The Revolutions Were Tweeted: Information Flows During the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions was a study taken to see how Mainstream medias have turned to social networking (Twitter) in order to learn from sources and quickly spread updates.
Authors are as follows:
GILAD LOTAN: a data analyzer, leads data team at Social Flow
ERHARDT GRAEFF: a part of The Web Ecology Project, Internet Researcher & Civic Engagement Enthusiast
MIKE ANANNY: post doctoral scholar at Microsoft Research
DEVIN GAFFNEY: Co-Director of The Web Ecology Project, has background in programming
IAN PEARCE: a part of The Web Ecology Project
DANAH BOYD: Senior researcher at Microsoft Research
Twitter: is a social network microblogging service that was launched in 2006. It is a site where users can “Tweet” updates. A tweet is a 140 maximum character post that is updated to a news-feed with all other Twitter users.
Social Media Pride. Source: GR Lucas
The study recognizes that we are now in an era of networked digital media from one ofbroadcast media mass. This new era has changed the way informations passes and the transmission of news. The study also acknowledges that mainstream media has turned to networked digital media, like Twitter, to connect and spread to audiences while increasing reliability.
The Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions were two major events focused on in this study.
The Tunisian Revolution:
Tunisia Flag. Source: cia.gov
“Consisted of a series of street demonstrations in January 2011 following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi onDecember 17, 2010 (“Timeline: Tunisia’s uprising,” 2011). The demonstrations were an expression of citizens’ frustration over economic issues like food inflation and high unemployment, as well as a lack of political freedoms like rights to free speech”
The Egyptian Revolution:
Egypt Flag. Source: cia.gov
“Opposition groups and activists in Egypt organized a demonstration in Cairo for January 25, 2011—National Police Day—to protest abuse by police (“Timeline: Egypt’s revolution,” 2011). These protests also emerged from similar frustrations with unemployment, corruption, and the lack of political freedoms, with #Jan25 becoming the common Twitter hashtag used to mark messages relevant to the Egyptian Revolution.”
For both of these Revolutions, social media (Twitter) was a focal way in which information was updated locally and globally. Twitter operated as a familiar medium for journalistic professions and as a site for general news.
“People from around the world tuned in to Twitter feeds to learn about the revolutions and share what they learned.”
Twitter, along with other social media networks, really do serve as a direct way for people to gather information. I personally, have a Twitter account and are informed about major news events on a daily basis. Twitter is a way to connect the world by proving that they have the power over communication.
It was said that if a journalist is to make their own account versus have an account through their organization their news work will be seen as more effective. I agree. I would be able to relate more if professional was represented under their own name, rather than their organization name. Audiences see organizations as being bias, compared to an individual that might come off more justified.
People have control over who they follow and what type of information they are exposed to. In cases like the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolution it is interesting to see the responses of people. They were people directly connected to the incident, people who want to learn about the developments/be provided with up-to-date coverage, and people who were just general interest readers curious about the event.
Very interesting take on the use of twitter with respect of a private account versus a corporate one. I’ve always viewed twitter as something that’s more for celebrities than legitimate news, but now that I think about it, it does seem like a great way to spread information.