Have you seen those posts on Facebook, where people on your newsfeed are trying to bring attention to an issue? For example, I have a friend who keeps posting pictures of alleged chemtrails that are being sprayed on the Santa Clara County. She pleads for others to change their profile picture the chemtrails to bring awareness. Personally, I think she needs to post credible sources before rallying people to do that. Social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter have been great tools to disperse information as well as bring people together. These channels were instrumental as a source of information for those who collaborated in the Egyptian revolutions in early 2011.

I recently read Wael Ghonim: Creating A ‘Revolution 2.0’ In Egpyt, an article on NPR. It was featured on their website on February 9, 2012 to introduce people to Ghonim’s story and book (Revolution 2.0) about his efforts in helping the Egyptian revolutions a year ago. The article includes a podcast story that basically is the interview Terry Gross (host of NPR’s Fresh Air) has with Ghonim. It was nice to have an audio interview to listen to because I got a sense of what emotions and motives Ghonim had for his endeavors in the movement he began.

Ghonim utilized Facebook to set a time and place for people of Egypt to protest similarly to what the people in Tunisia did in December 2010. In the interview, article written, and excerpt from his book, it is made clear that it wasn’t social media that made the revolutions effective. It was solidarity of the people. Facebook and Twitter helped rally people for one common goal. It got them engaged in the vision.

The vision was to have a democracy in Egypt rather than a dictatorship. The original Facebook page Ghonim created was “We are All Khaled Said.” It was in response to the Egyptian government killing and treating citizens unjustly without accountability. As people got engaged in the idea of responsibility in the Egyptian government, the vision came to fruit.

I think Ghonim’s tale was inspirational. He wanted to maintain anonymity and keep the focus on the issue. From the interview and book excerpt, I felt his genuine passion for the people. Even though he was treated horribly by his own country and called a traitor, he still felt very proud to be Egyptian. There was sadness in his voice, but he also sounded hopeful of a new future because of the success in the revolutions. Being able to listen to the podcast allowed me to experience that personal feeling. The only negative part to this article/podcast was Gross’ tone and verbiage. I felt like she kept trying to get Ghonim to take full credit for the Egyptian revolution, but he was quick to speak of the people who helped him make it what it was.

Overall a good read to explore the breadth of social media in our evolving Internet culture. The issue and the way it was presented makes me want to be part of something bigger. Hopefully something I can be passionate about comes up.