Arab spring: an interactive timeline of Middle East protests

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline

This article is different from others, because it's not just words it’s actually a timeline. The timeline starts from the very first Arab Spring event; it includes each riot and major events during the Arab spring and just continues to show information. The timeline shows a different perspective on seeing how long the people are actually fighting and putting their lives on hold to improve their country. For each day there is a paragraph and picture for what happened during that day. There are spots on the timeline for riot dates, violence dates, world view posts, and government relations. Each posts on the timeline giving a different perspective about what's going on in the Arab Spring and how it's progressing.

Arab Spring Inspires Protesters in Europe

This four minute video clip is a great example of how the social media inspires different countries around the world. The usage of social media gave the world access at their fingertips to more information than the news. Arabs showed their own voice by saying they are just as democratic like the rest of the world. I also think its important that the video shows how the increase of unions started to influence the Arab Spring which than formed in Europe. Mary Cowldoor and Owen Chooder (names may not be spelled correctly) explains the similarities and differences through out each revolt. Arabs are being an inspiration by giving advice telling other countries, like Europe, that they can build support and can succeed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptf9VyMYBYg

The Role of Social Media in the Arab Spring

The article I found was about the role of social media in the Arab Spring. Many individuals including myself, were confused of its role. This article lets readers be aware of the role of the social media in the Arab Springs. For instance, many individuals believe that the role was for harnessing international attention and organizing protest, however, it could also be an oppressive regime to take down others. This article allows readers to see why protestors chose the social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger, to speak their voices to the public instead of the news.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110916_4696.php

The Arab Spring: Youth, freedom and the tools of technology

http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/04/06/205837.html

The author here points out that the act of protesting through the internet is a new international movement and it becoming protected through international measures. Online communication is protected under the UN's Human Rights Council (I don't know what that really means since you have some of the worst violators of human rights on that board) which extends to bloggers being treated as journalists. This translates to the youth having leverage upon the gatekeepers. I think her enthusiasm is nice, but again you can tweet until your thumbs fall off, but you need ground level support and organization to make real change.

Arib Spring really was social media revolution

This article talks about how big a role social media played in the arib spring. It talks about how blogs grew and grew based on people with similar interests or points of view. Just goes to show what an impact social media has on such a global level.

Role of Social Media

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2011/jun/22/hillary-clinton-adviser-internet-dictators-video

This video discusses the role of social media in the Arab spring. The social media in Arab Spring can be described as wildly disruptive. I think that this video is a good example of the power invalid in the social media and how it can change the world-slowly but surely. There is a problem though, even though social media expands the acknowledgment of events, they only act as accelerants. Social media is just igniting the fire in the revolution.

Facebook and Arab Spring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnPR90dJ3Gk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WNd-Zm0K9A&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pwovLCwBTY&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ1HGDWvvHI&feature=relmfu

I know this is a really long video/ documentary but this is a really good video about the events that started the revolution. The corruption involved in political figures and the corruption involved behind-doors is unbelievable. This video provides a great view of the real revolution and the severity and deaths involved in the beginnings. The video taped events posted by the young population triggered people from around the world to pay attention to the small communities that were suffering the most. The documentary talk about the involvement of Facebook as a primary source in the wide spread, world wide acknowledgment of what was going on in the Arab world.

Posting coming to a close- What's Next?

This is a post to remind you that the END of the posting period is quickly coming! So get your posts in!!! 3 original posts and 3 comments. That's the basics- do them well, contribute to the conversation, and be willing to go outside your comfort zone (in the media or your analysis of them) and the points will rack up. There IS one more piece to this however, THE WRITE UP!

So what to do?

The write up is intended to be a place where you can reflect on the blog as a whole (not just your piece of it) in an essay 3-5 pages long (double spaced)and consists of:

1.  an intro,
2.  a discussion of 2-3 'themes' you identified across the posts (use examples from the blog!)
3. a summary/conclusion. 

see you in class!

