The Side Note

Today at 9:30 a.m. MST, Egypt President Hosni Mubarak resigned from office. The announcement came as thousands gathered in Egyptian cities (including the epicenter, Cairo’s Tahrir Square) for an 18th consecutive day of protest demanding Mubarak’s resignation.

The pressure from Egyptian citizens was fueled by stories disseminated through social media, despite the Egyptian government blocking access to Twitter and Facebook. The attempt to block communication did not stop reports coming out of Egypt.

Reporters like Ben Wedeman of CNN and Lara Setrakian of ABC use smart phones to access the Internet to tell the story.  News is coming out of Egypt with a unique blend of traditional communication, filtered by reporters, and Web 2.0, where news spreads virally.  Hashtags like #Jan25, #Egypt and #Tahrir provide easy search options for the latest news on Twitter.  Additionally, Egyptian citizens are employing third-party apps like TweetDeck and HootSuite to update their Twitter and Facebook accounts whle the main web pages remain blocked. Since the applications don’t require a web authentication, TweetDeck and HootSuite users can access social media through mobile apps.

There is one other difference in the social media reporting in Egypt from traditional reporting. Instead of simply reporting facts and allowing the viewer to draw conclusions, with social media Ben, Lara and others are including factual information and their personal feelings and reactions to the history unfolding in front of them. Often this is delivered in a conversational tone that would be edited out of a broadcast news report.

Mubarak’s resignation is certainly a historic moment for social media as there can be no doubt that political activism has changed…permanently.

One of the lessons marketers should take away from this developing situation, increased respect for consumers. They have proven to be resourceful and intelligent and with social media – they have a voice.

Let us know if you agree this is seminal moment for social media. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.