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Project: Carousel! » How to organise a successful student protest using online tools The author of this article is Pontus Westerberg is a member of the Project Carousel! Team, "a student-led online community working under the auspices of the Centre for Media and Film Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London". This brief article advises student protesters which online tools may be useful for organising protests and keeping protesters informed. The recommended tools include Twitter, blogs, video, plus online mapping tools. The article also recommends creating a central node, such as a website to tie all these disparate elements together, and as an example links to the UCL occupation page (http://www.ucloccupation.com/), which shows an example of this being done. Westerberg gives an overview on the use of Twitter hashtags to organise protest conversations, making them easier to keep track of, citing examples of these such as the #demo2010 that was used to organise conversations around the student protest that took place on the 24th October 2010. The 140 character limitation imposed by Twitter, also makes Blogs an attractive online tool for protest, offering a forum where ideas and issues can be disseminated and discussed in a lengthier format. Westerberg also provides examples showing the effectiveness of images and video in getting a message across, and indicates that there are benefits in utilising humour and encouraging user generated content. Overall the article provides basic information, but links to quite a few interesting examples of sites and tools that are being used by the student protest movement in the United Kingdom. References: Westerberg, P. (2010). How to organise a successful student protest using online tools. Retrieved from: http://www.projectcarousel.org/2010/11/how-to-organise-a-successful-s

This article from the Project Carousel website is a step by step guide describing how to organize "a successful protest using online tools" (Westerberg, P. 2010). It was created specifically for student activists however it would be adaptable to many forms of online collaboration since it shows efficient strategies for creating independent networks using free web services and social networking tools. This is similar to a guide describing how to create localized 'cell' based networks from 'Tools to help the Revolutions Part II - Online resistance cell organization', an article that I have posted to Diigo. Both of these guides explain practical methods for creating and working across decentralized networks, focusing on free online resources and web services. They also identify the primary need for a central point of contact (or node) which is connected to multiple communication and content sharing websites (as satellite services). These methods of collaboration describe "local cells that keep in touch through their decentralized networks" (anon, 2011), yet they are also effective ways to organize, manage and create widely accessible and secure channels for global communications. Both articles show techniques that allow a group to form strong and flexible networks with like minded people from across world. Refeences anon. (2011) 'Tools to help the Revolutions Part II - Online resistance cell organization'. Anonymous Hamburg. 23rd of February 2011. Available from: http://hamburger-anon.blogspot.com/2011/02/tools-to-help-revolutions-part-ii.html Westerberg, P. (2010). How to organise a successful student protest using online tools. Available from: http://www.projectcarousel.org/2010/11/how-to-organise-a-successful-student-protest-using-online-tools/

Project Carousel is a 'student-led online community based at the Centre for Media and Film Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London' (Project Carousel, n.d.). The article was written Pontus Westerberg in 2010, during the student protests regarding student fees. It was written as a how-to guide to help would-be protesters make the most of social media to add their voices to the campaign in an open, transparent way. Westerberg is less informational and more instructional in his advice to establish a profile using popular social media tools like Twitter, with hashtags, creating a blog and making videos, making a particular point to be humorous at the expense of authority. 'Do something funny', suggesting that positive attention may be garnered through fun and humour. Unlike the Anonymous movement, Project Carousel appears to endorse, if not outright encourage, transparent participation with user-generated content and boldly putting faces and names toward the campaign. The points made in the article may seem obvious, but new inductees to the social media mechanism, eager to participate, would find these easy-to-follow steps a clear guide to joining the protests and being heard. Though not a crowd-funding or crowd-sourcing tool, it does provide a useful guide to generating interest from 'the crowd', be it a personal project or a community-conscious endeavour.. Westerberg, P. (2010). How to organise a successful student protest using online tools. Project: Carousel!. Retrieved from http://www.projectcarousel.org/2010/11/how-to-organise-a-successful-student-protest-using-online-tools/.

This article is based on the premise that cities are responsible for destroying social bonds and "rendering man isolated from, fearful of, hostile to, and manipulative of his fellow man" (Fischer as cited in Kaulingfreks & Warren, 2010). It is this view that drives planners to create artificial structures in an attempt to have citizens involve themselves in community affairs. The authors use the example of Rotterdam where a there is a program of community forming (http://www.opzoomermee.nl) to show this idea that something needs to be done to create a sense of community. (2010, p. 213). The authors then look at how the unmanaged process of flash mobs may offer an alternative to the formal organisation structures of organisation in the city environment. They draw on the work of Jean Luc Nancy and suggest that flash mobs challenge the "traditional understanding of community through technology enabled organising" (Kaulingfreks & Warren, 2010, p. 220). In fact through the use of the Internet, email and texting people are able to act together without giving up any of their individuality. In a magazine interview Bill Wasik, the instigator of flash mob said: The flash mob affords an opportunity for doing something and yet completely sidesteps the whole process of discussing how it is going to happen. It's just; 'Here's this opportunity, and if you agree with it, you can come in on it, and its going to be very quick' (Heaney, n.d) A flash mob becomes an ephemeral community; it is formed for a specific purpose and then disbands once that purpose has been fulfilled. It is a network structure rather than a traditional hierarchy and is based on a common interest.

Professor Ruud Kaulingfreks, University of Leicester, School of Management (Kaulingfreks, n.d.) and Professor Samantha Warren, University of Essex - Essex Business School (Warren, n.d.) have written this paper titled, SWARM: Flash mobs, mobile clubbing and the city (Kaulingfreks and Warren, 2010). Both professors have written a number of articles on topics involving organisation and culture. As written above by Hans Dusink, "They draw on the work of Jean Luc Nancy and suggest that flash mobs challenge the "traditional understanding of community through technology enabled organising" (Kaulingfreks & Warren, 2010, p. 220). In fact through the use of the Internet, email and texting people are able to act together without giving up any of their individuality" (Dusink, 2011). By understanding this, it can also be related to the petitioners that act through the Avaaz organisation. To sign up to the Avaaz community, only a name, an email, a country and postcode is required information. The name could be any name or even a nickname. Individual's identities are hidden from each other. Even though you can see the count of actions taken, it is impossible to know who did exactly what action. Concurrently, a hard-copy signed petition is not that much different. Which individual can verify every signature on a page and who is going to read through and check every written address one-by-one to ensure actual authenticity? Both Avaaz and flash mobs use digital interaction to let their members know what is happening and the location; however, Avaaz continues to exist after action is taken, moving onto new causes and plights whereas the basis of flash mobs is to 'flash' congregate then dissipate after their action. References: Avaaz.org. (2011).The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en Dusink, H. (2011). SWARM: Flash mobs, mobile clubbing and the city - Culture and Organizati

This article was interesting as it also considered the impact of music in FlashMobs. Salmond (2010) in their article, "The Power of Momentary Communities" discusses how rave parties have similarities to FlashMob events through the creation of an instant community. Just as Salmond (2010) uses the rave party example Kaulingfreks & Warren (2010) have explored mobile clubbing, with individuals dancing to their music of choice. It should be noted that the lack of amplification, due to those listing to their individual songs may do so in a "silent disco" manner would allow such a gathering. Salmond (2010) raises the legality of events, at night time, with 100 or more people listening to amplified music. Mobile clubbing is supported by Salmond (2010) as more FlashMob as there is an artistic component which is key according to Wasnik. The comment of Jocelyn Peuker (2011) who introduces the Avaaz.org (2011) community highlights that there is a crossover between the SmartMob and the FlashMob. Avaaz facilitates with anonymity but could be considered a more SmartMob type of activity as those signing a petition are doing so in an asynchronous manner. With those signing the petition in with a desire for an outcome to be achieved, moving further away from the art aspect. Salmond (2010) argues that it is structure and organisation would allow one to consider Avaaz to be more SmartMob than FlashMob. As in many aspects of technology the exact line and distinction is hard to be drawn but notwithstanding this Avaaz is a facility service that would benefit both FlashMob and SmartMob events, whilst maintaining anonymity.

"Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere" (Avaaz.org, 2011). Avaaz means voice, in "... several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). This is not a website where you need to prove your credentials or log in to be a member. However, it is one of the most powerful and influential organisations in the world. The Avaaz community "... empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). Their online platform "... allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force" (Avaaz.org, 2011a). The Avaaz community supports campaigns in 14 languages, has a core team on 4 continents, includes thousands of volunteers. Overall, the community helps organise the signing of petitions, funding media campaigns and direct actions, contact through emailing, calling and lobbying governments, and organizing "offline" protests and events. They do this to "... ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform the decisions that affect us all" (Avaaz, 2011a). Two very good examples of the strength of the community include: * Stand With Anna Hazare (Avaaz.org, 2011b) shows of a petition where over 624,876 people have signed since the campaign launched on the 7th April, 2011. Before the goal of one million signatures was reached, a victory has been announced. * Blackout-proof the protests (Avaaz.org, 2011c) is a current petition to "...secure satellite modems and phones, tiny video cameras, and portable radio transmitters, plus expert support teams on the ground -- to enable

Avaaz addresses global issues to generate global interest in improved conditions - globally. The world in action (Avaaz.org). Available in fourteen different language, it encourages borderless interest in issues relevant locally and internationally, promoting campaigns to 'close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want' (About Avaaz, n.d.). Avaaz is to the world what GetUp! is doing for Australia, including its policy on transparency, evidenced in the availability of financial reports, member statistics, and its member-funded, crowd-sourced model. Rather than a distributed, region-dependent staff and budget, Avaaz has a 'single, global team with a mandate to work on any issue of public concern' (Avaaz.org, n.d.). It is Avaaz members who decide where to direct resources The website projects a sense of global community, as much in being available in so many languages as in movements presented on every page heralding from many different countries representing the plights of many and varied communities. Avaaz is a global example of social awareness instigating social movements, easily promoted through the connectivity of the internet and the tools for social networking, to create a better world. Websites and movements for campaigns such as Avaaz and GetUp! Australia are helping to raise awareness and reclaim power for the people. Avaaz.org.(2011). The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org. GetUp. (n.d.) GetUp! Retrieved from http://www.getup.org.au.

As yet another online resource for the "lounge chair activist" Avaaz.org seems to cover it all. Whether you're interested in saving the whales, climate change, gay rights or donating to flood victims, there is a cause available for you. Avaaz, started in 2007 with the mission to "organise citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want" (Avaaz.org, 2011). So far they seem to be achieving this goal. With over 8 million members worldwide, who have so far taken over 38 "actions" this is a website that seems to be doing what it's promised. To ensure that there is no underlying bias, no political voice hiding behind the curtains, Avaaz ensures there is "democratic accountability" by being 100% member-funded. It is mainly staffed by volunteers, who email actions to members in way that registers interest in the project and nothing more. These actions are also normally put forward by Avaaz members themselves, rather than outside parties. Avaaz, like BOINC, relies on word-of-mouth to spread the word. Also using social network sites to keep up the interest between members. Their hope is that once someone joins through a campaign for one specific issue, that they will then continue to support other actions. To prove their success, after "China's violent crackdown on the March '08' protests and riots in Tibet"(Avaaz, 2011) Avaaz was able to build the most successful global position to date. They were able to achieve 1.5 million signatures in just three weeks calling for dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama. Whether you just sign a petition or donate money, having so many available voices ensures that Avaaz will make it count. As stated by Zainab Bangura, the foreign minister of Sierra Leone "Avaaz is an ally, and a rallying place, for disadvantaged people everywhere to help create real change"(Avaaz, 2011). Avaaz.org. (2011). Avaaz.org: The World in Action. R

This is an unpublished paper that has been linked to Maxter[1] an online community with links to the Media, Art & Text PhD program known as MATX. The MATX program is linked to the Virgina Commonwealth University (VCU) [2]. It would not be generally considered a reliable resource as a key article in an academic piece it is a well written piece including clear historical information into FlashMobs. Garland (2010) is able to use a recent event of students rioting to distinguish rioting organised via technology contrasted against the original FlashMob at Macy's in 2003. Garland (2010) has a focus on the original Macy's event as organised by Wasnik throughout the article. The question of why people are participating in FlashMob events is also considered. This paper also considers how cooperation and participation by individuals is implied when they participate in a FlashMob. The participation of a FlashMob allows individuals to remain anonymous through the free exchange of information, even the creator of the original FlashMob, Wasnik was able to remain anonymous. It was after FlashMob phenonomen became commericalized Wasnik felt comfortable revealing his identity and role in the original Macy's FlashMob. Throughout the article Garland (2010) draws connections between FlashMob and SmartMob, supporting and citing Rhinegold, agreeing that FlashMobs were part of SmartMobs. There is also an interesting connection drawn between FlashMobs and Flux Art [3]. Despite the article being unpublished key areas of FlashMob are clearly explored. Garland (2010) takes a wide approach to FlashMob and widely explores various aspects. There is a strong reliance on the experience of Wasnik in proving the differences between FlashMob, SmartMob and rioting organised through social media which is the main weakness of this article, which otherwise addressed the topic soundly. Footnotes [1] http://matxer.org [2] http://www.vcu.edu/ [3] http://www.fluxus.org/12345678910.html