The Arab Spring's Casscading Effects

This article talks about how the social media has played a huge role in the Arab Spring. Not only are many people blogging, tweeting, and using facebook to get people to help the cause, they are able to tell their stories and experiences with others who are also being effected or with people want to know about what's going on in the Middle East. They use these sites to set up protests, to coordinate events and to tell the world about it.
It has also been a suggested use to resign from positions.
Many of these sites cover topics about the Arab Spring so that people stay informed, but there are also the people who are actually putting their lives on the line to support the cause. Keeping up with this information through the social media is why things are being done to end the Arab Spring. If these connections weren't possible, I don't think there would be as much accomplished as there has been, but there also has to be the people who want to stand up and take action too.
http://www.miller-mccune.com/politics/the-cascading-effects-of-the-arab-spring-28575/

The Arab Spring/ The Nation

So I found this article that I thought was very interesting because it is very true. There are so many misconceptions about the Middle East that we forget to actually get the facts about what is really going on. When we think of the Middle Eastern countries we think of the people who rule it, terrorism and what a bad place it is, but there is much more to it than that. The social media has given us those opinions. They like to show only certain aspects of what's really going on. In the article it says "how there are the unions, those with a commitment to the rule of law, the tech-savvy young people, the feminists, the artists and intellectuals, those with a reasonable knowledge of Western culture and values, the ordinary people who simply want decent opportunities and a voice in how they are governed." Americans don't really think of them that way though because of what they show us on TV. There are also places that have made a lot of progress, but to me, I would have disagreed if I didn't read this article.
 http://www.thenation.com/article/158991/arab-spring

Women in the Revolution

http://vimeo.com/40413965

I saw that there was a post on children in the revolution, and thought I should post this video. This video presents a clear view of how women are treated in these regions. Obviously, social media played a huge role in promoting this video of this particular woman. Its just really sad to see how these women are being treated just because they are standing up to what they believe in. Human rights for women are still comprised all throughout the world, and like the one girl said, basic respect would definitely would be a nice start to women's rights movement. Young girls as little as the in the video, risk their lives everyday in these revolutions. My favorite quote in this video is:
"The girls of Egypt are here"
This is such a strong movement especially dealing with women's rights and just respect in general.

The Power of Social Media

The public was never more aware of the true power of social media until they realized the role it played in the Arab Spring. Facebook and Twitter played a crucial role in coordinating protests and keep those outside the country up-to-date on the atrocities being committed by the Government. In this interview, conducted by Mark Colvin, BBC World News correspondent Mishal Husain talked about how social media played such a large role in the situation in the Middle East, "You can certainly point to distinct uses both in Egypt and Tunisia where Facebook played a really defining role." Atrocities previously kept quiet by notoriously private governments were soon being viewed by millions around the world. Governments found themselves scrambling to contain the information that never before had been spilled from their borders. Social media, combined with old media (i.e. pictures and videos), became the way of the people to expose how far their governments would go to suppress the uprisings. Social media allowed the people to become stronger than the government, a feat never before seen. While the early happiness and joy over their newfound power has slowly decreased, many are still looking at social media as way to save the people in Syria and other countries from their dictators.

Children of the Revolution

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/31/children_of_the_revolution#1


Children of the Revolution

In the uprisings across the Arab world, protesters are finding that revolution is sometimes child's play.

By: BY SUZANNE MERKELSON, AYLIN ZAFAR

This particular article is set up differently then any other article. Mainly because the article is a series of pictures with short paragraphs describing each one. But, these pictures are showing the children of the revolution. Children are a huge part of the revolution and some forget that they are involved. They are using their bodies to stand on the line and fight for what their parents and what they believe in.

When I first came across the site, I realized that pictures really do speak louder then words. When your just reading something you can't really picture the full events or picture children actually having to go through some of these things. But, when the evidence is being shown and you see what's truly going on your heart begins to break a little bit for those innocent children who are just following their loved ones.

A few of the photos shown are of children in a mob of people holding signs and embracing their countries colors, there are children in uniform holding or being near weapons, there are children that were hurt and you can see their wounds. There are also photos of children and their families, one particular one is a Egyptian solider holding his daughter and kissing her cheek, because he was celebrating the fact that the Egyptian president stepped down. But, my question is why would you want your child amidst all of that violence?

 The children are the world's future, let's just hope they aren't effected too much by the violence being shown today.

Signal is the latest citizen journalist application from the Middle East

The Lebanese entrepreneur, Mark Malkoun, invented an application for phones called Signal. He said he was insprired to create the app Signal “ by the Arab Spring, and more precisely from a personal desire to get a simple way of seeing what’s happening around you straight from the people. Users are already using their cell phones to take pictures of interesting things they encounter and posting them to social networks, or sending them to traditional news corporation like CNN iReport.” It is reported that the app is going to be for iPhone users in Lebanon this month and later for Andriod users. This app will eventually expand to other countries and other languages as time goes on. One thing I like about this app is that people get to vote on what things they think are important or interesting. This makes the top stories come up first and the least relevant stories won't be shown. I feel like this app is going to be very sucessful and people are going to be using it a lot. The only thing I fear is that people might not be getting the correct information all the time. People need to think and not just believe everything they read. I also think this is something good that came out of the Arab Spring. People now are more united and get a chance of reporting what they think is news worthy. I think in the future we might not have real news reporters on the scene anymore because anyone can upload pictures and videos. The future of how we recieve our media is changing and this is just the start of it!

