CONDENSED HISTORY world scholars cup 2012: a world in flux

Technology and Social Change

v1.0 Use with guide I like trains. Made by Terran Item

Dedicated to Daniel Berdichevsky, because he dedicated the History Resource to me :D

The Determinators
Determinists
Technology needs the right context to be useful. Thomas Edison was credited as the inventor of the light bulb, but other people before him also made incandescent lights. However, these people did not nd a market (except Joseph Swan). Edison and his lab designed a working light bulb and a world where light bulbs can work in. So0 Technological Determinists Emphasis on the social condiFons that let new technologies be inuenFal. RejecFon of theories that show development as a linear process. Technological change allows social change, but other factors are sFll required. Culture and society allow technology to develop. Hard Technological Determinists Technology impacts change and makes it inevitable. New technology will make current technology obsolete.

Lamarr and IDUAR

Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian-American actress had an ex-husband that was an arms dealer that dealt with Mussolini and Hitler. Lamarr was disturbed that German subs were targeFng passenger ships so that she decided to help the Allied. Ships and subs used radio to guide torpedoes but enemies could jam the frequency of the torpedo. She and classical composer George Antheil, a composer best known for mechanical music work collaborated. Antheil disliked Hitler because his cuRng-edge music and other avant-garde music was banned in Germany and other Nazi occupied countries. They envisioned paper punched with holes (paTerned) placed inside the torpedo and the controller so that it would allow frequency hopping. Though it became the basis of wireless communicaFon eventually, it wasnt used in WW2 and unFl 40 years aZer development was it used. The IDUAR Model by Stanford professor Robert McGinn

INNOVATION

The social, economic, and cultural factors that inspire. The spread of an idea. The use of a technology

If Lamarr werent married to the dealer or hear about the horrors of WW2...
DIFFUSION

Lamarr gave it to the military that kept it classified. Many thought the Wii was crazy because they targeted older people.
USE

SMS was available in 1992 but didnt really catch on until later on. Economical and cultural differences could affect the usage. It is cheaper to text in Asia or Africa. Also, SMS input methods worked well with Asian languages.
ADAPTATION

The process of adapting to new technologies.

SMS adapted and changed from just personal communication to official communication. Schools and universities send texts.
RESISTANCE

The refusal to accept to something.

Texting is banned in 35 states, and threatens formal writing. The NZ Qualification Authority allows students to use abbreviations on exams. This also shows how language can evolve in response to innovation.

Disruptive Technologies
Classied ads allowed people reading newspapers to nd jobs, houses, or other goods. Disrup@ve technologies (innova@ons) - InnovaFons or technologies that NEWSPAPER REVENUE help create a new market and ulFmately overtakes an exisFng market. Newspaper Association of America According to Harvard professor Clayton Christenson, tech changes tend to $48.67 BILLION 2000 become disrupFve when tradiFonal tech is too good but expensive. Theres 2001 $44.31 BILLION room in the market for something cheaper though not as good. $37.85 BILLION 2008 Craig Newmark began sending lists of events to other soZware devs and $27.56 BILLION 2009 later people sent him job posFngs to distribute. This ulFmately lead to Craigslist. Craigslist doesnt charge for most of the lisFngs. This caused the classied ad revenue to decrease from $19.6 billion in 2000 to $9.9 billion in 2008. Early adopters - people would use new things early; people who would most likely be younger and more tech-savvy. Newspapers would have to redo classied ads to compete w/ Craigslist. As of now, Craigslist is in many ciFes around the world. They depend on the readership, not good interface. Fujilm survived a wave of disrupted technology by adapFng to it. They realized that customers would focus more on digital photos from lm. They also looked for new markets. Eventually, they start selling digital cameras. However, now its just another manufacturer, at risk of being disrupted by smartphones. Kodak, an American compeFtor failed to diversify like Fujilm, so their value dropped greatly! Even those that survive disrupFve technology are disrupted by it.