Anyone can become a member of Avaaz. However, their website offers no portal of communication between members and/or non-members. Fortunately, this issue is solved by its integration of social media networks such as Facebook (Avaaz.org, 2011b), Twitter (Avaaz, 2011) and YouTube (AvaazOrg, 2011). Using Facebook as an example, Avaaz posts information about current campaigns. By doing this, Avaaz is opening further communication about its campaigns; it allows the organisation to continually grow stronger; and it is an opportunity for them to reach more people. On this Facebook group: * Avaaz posts new information, and contributes to conversations * Anybody following the Avaaz group can make comments about the campaign; concurrently they can also promote particular campaigns of interest to their own social networks. Avaaz also makes use of Twitter as another complementary platform for communication. Akin to Avaaz's use of Facebook, Twitter is used to keep their followers informed of updates, new campaigns and more. An example of this can be seen in Tweets made by Avaaz: Hi @SAALTweets, have you seen the @Avaaz petition for Jan #Lokpal? http://bit.ly/eZcDis Follow @Avaaz back so we can send more info (9 Apr) In 1 day over 250,000 have signed to stand with #annahazare against Indian #corruption. Join them at http://j.mp/gfg7KJ - pls RT (8 Apr) Avaazers in India: Stand with #annahazare to tackle #corruption. Sign the @Avaaz petition for the Jan #Lokpal Bill! http://j.mp/fCnD8Z (8 Apr) By doing this, Twitter users are able to receive updates about campaigns and other information; participate in conversations; and, promote the information that interests them to their networks (Jenkins et al., 2009). By doing this, the consumers of the networks are helping

[Continued from previous comment] In terms of my chosen topic of Flash Mobs, AVAAZ has stronger ideals and uses social media to highlight their issues of global concern. Flash Mobs tend to have their base within a community and despite sometimes being organized to highlight a social injustice, are mainly used as advertising to publicize an upcoming event or personality. YouTube videos shared through social media networks appear to be the main form of spreading a Flash Mob once the activity or event has occurred. AVAAZ on the other hand, has an ongoing commitment to highlight issues before, after, during and after an event. Thanks again for your insightful article and comment Jocelyn

Prior to reading these comments, I had never heard of AVAAZ. Out of interest, and because I have been researching civil unrest in Europe and the Middle East, I did a Google search on "AVAAZ and Egypt" and was surprised to see 418,000 results. There were multiple links to different groups who were promoting the "Stand with the people of Egypt petition" in conjunction with AVAAZ, groups such as the Care 2 News Network, and Manalife. We seem to constantly hear about the power of Twitter and Facebook, but in turn there are all of these other organisations collaborating, promoting and sharing content on the internet not just using Twitter and Facebook, but their own websites and forums. REFERENCES: Avaaz - Stand with the People of Egypt Care2.com http://www.care2.com/news/member/754940801/2709806 Hylands, J (January 30, 2011) Avaaz - Stand with the people of Egypt. Manalife http://manalife.org/articles/stand-with-the-people-of-egypt/

Since 2007, Anastasia Kavada is a post-doctoral researcher, with her current role as developing research on: social technologies (such as blogs, social networking sites, picture and video sharing sites) in the establishment of international campaigns and political coalitions, in practices of citizenship and democracy, as well as in the formation of political identities and feelings of belonging to political groups (The University of Westminster, n.d.). In her article, Collective action and the social web: Comparing the architecture of Avaaz.org and Openesf.net, Kavada discusses the differences between the two platforms for "... the European Social Forum [ESF] and [the] global movement website Avaaz" (Kavada, 2009b, p. 130). The following main topics are discussed: * Web 2.0 And Transnational Collective Action * Political Organizations And Web Interactivity * Openesf: Openness And Distributed Construction * Avaaz: Outward Orientation And Central * Coordination Of Individual Contributions She concludes that whilst both platforms are inherently different for use in their particular organisations, Avaaz has gone one step further to reaching people using social networking sites such as Facebook (REF). In 2010, Kavada wrote an article titled Image, Bonding, and Collective Identity Across Multiple Platforms: Avaaz on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube (Kavada, 2010). In this paper, Kavada explores the prospective spaces for global activism by "... examining the case of Avaaz.org, a 'global web movement' created in 2007 aiming to bring people-powered politics to global decision-making" (Kavada, 2010, p. 1). * Growth of digital activism * Web Platforms, Bonding and Group Identity: Two Complementary Views * Methods and research * Platforms as a Surface of Bonding and Group Identity * Platforms As a Site of Engagement, Bonding and Group Identity In brief, this article discusses whether or not, Avaaz can hold onto

its identity whilst spread across multiple platforms. Kavada has established that organisations such as Avaaz can indeed remain in control of its identity even though they lack in "... interpersonal interaction among supporters" (Kavada, 2010, p. 19). The Avaaz organisational strategy has met with success as more than thirty-seven million actions have been completed by its members (Avaaz.org, 2011). Bibliography: Avaaz.org. (2011). Avaaz - The World in Action - About. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en/about.php Kavada, A. (2007). The 'Horizontals' and the "Verticals": Competing Communicative Logics in the 2004 European Social Forum. Paper presented at the General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research, 6-8 September, Pisa, Italy. Kavada, A. (2009a). Decentralization and Communication: Email Lists and the Organizing Process of the European Social Forum. pp. 188-204 in A. Karatzogianni (Ed.) Cyber Conflict and Global Politics. London: Routledge. Kavada, A. (2009b). Collective action and the social web: Comparing the architecture of Avaaz.org and Openesf.net. In Communicative Approaches To Politics And Ethics In Europe. Tartu University Press. Retrieved from http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/suso/reco_book5.pdf#page=130 Kavada, A. (2010). Image, Bonding, and Collective Identity Across Multiple Platforms: Avaaz on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. All Academic Inc. Retrieved from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p404477_index.html The University of Westminster. (n.d.). Anastasia Kavada - CAMRI Post-Doctoral Researcher. Retrieved from http://www.westminster.ac.uk/schools/media/camri/research-staff/kavada,-anastas

(2001) This is a critical view about the internet and education. Peter Macinnis Speaks with Robyn Williams (ABC Science National Radio) about the evolution of Technology and how technology takes 20 plus years to become an accepted technology. Macinnis shows the analogy of the printing press, steam trains, telephone,radio and TV development and then compares the internet.  He claims you need to take the rear view mirror approach to see what the trends are.   One interesting point that Macinnis makes is that the examination process of education is still ran by the old school where the generation today have a whole new literacy in Internet communications. He also criticise how the Internet is organised and there is some work needed to add metadata to the already exciting data on the web.  I find this a good argument as search engines rank results based on several factors other than truth and reliability.     Williams, R. (Writer). (2001). The Internet and Education [Radio ], ABC Science. Australia: ABC Radio National.