Read the article!

Youtube - Zuckerberg - Facebook kids & Arab Spring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEikpvanYzY

This is a very short clip of Mark Zuckerberg (the guy who created Facebook) talking a little bit about our youth on Facebook and then about Facebook in connection with the revolution.  Zuckerberg says that it would be arrogant for any social media source to claim that they had a role in a riot like this.  I disagree with this.  It would not be arrogant if your social media network played a role in a riot and you admitted to it.  Maybe he only says this because he is worried that he could be held accountable for something that happened during the Arab Spring since Facebook did play a role (whether it was small or not).  Because then he says Facebook wasn't necessary or sufficient for anything to happen.  I'm torn with this statement.  In a small way, Facebook could have been necessary depending on how many followers it got from its site and the people posting on it.  If it weren't for Facebook, how many people would have had the information?  This goes along with it being sufficient.  Facebook played a role in the Arab Spring so of course there is going to be some sufficiency with it. Again, I think he may be nervous that if he ever admits that the site that he created caused such a riot, he could pay some kind of penalty.

Youth Bloggers Speak Up

This video is about 4 different people from Northern Africa and the Middle East and their role in the Arab Spring and how social media worked. I really enjoyed this video because it was people around my age that were speaking up. I think this is really interesting because the youth in America doesn't really follow politics that much because we have more rights and freedom. It was interesting to see how these 4 different people thought about the revolutions and how the social media played an important part with them. I also liked how the first girl said that there were rich people and working class people all gathering together for the same cause. She said she never would have imagined these people to be together fighting for the same things. This was interesting to me because it gave me some perspective of the people. I didn't realize that the rich and the poor were both protesting together. At the end the one girl said in Yemen social media wasn't strong in the beginning and that they looked at how social media was used in the past with different ideas. I thought this was smart because they were able to see what was successful and what wasn't successful.

Youth Bloggers Video

YouTube is an Intelligence Source

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/why-youtube-is-an-intelligence-source/471485/

The article explains how the popular website, YouTube, is becoming an intelligence force especially in the case of the Arab Spring.  This article provides examples of how YouTube is so helpful in finding out important information and specific details on events that are occurring in Syria and throughout the world. An analyst in Washington said he relies heavily on YouTube to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Syrian army.  According to the article, “The social networks of Google Inc's YouTube, Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc, which provided global visibility for the uprisings of the Arab Spring, also have become important sources of information for US and other intelligence agencies.” I found this article very interesting because it shows how intelligence agencies, the United Nations and other organizations benefit from the use of social media. This article also shows how social media is helping us gain intelligence on what is occurring as a result of the Arab Spring. Social media allows us to see first hand what is occurring throughout the world, sometimes even as it is happening.  

Syrian Government Stronger Than Social Media?

This article showcases the weaknesses of a social media campaign against a ruthless leader such as Syria's Assad. With the international community largely unwilling to intervene in Syria, social media will do little compared to what well organized fighters could do. While Egypt and Libya saw great success in their social media revolts, they had leadership that was much less politically powerful and largely unwilling to fight back as aggressively as Assad is. As the article states, "To overthrow a dictator as skilled and as ruthless as this... You need a rigidly hierarchical, relatively small and highly organized circle of people, located within the country, capable of taking direct action against the state." Assad's government is quite capable of hacking into the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the protestors, a feat that would gain them the names of the protestors and rebels. Information that would take days or weeks or torture to obtain can be gained through a quick hacking. Social media is so easily taken advantage of by savvy government officials who realize that fake profiles and accounts can gain them inside and up to date information on the protests. The social media campaigns worked in Egypt and Tunisia because the governments opened their borders and allowed the international community a first hand glimpse of the protests and responses, a fact that made it nearly impossible to strike back viciously like Assad is doing.

differences on Twitter in regards to UN in Syria

As the UN is trying to desperately muffle the upheaval in Syria, I wanted share one of the many different ways this movement is being portrayed with a view from Al Jazeera, which contrasts greatly with media sources in the United States.  The effort for a cease fire seems to be political rhetoric that sounds pleasing to the United States government as well as other prominent members of the international community.  However those on the ground in Syria feel differently about these diplomatic measures that are being carried out.