Classic Technologies
WHEEL - A CIRCULAR PIECE OF ANY SUBSTANCE MOUNTED ON A STRAIGHT AXLE

Original developer/maker unknown, but oldest known wheel appeared in Mesopotamia (~3500 BCE) Developed in China by ~2800BCE. Earliest wheels were poTers wheels. Gears and pulleys appeared around the 3rd to 4th century BCE. Water wheel developed by Greeks (85 BCE) Vehicular wheels appear on Sumerian images (3200 BCE), but for these wheels to work, a good road is necessary. The Romans had 80000 km of good roads to allow vehicles to work eecFvely. In North America, wheeled travel was slow unFl the TransconFnental Railroad and Interstate Highway System allowed these vehicles to reach potenFal.
STIRRUP - A METAL RING ATTACHED TO A SADDLE BY A STRIP OF LEATHER

Makes it easier to control a horse. Appeared in Chinese Jin Dynasty (265-420) and reached Europe around the 6th or 7th century. Allowed warriors on horses to be more stable when aTacking. S<rrup thesis - idea that the sFrrup was responsible for knighthood and feudalism. Possibly because mounted warriors became much stronger so that those who could be one were ranked above. Then they could protect peasants that would work for them. InteracFon probably isnt this linear, because other tech also helped.
PRINTING PRESS (GUTENBERGS) - PRINTING PRESS WITH LEAD ALLOY IN COPPER MOLDS AND OIL-BASED INK

Books (before 1442) were made by hand and wriTen in LaFn. Many were illiterate. Presses before Gutenberg included coaFng carved blocks with ink. Gutenbergs wasnt the rst movable type. The Chinese achieved that with clay typefaces early on. He used the screw press to squeeze the plates with the paper instead of brushes. A press could make 3600 pages a day - and printed 20 million copies by 1500. It allowed people with a press to make books themselves; and it could be in any language so the use of LaFn diminished. Because of the prinFng press, the middle class and scienFsts found new careers and inspiraFon. This ulFmately gave rise to the Renaissance and improved the spread of informaFon.

Transformation in Everyday Life

THE LIGHT BULB - THOMAS EDISON

Lunar Society of Birmingham - gathering of Englands brightest minds between 1765 and 1813. Named because they met only on full moon nights so that they can travel home safer. People have aTempted ways to extend dayFme with arFcial lighFng. Most of them, including candles and lamps were expensive and were dangerous as they had open ames. Gas ligh@ng - lighFng that used gases from wood or coal. First appearance was in 1807, Pall Mall, London. They made ciFes safer, and allowed people to work longer hours. Edison is credited for creaFng the incandescent light bulb, but dierent people OTHER EDISON INVENTIONS STOCK TICKER claimed to be rst. PHONOGRAPH Humphry Davy made a plaFnum bulb (1802) MOTION PICTURE CAMERA Joseph Swan made a vacuum bulb with carbonized-paper lament Many invenFons by Edison revoluFonized the 20th century, but they all require electricity to work. This bulb was introduced as part of a system that also had the Edison Jumbo generator, the Edison main and feeder, and a parallel distribu@on of electrical power. He worked hard at his Edison Electric Light Company to promote his direct-current (DC) electric system over gas lighFng and later on, the alternaFng current (AC). His lighFng system became cheaper and more popular. It replaced gas lighFng eventually. It made working hours grow longer and allowed people to partake in acFviFes at night. The lightbulb is now a symbol of civilizaFon and progress. Because of the wastefulness of incandescent lights, the US passed a law in 2007 that requires people to switch to compact orescent bulbs.
THE TELEPHONE - ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

CommunicaFon was dicult in the past. It took 4 days for George Washington to go from Virginia to Philadelphia to tell the Congress that a major RevoluFonary War baTle had been won. (1781) The telegraph and the Pony Express improved communicaFon; it took 7 days and 17 hours to spread the news of Abe Lincolns elecFon from East Coast to the West. (1860) The rst telegraph lines were installed in 1844 and allowed rapid transmission of messages. Telegraph message - a message that was translated into code and transmiTed as a series of taps then decoded on the other end. It allowed conFnental communicaFon. ScoRsh-born American Bell wanted to speed up this slow system in the mid-1870s. He envisioned a harmonic telegram that would change sounds into electricity. He gured if you could translate the taps of the telegraph to electricity, you could with voice too. He applied for a patent on Feb. 14, 1876 and named it the telephone. Italian-American Antonio Meucci and American Elisha Gray also were working on this tech, but Bell patented it a few hours earlier. Originally, telephones were rented by businesses to transfer urgent messages and only worked between two locaFons. Later on, Bell allowed people from the same network to call each other. The telephone was originally designed for businesses, but it has impacted many others. Switchboards - devices that allow operators to connect members of a network. Bells company hired young women as operators because they were believed to be more polite and reliable. They had to connect telephone wires and link them across a huge board. Emma NuQ (1860-1915) was the rst female operator for the Boston Telephone Company. These people had to follow strict rules and only earned $10 a month. They were desirable, though. 1909 - about a quarter of US homes had telephones. Telephones cannot convey facial expressions so it makes it seem harsher. People were someFmes more impolite. AT&T then released guidelines to telephone eFqueTe.