REFERENCES ABS. (2007). 8146.0.55.001 - Patterns of Internet access in Australia, 2006, Australian Bureau of Statistics. First Issued November 29, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8146.0.55.001Main+Features12006?OpenDocument Downes, S. (2007). The Future of Online Learning and Personal learning Environments. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/the-future-of-online-learning-and-personal-learning-environments NSWDET (2009). Social Learning 2.0 Concepts and Visuals. Uploaded by the NSW Department of Education and Training March 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/etalbert/sociallearning20-concepts-and-visuals-mar09# Williams, R., and Peter Macinnis (2001). The Internet and Education. Ockham's Razor, Radio National. Broadcast Sunday May 6, 2001. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s289416.htm

It is good to go back and examine Peter Macinnis's point of view. Reminds me of the exercise of examining Clifford Stoll's (1995) view on what the internet was to become, which of course was mostly wrong. Macinnis seemed to have predicted the unorganised nature of the information on the internet (ABC Radio, 2001) which to an extent does exist now. This is one reason I believe is important to address in terms of internet collaboration especially in education. Collaborating is about organising information into a presentation form for all students collaborating within a system. But that must be with a gatekeeper, namely the teacher or lecturer or tutor who can intervene when needed. Michael Green (ABC Radio, 1999) in an earlier view on that show quoted Fred Bennett who urged computers to teach students without an intermediary, namely a tutor or teacher. Whilst tertiary education is underpinned by self-reliance, I wonder if such views back then apply now. In collaboration, does the lecturer decide to be strictly a hands off non-interventionist given that their students are mature and can think for themselves? Or does the lecturer, given the high demands of departmental, research and publishing commitments, become part of the student group collaboration? In my resources, Google Docs seems to raise more issues about information use which suggest students place a high value on organised information which makes sense to them. I feel that Macinnis should revise today if inaccurate information is the real problem. We had virtual communities were information could be corrected, but with Web 2.0, Wikipedia being the most obvious example, we can correct what is wrong. I do agree with Tessa that social media overall seems to be quite behind in the way it is being diffused across educational sectors. Collaboration tools such as Facebook etc will be used by students anyway so it seems odd that the resistance still exists. This interview is a good resource to reflect on how f

Johnson, S. (2009, June 5). How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live. Time. When 40 educators attended the conference in the Manhattan they decided to use the Twitter for posting live commentary during the event. The commentary was projected on a large display screen displaying running incoming feed of tweets. Everyone had a chance to tweet using their laptops or BlackBerrys. The rule for the tweets was to include the word #hackedu in 140 characters. The twitter's function was embraced at the conference by the conference participants. The tweets unfolded in a real time communication reflecting the participants' thoughts, arguments, jokes and other feelings from being at the conference. However, after a while the tweeting expanded into the 'Twittersphere' delivering tweets from the strangers. The communication engaged all different groups of people sharing views about the topic at the conference. The tweeting continued several weeks after the conclusion of the conference. This case demonstrates a real experience of Twitter being was used for a particular event in means of interactive communication between the conference participants and how it expanded into the 'Twittersphere'. The Twitter simply provided a very useful venue for a collaborative communication engaging different groups of people and documenting their tweets as valid communication that was very useful during the conference and the recorded tweets can be used in a future. From organisational point of view, it was a wise plan to have the Twitter at the conference that it gave the conference another interactive dimension of communication and provided access to useful information from people and about the people. The equipment for the tweets is now widely available for the individuals and venues set up, and it is a matter of organising it once a benefit of the twitting is seriously considered.

Milesi, K., & Civins, N. (2009). Why you should Twitter. Information Age(August/September), 43-45. The article is an excellent guideline for the business and Twitter as communication tool. According to Milesi and Civins (2009), 'Twitter helps humanise your organisation, and encourages involvement with your customers' or 'If you want to start using Twitter, but aren't ready to communicate with users in a personal fashion, then you may not be ready for Twitter yet'. The authors of the article structured the answers about the tweeting in a logical way for anyone to get a picture about the tweeting and especially the organisations. Authors start with an introduction of the tweeting and its history with statistics produced from tweeting by Australian Twitter. The article covers questions like 'why should you use Twitter', 'who should use Twitter', 'How should you use Twitter' and progressing to more complex topics like 'Risk management when using Twitter'. It is a simple yet informational and purpose constructed read about tweeting and 'Why you should Twitter'. It answers questions for the business considering Twitter or expanding their already gained knowledge about the Twitter. The authors of the article deliver strong awareness about the Twitter and its functionality as communication tool. In summary, they say that when the Twitter is used correctly and with a purpose the Twitter users can assist in business growth and/or improvement in communication with customers. This article is strongly recommended to read by all wondering 'Why you should Twitter'.

Flash mobs have been around since 2003, the full power of their reach has not really been felt until a mix of social media like Facebook and Twitter came into effect to help to coordinate events and spread the word. A mix of this and viral video tools like Youtube help to spread the story worldwide in a very short time frame. The organisation of early flash mob performances used to rely on text messages to spread the message. However, these days the internet and social media have made the coordination and the spreading of the message much quicker and it allows for many more networking opportunities. Costs of performances and production are kept to a minimum, with no need to buy air time. An interesting side-effect of viral videos these days is that the video will most often be displayed on television for free anyway, doing away with the need to pay for advertising air time, and has given rise to television programs dedicated to flash mob tv in places like Germany (Flashmob.tv, 2011). Flashmob.tv, (2011). The Show. Retrieved from http://www.flashmob.tv/en/the_show.php

This resource, found in the Char Valiant School Newspaper, discusses flash mobs. Flash mobs, a more recent occurrence, are a group of people who meet at a predetermined public location to do a spontaneous performance (often something of a theatrical nature like a song or dance), and then disperse into the crowd at the end. Flash mobs are usually instigated online, using various forms of online media to organise and coordinate the event. This can include mobile phones, email, and social networking sites. Although these "events started out as a way for these groups to mock the conformity of the general population", they have "instead become a symbol of spontaneity and fun around the world"(CharValiant, 2011). Flash Mobs have also become a form of advertising. T-Mobile has used this form of theatrics to their advantage, using them in several of their advertisements. Carolyn Thomas (2010) talks in her article about how T-Mobile is becoming synonymous with flash mobs, showing that the marketing campaign is working as people are instantly remembering the company name and linking it with the campaign. Australia is also getting on the flash mob advertising bandwagon, with the latest "Australian Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea" launch at Brisbane's Queen Street Mall on the 18th April, 2011 (Cancerqld, 2011) and the viral Sydney Mardi Gras campaign filmed on Bondi Beach (RockYourBox, 2009). Although the link between public resource computing and flash mobs is tenuous at best, as another current form of online collaboration it is still well worth a mention. As public resource computing relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising to increase its member numbers by using things like social-networking sites, so too does flash mob advertising rely on "going viral" through similar word-of-mouth usage.

