[Air-L] ISOC Statement on Egypt¹s Internet shutdown

Mon Jan 31 14:13:41 PST 2011

It's worth noting as well that Al-Jazeera, despite nominally being 
banned from broadcasting, has had excellent and thorough coverage.  The 
station is well aware that they are primarily reporting to a 
non-Egyptian audience.  Al-Jazeera journos are also on twitter, 
definitely writing for a Western audience.

Alison Powell.

On 31/01/11 8:44 PM, Peter Timusk wrote:
> A number of my left leaning associates/comrades are watching Al Jazeera an
> Arab news network over the net. These would be political digital elites in
> the left in the west.
>
> http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
>
> Peter Timusk B.Math statistics. BA legal studies
> Legal studies of the Information Age
> Vice President Computers for Communites
> School work blog http://notebook.webpagex.org
> Some papers www.webpagex.org
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
> [mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Peaslee, Robert
> Sent: January-31-11 12:03 PM
> To: joana ro; Edward M. Corrado
> Cc: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
> Subject: Re: [Air-L] ISOC Statement on Egypt¹s Internet shutdown
>
> Could be some of that, Johanna. We sure love our technological determinism
> and development theses here in the West.
>
> Not to be lost here, I think, is the decreasing number of on-the-ground
> journalists stationed abroad in the era of media downsizing. When the "news
> sources" have no correspondent, no B-roll, etc., they tell us what's on
> Facebook, Twitter, etc. They don't tell us who's posting in these places,
> what expertise or contextual knowledge may or may not support the
> posts...but, hey, it's cheap and it fills up space in the hungry 24-hour
> news cycle. Even the Beeb is guilty of this at times, though far less often
> than American sources.
>
> -rp
>
>
>
>
> On 1/31/11 10:43 AM, "joana ro"<joanaro at googlemail.com>  wrote:
>
> I wonder why Western media have overemphaiszed SM's role. What good does
> that do them?
>
> Does it simply make the story more accessible for its viewers, give us
> something in common? Obviously, it also fits nicely into a story of
> emancipation through media/technology - which would be favorable for other
> media.
>
> Or is this a subtle way of suggesting that the West and its emancipatory
> technologies are somehow responsible for what is happening?
>
> Best,
> Johanna
>
> On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 5:36 PM, Edward M. Corrado
> <ecorrado at ecorrado.us>wrote:
>
>> I haven't done much investigation into this area, but my hunch is, as
>> others have mentioned, that the US (and to some extent European) media
>> has overblown the use of Social Media has played in organizing
>> protests in Egypt and Iran. I do think that, especially in Iran,
>> Social Media played an important role in disseminate information about
>> what was happening to people outside of Iran. I think that may be one
>> of a reasons authorities in Egypt shut the Net and cell phones down --
>> not necessarily or only because of the role it could have in
>> organizing protests.
>>
>> Edward
>>
>> On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 10:28 AM, Mathieu ONeil
>> <mathieu.oneil at anu.edu.au>  wrote:
>>> I sit somewhere in the  middle: its true that on-the-ground activism
>> dominates but if Facebook  etc had no impact then why would the
>> authorities shut the Net down along  phones? Journalist accounts out
>> that point out that everyone wants to  "friend" them so in those
>> countries people are getting some info through  those channels. I
>> reckon this is having more impact than "the role of  Twitter in Iran"
>> last year which was indeed largely a projection from  outside though my
> evidence is anecdotal at best.
>>> cheers
>>> Mathieu
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Jeremy hunsinger<jeremy at tmttlt.com>
>>> Date: Monday, January 31, 2011 4:06 pm
>>> Subject: Re: [Air-L] ISOC Statement on Egypt's Internet shutdown
>>> To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
>>>
>>>> I think social media has very little to do with this event.  From
>>>> my perspective, it looks very much like 1960s-70s organizational
>>>> patterns.  Television, radio, etc. has some to do with it though.
>>>> I will say that it is likely that social media is being used to
>>>> connect interested transnational elites to some extent, which also
>>>> then drives media attention.
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 10:01 AM, Richard Forno
>>>> <rforno at infowarrior.org>  wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I may end up being labelled a black sheep here, but I find the
>>>> US media's infatuation with social media in regard to the Middle
>>>> East protests to be overdone and a distraction for folks in
>>>> understanding the real issues involved in the Arab world..
>>>>>
>>>>> In terms of SM, people have been organising and protesting in
>>>> large numbers all around the world long before the Internet or
>>>> social media came into being --- but watching much of the US "news"
>>>> coverage  one is led to think the Internet is the primary force
>>>> behind the coordination and street-level control of these recent
>>>> gatherings.
>>>>>
>>>>> IMHO social media is playing a supporting role in all of this.
>>>>   Is it helpful?  Sure - but hardly essential.  To wit:  the
>>>> Egyptian gov cut off many modes of communication helpful for social
>>>> media applications, but did it adversely impact the
>>>> protests?  Nope.   What does that tell us?
>>>>>
>>>>> My view is that SM is very helpful 'strategically" in terms of
>>>> offering a long-term opportunity for folks to
>>>> communicate/collaborate/organise along shared views/goals/purposes
>>>> -- but less so in terms of "hitting the streets" so to speak.
>>>> Helpful, sure -- but not absolutely necessary.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'll defer to those who specialise in this stuff to offer more
>>>> theoreticaly rooted comments, for I need more caffeine.
>>>>>
>>>>> -- rick
>>>>>
>>>
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-- 
Dr Alison Powell
Department of Media and Communication
London School of Economics
Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE
a.powell at lse.ac.uk
Twitter: @postdocal