Cynicism about a “revolution” is easy to come by, easier still when it has the word “twitter” appended to it. But reading Tweets From Tahrir, a collection of tweets from the English-speaking vanguard of the Egyptian revolution, I remembered what struck me as so important about the events a few months ago, and why that moment will continue to resonate no matter what road the Arab world takes- young people made change happen, and for a moment, their nation beamed.
The energy and sentiment contained in the frantic dispatches, beautifully bound by the outstanding new insta-publisher OR Books, and edited by Nadia Idle and Alex Nunnis (young activists themselves), provide an unmediated perspective into the thoughts and actions of a few brave people who didn’t know what tomorrow was going to be like, or could even imagine a world without Mubarak (many of them had never lived in an Egypt without him). The editors make clear that Twitter was not the sole catalyst for the revolution, but they cannot deny the role social media played in breaking through Mubarak’s crackdown on media access. Twitter let those inside of Tahrir talk to one another and broadcast to the word at large.
While reading, one recognizes the style, wit, and personality of each tweeter, following them through Tahrir Square, through the worst of the street battles and personal injury, and eventually to rapturous victory. The narrative created by the editing process is as good a justification as any for the printed publication of social media chatter- especially as it rises so dramatically above the tired #hashtags of our ordinary twitter lives. To be able to hold in one’s hand a primary document of the most substantial popular uprising in a region’s history, and only two months after the event, is truly mesmerizing. To be able to read a time-stamped expression of pure happiness, is a privilege.
Hat tip to Farah Egal.
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