Never before did I really understand the value of Twitter. Since the departure from MSNBC of Keith Olbermann, and as I began following his Twitter feed the night of the State of the Union Speech (referred to as #SOTU on Twitter) I saw the merits of the application.
One of the Tweets Keith follows is called “Breaking News” which is the consolidation of every news source in the world, and I began following that also. I discovered that the mainstream media probably does the same thing, then constructs all kinds of fluff around it, as they decide which story to cover. It’s so simple, don’t know why this never occurred to me before.
Since that time I have been on top of what’s happening in Egypt, and with the additional release of cables re: Egypt from Wikileaks, the entire picture unfolds. Most of the information can be followed live on the English version of Al Jazeera, but the Tweets are more on-the-ground individual comments from a reporter for Democracy Now, to the individual voices of protestors. Also quite interesting is the view from other citizens around the world from all the countries, and to see the support voiced for the protestors of the current Egyption government.
The consensus is that the country of Egypt has never been seen like this before; it is a situation that is making any other Arab dictator quite nervous, perhaps spreading into the neighboring countries of Syria, Palestinian territories, Yemen, and then – omg – Iran? The Saudis are nervous, and it’s amazing to watch and wonder what will happen. There are protests at every Egyption embassy in the world, including New York and Washington.
I am overwhelmed at the amount of information the social networks can provide — not just repeating what the Huffington Post tells us, or the mainstream media; now we can get information from right there on the ground, in spite of curfews, in spite of attempts at Internet shutdowns.
Amazing time to be alive.
About Andrea Friedell
A working artist in every medium available, retired from more boring pursuits. I'm always doing, making, writing or painting something. Now creating planners and downloadable products.
Worries and Wishcraft 
Twitter Rediscovered
Never before did I really understand the value of Twitter. Since the departure from MSNBC of Keith Olbermann, and as I began following his Twitter feed the night of the State of the Union Speech (referred to as #SOTU on Twitter) I saw the merits of the application.
One of the Tweets Keith follows is called “Breaking News” which is the consolidation of every news source in the world, and I began following that also. I discovered that the mainstream media probably does the same thing, then constructs all kinds of fluff around it, as they decide which story to cover. It’s so simple, don’t know why this never occurred to me before.
Since that time I have been on top of what’s happening in Egypt, and with the additional release of cables re: Egypt from Wikileaks, the entire picture unfolds. Most of the information can be followed live on the English version of Al Jazeera, but the Tweets are more on-the-ground individual comments from a reporter for Democracy Now, to the individual voices of protestors. Also quite interesting is the view from other citizens around the world from all the countries, and to see the support voiced for the protestors of the current Egyption government.
The consensus is that the country of Egypt has never been seen like this before; it is a situation that is making any other Arab dictator quite nervous, perhaps spreading into the neighboring countries of Syria, Palestinian territories, Yemen, and then – omg – Iran? The Saudis are nervous, and it’s amazing to watch and wonder what will happen. There are protests at every Egyption embassy in the world, including New York and Washington.
I am overwhelmed at the amount of information the social networks can provide — not just repeating what the Huffington Post tells us, or the mainstream media; now we can get information from right there on the ground, in spite of curfews, in spite of attempts at Internet shutdowns.
Amazing time to be alive.
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About Andrea Friedell
A working artist in every medium available, retired from more boring pursuits. I'm always doing, making, writing or painting something. Now creating planners and downloadable products.