 Amos Joel, Bell Labs researcher had an idea that would unite the radio and the telephone in 1970. It allowed many calls to take place on a single channel by spliRng an area into cells. Base staFons were placed in each cell and the base staFon would transfer the call if the user moved from a cell to another. This allowed supposedly uninterrupted calls even if the user was moving. The cellphone allowed people to communicate more as it allows people to call in places where regular phones arent common, such as some places in Africa or South America. VoIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol is a new disrupFve technology. They allow people to call and video chat through the Internet - for a low cost. Skype is an example.
THE RADIO - GUGLIELMO MARCONI

December 24, 1906 - telegraphs on ships across the northern AtlanFc Ocean were playing music. Reginald A. Fessenden, a Canadian engineer/professor at Western University was reading experiments about this technology called radio done by Italian Guglielmo Marconi. It used electromagneFc waves discovered by Heinrich Hertz to transfer Morse code through the air. Fessenden thought it was possible to transfer sound over a radio wave too. He went to MassachuseTs and placed a giant antenna to make this broadcast. The government started to uFlize radio as a communicaFons tool during WW1. Commanders could communicate with their troops. At the same Fme, Army troops heard entertainment over the radio. People could then listen to programs/concerts they couldnt aTend via the radio. H. G. Wells War of the Worlds was adapted for radio on Oct. 30, 1938 and made many panic. It made shows available for everyone with a radio set for free. With the development of the transistor, a switching/amplifying device, radios became cheaper and more portable. People could aord more and even have one in their cars. Radio producers targeted specic audiences with disk jockeys (DJs) that played rock-and-roll for people. This probably wouldnt have happened if the radio was the main source of entertainment for the whole family.
THE TELEVISION - PHILO FARNSWORTH (ALL ELECTRIC)

Televisions show slightly changed frames to let us believe that we are seeing a moving image. Farnsworth made the rst all electric TV set in 1926. The rst color TV came 2 years later, made by BriFsh John Logie Baird. Color TV was sFll rare because of its exorbitant price, which dropped later in 1972. TVs aected other forms of media. Newspapers could no longer tell brief summaries, as people wouldve heard them on TV already. Movies had to come up with things like Technicolor and 3D to compete. TV transforms its audience - people are now able to watch debates and other events live. However, it also causes a decrease in community events. TV audiences tend to see whats on TV as the norm - and get frustrated when real life crimes dont take one hour to be solved. Views on TV are usually distorted - men dominate women 3:1, and the most common occupaFons are doctors, lawyers, police ocers and criminals.
THE FLUSHABLE TOILET - SIR JOHN HARRINGTON

Waste management has been an issue of public health. Earth-based toilets have been used since the Mesopotamian civilizaFon and some richer innovators tried with water-based toilets. John Harrington made the rst ushable toilet in 1596 and it had the S-shaped bend sFll used in many toilets today. This prevents the toilet bowl from lling up with water. This toilet could transport waste away from houses, but it sFll had to go somewhere. England didnt have the infrastructure for it. Long pipes to transport the waste was needed. The rst sanitaFon law was passed in 1848 and it was then when pipes were starFng to be constructed. Toilets havent changed much, but new invenFons made them beTer! Joseph CayeTy invented the toilet paper in 1857. Japanese people made toilets with lots of features (Neorest 600). Flush toilets are not ideal everywhere because they require 1.6 gallons per ush. In India, half a million people dont get access to ush toilets so theres a job where people carry away waste.

 Indian company Sulabh InternaFonal developed self composFng toilets in the 1970s. These toilets have bacteria in it that break down waste and even produce biogas.
THE MICROWAVE - PERCY SPENCER

Spencer, an American engineer worked for the US Navy during WW2 to improve radars, and aZer the war, he conFnued to do so. One day, he was standing near a magnetron and noFced that his chocolate bar melted. He led a patent in 1945, and the year aZer that, a Boston restaurant was using the device to heat food. A magnetron shot streams of short electromagneFc microwaves that bounced in a chamber. The microwaves make water molecules inside the food waggle which cooked the food. As a result, only food with water could be cooked. The rst microwaves were six feet tall and were heavy and expensive - and needed plumbing. Later on, a company called Amana made the Radarange, the rst commercially available/successful microwave for about $500 in 1967. Eight years later, microwave sales began to overtake gas range sales. The use of the VCR (video casseTe recorder) allowed the recording of TV programs on tapes. In the 80s, stores allowed people to rent pre-recorded videos. People could watch movies at will, and people wanted to experience it more realisFcally - with large TVs, sound systems, and popcorn. Microwaves began to sell by the millions in the 80s and >90% of Americans have one. Microwaves dont heat food up evenly and someFmes meat doesnt get brown on the outside. People are willing to accept the sacrice, though. This innovaFon also brought new food products made specically for microwaves. Studies show that people who use microwaves oZen eat less healthily and eat alone. The microwave symbolizes the world where people are willing to sacrice quality and safety for speed and ease.

