Social Media: The New Driving Force Behind a Revolution

In the last couple days we have watched as a modern day revolution in Egypt unfolds. Hundreds of thousands of protesters have rallied together to express discontent with current Egyptian government policies. Yet more so then the political issues at hand, social media has been at the forefront of conversations pertaining to this revolution.

On January 28th, the Egyptian government, in attempt to prevent a massive number of protesters from gathering, shut off the country's internet and cellular networks.

It is monumental events like this that truly highlight the engulfing presence social media has on our modern day society. We are no longer participating in our father's revolution.

In his article featured in The New Yorker, Malcolm Galdwell compared civil rights protests to more recent protests such as the 2009 protest in Moldova, sometimes referred to as a the "Twitter Revolution". He provides an opinion that discredits social media's role in any revolution. He claims that word of mouth generated by the necessity of change has in the past and will remain in the future as the only necessary driving force behind a revolution.

This idea may exemplify the more genuine way to spark a revolution, but with tools, such as Twitter, we are now able to cause a global stir almost instantly. You are able to rally millions of people within hours, as oppose to months. It's truly phenomenal how fast social media works.