Clay Shirky: Why Would We Think Social Media Is Revolutionary?
The conversation around social media and political action has been roughly divided into idealists ("Social tools help people collaborate in general, so they will help insurgents in particular") and the realists ("It's never happened in an autocracy, but it's failed many times.") That conversation changed on January 14th, when Tunisian insurgents used those tools to help coordinate the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. That and subsequent events in the region make the idealist position more realistic, and the realist position less so. Given that change, what can we understand about the effects social media did and didn't have in the pro-democratic uprisings, and what, if anything, can we do to help?
RT@LeoBurnettBlog: Shirky: Still very early days in looking at the political effects of social tools / technology . #talkingcure #sxsw
first printed erotica came 150 years before the first printed science journal #TalkingCure
New media doesn't create social change directly, but it gives people a platform to spread new ideas. #talkingcure #SXSWi
Internet is powerful because it allows people to synchronize, coordinate and document. #talkingcure
Access to conversation matters more than access to information >> power is in decentralised group synchronisation #talkingcure #shirky
Tunisian protests spread onlineTunisians protesting against high unemployment and the government have been buttressed by cyber activists Anonymous. Anonymous, who recently expressed support for Wikileaks, attacked the website of the Tunisian Prime Minister, causing it to fall over. Recent weeks have seen turmoil across Tunisia which started with two 'protest suicides' by young unemployed men. Tunisians have been using social...
How a fruit seller caused revolution in Tunisia - Worldnews.comIf you're in Tunisia, we want to hear your story. Share your photos and video with CNN. Please don't do anything that could put you at risk. (CNN) -- One figure has played a pivotal role in the tumultuous events that have swept through Tunisia during the past few weeks, resulting in the fall this weekend of President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali and his regime after 24 years. But Muhammad Al Bouazizi did not live to see the historic outcome of which he was a key part. Al Bouazizi was a poor 26-year
- There is a strong correlation between democracy and internet access in countries. #talkingcure #sxswi
The language of the tools such as hash tags and Menes become the language of the protest #talkingcure
Gaddhafi shut dow soccer games because he was afraid of the stadium, a place for people to get together and sync views. #SXSW #talkingcure
Million Signature Campaign - Voices Against CorruptionGYAC Sierra Leone will be embarknig on the collection of 1 Million Signatures from all works of life. The aim of the 1 million signature collection is to build…
The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam (Oxford Studies in Digital Politics)
~ Philip N. Howard (author)More about this productList Price: $24.95 Price: $17.67 You Save: $7.28 (29%) - Dictator's dilemma: they need web tools to make economy take off, but tools are the undoing of regimes. #SXSW #talkingcure
