe for children. http://yfrog.com/gz555tlj http://yfrog.com/gzqlrpj #Libya #Tripoli.
@SultanAlQassemi Al Jazeera breaking: Multiple reports confirm that military airplanes are bombing protesters in Tripoli. #Libya
@Reuters FLASH: Gaddafi's son denies warplanes bombed Tripoli and Benghazi, says targets were ammunition depots in remote areas -State TV
@LibyanThinker URGENT!! From Cousin: There is a Genocide in #Tripoli. Anyone found in the streets is shot from Apache Helicopters. So many are Dead. #Libya
@JeffreyKofman In intvu with Al Jazeera Libya's Dep. Foreign Minister just denied bombing Tripoli and massacre in Banghazi.
@draddee #Libya's FM on AJA says he will burn himself in Green sq in Tripoli if it was proven that there were mercenaries or aerial bombardments
@captainlarab Does anyone know if the port in Tripoli is in operation? #Libya
@SultanAlQassemi Khaled Kaeem, Libyan Deputy FM: The foreign media will be invited to Tripoli tomorrow & they will show the world the truth #Libya
@TheNewsBlotter /@SherineT: sources: wounds being reported by doctors in #Tripoli today mostly from gunshots #libya #feb17
@ebertchicago After Qaddafi flees Tripoli, his UN delegation defects and calls him guilty of genocide. Minutes ago. http://nyti.ms/hkbMPa
@ShababLibya Caller to BBC: we saw in Tripoli foreign mercenaries who are not from africa #Libya #Feb17
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Well written blog about the influence Social Media has had (or still has?) on the revolution in the Middle East. I am currently writing my first blog (about Social Media) and I find it very interesting how such a relatively new medium can have such a big influence on changes in the world.
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