Written by Caci Murphy, a Senior at Chartiers Valley High School(CharValiant, 2011), this resource is not necessarily as reliable a source as perhaps other more researched papers. Although well written, and factually accurate, a high school senior would be lacking both the technological knowledge and life experience to give an accurate view point to make this an authoritative resource. Cancerqld. (2011). Australia's Biggest Morning Tea Flash Mob. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w07Nq2h55Xo CharValiant. (2011). The CharValiant Staff. Retrieved from http://www.cvnewspaper.com/staff/ CharValiant. (2011). Flash Mobs: The Feel Good Phenomenon of the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://www.cvnewspaper.com/news/2011/03/14/flash-mobs-the-feel-good-phenomenon-of-the-21st-century/ RockYourBox. (2009). Say Cheese! Flash Mob On Bondi Beach [OFFICIAL]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4DkbGbxl0 Thomas, C. (2010). T-Mobile and the flash mob marketing phenomenon. Retrieved from http://ethicalnag.org/2010/11/04/flash-mob/

John Sutters article presented on CNN online is a personalised recount of the factors (technological and social) leading up to the demonstrations in Egypt. This article is interesting as it outlines the impact that the Internet has on peoples daily lives, the way the it has allowed members in society the opportunity to gather information and allow freedom of speech that would never be allowed in their own government regime. Sutters article follows a man called Saleh, (Egyptian born) and explores the impacts that living in his society has brought on his daily life. Being born into a country where rape, murder and wrongful imprisonment are just a part of daily life he soon gained the motivation to want more. The lack of information that he could obtain from Egypt's two national television stations, gave him the drive and motivation to want to learn more about the world (Sutters, 2011). When he was 16 he rejoiced in the fact that the Internet had come along, "I was waiting for the Internet to arrive in Egypt years before it arrived. Reading about it, I could see how much freedom there was (online), how much information you had" (Saleh, 2011). The Internet was a way for people to gain access to limitless amounts of information, it is not by chance that these social media tools are now being used to mobilize people in society to speak out, take action and express their thoughts and feelings to create change. After an Egyptian man was allegedly beaten to death by police outside an Internet cafe Saleh and his friends were shocked by the news of the event and decided to create a Facebook page "We Are All Khaled Said". The results were astounding, more and more people started to comment and join the group, which eventually lead to a mass protest in which protesters stood along the banks of the Nile wearing black (Sutters, 2011). Events that followed on January 27 were even more impressive. The online organizers in Egypt are quick to spread

credit. No single person, group, Facebook page or political party planned this movement. It just happened, they said. Partly in response to the events in Tunisia. Partly by years and years of lingering economic, social and human rights problems. Saleh, the young man who grew up yearning for an Internet connection, said he was amazed at the degree to which the Internet played a role in the movement. These social media platforms allowed people to mobilize more freely than in public. Decoy events could be set up and changed on a moment's notice; messages could be spread to other countries and updates could be passed through out the country and the world (Sutters, 2011). The flexibility around social media is something that can shed some insight into why these types of events have become so successful. Messages can be updated, read and sent from any portable device, Facebook and Twitter can be access anywhere at anytime, meaning that mass collaboration over these services can be organised to such a precise level. As state above, the Internet has become such an influential medium for nations under tight control to express themselves and gather outside information about what is happening in the world and also to express and broadcast injustice that is happening in their own society. References Sutters, J. (2011). The faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0'. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/21/egypt.internet.revolution/index.html. Saleh, O. (2011). The faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0'. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/21/egypt.internet.revolution/index.html

I found this article interesting and thought provoking; being a personal, first-hand account of the events in Egypt it provided a different perspective to some of the articles I've read on this topic. The last paragraph summed up the power of social media well, "Facebook, Twitter and email created a 'parallel Egypt' on the Internet", a world where citizens could maintain anonymity and mobilize more freely than they could in public" (Saleh, 2011, cited by Sutter, 2011). I think that we tend to take for granted the freedom and rights we have here in Australia. I have joined a few political organisations online, and I couldn't imagine how I would have felt if shortly afterwards the Government hacked my computer to gain my Facebook password! Yet this is what happened to activists in Tunisia (Zuckerman, 2011). Your comment Tim, "the flexibility around social media is something that can shed some insight into why these types of events have become so successful. Messages can be updated, read and sent from any portable device, Facebook and Twitter can be access anywhere at anytime, meaning that mass collaboration over these services can be organised to such a precise level", (Findlay, 2011) reminded me of a comment made by a Cairo activist who said "We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world," (activist cited by Howard, 2011) According to Howard (2011) "the most consistent causal features of democratization include a wired civil society that uses digital media to undermine authoritarian rule in the course of national and global public opinion." The recent events in Egypt are certainly a case in point. REFERENCES Findlay, T (April 13, 2011) The faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0' Diigo OUA-Net308 group Retrieved April 14, 2011 from http://groups.diigo.com/group/oua_net308_2011 Howard, P (February 23, 2011) The Cascading Effects of the Arab Spring Miller McCune Magazine Retrieved April 13,

The origin of flash mobs is credited to Bill Wasik who emailed friends in June 2003 to gather in the home furnishing department of Macy's in Manhattan. More than a 100 people began discussing whether to purchase a 'love rug' for their fictitious commune and then dispersed as quickly as it had formed (Hewitt, 2003). Flash mobs are defined in the Oxford dictionary as "a public gathering of complete strangers, organized via the Internet or mobile phone, who perform a pointless act and then disperse again" (Oxford University Press, 2011). Advertising agencies now utilise flash mobs to promote commercial products. This article discusses the Saatchi and Saatchi award winning T-Mobile advertisement "Life is for sharing" (posted to Youtube by jonjonbaker, 2009). Rather than focusing on how mobile phones and social media are used to organise a flash mob, the discussion here is about how this same media is used to create "viral traction - the ability to be widely forwarded to millions of viewers almost instantly" (Thomas, 2010). The advertisement itself shows bystanders utilising their mobile devices to share photos with their friends as well as ringing them to talk about the experience. As the title of the advertisement says "life is for sharing". Nick Burcher wrote in his blog Personal thoughts on the evolution of media and advertising that "advertisers are creating events to push user generated content coverage, a physical community made virtual. The event drives the Conversation, rather than the other way round as Wasik intended" (Burcher, 2009). Flash mobbing has become more than Wasik first imagined. On this case it has been utilised to raise brand awareness, but the same techniques can also be used to promote political opinions.

Hans this is a very interesting article and ties in with the article I found by McGreer (2010) who discussed the business response to FlashMobs. Whilst two different approaches were used the one constant was the use of professional film crew to use the footage for uploading. The question McGreer raises is when it no longer has the artistic element, which Wasnik defines an event as a FlashMob, are commercial applications really FlashPerformances? McGreer, B. (2010). Give Them something to talk about. US Banker. Retrieved from ProQuest Database.

Hans this is a very interesting article and ties in with the article I found by McGreer (2010) who discussed the business response to FlashMobs. Whilst two different approaches were used the one constant was the use of professional film crew to use the footage for uploading. The question McGreer raises is when it no longer has the artistic element, which Wasnik defines an event as a FlashMob, are commercial applications really FlashPerformances? McGreer, B. (2010). Give Them something to talk about. US Banker. Retrieved from ProQuest Database.

