Ban the Bomb, send in Twitter!

I have reading a great article in Time magazine about Tunisia and how the revelation really started.

In my words now, and in a very “keep it simple stupid” fashion, it gained momentum because the present  or now ex very corrupt leadership, did its citizens one huge favour, it educated them.  This meant inward investment from some very large players, jobs etc…. so the government could steal from the coffers, because people were busy.

When the credit crunch started to bite, those big American companies pulled out.

Now the Tunisian people really had a good look at its leaders, and thanks to the wonderful world of Social Media, the young generation  started to see its leaders through the eyes of the world.

They read about their massive corruption on Wiki Leaks and watched videos on You Tube, showing their excesses for all to see.

As I mentioned they did do a few things right, they educated people,  they also had more liberal laws this combined to create jobs and attract loads of tourists, Tunisia were a jewel in Africa’s crown.

But they didn’t allow freedom of the press, of course they didn’t want loads of questions asked, and they thought that the people of Tunisia didn’t mind being robbed.

But, the younger generation of Tunisia could not be kept away from up to date facts, even when the government tried to block certain sites,  they would break through the ban and have access to all the reviews and media on-line.

They used the sites to share their videos, and they use social media (especially Twitter)as a way to communicate where the next protest meeting is… that’s how its kept the revolution going.

And people ask about the power of Social Media?

Another related tale is the how mobile phones are changing Afghanistan. The Afgan people have access to them for the first time, and they love texting. So people want to be educated, and this is creating huge interest in people joining the police (they teach them to read and write).

In order to text  you need to read and write, and I heard the leaders are even talking about educating girls for the first time in ages..just brilliant.

So next time the likes of Tony and George feel like dropping a few bombs, think again, send in Social media and give everyone a phone.

 

 

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