The New Facebook

Image via CrunchBase

Ever since I started using Facebook in 2007, just for sheer fun ,wasting time, and trailing my then “my only love”, it has been a true social networking site. Just a window that I can peak from and know all the gossip,who broke up with who,who’s teasing her boyfriend by posting new images of her with other guys…and the funny,sometimes interesting videos that my friends posted…

Not to mention the “interesting” sometimes, meaningless comments that we tended to post to each other now and then,and tagging very lame photos of each other and laughing our asses off. For me, Facebook has helped me re-connect with old school friends,those people who I thought will never see or hear their voices again,now we’re in touch and know a good deal about it each other,which is cool. To see that shy girl who used to sit at the very back at the classroom,now acting very baldly,skimpy dresses on,many boyfriends. Funny how people change you know.

But that’s not the point of this post,that was an introduction to the reality of Facebook before January 25th (The Egyptian Revolution). It’s true that many youth used FB platform to voice their opinions and organize events,political events I mean.But again,those events weren’t on the front line ,they were among other events and stuff,nothing really special about them so far,but our ex- government used to survail  all of that and would cross the line sometimes and detain young men and women for posting any anti-government comment or event.

So in turn,Many FB users refrained from posting,liking or even commenting or sharing any political links,events,notes done by others or any of that;passive internet users to cut it short.

During our revolution,that gap of fear and passiveness among youth has drastically changed, people weren’t scared of posting statuses  like “To hell with Mubarak” and other statuses  condemning the terroristic acts done by the government.

It’s like we didn’t care anymore if these statuses were surveiled or not, as if we had that gut feeling that Mubarak is leaving, taking with him all the past 30 years of oppression injustice and cruelty … Because the number of protestors were escalating by the day and nothing seemed to stop them . Not the rubber bullets,or regular bullets,or heavy beating,or even being detained and sent to nowhere like what happened with millions who dared to oppose Mubarak and his clan.

Many,if not most of the people became suddenly interssted in politics. they started sharing online news articles from various all-news websites ,others commented,others re-shared,others wrote their own notes about what they think should happen or what they predict would happen. every one seemed to be connected again,engaging in real meaningful online discussions ,it was that sense of liberation or something that I cannot describe.

A group of egyptian young people started their own online news broadcast,which quickly became very popular within a few days,they posted a minute by minute news flashes,they had their own team of reporters and photographers who worked hard to get these news items on time,and safe to say,most of them were accurate.

Ever since the revolution broke out,my news feed now has nothing but news,follow up news with what’s going on in Egypt specifically and the region in general. People have nothing to talk about except politcs  now!

I can hardly find in my news feed the regular stuff that I used to see before,tagged images of other friends, the famous”I’m bored” statues and stuff like that.

There’s this new facility in Fb now which is the “Question” facility,where you pose a question and provide 3 possible answers and let your friends answer them. Let me tell you,99% of what I see are all politics- related…

Is that a phase that will cease to exist at some point? Or is that the new Facebook in Egypt that will never go back to its original state?

I understand that what happened was a major thing ,which doesn’t occur everyday, I like to compare it to an earthquake,and we’re in the aftershock phase now. That this social mobility is one normal consequence for that revolution. It may last for quite sometime,God has the answer to that!

Peace out