[Please Note: This comment is in two parts due to Diigo restrictions on length] Topic: Flash Mobs This TED Talk is important to the topic of flash mobs because it highlights the fact that modern issues of global significance such as obesity, crime, good health, and creativity, are affected by the social connections that we all have. The rise of Internet usage through avenues such as social networks in the form of Facebook and other similar sites has been acknowledged as a vital factor that is also used by flash mobs when organizing their activities. The main point that can be taken into account through this TED Talk, is that if subconscious concepts such as obesity can claim influences from social networking, it should also follow that other more positive concepts such as philanthropy, will also be influenced by connecting with social networks. These social networks have a resilience that survives the test of time so it is of utmost importance to understand what the contributing factors are that sustain them. One important factor that was discovered was the power of emotion. Emotional "stampedes" and "collective existences" can be formed through social networks. They appear in clusters that can be delineated, for example, by "happy patches" and patches with other emotional characteristics. [Continued in the comment below]

Flash mobs utilise digital communications among social networks to mobilise a large group of people to appear in a set location. Many reading about flash mobs highlight the use of Internet communication but there have not been many references that refer to how the social network functions. Nicholas Christakis is a Harvard Professor of Medicine, Health Care Policy, and Sociology at Harvard University and he directs a diverse research group investigating social networks. "His work examines the biological, psychological, sociological, and mathematical rules that govern how we form these social networks, and the rules that govern how they shape our lives" (TED Conferences, 2010). Christakis gives three reason that people cluster but for flash mobs the most relevant is that people can share a common exposure to something (Christakis, 2010)and thus messages are spread to people of like mind, in turn pleading to a large crowd with everybody having a common purpose. Another important aspect to take from this is that networks are constantly changing in composition but the network still persists. Kaulingfreks and Warren would describe this as a rhizome that is "an ubiquitous connection between points in a structure but without a clear defined path…each node passing information to other nodes (2010, p. 221) . Christakis says " It is the ties between people that makes the whole greater than the sum of parts" (2010).For flash mobs and protest movements it is the power of the group that makes all the difference as has been demonstrated in political flash mobs and recent protests in Egypt, Iran and Tunisia. Christakis, N. (2010, February). The hidden influence of social networks TED Talks [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.html Kaulingfreks, R., & Warren, S. (2010). SWARM: Flash Mobs, mobile clubbing and the city. Culture and Organization, 16(3), 211 - 227. doi:10.1080/14759551.

After watching this video on networks I started to consider the relevance of the internet informing networks and would the networks form in another way if social media tools were not available. Flash Mobs was organised on the internet and use internet tools to collaborate there next event. Could the same thing be achieved without the internet? My guess is yes it can be achieved without the internet. If we take the Egyptian Revolution and the claims that Facebook and Twitter were responsible for the organisation of the revolution some argue that this was not the case. The main body of the argument is that there been revolutions well before the internet (Rosen, 2011). Supports this argument however still recognises the role that social networks had played in the revolution(Beaumont, 2011). Pickwell, 2011 argues that many crowd gathering s such as revolutions and protest do not utilise the internet or social media to gather crowds. Pickwell claims they under utilise the tools the internet offered them. Considering that social media has a communication roll to play, you may also need to consider other factors used in creating the network. Christakis, 2011 presentation on networks gives you a better understanding as to how networks operate and why the above arguments have some merits. Beaumont, P. (2011). The truth about Twitter, Facebook and the uprisings in the Arab world. Retrieved 15th April 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/twitter-facebook-uprisings-arab-libya Christakis, N. (2010). The Hidden Influence of Social Networks. TED Talks. Filmed February 2010. Posted May 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2011 from: http://blog.ted.com/2010/05/10/the_hidden_infl/ Pickwell, J. (2011). Lecture on the anti-war movement and Internet Collaboration and Organisation, net 308 iLectures: Curtin Unversity, Rosen, J. (2011). The "Twitter Can't Topple Dictators" Article. Retrieved 15th April 2011, from http://pressthink.org/2011/02/the-twitter-

Written by Michael Pick, Online Activism: Media Stereotypes And The Rise Of Smart Mobs is an article published on Robin Good's MasterNewMedia website. The publisher, Robin Good, has had "... a career as a new media communication and publishing consultant for major international organizations that operate in the fields of research, development and education" (Good, n.d.). Robin Good is an independent new media publisher that "... converted his professional skills and interests into a self-publishing career (Good, n.d.). In 1999, Robin Good began MasterNewMedia, an online magazine dedicated to "... news, skills and resources to communicate more effectively with new media technologies" (Good, n.d.). Michael Pick's article first explores some of the ways of how people are stereotyped by mass-media propaganda. One example of this is, "The Nazis, pioneers of mass-media propaganda (Pick, n.d.), managed to convince a nation that it was being bled dry by the Jews, communists, gypsies, and anyone else that they could scapegoat. With relentless repetition and indoctrination they created the sense that these people were something less than human" (Pick, 2007). Which he then argues is that this mass-media propaganda is being continued today through television media. Pick then discusses Howard Rheingold's concept of Smart Mobs, and then he briefly discusses Avaaz.org (2011a), a website and platform, where everyone can have an

opinion and everyone can unite and help others, regardless of political stature and unaccountable organisations. It is a site where the values of people shape global decisions (Avaaz.org, 2011b). References: Avaaz.org. (2011a).The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en Avaaz.org. (2011b).The World in Action - About Us. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en/about.php Good, R. (n.d.). About Robin Good. Retrieved from http://www.masternewmedia.org/about.htm Pick, M. (n.d.). The War On Terror And The Victory Of Spin: Believing Your Own Propaganda Is The True Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Robin Good - independent new media publisher. Retrieved from http://www.masternewmedia.org/information-access/propaganda/the-war-on-terror-and-victory-of-spin-20070414.htm Pick, M. (2007). Online Activism: Media Stereotypes And The Rise Of Smart Mobs. Robin Good - independent new media publisher. Retrieved from http://www.masternewmedia.org/information_access/online-activism/media-stereotypes-war-online-activism-20070609.htm

This academic paper explores anonymous' internal processes as they collaborated over the internet to co-ordinate both on and offline protests against the church of Scientology in February 2008. The authors analyze the "public, online sources used by members of Anonymous to plan, discuss, coordinate, and execute" their campaign; as well as data "drawn from a quantitative analysis of interactions amongst (the projects) participants at a wiki site"(Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011). This innovative and skillful use of online networking and collaboration tools allowed Anonymous to successfully mobilize and co-ordinate group activity on a large scale. The work identifies Anonymous' structure as a decentralized network with little "evidence of official leadership positions or formal organizational structures" (Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011) guiding the groups actions. These processes are seemingly organic to the internet and the study shows how working in this way significantly increased Anonymous' flexibility, as well as how this "collaborative structure allowed the group to work rapidly and democratically"(Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011). Other advantages of the groups' use of decentralized network structures were found in the "development of highly dynamic and emergent strategies as many individuals with varying ideas and talents... work simultaneously on a project"; and the fact that "large volumes of participants can coordinate their actions even in the absence of an official bureaucratic leadership" (Underwood, P., Welser, H. 2011). references Underwood, P., Welser, H. (2011) 'The Internet is Here': Emergent Coordination and Innovation of Protest Forms in Digital Culture. Available from:http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~welser/Underwood.Welser.2011.pdf

This article specifically explores "Project Chanology", a project of the worldwide organisation known as Anonymous against the Church of Scientology. The authors point out "that social movements are a basic foundation of contemporary democratic societies" as well as "providing outlets for political positions to be voiced and grievances to be aired"(Underwood & Welser, 2011). Importantly, it is crucial that people participating can see value in the cause and in the form that action may take. This article attracted my attention due to its similarity and differences to flash mobs. Both organisations have no formal organisation structure yet they are able to mobilise large numbers of people by utilising Internet communications (Facebook, twitter, email and Internet Relay Chat (IRC)). Another similarity is that in both cases the public displays appear bizarre and absurd to outsiders. In the case of most flash mobs, the idea is to simply have fun (Taylor, 2003). For Anonymous it is to "present itself as a movement about making a difference through having fun " as well as setting itself apart from "typical street demonstrations"(Underwood & Welser, 2011). But there are also differences. Each flash mob is distinctly separate operation whereas Anonymous has a group identity. Underwood and Welser do point out that members of the group do balk at the notion of being seen as a traditional group (2011).

