influence of twitter and facebook
 

The truth about Twitter, Facebook and the uprisings in the Arab world | World news | The Guardian


Do you think that this is helping to start these protests and fighting?

it seems like a plague that is whirling out of control.


What do you think? Here in UK I feel sure that many of our protest gatherings is thanks to easy contact via these blogs and so easy to organise large gatherings of people.


Is the rest of the world infected?

I don't think they're so much fueling the organization of protests so much as they are exposing the government's intentions leading to the reasoning behind the protester's rallying. No government wants to be on the front stage in front of the rest of the world when doing their people wrong.

Facebook has had a major role in the lives of Arabs, it has become a source of facts for them, and as a result of lack of credibility of the media, as they claim, and has become the place for planning and organizing the demonstrations away from the eyes of the government.
Despite the fact that not everything that appears on Facebook is correct.

Like any media that is populated by a mix of people with various backgrounds, the information is may or may not be reliable (just like on JF). The big influence of FB and Twitter seems to be in gathering those of like minds. Back when we had physical mailing lists, political action took weeks or months to even get a meeting set up. With immediate communication it takes only minutes.

Facebook and twitter undoubtedly assist the organisation and execution of these uprisings and protests but are not the cause of them. There is obviously deep seated unrest in many of these countries.

follow the softbank / yahoo president on twitter for a really good insight on the fuktshima situation!

how do I do that? I am not on twitter

Well joining twitter is a good start.
there are tutorials on how to use it there :)
it's pretty straightforward, in case you aren't sure of that, people far stupider than you know how to use it :)

The short of it, he's an incredibly wealthy man taking matters into his own hands, from the research to alternative energy solutions, best part is he listens to everyone's suggestions and ideas and opinions, you could message him yourself with an idea and he'd consider it.

HI James LOL--Of course, I have avoided joining either FB or TWT because of possible lack of privacy.


I am an oldie, and I guess rather suspicious. One hears so much that goes wrong--I May consider joining--------- thanks anyway-- I wonder exactly how stupid you really think I am? between one to ten!!! maybe seven LOL.

It hasn't changed anything here in France or over in Algeria (who badly needs this kind of communication). In France, protesting is somewhat of a culture, so they've never had problems gathering people! Social Media wouldn't have much of an effect I think, apart from on the younger generations who would probably be too lazy to inform themselves in the traditional ways!