
Wordle of a interview of Ghonim by Steve Garfield
Block the whole Internet, you’re gonna really frustrate people. One of the strategic mistakes of this regime was blocking Facebook. One of the reasons why they are no longer in power now is that they blocked Facebook. Why? Because they have told four million people that they are scared like hell from the revolution by blocking Facebook. They forced everyone who’s just, you know, waiting to read the news on Facebook, they forced them to go to the street to be part of this.
Ghonim, who has called the galvanic events that swept Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak out of power “Revolution 2.0,” spoke eloquently about the role of social networking in Egypt. “If there was no social networks, this would never have been sparked. Without Facebook, without Twitter, without YouTube, this would never have happened.”
Shortly after the 60 Minutes interview aired on the East Coast of the United States, Ghonim posted another tweet:
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My message to the dictators of the world: You should at least freak out. Block Facebook and cancel Fridays. #Jan25 #SidiBouzid #WhatsNext
What happens next in Egypt is not clear. As Anthony Shadid wrote this week, it’s uncharted ground. What is clear is that history has been made, and in Wael Ghonim’s eyes, “this was an Internet Revolution.”