Salute to social media....

The beginning of 2011 will be remembered for the uprising of youth in the liberation of Egypt. A rule of more than three decades ended in a revolt of 18 days. This I see as the biggest victory in decades. Bringing more delights than the liberation of Iraq or for that matter Afghanistan. What really worked was the power of youth triggered mostly by social networking sites.

Last year during the regime an active blogger was beaten to death by police  in Egypt. They tried all the means to suppress the freedom of speech which was not to be. What's been particularly interesting is that the Egyptian activists weren't simply looking for people to "like" their protest pages or to give people a place to vent their frustrations. They used social networking sites to engage people -- to motivate them into action, not just online but in the real world.

Perhaps that is how even Obama won the election. His tools definitely were FB , Twitter et all.  His staffers knew it is not about people "liking" his page but making sure the tool works in galvanizing change.

These media were not the spark that created the uprising but once the spark had been created it was best and the free medium to reach to masses in real time and perhaps thats the best way to use the media.