Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE COMPUTER ENGINEER who helped spark revolution in Egypt with a Facebook page has said that online activism can evoke change – if you can engage people with a cause.
Wael Ghonim, who told the Dublin Web Summit today that he “meet more politicians than geeks” these days, created a Facebook page in protest at the torture and death of a fellow Egyptian at the hands of police in Alexandria. The “We Are All Khaled Said” page gathered 100,000 followers in just four days in early 2011. Ghonim asked people to protest peacefully in the streets and was taken into police custody for 11 days.
Upon his release in February 2011 the Nobel Peace Prize nominee continued to call for removal of the Mubarak government and addressed a public protest in Tahrir Square. The fall of Mubarak, said Ghonim today, was “not a Facebook revolution” but a “people’s revolution”. He said:
I believe the leadership by charisma is going into decline and leadership by empowering people will rise.
Ghonim, aged 31, said he had employed some of his knowledge about digital marketing, picked up in his time as an engineer for Google, to engage others in the Facebook campaign and ensure that it transferred to the streets. “It was very collaborative,” said Ghonim, explaining that every decision to meet or protest publicly was done after conducting a survey among followers of the page.
This survey was conducted on a low-cost website called Survs.com, run by “just two guys”. Ghonim said:
People who work in media and people who work in technology are the change agents in this world. I’m sure those two guys would never have known that their service was used in Egypt for democracy and participation.
So-called clicktivism – where online users express a desire for change – is not necessarily without teeth, he said.
Those who are online are not zombies, they are actual human beings. All it takes is to convince him that it is important to act. Another thing is to find a way that interests them – that’s why surveys are important.
(Wael Ghonim at today’s Web Summit in the RDS. Image: WebSummits/Flickr)
Ghonim also attributed the uprising in Egypt to the social and political context in the area at the time, “the Tunisian uprising, the forged elections in Egypt… these also sent people to the streets”. He added: “A lot of people think an activist is someone who distances himself from people. That’s why I made the Facebook page mainstream.”
Maya Baratz of ABC News said at the summit that the Arab Spring had seen the voices of ordinary people become a tool for journalism, giving the news a “360-degree angle”.
Ghonim has written about his experiences in Egypt in 2011 in a new book, Revolution 2.0. All proceeds are to go to an education and poverty-fighting charity in Egypt.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Amazing that you win one match, and you get into the qualifers
@The Firestarter: the would have got in even if they lost against France, tho likely unseeded
@The Firestarter: what are you talking about?
@The Firestarter: kinda hard not to qualify
@The Firestarter: zzzzzzzzzz
@john kenny: zz
Big hard man Damien O’Sullivan giving pelters to women who have achieved more in their lives than he ever will. Damien, you are a troll on the Internet and these woman are representing their country. They stand head and shoulders above people like you. Let that sink in.
@Sun Rise: As ever you are brave behind your keyboard and fake name. The fact you call people trolls while trolling the internet behind tells a lot about the person behind the account.
@Ger Whelan: you are a vicious piece of work. He is defending the womens team show respect boy.
@Sean Money: was it Putin’s fault the girls didn’t win all their games?
@Ger Whelan: you are a sick puppy. Be happy Ireland won.
@Sean Money: Erm they didn’t win . They finished bottom of their group with 1 win out of 5 games. Hardly worth celebrating
@Sun Rise: I reported you just now.
Hopefully the last comment you’ll ever make on this.
I repeat. The current team is useless they were much better under Vera. Constructive criticism, not some misogynistic agenda you’re pushing.
Suck on that.
@Sun Rise: God help the team if they have likes of you ‘looking out’ for them.
You’ll be hearing from the Journal soon. Bye bye a*****e.
Good draw
They’re useless
@Damien O’Sullivan: i hope your talking about FFG,,,
@Damien O’Sullivan: Damien give that phone back to your mother until you mature a bit like a good little boy.
@James Leahy: Just criticising the current team. They were better under Vera.
Why don’t you run off and troll elsewhere fool. You have no idea what you’re talking about
@james rowan: Yeah them too
Nobody is interested in women’s soccer, it’s just not very good
@Auld Lad: 16 000 in Pairc Ui Caoimh.
@Auld Lad: another Immature small boy pretending to be an Auld lad.
@James Leahy: oh look, here’s the white Knight on his steed, getting offended on behalf of women everywhere
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: been to bigger raves
@Auld Lad: yeah we can tell…oh the irony
@Auld Lad: doubt you’ve left your mother’s basement in the past ten years.
No stopping them now after they beat France so easily
have your say