Crisis and kairos: Social media activists exploit timing to support anti-government protests (original) (raw)

Moldova, Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, and Sudan: These nations and their citizens engaged in political dialogues during 2009-2011, resulting in government accommodations of demands, regime change, hard-line responses, or civil war. Frequently, these dialogues occurred in computer-mediated spaces, especially blogs and social media. Some online activism burst into protests in public squares, resulting in violence and showdowns for power. This qualitative case study traces social media efforts, both crisis communication strategies and tactics, in five nations that raised awareness of revolutionary ideas, garnered support for these efforts, and transformed this spirit from digital expression to flesh-and-blood resistance.