SOCIAL media is unlikely to power revolution in the USA, but then who called the Arab Spring? Like 1848, 1917 and 1989, 2011 will forever be a year of revolution.

Starting with the ousting on Tunisian President Ben Ali on January 14, the world watched enthralled as the Arab Spring saw dictators fall in Egypt and Libya, and rulers struggling to keep control from Morocco to Bahrain.

How much these epic upheavals were powered by the internet will be debated by historians for years to come. Facebook did not bring down Mubarak, but it certainly  played a part in his fall. Rebel fighters freed Tripoli, but lightening fast updates made Twitter the best way to follow their progress into Gaddafi’s al-Baida palace.

As in no revolution before, the internet, and social media in particular, was utilised by demonstraters to organise, engage and protest at a speed impossible for authorities to shut down. Mubarak attempted to block tweets from Tahir Square, but techies around the world banded together to keep the stream flowing. The participants told the story of their revolutions direct to the world.

Since September 17, a group of protestors have occupied Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan in a rolling demonstration dubbed Occupy Wall Street.

Originally called by the Canadian-based anti-consumerist group Adbusters, the Occupy movement lacks the clear message of protests in the Middle East. Among other things, participants are angry about perceived economic inequality, corporate greed and the pervasive influence of lobbyists on the US political process.

But as copycat demonstrations spread to more than 100 cities, the Occupy movement is hitting newspaper front pages and TV bulletins around the world.

Tens of thousands of related videos have been uploaded to YouTube over the last month. A video showing female protesters fenced in and pepper sprayed by the NYPD is the most viewed, and has doubtless fanned the frustrations of the disenchanted (cairnspo.st/protestNTC).

The protesters frustrations are probably best captured by the blog We Are The 99 Percent (wearethe99percent.tumblr.com), which publishes submissions from those who feel they are victims of economic injustice as well as America’s sick economy. “I am 25 years old and $125,000 in debt from student loans”, writes one woman. “I work a low paying job helping needy children. I’m afraid I will never be able to afford a child of my own.”

In New York hundreds have slept on the streets every night, joined by thousands more each day for a rolling series of demonstrations. Wireless hotspots and a media centre have been set up, with protests broadcast live on the web.

Despite its initially hazy goals, a broad consensus is being forged from the online chatter and debate on the streets: change is needed to close the gap between rich and poor.

In Egypt, the We Are All Khaled Said Facebook page went live ten months before the January 26 protests that eventually brought down Mubarak. Could the sites fuelling #OccupyWallStreet eventually have a similar impact?

Today, the movement arrives Down Under, with protesters planning a campsite outside Sydney’s Reserve Bank and a demonstration in Cairns City Place to highlight “massive inequalities in Australia”. Follow developments at twitter.com/occupysydney.

 

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