Here is the Aljazeera interview/article
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidesyria/2012/04/201241511830376696.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount

Why Military Action in Libya and Not Syria?

This article explores the reasons why America was so quick to become involved in the situation in Libya but has been largely reluctant to become an active part in the rebellion in Syria. The stakes in Syria are a lot higher than those in Libya. Washington worked quickly against Moammar Gadhafi with devastating air power striking against his forces. While many claim that since Libya happened first the international community responded there first, other have stated that the Arab League is much more willing to allow the Syrian leader to do as he pleases as they are very close to him. Gadhafi had been accused of attempting to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in 2003, America is very closely tied to Saudi Arabia and Saudi interests are American interests. This attempt lead to antipathy between Gadhafi and the other Arab leaders, making the intervention in Libya a greatly supported action. Syria's leadership is much more protected by other Arab countries. They have close ties to Israel, a country that the U.S. is wary of going against. Syria is also closely linked to Iran and Hezbollah. While getting rid of the Syrian leadership would be in the best interests of the United States, they are not willing to go against the other Arab leaders who are largely unwilling to be on Assad's bad side.

Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube's role in the Arib Spring

This article is about the huge role Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube played in the Arib Spring. It talks about how our government uses these online resources to track or keep an eye on the online behavior incase of another protest. It also breaks it down a little by each country and gives a situation where social media has played a role in the Arib Spring. Then it goes on to talk about what the actual role of social media is, and it talks about different online "revolutions" that had come about, but they say the hardest thing to do with social media is to get them from behind the computer screen and out into the streets to protest.

Social Media & Egypt: One Year After the Arib Spring

This article is about how Tarek  Nasr used social media during the Arib Spring. People used Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks to spread the news, give people courage, and inform when demonstrations where taking place. Tarek now runs a digital advertising agency focused on social media. There is a video on this page which is an interview with him courtesy of another form of social media, Skype.




Social Media & Egypt: One Year After the Arib Spring

Has the "peace movement" started in the social media world been hijacked

http://web.gbtv.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=20505145&topic_id=24584158&tcid=vpp_copy_20505145&v=3

This video from Glenn Beck takes a critical look at the developments in Egypt and argues against the claims made by Bill Kristol and others that the revolution would lead to major change toward democracy.  The present administration has been supporting the idea that democracy would move in and the Muslim Brotherhood wouldn't move the country closer to Islamic Fundamentalism, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  This movement was supposed to be one started by the youth and spring-boarded by social media outlets. 

how to make your media connect online

hey everybody, it's best to embed your media in the post. Often in a youtube or blog post on the right hand side will be the 'embed' web address. If that isn't there you need to make the link in your post, here on blogger. How you do that is (I'm using a Daily show clip I think is funny and wholly inappropriate) you write the text you want to be what everyone clicks on, highlight that text, then you look at the bar on top of where you are typing and the third icon in is a 'link'. Click on that and paste your links address into it.

then you get http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-10-2012/pricks-of-persia



instead of....

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-10-2012/pricks-of-persia

Social Media Replaces Radical Media in the Arab World

    This interview video is from Richard Hering a British journalist talking with Lebanese journalist and academic Zahera Harb. The video shows the two speaking about the radical media being replaced by the social media in the Arab revolution in 2011. Harb speaks about the how the Arab world does not want the media to exist like how it exists in the western countries. However, Harb is a strong believer that the social media inspires many educators and scholars, such as herself, to turn radical media into social media, such as facebook, twitter and blogging. The social media gave space to Arab people to express themselves, and to be able to communicate with others about the pressure they are living under, mainly in the Egypt and Tunisia. The Egyptian Revolution is talked about from Harb, as an example of the youth educators coming together with the workers union and helping each other gather groups in society through social networking. Voices from the union workers were heard through the educated class who projected through the social media.


Social Media and the Arab Spring - You Tube

The Arab Spring, chronicled Tweet by Tweet

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/11/2011113123416203161.html

The Arab Spring, chronicled Tweet by Tweet
by: D. Parvaz
11/6/2011


This particular article discusses how tweeting what happened during the Arab Spring will effect how the event is remembered in history. During the Arab Spring hundreds of thousands of people were keeping recollections of what was actually happening. They called for "Tweeting of the Revolution," describing in detail threw social media about their personal events. It is said that the Arab Spring might be the first event that actually documented itself without being official documents. Of course each person takes their accounts differently, each thing someone might say could be taken completely different by another person.

