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In today's globalizing world, we are increasingly bombarded with a myriad of social media tools: Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Weibo, Tumblr, Google Plus, Instagram, blogs, forums, to name but a few. Social media has indeed made a profound impact on our personal lives that enables us to be closely interconnected in a "global village". From the use of chemical weapons in Syria to the launch of iPhone 5s , we can always keep abreast with up to the minute news from around the world via different kinds of social media

Egyptian authorities have invited foreign software companies to help the government track online speech amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent. A twin bombing Monday killed two police officers. Egypt is tightening its control over social media by acquiring new software that would facilitate extensive monitoring of dissidents' communications, putting even stay-at-home opposition supporters at risk.

There's no doubt that the citizenry relied greatly on social media to network and organize during the Arab Spring, when areas in the Middle East and North Africa erupted in popular revolt during the early part of 2011. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter were used to call and coordinate protests, and also for sharing information on issues around the pro-democracy movement.

This article explores both the street and the formal art scene after the events of January 25. It discusses how these scenes have had both positive and negative signs (positive: the concept of social art "seems to be winning grounds in the fabric of social enterprises"/negative: the art scene is still "underdeveloped, fragmented and alien to the majority of its own people.").

This article highlights the Egyptian Revolution and its ties to social media. We have discussed Khaled Said in class and this article talks about the image of his dead beaten body appearing on Facebook and how it inspired Wael Ghonim, born in Egypt, living in Dubai, and many others to become activists in the revolution.

This article from News Week basically paints a picture of Libyan history and how Gaddafi's reign devastated the state economically, socially, and politically. Author Dirk Vandewalle uses the phrase "a political tabula rasa" which in Latin means a blank slate, to describe the fate of Libya after Gaddafi's rule and convey the extent to which the country has to literally reconstruct every component that makes up a society and its government. He highlights major events that led to the downfall of both the Gaddafi regime and the Libyan state as a whole such as Arab nationalism, Jamahiriya, the Green Book, security apparatuses snuffing all opposition, terrorist incidents, isolation and international sanctions, the Lockerbie bombing, weapons of mass destruction, human right violations, divide and rule policies, and his use of oil revenue to fuel his insurgency. Vandewalle concludes the article with uncertain ideas thoughts towards Libya's future and the way the state is going to literally rebuild themselves from this "blank slate" that Gaddafi left behind. 

Although ISIS has been able to successfully use social media platforms to cater to their agenda, they have recently changed their strategies to deter US intelligence from intercepting crucial information. They have issued a new instruction manual to members regarding online behavior in order to circumvent data collection from digital postings.

This article is partly a news report and partly a discussion of gender equality in the PKK. On October 27, rumors began to spread on social media that a Kurdish female fighter known by the pseudonym Rehana may have been beheaded by Islamic State militants in Kobani. Rehana became the face of the PKK's female fighters after a picture of her making the victory sign was retweeted hundreds of times on Twitter. An image of a beheaded woman whom IS fighters claim to be Rehana was posted on pro-IS social media sites on the 27th, but it is impossible to verify whether the photo is genuine. The author goes on to discuss the complicated history of gender equality in the PKK. Currently, the group has the largest female militia in the world, and has a history of feminism rooted in it's founder Abdullah Ocalan's ideology. However, the author cites claims made by Berfu Kiziltan about how while the PKK has historically recruited women as well as men, in its early days, recruitment was sometimes by force. The author also mentions the PKK's history of female suicide bombers, as well as a recent suicide bombing in Kobani carried out by a female PKK soldier.

This article contrasts communication techniques of Al-Qaida and ISIS. It outlines how ISIS communication strategy uses more dominant forms of social media such as facebook, youtube, and twitter while Al-Qaida still uses web pages, forums, and their own magazine they publish to speak to their audience.

This is an interesting read from a United States woman point of view on the social stigma of being divorced. It is a great article to compare to the social stigma on divorce in Egypt, which is much more harsh.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood established a sub-organization similar to it. The organization is for women and they are known as the "Muslim Sisterhood".

There was a huge increase in number of internet usage in Egypt. The internet was a main pathway to join the revolution, but it also causes passive activism and most won't leave their houses to revolt.

This article discusses a man who was so inspired and impacted by the use of facebook and other social media aspects and how they played a part in middle eastern revolutions that he named his daughter facebook. This really demonstrates how deeply social media really impacted the lives of the everyday people in this area.

This paper discusses the opening that the 2011 Egyptian Revolution had on the discussion of women's right. Various platforms such as social media, art performance and graffiti have opened up a small dialog regarding this social issue.

This Washington Post article discusses how several world leaders, particularly in the Middle East, have tried to ban the internet and or social media and how they have fail. By looking at several examples such as Mubarak in Egypt, Ben Ali in Tunisia, and now the government in Turkey, it is easy to see patterns and trends that go along with censorship in the government.