in this TED talk, wael ghonim, an egyptian activist, talks about his involvement in the egyptian revolution. in the beginning, wael states that he believed that "if you want to liberate society, all you need is the internet". he was a crucial factor in the egyptian revolution due to his impact on social media. he used the internet to spread awareness of the egyptians' situation. he started and created a page called "we are all kahled said". this page resulted in protests against the egyptian government. many people agreed with his opinions and joined him in the fight against the egyptian government. however, things backfired soon after.
ghonim was kidnapped by government officials due to his involvements in recent revolts. his family and friends started worrying. fortunately, they had a feeling officials had taken him, so hundreds of people demanded his release. after several days, he was freed and the egyptian ruler had been overthrown.
when ghonim used the internet for the egypt's advantage, he also realized the downsides of the internet. he informs the audience that there are five critical challenges facing today's social media. first, ghonim states that people "don't know how to deal with rumors". rumors are passed down disguised as the truth and they spread rapidly throughout the social media. secondly, people create their own "echo chambers". their conversations are one-sided and they only converse with others who agree with them and we can mute, unfollow, and block those who oppose our opinions.
thirdly, internet users tend to fight with one another when conversing on the internet and forget that we are fighting with actual people behind an username. fourthly, it is hard for a internet user to change their sometimes rash opinions because word travels so fast on the internet. people can share, comment, and like your post and an opinion you don't agree with anymore can spread like a wildfire across the internet. next thing you know, there's a controversial topic about your short time opinion. fifthly, internet users tend to talk against each other rather than talking with each other. our conversations on the internet is so bland and we simply comment and like post to agree with a person's opinion. this doesn't allow open conversations or engagement with other users.
in conclusion, wael ghonim strongly believes that the internet is a place where human impulses are unstoppable. ghonim wants internet users to write posts that are more engaging than popular and avoid one-sided opinions. he wants users to change other people's opinion through rational conversations and be more engaging. in the beginning of the TED talk, wael ghonims says, "in order to liberate society, all you need is the internet". he now believes that "in order to liberate society, we first need to liberate the internet."
ghonim was kidnapped by government officials due to his involvements in recent revolts. his family and friends started worrying. fortunately, they had a feeling officials had taken him, so hundreds of people demanded his release. after several days, he was freed and the egyptian ruler had been overthrown.
when ghonim used the internet for the egypt's advantage, he also realized the downsides of the internet. he informs the audience that there are five critical challenges facing today's social media. first, ghonim states that people "don't know how to deal with rumors". rumors are passed down disguised as the truth and they spread rapidly throughout the social media. secondly, people create their own "echo chambers". their conversations are one-sided and they only converse with others who agree with them and we can mute, unfollow, and block those who oppose our opinions.
thirdly, internet users tend to fight with one another when conversing on the internet and forget that we are fighting with actual people behind an username. fourthly, it is hard for a internet user to change their sometimes rash opinions because word travels so fast on the internet. people can share, comment, and like your post and an opinion you don't agree with anymore can spread like a wildfire across the internet. next thing you know, there's a controversial topic about your short time opinion. fifthly, internet users tend to talk against each other rather than talking with each other. our conversations on the internet is so bland and we simply comment and like post to agree with a person's opinion. this doesn't allow open conversations or engagement with other users.
in conclusion, wael ghonim strongly believes that the internet is a place where human impulses are unstoppable. ghonim wants internet users to write posts that are more engaging than popular and avoid one-sided opinions. he wants users to change other people's opinion through rational conversations and be more engaging. in the beginning of the TED talk, wael ghonims says, "in order to liberate society, all you need is the internet". he now believes that "in order to liberate society, we first need to liberate the internet."