Humanity and society are ever evolving. New ideas, interpretations, and aspirations place society in a constant state of metamorphosis. Technology further advances humanity and society, as technological improvements directly correlate to the improvement of mankind. Take, for example, the telephone. The earliest version of the telephone was comprised of a microphone and an earphone and provided the user with very little, if any, mobility which thereby limited communication. Today, the telephone has evolved to the point that it is now possible to make telephone calls using a computer, and portable telephones allow infinite mobility and the possibility to communicate with others from virtually anywhere.
Throughout history, mankind has turned to revolutions to rally behind new ideals and elicit change. For example, the French Revolution, fueled by resentment towards the monarchy and anger at the poor economic state of France, brought an end to the monarchy system and the establishment of a democratic republic. Similarly, the American Revolution resulted in the separation of the American colonies from the British Empire and the end of British rule in the newly established United States of America. Both of these revolutions, as well as the thousands of revolutions before and after them, have a common, unifying theme: change. The people gathered together and stood by one another to bring about change.
The 21st century has seen a plenitude of revolutions spanning the world over, but none have been more revolutionary than the Egyptian Revolution. The Egyptian Revolution was a direct result of three decades of despotism and tyrannical rule, extortion, the Emergency Law, the flawed constitution, overwhelming poverty (40% of Egyptians at the time lived in poverty), election fraud, and the success of the revolution in Tunisia. Like the revolutions before it, the Egyptian Revolution sought to bring about change to the seemingly ever growing corruption in Egypt. What separates the Egyptian Revolution from other revolutions, however, is the immense role social media played in evoking change. It was through Facebook and Twitter that revolutionaries were mobilized, protests were organized, and minute-by-minute updates were shared with the revolutionaries and the world. Through this project, the various roles Facebook and Twitter played in the Egyptian Revolution are further explored and their influence in the Revolution explained. In the end, it will become clear that social media titans Facebook and Twitter were considerably involved in the Egyptian Revolution.
Video of the Egyptian Revolution created by Tamer Shaaban of which he describes: "Violent clashes between police and demonstrators as over ten thousand gather on the streets of Cairo. The Egyptian population has endured a tyrants rule for far too long, millions struggle each day to find where their next meal is coming from. January 25th, 2011 marks the day when the people rise and take back what's rightfully there's. This isn't the end, but hopefully the beginning to a long awaited regime change..."