The main question of the article  is, will the social media postings be kept and counted towards official history, Or will only certain versions of the truth be used to tell the story? " Regardless of what history books or public records will look like in decades to come, one thing is already clear: The future of activism in the Middle East is unlikely to resemble its past." -D. Parvaz

None is sure if the tweets will someday curve how the Arab Spring will be looked at. But, they do know that it had an impact of the citizens of this country. The tweeting revolution showed the strength behind the citizens. But, it also showed their weakness in certain skills. The article states that the people of the Arab Spring still need to be educated in order to truly become activists and fight for what's right.

ME Online - Social networks; catalyzers of Arab Spring

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=50404

This article is about Arab activists having the support of social network sites to "oust" dictators.  It talks about how they have played a key role in these situations but at the same time was not the sole reason.  Near the end of the article is says that internet was blocked in Egypt, Libya and Syria.  Then it goes on to make a good point that these revolts happened although internet was blocked during the heavy volume of the organizing.  For a group of people like the Arabs who have had to fight and defend their own people and land for many years, social networking is a great source of support and ideas.  I believe that without social networking, the Arab people would not have been able to pull off as many riots and taking down of rulers.  They have been, for to long, the underdogs and have not had the opportunity  to be powerful enough to make these things happen until recently.

Refugees becoming products of Arab Spring

This article does a great job in highlighting the statistics revealing the large increase in people seeking asylum from the region.  Record numbers of refugees have been recording fleeing Syria and Libya in the last year; However these two specific countries experience tremendous turmoil and a vast amount of these people were most likely attempting to reach safety.  I am surprised that with signs of hope sprouting throughout the Middle East from the Arab Spring movement, that this many people are still packing up and heading to the western world.  I would have thought that more people would be willing to unite behind the movement instead of continue the old ways of trying to leave the countries that have struggled to live in for so many years.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42437102#.T4SIaNlnBDw

Technology's role in the arab spring

This is a short video that gives you an idea of why people got involved on the streets instead of just watching it on the TV or internet. Jared Cohen told two stories about the role of technology and the first story he said that technology didn't play a huge role in the revolution, but it got people interested in what was really going on in Tunisia. People were able to see through the use of technology what was happening in a place they probably wouldn't have heard about if it weren't for technology. The second story he explained that in Egypt when Mubarak shut down the internet, when people would have watched it on al jazeera, they couldn't so they went out into the streets to see first hand what was really going on.
I think like he said, technology was there and people heard about the riots, but it didn't impact what happened to an extreme. If people wanted to know what was going on they were able to find out online and in Egypt when they couldn't find out through technology, they went to see for themselves. I think what they are trying to say is that technology is a great way to find out what's going on in the world even if you're not there and if it's taken away people will have to go and find out for themselves.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZwNb11n9zk
Jodi Bolton

Twitter Expands Its Linguistic Scope

If you write from right to left in your native language you are in luck! Earlier this year Twitter made it possible for people to write in their native language from right to left. This makes it easier for them to have trending topics in their language. I believe if this was around during the Arab Springs it would have been a lot easier for the riots to form because people would be able to follow all of the different trending topics. I think it is great that people can now make hash tags in their native language. On the other hand though, I feel like now there may be more problems. I feel that social media will now have a bigger impact within the Middle Eastern countries when it comes to rioting since they can now see trending topics in their own language. More people will be able to participate, find, and follow all of the trending topics since they can now read it in their language. Do you think that this could be a problem in the future?

Watch the Video!

-Erika

Excellent interview of former head of the Bin Laden unti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0VatZhh3pE

This interview between ex-CIA analyst and head of the Bin Laden Unit, Michael Scheuer and Eliot Spitzer is controversial.  I am a big fan of Scheuer and have read much of his work.  He argues against the  idea that the Arab Spring is a result of social media in the region, but instead Islamic-based movements gaining traction to bring down governments they see as supported by the west and offensive to Islam.  It is less than 7 minutes and different from what we usually hear.