Participants in Anonymous activities are also required to learn more about the group and its actions. This requirement seems to be a way of strengthening bonds and a cultural knowledge. There is no such requirement to participate in a flash mob only the desire to have fun. What these movements show is that if the cause (whether it be fun or a political point) is right then it is possible to bring together large numbers of people through the use of new media. REFERENCES: Taylor, E. (2003). Dadaist lunacy or the future of protest? : An introduction to the world of flash-mobbing. Social Issues Research Centre. Retrieved from http://www.sirc.org/articles/flash_mob.shtml Underwood, P., & Welser, H. T. (2011). 'The Internet is Here": Emergent Coordination and Innovation of Protest Forms in Digital Culture. Paper presented at the iConference 2011, Seattle. Retrieved from http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~welser/Underwood.Welser.2011.pdf

This article is presented on famousboggers.com a blogging site dedicated to academics publishing writing on current events. In this article Mohamed Osam (network and computer engineer) talks about the technological factors leading up to the revolution in Egypt. The "eRevolution" was sparked by a group of young activists on Facebook, they were pushing for reform on freedom and social injustice (Osam, 2011). These Facebook groups attracted more than 85,000 protestors via group posts, and comments, while communicating heavily on twitter and sometimes cell phone SMS services (Osam, 2011). Other Facebook groups were initiated before and during the protests to support the logistics and the massive demonstrations that erupted all over Egypt. The "Rasd News Network (R.N.N)" Facebook group was one of the main contributors to the revolution, sending protest updates, news updates and politician and media reaction (Osam, 2011). With such a public outcry the Egyptian government shut down all Internet communication in Egypt, but by this time things had already escalated beyond the governments repair (Franco, 2011). After a few more days of the increasing number of protestors, high national and international pressures, and a total of 18 days of protesting, Omar Suleiman (the recently appointed Egyptian vice president) resigned his position (Franco, 2011). This article brings up interesting points around the effects of online collaboration and communication. What is the future for these types of online political movements? The factor that seems to be most interesting is the fact that there was social action and results gained by taking the fight online just as offline. The power of online collaboration has obviously proven its point with these recent events in Egypt, so where too next? Could this type of political movement be a stepping-stone for further political activism or just like many other tools be used for both positive and negative behavior? Some see this as

References: Avaaz.org. (2011). Stand With The People Of Egypt. Avaaz - The World in Action. Retrieved from https://secure.avaaz.org/en/democracy_for_egypt/?fpla Avaaz.org. (2011). Freeze Mubarak's stolen fortune. Avaaz - The World in Action. Retrieved from http://www.avaaz.org/en/mubaraks_fortune/ Findlay, T. (2011). eRevolution on Diigo - oua_net308_2011 group. Retrieved from http://groups.diigo.com/group/oua_net308_2011 Osam, M. (n.d.). Articles by Mohamed Osam. The eRevolution. Retrieved from http://www.famousbloggers.net/author/mohamedosam Osam, M. (2011). The eRevolution. Retrieved from http://www.famousbloggers.net/the-erevolution.html

This is a great article that describes the technological and social influences that allowed millions of people to network and collaborate online during the protests in Egypt earlier this year. It shows how many citizens of Egypt successfully used various online services and tools in maintaining communications and mobilizing massive group actions throughout this time. The author explains how this was "the first revolution sparked, managed and orchestrated by social networking, by Facebook, twitter, blogs and YouTube"(Osam, M. 2011); and questions any potential harm that may arise from such seemingly powerful tools of social and political change. This supports the article 'Anonymous Uses Collaborative Document Sharing Tool for Social Survival' that I have posted to Diigo. These works investigate the widespread use of both public and anonymous web services in the coordination of information, communications and group movements during social and political protests in the Middle East. They show how these platforms were used as flexible networking and collaborating tools which effectively reached large numbers of people. While the Anonymous article focuses on the creation and distribution of their 'Revolution Survival Guide' for Tunisians - using tools that allowed "simple, free, and publicly "anonymous" way(s) to share and collaborate on information" (Clay, K. 2011); the Egyptian protests were initially "sparked by a group of young activists on Facebook"(Osam, M. 2011). These different networking and collaboration platforms were successfully used as social and political tools against oppressive regimes. References Clay, K. (2011). Anonymous Uses Collaborative Document Sharing Tool for Social Survival. Social Media and Technology. 25th of February 2011. Available from: http://www.lockergnome.com/social/2011/02/25/anonymous-uses-collaborative-document-sharing-tool-for-social-survival Osam, M. (2011). The eRevolution. Retreived, April 13, 2011. From

Spencer Ackerman is an American national security reporter and blogger. This article appeared in Wired magazine's national security blog, Danger Room. In this article, Ackerman describes how in late January, 2011, the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, responded to hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators protesting on the Egyptian streets by shutting off the internet and mobile phone access. The purpose of this was to keep the activists from organising further protests. This move did not work however, and the protesters didn't disperse. They did not have access to Facebook and Twitter, but instead took to the streets and protested in the traditional way. Al Jazeera, and other satellite news networks kept the public worldwide focused on the events. Mubarak then "began a brutal crackdown, with regime loyalists targeting dissidents and foreign journalists alike." (Ackerman, 2011) Despite the crackdown, says Ackerman, "the world still had viral-ready video footage of the truth of Egypt's precarious uprising", some of which can be viewed by clicking on the images in the article. A particular comment by a young female street protestor featured in one of the videos was interesting: "It's not about the internet," she said, "it's about the needs and demands of the Egyptian people". REFERENCE: Ackerman, S (February 4, 2011) Prayers, Protest, Police Brutality: Raw Videos From Egypt's Uprising Wired Retrieved 8th April, 2011 from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/cairo-protest-videos/?pid=345

References: Ackerman, S. (2011). Prayers, Protest, Police Brutality: Raw Videos From Egypt's Uprising. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/cairo-protest-videos/?pid=345 Kravets, D. (2011). What's Fueling Mideast Protests? It's More Than Twitter. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/social-media-oppression/

