Technology's Role In the Arab Spring Protests

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/series/nextwork_confer...

Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas, elaborates on the role Twitter and other social media tools have played in the Arab Spring demonstrations and protests. "Technology accelerates everything," says Cohen.

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The Engine of Freedom: People Power on the Ultimate Network: A Conversation with Jared Cohen

NExTWORK is a one-day, interdisciplinary conference that will feature world-renowned business leaders, technologists, and thinkers exploring the promise and peril of the network's future, as well as the most pressing digital issues and opportunities today.

Jared Cohen is the Director of Google Ideas, an Adjunct Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a non-fiction author. He served as a Member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff from 2006-2010. In September 2010, Cohen was named by the Huffington Post as one of the 100 game changers of the year and by Devex as one of the top 40 people under 40.

Initially brought in by Condoleezza Rice as the youngest member in history, he is politically transcendent and has continued to play an important role under Hillary Clinton. In this capacity, he focuses on counter-terrorism, counter-radicalization, Middle East/South Asia, Youth, and Technology.

Prior to his work at the State Department, Cohen received his BA from Stanford University and his M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

• Category

  News & Politics

[LibertyDownUnder]

A third of Egypt's population is illiterate (yes, look it up). Somehow I doubt their "facebook account" had much to do with this uprising.

Egypt was bad under Mubarak, and will get much much worse now with the new guys in charge.

Arab "spring" my arse.

[98nafets]

Interesting perspective. So shutting down the Internet got people to protest because they didn't have things to distract them. I'm pretty sure that's what would happen here in America as well.

[LibertyDownUnder]

You get your news from the same channels that ignored the rise of extremists and calls for Shariah law in Egypt at the same time of the so called 'arab spring'.

The same crowd that raped Lara Logan were portrayed as peaceful & civil, and the million strong rally calling for violent Jihad at Tahrir square was also ignored

And you can't just say "probably" and decide that's better research than mine, as you clearly made that up about spreading the word.

The role of social media was exaggerated.

[risatisone123]

can't believe two top comments were made by 5 year old

[hugh kaaf]

but there are 70% literate ....and 35% have access to the intent ....and population of egypt is 80 milllion so do the math . 80,000,000 X 0.35 = 28,000,000

so there are around 20,000,000 of egyptins who are literate and have access to the internet the revolution took say a million person

SO your theory is stupid

[thedaydreamfairy]

You nailed it!

[MrLivingparadox]

I asked Professor Einstein: "Would you agree that it is no mere chance that your theory of relativity, and Professor Freud's psychoanalysis, the League of Nations and its World Court, and other phenomena of our time, have developed together: that they are all an expression of the same revolutionary phase through which the contemporary world is passing?"

Professor Einstein looked at me, said nothing for a moment, and then: "This synthetic vision is new to me. Let me think it over."

[Chriseycarlyeah324]

hardly anyone uses social networking in the middle east, facebook is a terrible way to orginise a protest. the media just uses twitter as a buzz word the arab spring which was about more than that. its the same as when people said that Tienanmen Square was started by fax. it lets us in the west take credit when we don't deserve it.

[angelwhite]

So this guy says to me "don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you or you'll undermine everything we've fought for" yeah, and check out what he said next...

[CognosSquare]

Literacy among 15-24 year olds in 2006 was 85% and its rising very fast according to gapminder. Maybe older people are worse off in the literacy department.