Within the last few months the world has had unparalleled access to information about revolts in countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and most recently Libya. Social media has become a platform for people to voice their views about social issues within their countries and connect with others of like minds more quickly than ever before.

Faculty, staff and students gathered at Ball State on April 11 to hear first-hand accounts of social media use in these revolutions. Presentations were given by two Fulbright Scholars – Majdi Faleh from Tunisia and Loaei Thabet from Yemen. Majdi and Loaei were joined by Rashid Kadura, a second year undergraduate from Libya, and two faculty members – Kristen McCauliff (Communication Studies) and Brandon Waite (Political Science) to respond to questions from moderator Brad King (Journalism).

Webcast: http://dvisweb1.bsu.edu/media/bsu/emergingmedia/socialmedia.html
Twitter feed: #bsuactivism
[vid url="http://emergingmediainitiative.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/tarek1.flv&rel=0" class="alignright"]On April 8, a Skype interview was conducted with Tarek Kahlaoui, an assistant professor of Islamic Art at Rutgers University and an active Tunisian blogger and activist. In this brief video, Kahlaoui talks about his involvement in anti-censorship movements and the unique role of Facebook in disseminating information even in the midst of government censorship.

Born and raised in Tunisia, Kalaoui was active in the anti-censorship student movements in Tunis, and his blog on current issues and his Facebook page have been censored by the Tunisian government. He and a group of journalists who played a major role in breaking the Regime’s silence on the revolution are establishing “Tunisian Scene,” a site to encourage and advance citizen journalism in the region.

Daily Updates

Arab World Uprisings: A Country by Country Look (New York Times)
The latest reports from New York Times correspondents along with social media updates on the protest movements shaking countries across the Middle East and northern Africa.

Maps and Timelines

“Guitar Hero Timeline” (The Guardian)
The bottom axis represents countries and colored circles represent different phases of protest within each country. There is a slider that allows you to slide through dates and see the activity within each country.

Animated Map (Slate.com)
Shows the sequences of events within each country by lighting up in different colors in an animated timeline. Boxes pop up to describe the headlines.