If you have been following the Arab uprising with any level of interest, you cannot have missed the way emerging technologies are choreographing the entire dynamics of the protests. And it is a level playing field: both law keepers and the protestors have an equal handle. When it wanted to control protestors during the March 26 protests in London, the Met Police (@metpoliceuk) turned to Twitter: “A containment is now in place in Trafalgar Square. The Met Police ask that you remain calm”
The way the Arab protests ricocheted mainly through tweets, blogs, Facebook and email is now the stuff of legends. Two technological apps, however, stand out. The first is the student-developed smartphone app Sukey which informs people where the protests are happening and directs them to either join in or move away. The second is the real-time blogging platform, LiveBlogging, where you can share your eyewitness experiences in realtime and receive instant dynamic feedback. While the latter was, till very recently, mostly used by media organizations, it is now happily populated by union representatives and student bodies who constantly update activities in real-time throughout the day. And in a classic case of mutual reinforcement, it the media organizations that tap into Liveblogging to get the updates in the form of tweets, pictures and text, thus eliminating the need for a journalist to be physically present to record the happenings. Continue reading
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