Social media and social movements: The whole world is watching

We’re recording the world around us. The cameras in our iPhones (et al.) make it easy.

Case in point, the protests which continue in Egypt following the events of this past year’s Arab Spring. Video of the « Girl in the Blue Bra » has ignited reactions from around the world, including comments by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, as quoted by The Daily Telegraph:

Recent events in Egypt have been particularly shocking. Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago (…) This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonours the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people.

Shot by an amateur videographer from a rooftop, this footage is only one of the thousands of videos which have emerged from what has been dubbed the Arab Spring. In a country like Egypt, where mobile phone penetration is at 91%, a camera phone is a powerful communications tool which becomes a weapon in the protester’s arsenal.

While, according to YouTube’s own year-end top 10 list, most Canadians were watching videos of cats, babies and Rebecca Black in 2011, hundreds of protesters were documenting events in their cities and sharing them online. While most are viewed only by a small number, lost in the sea of YouTube videos, some, like that of the Girl in the Blue Bra, touch a particular cord and spread, much as the video of the death of Neda Agha-Soltan had during the Iranian protests of 2009.The moving image remains a powerful thing. It’s even more powerful when coupled with a platform like Facebook and its network of « friends ». Simply by clicking on a share button, we can express our outrage on our Facebook profile. And our 130 Facebook friends can hear about it.

Arab spring. The Occupy Movement. Each now with their iconic videos.

The whole world is watching.


Laisser un commentaire

Votre adresse e-mail ne sera pas publiée. Les champs obligatoires sont indiqués avec *

  • How the Romans invented the Internet: Tom Standage and I

    I may have surprised students in my first Current Trends in Digital Communications class at McGill on Thursday night by talking about the ancient Romans, but I wouldn’t have surprised anyone who knows me. My tribe gets me. And, apparently, Tom Standage is a member of that tribe. Did you know… Romans may have been…


  • Twitter for the small business owner: the why

    When it comes to social media, small business owners tend to start with what they know. With half the Canadian population and 169 million Americans using the platform, it’s not surprising that North American small business owners tend to turn to Facebook when they decide it’s time for their brand to make its first foray into…


  • OQLF : Nouveau guide destiné aux gestionnaires de communauté du Québec

    Il y a un peu plus de deux ans, je vous parlais de ce cas de la propriétaire de boutique à Chelsey qui avait reçu une lettre de l’Office québécoise de la langue française exigeant que sa page sur Facebook présente du contenu en français? L’OQLF vient de publier un guide pratique destiné aux entrepreneurs…


  • Dévoilement d’étude : les journalistes québécois et les réseaux sociaux

      Joignez-vous à moi demain soir, sur place ou en webdiffusion, dans le cadre de la Soirée des grands communicateurs, événement organisé par La Toile des communicateurs. Je dévoilerai les résultats préliminaires d’un sondage effectué auprès de journalistes québécois quant à leur utilisation et l’impact des médias et réseaux sociaux. La conférence a lieu dans les…


  • On ne me fouettera jamais pour avoir écrit ce texte.

    On ne me fouettera jamais pour avoir écrit ce texte. Raif Badawi, lui, a été condamné à 1000 coups de fouet et 10 ans prison pour avoir blogué. Badawi est emprisonné en Arabie saoudite depuis le 17 juin 2012 pour ses propos. Le jour de mon anniversaire. Je suis née libre dans un pays démocratique. Raif Badawi,…