Digital media and social networking sites' influence cannot be understated. A recent study conducted by Dr. Phil Howard of the University of Washington's Communications department found that the "evidence suggests that social media carried a cascade of messages about freedom and democracy across North Africa and the Middle East, and helped raise expectations for the success of political uprising”. You can find a full copy of his fascinating research here.
The power inherent within digital and social media appears to be unlocked by the Arab Spring and the compelling images its beamed onto our computer and television screens. However, I feel that it's easy to overstate the power and relevance of Facebook and others in isolation. Images like this one where al-Jazeera and Facebook appear to be on equal footing are powerful and striking, but they are not the whole story.
Another researcher on the issue of Digital Media and the Middle East, Merlyna Lim, argues that without a preexisting opposition network these technologies and their ability to impact the Arab Spring would have been negligible. She creates a compelling video with a timeline capturing the history of digital media and opposition politics in pre-revolution Egypt.
I hope to update this blog with many more posts on the power of digital media and its capacity to generate political activism, but I approach it with a healthy bit of skepticism. For all the flash in the pan that a modern day campaign website may have, for all the allure that the hash tags of revolution may conjure, activists still need to enter the streets. Either to do battle with repressive regimes or to drop ballots into old fashioned boxes.
genius!
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