Gilder, Negroponte, & Barlow

Modern media definitely has an aspect of emancipatory power. It provides an outlet for the individual to quickly introduce an idea to a larger population. If those who were exposed to it share the idea, then they can collectively communicate and decide to take action. We see this through the example of the 2011 Facebook revolution in Egypt. As Barlow, in his essay on A Cyberspace Independence Declaration puts it, “governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Egypt was able to literally make their own cyber declaration of independence. “We Are All Khaled Saeed” is a facebook group that formed in the aftermath of Saeed's beating and death by police. The group attracted hundreds of thousands of members worldwide and played a prominent role in spreading and bringing attention to the growing discontent. Facebook was used to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world. Asmaa Mahfouz, a female activist who posted a video in which she challenged people to publicly protest, made another potent viral online contribution. I realize this isn’t directly drawn from the readings, however, the use of the social media as a tool for emancipation is so prominent here. Moreover, the fact that it gives a voice to women parallels the importance of the role the social media has in changing gender roles, even in a very patriarchical society like Egypt.

            The role of mass communication is an interesting one because it draws on the ideologies of other cultures. In the information age, mass media got bigger and smaller at the same time. We are communicating to a broader base, however, the demographic of varying beliefs narrows. Negroponte points out that, “new forms of broadcast like CNN and USA Today reach larger audiences and make broadcast broader.” On the same train of thought, Gilder says, “television heavily determined which books and magazines we read…and which politicians prospered and collapsed” (8). The use of the social media was used as a tool, but there is also an aspect of a global consciousness. The people of Egypt were able to look at other ideologies and political systems and evaluate the effectiveness of their own.