Power of Social Media in Arab Spring

http://socialcapital.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/twitter-facebook-and-youtubes-role-in-tunisia-uprising/

Could this article be more perfect to our topic? The article explains Twitter, Facebook and Youtube’s role in the Middle East uprisings (Arab Spring). In the beginning of the protest, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube were used to accelerate the protest… and it worked. An interesting quote from the article is that the “CIA was blindsided about the Egypt uprising because they failed to follow developments on Twitter.” The fact that Twitter is ahead of our CIA and that they use social media to track what goes on in the word is fascinating. These social media sites are used to document what goes on in the world. Long gone are the days when the government can hide an execution, assault, bombing, etc. Within minutes acts of violence and other acts are posted, some even streaming live on these social media sites. The primary concerns of the author are how far social media is going to go. In such a short amount of time, social media networks have expanded, and now people and government agencies rely heavily on them for information. The author’s sources were from the NY times, first hand accounts from Slate, interviews, and other news sources. The author is writing from his first hand accounts on the power of social media and the Arab spring. The general impression given from this article is that social media is very powerful and heavily relied upon. The most interesting part of this article was when it talked about the three main ways social media could be helpful. The three ways are “a) mobilizing protesters rapidly; b) undermining a regime’s legitimacy; or c) increasing national and international exposure to a regime’s atrocities.”

Huffington Post - Egyptian Riots Now and Then

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01/09/arab-spring-twitter-facebook_n_1194999.html

This article is comparing an Egyptian Bread Riot in 1977 and riots in the Egyptian Spring that have happened recently.  The Bread Riot was to end food subsidies and according to the article, attracted hundreds more people then and demonstrations that have gone on recently.  I have to agree with what the article is saying and that is that social media does not always have as big of an influence as people may believe.  Social media was pretty non-existent in the 70s and yet the 1977 riot had such a large turn out of people.  Back then people didn't have computers, cell phones and many may not have even had a televisions to watch to be "influenced" by what others thought and said they should be doing.

Going with the idea about people not having technology to persuade them in the 70s, many people in the Middle East STILL do not have access to these things today.  Yes, they have the TV station Al-Jazeera but is that enough to be making a difference in whether people will show up to a demonstration or riot.  The last three lines of the article says this, "So I think a degree of caution is required in believing that social media is at the root of everything that's happening. I don't think that's the case at all. I think it's a factor amongst other factors.".  In my mind, this is so true.  As we have talked about in class, it doesn't just take movie clips, Twitter posts and Facebook statuses to ruin a government.  It takes years of hostility, disagreement, poor leaders and many more factors to cause a situation to turn into an uproar.  

Iran SNL Digital Short

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/iran-so-far/169811

The link above is to a digital short that aired on Saturday Night Live. I thought it was a good video to post on the blog because it really shows Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s ideas and also gives insight to how America portrays his power. Although Saturday Night Live is making a joke out of the situation, I believe that it provides valuable information on his thoughts. It talks about his politics, his beliefs and what America thinks of him. The writer of this digital short got the information to put in the song from the media around the world. The author wrote this song to be funny, but I also believe it does a great job of identifying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s absurd principles. The general impression given from the video is that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an irrational leader that us Americans are making a joke out of. The interesting thing about this video is that social media and American independence gives us the power to make videos mocking other political leaders and allows us to voice our opinion. This video did not cause any controversy here but if it was created and shown in Iran, it would have caused many problems.

Social Media Interview

http://socialmediatoday.com/rohnjaymiller/478307/egypt-social-media-during-and-aftermath-arab-spring

This is an interview between Rohn Jay Miller and a Egyptian man named Tarek Nasr concerning the benefits that social media outlets such as Facebook, and Twitter served as a bulletin board in gathering people together to revolt against their past corrupt leader, President Hosni Mubarak. Facebook events were posted and young Arab adults gathered together forming one of the most ambititious and inspiring groups of youth in revolt that the Arab world has possibly ever seen. Tarek explains how crucial social networking was in coordinating these gatherings that changed the face of their country by extinguishing a corrupt leader, and fighting for their independence.

Project Outline and Timeline

In this online blog project you are being asked to search the web for information related to how social media has been used and has influenced the form and outcomes of the Arab Spring. I would like you to look at sources of media surrounding the Arab Spring (before, during and after) to see how the various countires, 'the Middle East', democracy, social media, protests etc were being portrayed. What can we learn about the role of media in protest movements from this coverage? What can we learn about those who are writing about this dynamic from this coverage? In other words, how is media-even global media-place based? You will need to do 3 posts over 3 weeks. If it makes sense to you you can structure your posts to look at the lead up to the election as your first original post, the election itself (including the alleged irregularities, counting of ballots and candidate responses) as your second post, and the protests and aftermath of the election as your third post. You can also just jump into whatever aspect excites you the most--this is YOUR blog.

