South By Southwest Arab Spring Panels put Final Nail in the “Twitter Revolution” Coffin
SXSW Interactive is over, and I'm happy to report that while the topic of technology's role in social movements was was a popular one, I never once heard the question "Was it a Twitter/Facebook Revolution?" asked in earnest.
One of the benefits of events, like this one, which bring together different organizations in the same field is that it allows everyone talking and writing about similar topics to come to consensus. That consensus was the final takedown of the cyber-optimist versus cyber-pessimist debate in favor of a more practical and nuanced understanding. Moving forward, here are some of the lessons that came to light over the course of our Friday panel, "Lessons Learned from the Arab Spring," plus the subsequent talks on the same subject that were put together by Jennifer Preston as well as Andy Carvin.
The upside to Facebook's real name policy? Fosters more emotional calls to action
I often, and did on this panel, advocate for platforms and activists to remain skeptical about the use of private platforms like Facebook, and for the importance of coming up with a solution that allows those who need it to remain anonymous to do so. But Habib Haddad made the interesting point that one advantage to the real name policy is that when you know exactly who you're talking to it fosters a stronger emotional connection.
That said, considering the high risk of identifying oneself as an activist, what's more valuable: the role of emotion in mobilization or the ability to stay out of jail (or worse) when organizing? PBS' Azmat Khan noted that, as a journalist, she began worrying not just for her own safety but also for that of everyone she'd communicated with.
At the very least, awareness about the information you're making available and who is most likely seeing it is essential. Even better, use HTTPs everywhere, all the time.
Sure, you can shut off the web, but information will still get out
It's rare for a government to completely shut off the internet as Mubarak did. But what this move showed was that while governments may have access to an "internet kill switch" they can't prevent information from getting uploaded - they can only delay it. Katherine Maher noted that the Egyptian uprising may have been the most documented political action in history and Mark Belinksky tweeted:
It's great that all that footage is available and online, but it also raises the spectre of information overload - can it possibly all be processed and put in front of a critical mass of eyeballs, so that all this video is as effective as possible?
Google tools were used in real time protest coordination
At the height of the Egyptian protests online forums like Facebook had already had their biggest impact with regard to mobilizing people. Now that people were out on the streets, these platforms were less immediately relevant. But online tools still played a role in coordination. Take a look at this map which was made using Google tools and then printed out and shared on the street so that people would know how to best enter and exit Tahrir Square.
SMS was also used to alert others to sniper fire so that they could avoid it. And erstwhile protesters are now using these tools for transparency - for example take a look at the spreadsheet documenting Mubarak's assets. Know anything? You can add information anonymously.
Mentality over platform
Years of access to the web for young, educated Egyptians - beginning with the rise of the blogosphere around 2005 and up until Facebook began to gain popularity around 2008 - affected their outlook, their connections to one another, and their sense of entitlement to this access. So much so that when this access was revoked they ended up flooding the streets.
Likewise, a larger culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in MENA will hopefully affect the ongoing transition. A swell of Arabic content on the internet accelerated and continues to push this trend forward, and, as Habib Haddad underlined (above), the tech savviness displayed by young people in MENA in their fight for human rights will hopefully now be harnessed for startups and innovation.
Interested in tech startups and entrepreneurship in the region? Get in touch with Habib. Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments.
