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It is clear that technological innovation has tipped the world into a new realm of social organization. While some have argued that social media such as Twiter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are inherently anti-social given that the majority of people sit in front of their computers or cell phones alone as they use these tools, all one has to do is look to Egypt to discover that this argument has been proven wrong. Woefully wrong. The protests and rioting in Egypt and the Middle East have become a profound and awe inspiring demonstration of the true capacity of social media to serve as a tool of mobilization and organization.
Censorship and propaganda, the primary tools that governments use to control the masses, have been rendered obsolete by the social expediency of the Internet; and I think we can all agree that this is a good thing. However, what is most fascinating about what is going on in Egypt, and what makes a thinking person scratch his head in bewilderment, is that in the world of social media, apparently revolution no longer requires a leader, nor does it appear to even require a clearly articulated cause.
Ostensibly, the formula for revolution in the modern age is the simple combination of thousands of angry people with a social tool for collective venting...one that can be used to organize and mobilize.
Enter social media.
Please understand, this short blog is not a critique of social media, nor is it a critique of the good people of Egypt, quite the contrary. Rather, this is an open-minded reflection on what appears to be an emerging phenomenon of the 21st Century, i.e., flash mobbing on a grand scale, powered by social media. Remember that a flash mob is, by definition, still just a mob, the concept of which has its roots in the Latin phrase 'mobile vulgus,' meaning 'fickle commoners'. And by 'fickle' one has to assume that the so-called commoners within a mob do not know what they want.
I am struck by how apropos this appears to be viz. Egypt's current unrest. It is with increasing confusion that I watch the talking heads and pundits attempt to project a purpose onto the protests and riots (almost always an American purpose), but I have yet to see an article, story or interview of an Egyptian declaring what is going on, and why. Getting rid of Mubarak is one thing, but then the obvious question begs -- what next? The apparent lack of a central figure or a clearly defined goal behind the violence is, well, unsettling; and conspiracy theories aside, it forces one to ask what is really going on...
One thing is for sure, in the world of social media, mobs can emerge out of nowhere, anywhere, at any time, for any reason. And there are a LOT of angry people out there.
It's best to be prepared.
Some articles on the Egypt unrest for your review:
Egypt's Warning: Are You Listening?
Egypt's Day of Reckoning
Mubarak Tells Defiant Egyptian's That Government Will Resign
Egypt Protests Escalate
Brzezinski's Feared Global Awakening Has Arrived
