tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530140329306503392.post8446994368252662560..comments2024-03-19T08:19:45.049-04:00Comments on Crane and Matten blog: Egypt and the revolutionaries with MBA degreesCrane and Mattenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13809682169218066019noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530140329306503392.post-21705209232884183292011-02-25T04:44:18.843-05:002011-02-25T04:44:18.843-05:00Peter Beaumont has written a smart piece in The Gu...Peter Beaumont has written a smart piece in The Guardian today that offers a nuanced assessment of the role of social media in the Middle East uprisings. Definitely worth a read. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/twitter-facebook-uprisings-arab-libyaCrane and Mattenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13809682169218066019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530140329306503392.post-41108651487302545692011-02-15T14:04:32.124-05:002011-02-15T14:04:32.124-05:00Anonymous,
you have a point here. To claim that so...Anonymous,<br />you have a point here. To claim that social media kind of tipped the revolution would be a bit overstated. However, as much as we admire Gladwell, he is missing the point a bit. <br />As a German, i witnessed first hand the last 'revolution', the overthrow of communism 20 years ago. And one must be blind to not see that the intellectual fabric of what happend in Egypt, as opposed to prior 'revolutions' is fundamentally different. 'Ideology', 'Religion' or whatever other intellectual clay was needed to bind together a revolutionary movement, is blatantly absent here. That 'clay' has clearly been replaced by technology. Rather than creating a network of people who trust each other, exchange information with each other and are will to work with each other - by dint of common convictions (i.e. being member of the same school of thought) Egypt shows that these things can be achieved just by people joining a variety of social network sites. We think that is new. And remarkable. Gladwell is right: what fuelled the uprise are century old injustices. But what made it emerge and ferment into an overthrow of the regime - is fundamentally new. The TOOLS are new - but as Gladwell rightly points out, not the underlying CAUSES.Dirk Mattenhttp://www.schulich.yorku.ca/SSB-Extra/Faculty.nsf/faculty/Matten+Dirknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1530140329306503392.post-44958386013517449772011-02-14T22:39:12.855-05:002011-02-14T22:39:12.855-05:00http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/201...http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/02/does-egypt-need-twitter.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com