Timeline
3/26-4/1 peruse other blogs to get a sense of what is expected
4/2-4/21 post to the blog (original posts and responses)
by 4/23 all posting and replies end
4/30 turn in write-up in class

The Directions

One of the theme of this course is how do we learn about other places, and particularly places in the Middle East. In a healthy democracy citizens engage with each other on common (and differing) values, perspectives and interests mainly through media sources. I expect each of you to respond to your own sources of material on the elections in Iran and its aftermath as a civic dialog and learning exercise. What can we learn about Iran? About democracy? About the rest of the world’s relationship to this place through what is said about it in the wide world of media.

Here is what I will be looking for in your online participation:
Regular participation!– I expect you to contribute your thoughts to your groups’ blog regularly throughout the 9 days of the project. Don’t just drop in once or twice and expect a good grade. You are expected at a minimum to upload 3 items (with a discussion of what you see) and respond to at least 3 posts by your groupmates. This level of participation, if done well, can earn you a B, but more is needed for that coveted A.
Interesting and diverse postings—are you only looking at CNN? Not that CNN is wrong, their articles should be on the blog too, but try also looking farther afield. This could be news sources from around the world, or different types of media (cartoons, Youtube, mashups, flickr, etc)
Depth of reflection and analysis– once you have found an item to share with the group, don't just state an opinion and stop, develop your ideas, show why you view the item the way you do. Don’t be afraid to share experiences where relevant, but always keep your tone and content respectful;
A willingness to examine your own assumptions –the best way for YOU to get credit for examining your assumptions is if others (graciously and respectfully) point out the assumptions you are making. Thus don’t be afraid to disagree with each other. Or even if you do agree, can you find a source that wouldn’t? What are the assumptions that separate the two?
Direct references to reading material when called for.

Here is what to avoid:

Attacking another point of view or person; disagreeing is fine, but be respectful and give your reasons, simple yes or no responses;
long winded responses in most cases a few well developed paragraphs should do, late responses be sure to participate in the dialogs during the time period in which the topic is up for discussion.

What to do

For every post, you will need to complete one of two following types of tasks keeping in mind the directions above.

TASK ONE - ORIGINAL THOUGHTS, ORIGINAL POSTS
The first task is to create at least three new threads (starting messages) over the project timeframe that pose significantly different points than those already offered. This is where you upload or post your media source and your original analysis of it. These must be completed by April 15th in order for your peers to have an opportunity to reply back to your ideas. It will be to your benefit to contribute your first thought early (to avoid having to read all other messages in order to see what points have not yet been made).

TASK TWO - CARRYING AN IDEA FARTHER
The second task is to make at least three new replies to blog threads started by other members of your group. The responses to others can answer questions posed, amplify and support points (with evidence and observations), or question and pose counter-arguments to points made by others (with evidence and observations). You can make your replies in text alone or add media your replies. These responses can diverge, reflect or support other statements already offered. However, each contribution must offer significant additional information (i.e. -- an "I Agree!" message will not earn points).

When you are presenting any media, fact, or statements that state a conclusion, you are responsible for properly citing your sources so that the statements can be verified or clarified. This is particularly important with the media—let us see it, even if you just upload a picture from a news story include the link so that we can follow it back and see the image in its original context. You can link this information to the title of your post and/or list it in the "List of our Sources" widget at the bottom of the page.

If you are using yourself and your personal experience as the source, then you must make this obvious, such as "based upon what (Iranian) friend's father told me, the city of Tehran is full of coffee shops where people talk about politics. This helps explain this sentence in my article_________." Or "After my mom explained how she felt when the American hostages were taken, this __________ sentiment made more sense to me." You are encouraged to bring your personal experiences into the discussions. The purpose of discussions within the course is to share experiences and backgrounds, as well as perceptions and ideas, so that we can learn in a peer-to-peer manner.
Please realize that my role as the instructor is to monitor the discussions but I will generally refrain from participating unless the conversation needs guidance into another direction. Comments to the class will reflect the entirety of the discussions observed and your grade will be based on your successful completion of the requirements (specified above).