Toward a Wonderful and Magical World

COMPUTERS
Computers in the 1940s were built for a specic task - and switches were ipped for the tasks to be executed. Later on, programming languages allowed users to code. They became smaller and more powerful as Fme went on - from the amplifying/switching transistor to the small brain microprocessor. The personal computer came out in 1975 - and it required people to assemble it themselves. Programs like Word and Excel followed the release of the PC, and so did more home computers. Microso0 Windows came out in 1985. By 1989, 54 million people in the US used PCs. Laptops started coming out in the 90s for more portability.

THE INTERNET AND EMAIL

In 1969, the US Defense Departments Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) were working on ARPANET that would allow them to share informaFon even if nuclear aTacks disabled other communicaFons. They were trying to allow packets to be split, sent, and rebuilt across computers and this eort was called the InterneRng project. By the end of the 80s, there were about 150,000 hosts connected to the Internet. In 1989, the European Organiza@on for Nuclear Research (CERN)s Tim Berners-Lee thought of a soZware network that would allow people to access webpages wriTen with Hypertext Markup Language. By the late 90s, there were over a million hosts, and by 2009, Internet has become a part of many peoples lives that over 1/4 of the worlds populaFon has a connecFon. The Internet also introduced e-mail. The rst email was sent in 1971 by ARPANET and in 2010, about 294 billion emails were sent every day.

 Though email is faster than tradiFonal snail mail, it also introduced new methods of annoyances - such as spam mail and phishing (scams designed to get money out of people by making them reveal important details).

IMPACT ON EDUCATION
Apple had a study in 1986 called Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow, where it suggested that teachers and students should become beTer with computer use and that it would encourage them to be more acFve about educaFon. Computer content is more dynamic than textbooks, and people that dont like parFcipaFng in class could feel beTer in a forum. Studies showed that those who competed against a computer instead of classmates demonstrate more posiFve aRtudes. Also, those who took computerized standardized tests would score higher. A 2010 Romanian study showed that though computer use improved computer skills, it lowered reading and arithmeFcs skills. In the US, a study showed that for every new broadband company available in a neighborhood, scores in that locaFon would drop. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) iniFaFve tries to provide computers for people in developing countries. University students are expected to use computers to complete assignments and for some, even allow online courses for those unavailable to take the class.

IMPACT ON WORK
Most oce jobs require computer skills now, such as word processing etc. Studies show that people with more skill oZen get higher paying jobs. SERVICES AND BENEFITS SERVICE BENEFIT Though computers can be benecial in the Email Rapid communication workforce, someFmes they can be detrimental. Google Docs and Dropbox Collaboration Workers spend about 30 to 40 Fmes per hour PowerPoint Replaced flipcharts checking their email. Others might be gaming or Skype Cross country conferences be on social networking sites. Companies may use tracking soZware, but the boundaries of privacy arent clearly dened.

SMARTPHONE AND TABLETS

Motorola released the rst cell phone - the DynaTAC 8000x in 1983 and is now remembered as the brick. Cellphones eventually became slimmer and smaller. The personal digital assistant led by the Palm Pilot allowed people to store informaFon. Smartphones are basically the hybrid of cellphones and PDAs. Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, with touchscreen technology and apps, and launched a smartphone revoluFon with it. There are apps for everything. Smartphone cameras are also a disrupFve technology - Kodak stopped making digital cameras in 2012 and said this was a main reason. The main compeFtor to the iPhone (iOS) is Android, the mobile operaFng system developed by Google. The main dierence is that Google allows manufacturers to install Android instead. Tablets are larger devices that oZen have more power than a smartphone. The concept came in the 60s called the DynaBook, but wasnt popular or real unFl recently. Apple released the iPad in 2010, and now Amazon and Samsung are making them too. All of these invenFons, with the Internet, make them extremely useful. Without the Internet, wed have to go to libraries to do research. Without cellphones, we communicate by going to someones house. However, people worry that children spend too much Fme with these new innovaFons.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In 1996, Israeli company started the rst instant messaging system - ICQ. In 1997, sixdegrees.com invited people to connect with friend networks.

