There have been a lot going on lately in parts of the world where people were hindered from expressing themselves freely. I have identified a trend where social media (especially Facebook and Twitter) have aided a way to “cheat” the system.
I think the Speak 2 Tweet idea by Google, Twitter, and voice-messaging startup SayNow was a very important one. The world needed to know what was going on and the Egyptians needed to be heard.
During the midst of the chaos in Egypt a young man Khaled Said was one of the many who were brutally murdered by the 
Egyptian police. The victim wasn’t there to tell his story, but Facebook (FB) was; Google’s Executive Manager Cairo Wael Ghonim created a FB group, “We are all Khaled Said” where he brought attention to the way he died and contributed to growing rebellion leading up to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
Ghonim was kidnapped by the Egyptian police. Fortunately he was rescued and told his story to the world on that same day. Watch the full interview with English subtitles below:
Not only Egypt, but also Bahrain, Libya and Iran turned to social media networks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube video sharing to ignite a revolution.
I think the use of social media tools during crisis’s are essential and sometimes even the only way for voices to be heard and the “real” truth to come out. A big minus point is credibility; any hoodwink could write a post.
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