An Internet Revolution? At Least In Signs
At the New York Times this weekend, Ben Zimmer noted the playful wordplay taken up by Egyptians during their Tahrir square sit in: "playing with language is often one of the few ways to challenge an oppressive political system." It was also a way to give an identity to their revolution. This is something that's harder to come by for 21st century movements, considering that they're often more decentralized and horizontal. What do the protest signs from Tahrir square tell us about how Egyptians defined their revolution?
"The debate over what real true role of the Internet (and Facebook, and Twitter) has been in this historic Egypt uprising has to include consideration of what the idea that is the Internet(and Facebook, and Twitter) means to the ones doing the rising up," blogged Nancy Scola last week. That is definitely one part of the puzzle that many people will be trying to put together over the next few months. Protesters on the street were a lot less hesitant to define the movement according to its tools than were analysts.
With that, here are some highlights from the world of internet revolution signage.
Seen more? Share the links in the comments area below!
