Online Presence week 11 - Facebook and Twitter are just places revolutionaries go

Social networking is a platform for a person to perform themselves in a cyber world, Facebook is a space to let them voice out and express themselves, in a Facebook's world, users can share and post whatever come from their mind, but somehow the "Freedom of speech" shape a person life, because of the boarder of freedom space, by the time people tend to more courage and bravery to express themselves, they put all the emotional toward Facebook,  they dare voicing out or complaining the dissatisfaction for their life,  in this article it's state about how the Iraq use facebook as a revolutionary tools.  

Nowadays, Social networking is not only for socialize purpose, it's also influencing the society, but Facebook and Twitter have a new function, which is a "revolutionary tool". Sadly,Online revolution become one of the communication tools, Facebook and Twitter have become one of the communication tools for demonstration activities, Facebook have provides accounts, group and pages for the users, which gather all the peoples who have common interest and same perception toward certain things. Here, Facebook provide a free platform for an organization, Users can create event or discussion with all the members in the group with free service in facebook.   Well, this happened in Saudi Arabia country, "e-democracy" happened quite often in this countries.    

RSA Animate - The Internet in Society: Empowering or Censoring Citizens?

Evgeny Morozov presents an alternative take on 'cyber-utopianism' - the seductive idea that the internet plays a largely emancipatory role in global politics. Exposing some idealistic myths about freedom and technology (during Iran's 'twitter revolution' fewer than 20,000 Twitter users actually took part), Evgeny argues for some realism about the actual uses and abuses of the internet. (Information from : 

http://techpresident.com/short-post/animating-debate-cyber-utopianism  video from : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8x3V-sUgU&feature=player_embedded)

I think that the prospective of the internet to change the world is not in the broad sense of bring down autocracy that this video criticize, but in allowing activism in existing democracies where the law protects it.  This video was great, but there's no rejecting that there's benefit in making communication easier, even if that means said communication is easier to abuse. Most of the time, technology is not a bad tool anyways, but peoples keep on underestimating the rule and consequence of the use of technology. Technology does offer self-rule, but those activities can be influenced or draw out of control.


I personally think, the revolution do happened if without Facebook and twitter, but it just the facts that the quantity for the members are lesser. The people for joining become a small scale, the revolution does happened before Facebook existing, I disagree that it states that internet = Democracy, as in Internet are useful in many factors, it's does help us a lot, people misleading cause it. I will say internet more likely a activator which easy to make people gather together, and Facebook is a place to enhance the gather all the people together and enhance the relationship among each other. 

Social networking is for socialize, for us to communicating with friend around the world, to updated the news and so on, it's a positive tool at first, but because Facebook allow the users have ability to create the page and group, the freedom on Facebook made people start to "open a shop" and start open discussion, in the open air method, people can voice out they opinion as they like, there are nobody have right to suit you or arrest you, with the safe condition, people tend to courage and complaining toward government. Peoples dare not to express themselves in the public, they might shy to face to the people, but in Facebook, they don't need to facebook peoples, they just need to face to the "Facebook" and write down their opinion, once they get attention and agree by other peoples, they will become more confident, once they get as much as people to support them, they have the courage to take action.

There are a advantage form a group in Facebook, this allow people who have same interest can discussed in a topic, it can be a secret group or may be an open group, while the members can also invite they friend to the group. Whereas for the Facebook page, it's open for public, once you click the "Like" button, you can always see the latest updated for the group, unless you hide it or block it. This is benefit to the organizer, people can share the information out, people who interested to the page, they will go and like it as well. Facebook slightly the world of mouth, I can say that I get the first hand news from Facebook, can you imaging how fast Facebook spread the news?  Except to attract the members to joint, it also because of the peers pressure, for instance "Bersih 2.0", the members for this particular keep increasing everyday, can you remember those time almost everyone change their profile picture to yellow color, people sharing the video, sharing the photo and so on. All this is to get public attention, for the young generation today, they like to follow the peers and so called "trend", everyone like it, why not i'm doing so? everyone change their profile picture, i'm also want it. they like the page, why not I do so? Everyone are talking about the topic, I'm must like it also, if not i will become the outdated...  


so the conclusion is 
with
Facebook -> spread news fast -> population more -> Event still ON!
without
Facebook -> spread news slow -> population less -> Event still ON!

Here some example Facebook Pages in Syria and Egypt : 



Syria takes the revolution on Facebook- The Baath party has been in power in Syria since it passed a 1963 emergency law banning all opposition groups. President Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez. Although his tough stance against Israel has earned him popularity; the growing economic disparity and rising poverty coupled with unemployment and corruption in the country has turned the people against the government.

http://ruhi-khan.blogspot.com/2011/02/arab-world-finds-its-voice.html

This is a neat facebook page of user-submitted images of Egypt revolution graffiti art
Revolution Graffiti (http://www.facebook.com/GraffitiEgypt)

Tunisia has been overthrown. Egypt is tottering. Now Facebook pages are calling for protests to begin in Syria later this week. 

http://fastcompany.tumblr.com/post/3032806037/the-revolution-will-be-organized-via-facebook

the internet is more important and disruptive than [its greatest advocates] have previously theorised"