Questions to consider as you look at media sources

Some questions that you may wish to consider as you look at the various texts include:

a) What are the primary concerns of each author as revealed in the representation/text?
b) Who or what are the author’s sources? How did he/she obtain the information?
c) For whom is the author writing and how does this affect the themes discussed and the overall presentation?
d) What is the general impression given? Can you identify a master metaphor?
e) What kinds of details are given, what details are excluded, and why?
f) Are the various representations consistent with one another? If not, why not?
g) How has the representation of this place evolved over time?

Code of Conduct: The Rules

You are expected to treat your instructor and all other participants on the blog with courtesy and respect. Your comments to others should be factual, constructive, and free from harassing statements. You are encouraged to disagree with other students, but such disagreements need to be based upon facts and documentation (rather than prejudices and personalities).


Students will need to contribute in intelligent, positive, and constructive manners within the activity. Unprofessional or disrespectful conduct will result in a lower grade for this assignment. Behaviors that are abusive, disruptive, or harassing will result in being denied further access to the blog and may result in further disciplinary actions. Warnings will not be given; part of the learning process in this course is respectful engagement of ideas with others.

Magazines and journals (weeklies and monthlies)

Magazines and journals (weeklies and monthlies)

Bidoun
Al Jadid (English, US. Bimonthly cultural review)
Middle East Report (English. Bimonthly political review)
Palestine Times (English. Monthly focusing on Palestinian society and politics)
Saudi-US Relations Information Service (English. weekly digest of internal development in Saudi Arabia)
‘Ayn al-Yaqin (Arabic & English, Saudi Arabia. Weekly political magazine)
Transnational Broadcasting Studies (English. Occasional writing on Arab broadcasting)
Dubai Magazine Online (English)
Egypt Today (English. Monthly review)
Yemen Observer (English. Weekly review of Yemen affairs)
The Star (English with a French supplement, Jordan. Weekly)
Business Today Egypt (English)
Middle East Economic Survey (English. Weekly economic review)
Gulf Wire Digest (English. weekly digest focusing on gulf countries)
Al-Shindagah (English, UAE. Eclectic bimonthly)

La Gazette du Maroc (French-Morocco. Weekly magazine)
Marco-Hebdo International (French-Morocco. Weekly magazine)

Al-Karmel (Arabic, Palestine. Cultural essays, literature, and commentary)
Al-Masar (Arabic, Palestine. Political & cultural bimonthly)
Afaq Arabiyyah (Arabic, Egypt. Cultural weekly)
Al-Bahrain al-Thaqafiyyah (Arabic, Bahrain. Cultural quarterly published by the Ministry of Information)
Arabiyyat (Arabic, Saudi Arabia. Internet-based social and cultural magazine)
Al-Watan al-‘Arabi (Arabic, Lebanon. Pan-Arabic political weekly)
Al-Wasat (Arabic. Pan-Arabic political weekly)
Al-Massirah (Arabic, Lebanon. Weekly social and political)
Al-Usbu’ al-Arabi (Arabic, Lebanon. Weekly newsmagazine)
A-Hadath (Arabic, Jordan. Weekly newspaper)
Al-Usbu’ (Arabic, Egypt. Weekly newsmagazine)
Al-Intiqad (Arabic, Lebanon. Pan-Arabic political weekly)
Ra’y (Arabic, Yemen. Weekly published by a local political party)
Al-Zawra’ (Arabic, Iraq. Weekly published by the Union of Iraqi Journalists)
An-Nafidhah (Arabic. Oriented to the Sudanese diaspora)
Tishreen al-Usbu’i (Arabic, Syria. Weekly newsmagazine)
Al-Iqtisad wa al-A’mal (Arabic. Regional economic review)
Nur al-Islam (Arabic, Egypt. Published by Al-Azhar)
Filistin al-Muslimah (Arabic, Palestine. Islamist)
An-Naba’ (Arabic, Lebanon. Islamist)
Al-Manar al-Jadeed (Arabic, USA. Quarterly Islamist)
Al-Hasna’ (Arabic. Women oriented monthly)
Laha (Arabic. Women oriented weekly)
Naseej (Arabic. Electronic forum and news)

Think Tanks you could look at

Think Tanks that might have Policy Papers to look at:

Stanley Foundation
Media Think Tanks
Poynter Institute
World Journalism Institute
Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism
Thompson-Reuters Foundation
International Institute for Journalism
World Press Institute (right in your own backyard!)
Center for Public Media

Non-Press Think Tanks
Council on Foreign Relations
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Middle East Institute
International Crisis Group
Center for American Progress
World Affairs Councils
ISIS
Woodrow Wilson
International Institute for Strategic Studies