This morning when I was exploring Twitter I found a tweet under the hash tag #Jan25 that showed a picture of Christians protecting Muslims during their prayers that was taken by @NevineZaki. I immediately Retweeted and found others Retweeting it as well.
This picture is worth a million words. It’s what accidental journalism is all about. I would like to call @NevineZaki an accidental journalist who is showing the world what she saw given her the time, place and opportunity. Her picture shared a moment in time that made others understand the unity and divide that is happening as a country fights for freedom. Twitter allows us to share our story; Twitter allows @NevineZaki to keep sharing hers.
The Twitter hash tag #Jan25 is cluttered with information from journalists, activists, Egyptian citizens, advocates, etc. The story is unfolding in 140 characters leading us to more pictures, more links, more information. Not only do we get a play by play of the events unfolding—we get to explore the Egyptian plight through information we never had access to—the actual person being affected by such sad and tragic events.
Walter Lippmann said in his book Public Opinion, “All the reporters in the world working all the hours of the day could not witness all the happenings in the world” (214). This statement can be revised in today’s technological world. We CAN witness all the happenings in the world thanks to Twitter, Facebook and blogs–although these happenings are not being reported by reporters necessarily, but by everyday citizens who want to share their knowledge. We as truth seekers have to do our own fact checking, but must realize this is a person’s own story unfolding.
The world is getting much smaller now since social networking has become a viable tool to share the happenings of one’s world. Yes, I follow reporters, and I follow private citizens who I find interesting. I also follow celebrities. Through all these people, I get a better sense of the world I live in. The people I follow on Twitter can sometimes lead me to links and stories that go deeper than 140 characters–such as the Tweets about Egypt.
Social Networking Contributes to Social Capital
Social networking exploded during the 2008 campaign. I wrote my dissertation about how candidates are now their own media outlets and they are allowing citizens to contribute to the conversation. Social networking is allowing the Egyptian citizens to advocate their plea.
Egypt is showing the world that social networking is not going anywhere one tweet at a time. The information may be 140 characters at a time, but as I read tweet by tweet I am amazed how I am getting more of the story compared to updates on television. Without Twitter or Facebook—the Egyptians would not have as loud of a voice as they do today. Twitter lends itself to the greater social capital of our society.
According to Robert D. Putnam in his article, “Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America” explains, “Social capital … refers to social connections and the attendant of norms and trust…Social capital in this sense is closely related to political participation in the conventional sense…Political participation refers to our relations with political institutions. Social capital refers to our relations with one another” (665). Twitter and the #Jan25 hash tag is both social capital and political participation. We are participating with political institutions as well as relating to others to create a global trust through global relations to support Egyptians in their fight to lead a better life.
The overall Twitter coverage of Egypt is amazing. It’s riveting. Twitter provides a voice for these people that they would not have had 10 years ago. The informational value is priceless. The journalists could not cover this story alone. In fact, the journalists are becoming the story after several reports of journalists being beaten and arrested. The amazing coverage continues tweet by tweet and if I want more information I click to pictures or to journalist’s real time blog reports. The story of the Egyptian people would have been just a blip on the television screen 10 years ago, but today, the world is joining in to give this story a voice and the Egyptian people strength to fight their fight.
