This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011 [1].
To answer Malcolm Gladwell's doubtful question [2] if Egypt needs Twitter, it seems ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) played a big role in the #jan25 revolution in Egypt. Since the initial demonstrations were organized by young activists through Facebook, Egyptians refer to this young generation as “the Facebook youth”. In this picture [3] tweeted yesterday, this man thanks Egypt's Facebook youth for starting this uprising:
[4]
Tweeps report [5] that protesters in Tahrir are well aware of the power of Facebook and Twitter and carry signs with the names of those sites.
It was also reported that Cairo is covered with graffiti of Facebook and Twitter. Some of those pictures were published in the Washington Post yesterday [6].
Mike Nizza reports [7] of a protester that walked up to a journalist in Cairo with an important concern, trying to find out if Egypt is trending on Twitter.
Egyptian and other Middle East activists have also used the language of social media as means of humor to describe the events as they unfolded. The most noted and retweeted remarks were:
I just ousted Mubarak as the Mayor of Egypt on Foursquare!
BREAKING: Hilary Clinton ‘unfriends’ Hosni Mubarak on Facebook. [8]
Mubarak to change his Facebook relationship status with Egypt to
“it's complicated”Mubarak is retweeting Ben Ali, remember he wanted to stay till 2013? [9]
Someone even wondered [10] if there are any anti-Mubarak apps available for iPhone.
In addition, at least three new fake Twitter accounts of Hosni Mubarak appeared this week: @TheReal_Mubarak @HosniMobarak @NotHosniMubarak and also a Gamal Mubarak fake – @GMubarak
These fakes kept the moral high in the #jan25 Twitter stream, even in the darkest hours of the clashes on Wednesday and Thursday with tweets like:
#breakupexcuses Nope, can't think of any. I want to stay with #Egypt for the rest of my life. [11]
For sale: One government. Never used, but probably doesn't work.
I need some help with damage control, @SarahPalinUSA How did you handle ruining politics in the USA? [12]
Fake Gamal Mubarak has also created [13] an Obama poster for his dad:
[14]
Curiously enough, Muabark's older fake account @presidenthosni did not participate in #jan25 events.
Finally, if you wondered how Egyptian bloggers and tweeps keep updating from the square without needing to charge their phone batteries, this picture [15]was tweeted yesterday, showing improvised recharging of phones in Tahrir square:
[16]
This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011 [1].