Backstory Of A Revolution: Studying Tweets, Posts : NPR

 

Backstory Of A Revolution: Studying Tweets, Posts : NPR

MAZEN NAHAWI suggests that social media promotes the habit of democracy because it habituates users to the practice of expressing their likes/dislikes and preferences. If this is what Mr. Nahawi—from New Group International—is suggesting then what kind of democracy does social media habituate users for?

Could we have democracy via focus groups? Could we have democracy via product choice/selection?

What I find interesting about this story is the connection that Mr. Nahawi draws between market choice or consumer preference and political action and/or institutional transformation. It strikes me that either the latter will assume a form similar to the initial practice, OR that there are a few steps missing, such as, what Egyptian youth were tweeting about, how did they envision free institutions or political practices, etc.

That is to say, Mr. Nahawi appears to reduce democracy to a formal system and to bracket content.