The Power of Social Media

I’ve done my assignment on Facebook and its network effects for the module, Economics of innovation during second year, back in Nottingham. Back then, President Obama and other politicians in Malaysia had started using social media tools to communicate and interact with their supporters.  Never have I imagined that Facebook would play an important role in the recent Egyptian Revolution… to such extent.

Facebook no longer merely serves as a social media tool to connect people, but to organize a Revolution which successfully forced a President which has ruled a country for 30 years to step down. Its importance has gone beyond our imagination.

Perhaps China is brilliant enough to have predicted the power of social media and it has banned the usage of facebook, twitter and youtube. The recent success of the Egyptian Revolution has indeed proved that these social media tools are too dangerous and they will definitely threaten the regime.
China has been aware of the development in Egypt and the authorities have been controlling the news and information available online in China since the beginning of the protest. However, the situation in China is not as bad as Egypt. People in China are still quite satisfied with the ruling regime. (I exclude Xinjiang and Tibet, can I?) Economy is doing good. High growth rates in recent years. The standard of living in China has improved significantly compared to decades ago. Liu Xiao Bo’s case doesn’t seem to be an issue back in China, though it created some attention outside. There are some issues about inflation, income inequality and corruption but everything still under control, I guess.

However, if history does tell us something, when the time has come and when there is a need for a Revolution, banning these social media tools may not really work. They are just tools after all. I believe Chinese are always creative. Ancient Chinese once used mooncakes to conduct a Revolution, back in Dynasty Yuan.(according to the textbook in my first year, during my kindergarten time… XP) Small pieces of papers with the information of Revolution were hidden in the content of the mooncakes. 

It is always the will of people that counts. The authorities try to influence the will of its people by suppressing the freedom of speech, controlling the media, internet censorship, banning facebook, twitter, youtube. It may be the way, in the short run, but not in the long run. People cannot be fooled and controlled forever.

And of course, when there is a will, there is a way.

Mooncake… hmmm… Great idea, isn’t it?
*wink*

(My first time to pen down my thoughts in English. XP)

I recommend this article too if u would like to read more on Egypt Revolution:

Reflections: Egypt Revolution

And also, an interview with an Egyptian lecturer in the University of Chinese in Hong Kong,
Nasser El-Morshidy（埃及學者，中文大學全球政治經濟碩士課程講師）
The interview is in Chinese. 
http://commentshk.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-post_13.html

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