The spotlight on the Northern Africa has been reignited on 15 April 2011 by release of the letter signed by US, British and French leaders. US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have said in a joint letter that there can be no peace in Libya while Muammar Gaddafi stays in power. They want to put a stop to the terrible horrors at Gaddafi's hands. The joint letter holds out the prospect of reconstruction for Libya with the help of the "UN and its members" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13090646). The 'domino effect' political situation in Northern Africa has been closely watched by the whole world. The Egypt attracted attention not just for its political protests but how the country's Internet and its services were shut down by its government during the protests. This demonstrates a level of power government can have over its people and communication. At the time of revolution the Egypt's dictator Hosni Mubarak messages and intentions were clear to grasp by anyone paying attention to politics: It is me 'Hosni Murabak' who controls the power in this country including the media; shutting down of the Internet and its services will put a stop to a fast communication platform for Egypt's people and connection with rest of the world; Egypt doesn't want any interferences from other countries, this is 'our revolution'; we will sort it out and I will stay in power as long as possible. According to Spencer Ackerman 'Suddenly, a protest movement that used Facebook pages and Twitter hashtags to coordinate and push its message out was back to the old-fashioned methods of street politicking'. However, according to other media coverage the Twitter was found as most powerful tool in network communication during the Egypt's Internet service government shut down. (e.g. Bergstrom, G. (2011). Egypt: The First Twitter

This article, written by Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, discusses the role of social media in the events that led to the Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine fleeing the country on January 14th this year. Zuckerman compares the media coverage and online community support received by Iranians during the 2009 protests and the coverage in Tunisia, which didn't receive anywhere near the same amount of attention. As Zuckerman puts it, "the irony is that social media likely played a significant role in the events that have unfolded in the past month in Tunisia, and that the revolution appears far more likely to lead to lasting political change." (Zuckerman, 2011) The protests in Tunisia began after the suicide of an unemployed university graduate whose informal vegetable stall had been "shuttered by the police" (Zuckerman, 2011). Protests began spreading from city to city. Although Ben Ali's government tightly controlled all forms of media, Facebook remained uncensored throughout the protests. This meant that Tunisians were able to follow unfolding events on Facebook. They were then able to share what was happening with the rest of the world by posting videos to YouTube, and the end result was that "a popular revolt toppled an Arab dictator" (Zuckerman, 2011). One important point that Zuckerman makes is that it is wrong to attempt to credit "a massive political shift to a single factor -- technological, economic, or otherwise --... Tunisians took to the streets due to decades of frustration, not in reaction to a WikiLeaks cable, a denial-of-service attack, or a Facebook update." (Zuckerman, 2011)

protests but as recent events have shown, a platform that can organise and communicate with over 85,0000 people to take part in a political protest should never be underestimated (Hauslohner, 2011). References Ingram, M. (2011). Was What Happened In Tunisia A Twitter Revolution? Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://gigaom.com/2011/01/14/was-what-happened-in-tunisia-a-twitter-revolution/ Morozov, E. (2009). Moldova's Twitter Revolution. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/07/moldovas_twitter_revolution Hauslohner, A. (2011). Is Egypt About To Have A Facebook Revolution? Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2044142,00.html

Ethan Zuckerman's article brings us closer to a political situation in Tunis during the peak of the reported protests. Included image of the woman protester in the front of a flag makes a headline more interesting and debatable. Zuckerman writes about what sparked the actual protests, reactions of the Tunisian government, Tunisia's protests influencing neighborhood countries and how media off and on line functioned during the events. Zimmerman also writes about the reactions from outside the Middle East - from those countries celebrating a peace oriented time such as Christmas Day and New Year's holidays and at the same time hearing and seeing headlines about a shooting in Arizona. Zuckerman says that more attention would be given to the Tunisian protests through media during slow news month. He then analyzes Iran's promoting the Green Movement to on online audience that followed the tweets and Facebook posts and compares it with Tunisia's support from the online community. According to Zimmerman, social media played a significant role in Tunisia despite government's having a tight control over on and off line media. Zimmerman writes that the Government prevented reporters from traveling to the protest hot spots and what I understood from the Zimmerman's words - the media reports were prohibited with titles like vandalism or terrorism. As an alternative, Tunisians had access to uncensored pictures from the Facebook and communicated the political protests to the rest of the world by using YouTube and Dailymotion. The article highlighted existence of online audience and usage of social networking applications throughout the Tunisian events; however to me as a reader the content did not support sufficiently its title 'The First Twitter Revolution'.

[Part 1] Lemos' paper depicts map-making as a socio-political act, an expression of power. Maps themselves are a visual way of presenting geographic information, and have been traditionally controlled by technicians, governments and private companies, but since the advent of interactive online tools, some of the power inherent in map-making has shifted to ordinary people. Interactive tools such as Google Maps, allow the everyday person to experience a new practice of place, as Lemos writes "mapping our moves on the streets allows us to control the space; it is territorialization. […] The use of GPS and other devices for location and location-based services puts the emphasis on control and domination over a territory" (Lemos 2008, p.15). From the perspective of student protesters in London at the end of 2010, the use of an interactive Google map (see and example at: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london), allowed protest organisers to control the flow of digital information between cyberspace and the urban environment. Protesters themselves, those armed with locative media such as smart phones, had access to near real time data superimposed upon street maps relevant to their own position. This allowed protesters to collaborate by providing feedback to organisers or by reacting geographically to reported police location and action.

[Part 2] The act of real time digital mapping and urban annotation by protest movements potentially creates a new dynamic where the distribution of power relative to a location is altered. The ways in which citizens perceive the city and interact with its structure is changed when citizens have access to information about proximity and distance, when they are kept informed of lines of escape from controlled spaces. The act of protesting creates a temporary urban space, changing a location's social meaning. With the use of digital mapping tools a mobile social network is created, one that has the potential to communicate more effectively than the police forces arrayed against them. References: Cullum, B. (2010). Maptivism in London. Retrieved from: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london Lemos, A.(2008). Mobile communication and new sense of places: a critique of spatialization in cyberculture.  Retrieved from:  http://www.andrelemos.info/artigos/spatialization.pdf Live Protest Map (2010). Retrieved from: UCL Live Protest Map

Lemos' journal examines the notion that recent mobile innovations have facilitated new and socially focussed communication systems. Locative media is the primary focus of the article and Lemos argues that technology and its relationship with mobility, community and place are creating new forms of 'territorization' - a socio-political act that involves control, surveillance and tracking. The distinction is made that locative media creates new uses for non-virtual space and bridges the gap between the physical and the virtual. This is achieved through augmented reality, mobile information consumption, events and geo-mapping; all which reinforce collaboration and participation among real world communities. Examples of locative media and territorization include CitizenMap, a community focussed web service which utilises Google Maps, Twitter and news sources to identify and detail environmental incidents throughout Hong Kong and the South China region. Sukey, an anti-police kettling application is another example of locative media, this service aims to improve communications throughout demonstrations by feeding police tactics and information from an assortment of data sources such as Twitter, Google Maps, Flickr and directly aggregating it to mobile / SMS enabled devices (Sukey, 2011). What Lemos fails to expand on in the journal is the technical and participatory expectations required for the services to be successful. Without regular and active participation these services add little or no value to the community or the cause.