The Facebook Revolution

On January 27 of this year, Egypt’s entire Internet service was shut down. All devices could not connect, including cell phones. Could all of this really be because of an innovative use of Facebook in Cairo, Egypt?
We may forget, as Americans, that freedom of assembly (freedom to protest) is not a global right. In fact, it is illegal to protest in Cairo, Egypt. If found protesting or planning a protest in Cairo, you can find yourself with up to one year in prison and some severe financial costs. Since this was the case for young activists in Egypt, they had to find another way to communicate with one another. Thousands of young individuals turned to social networks, specifically Facebook and Twitter. Members created groups and organized protests throughout the country.
Their government began to see more and more protests and was questioning how everyone was communicating. When it seemed as if the government had no control they decided to shut down the Internet to regain power. According to a US-based Internet monitoring firm, Renesys, the total shutdown was “unprecedented in internet history” and went far beyond measures taken during previous protests.
The shut down did not only affect people in Egypt, it shut down all communication with Egypt globally. The United States government found Twitter and Facebook as the most useful sources for news updates in Egypt. Twitter immediately reacted to the shut down by creating a temporary call-to-text program. People from Egypt were able to call the number and leave a brief voicemail. Shortly after being received, Twitter staff would either post it online or translate the messages to text. This kept communication flowing during the shut down.
There are mixed emotions on whether or not the revolution was successful but one thing is for sure. The 2011 Egyptian Revolution will go down as the first revolution created on Facebook. The movement has influenced other countries to use social media to connect with one another. Facebook officials do not wish to comment on the matter.
This powerful, innovative use of Facebook showed what Facebook’s future may entail.