How does social media effect demonstrations and uprisings? This article examines how Facebook and other websites may have aided protesters in the Middle East that began in 2010. Despite the ability of people to connect, however, governments appear to be catching up. During the student protests in Hong Kong just recently, news of the event was heavily blocked in China by the so call "Great Firewall." This leads me to wonder whether this new technology actually aids dissenters or is simply another tool for governments to monitor and sometimes suppress the people.
How does social media effect demonstrations and uprisings? This article examines how Facebook and other websites may have aided protesters in the Middle East that began in 2010. Despite the ability of people to connect, however, governments appear to be catching up. During the student protests in Hong Kong just recently, news of the event was heavily blocked in China by the so call "Great Firewall." This leads me to wonder whether this new technology actually aids dissenters or is simply another tool for governments to monitor and sometimes suppress the people.