 Friendster (2002) and Myspace (2003) allowed proles to be made and for them to socialize with each other. The next year, Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook for Harvard students - then more universiFes - then everyone. Friending others became common. Facebook grew larger than Myspace in 2009. In 2004, blogging grew to become podcas@ng - and YouTube came out the next year, allowing people to vlog. In 2006, TwiQer allowed people to post updates, news, or anything in less than 140 words. Social media - websites that allow people to share ideas and experiences with wriFng/mulFmedia. This changed consumers into producers too. Originally, people watched TV, broadcasted by producers. Now, they can post their own stu online for others to watch. Some drawbacks of this is that the posted content could be of lower quality or biased and inaccurate. Other criFcisms are that people isolate themselves with certain social groups that agree with similar ideas.

GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)

GPS connects to the 24 satellites orbiFng the Earth 12,000 miles above the Earth. These satellites were launched from 1978 to 1993. They have atomic clocks that are really accurate and broadcast their locaFons. Receivers use these signals to triangulate their locaFons. The idea started because of the need to navigate submarines, but has found its way into consumer applicaFons such as locaFng lost objects or driving. GPS use increased since 2000 when the US stopped blurring signals. Reliance on GPS is aecFng navigaFonal and spaFal skills - and even our memory.

A World Untransformed

THE CONCORDE
The US, UK, USSR, and France raced to make the rst supersonic jet. Russias Tupolev Tu-144 was built in 1969, but didnt y commercially unFl 1977 and stopped a year aZer. The US project was cancelled because of the loud sonic booms. Britain and France successfully developed the 100 seater Concorde. It cost them 1.5 billion instead of the projected 150 million. The rst Concorde ight was from London to Bahrain in 1976. Fly-by-wire technology controlled the rudders and aps. Only Air France and BriFsh Airways bought them. Others didnt because of high fuel costs and loud noises, and US restricFon on them. A crash in France in 2000 made it less popular. The nal ight was in 2003, from NY to London. Though the Concorde doesnt y anymore, American company Aerion wants to get a smaller supersonic jet built by 2015. BriFsh company HyperMach is working on one that would y twice as fast and would use cheaper fuels and will try to get it done by 2021.

VIDEO PHONE
AT&T pioneered the videophone in 1964, allowing people to video call each other over phone lines. They introduced the Picturephone in the NY Worlds Fair in 1964, but didnt get great reviews because the screen was small and hard to use. AT&T tried to get more users with public videophone booths, but the $5 per minute drew people away. Videophone was too expensive, and people werent used to the pressure of adjusFng ones looks in front of the phone. Even in the 1990s, videophones were expensive ($1500) and low quality, and required the recipient to have the same phone. These were the major adop@on obstacles.

ARAMIS
ARAMIS was envisioned by French developers in the 60s to be a kind of personal rapid transit. TransportaFon company Matra planned it to be like subway cars that would be close to each other on roads that would follow other cars unFl target desFnaFon. There were many other PRTs at this Fme - Morgantown, Virginia has one sFll today, albeit very unreliable. Londons Heathrow Airport and Abu Dhabis Masdar City have them too. Aramis was not reliable and was too costly - podcars would frequently bump into each other. Paris state-owned transportaFon company RATP gave most of the $80 million spent on ARAMIS. However, they stopped funding aZer bad tesFng, and Matra went back to working on mass transit.

MICROSOFT BOB
Bob was designed as an alternaFve interface for Windows 95. The logic behind this was that the average user wouldnt be experienced with computers yet and that this would be easy to use. Normal computers were modeled aZer desks (desktop), and MS Bob was modeled aZer a living room. Each item in the room would have its own funcFon, and many funcFons were similar to MS other programs. It was designed for adults. Bob wasnt as popular because it took too much processing power for that Fme, and MS only sold 60,000 copies. They disconFnued the program in a year.

SEGWAY
The Segway, which debuted in 2001, was a scooter-like vehicle that moves by sensing a persons slight movements. Though revoluFonary, people quickly forgot about it because it wasnt something like a hovercraZ. Inventor Dean Kamen envisioned something that would allow transport with zero emissions. The Segway has no brakes, no engine, and no steering wheel. It uses dynamic stabiliza@on technology. However, that makes the Segway cost really expensive. The Segway also has a short baTery life and people are confused by its legal status - can it go on the road, or on the sidewalk? o.O Technology may fail - even if its good. Though it fails, it may succeed in another form.

#politicalchange & social media

HOWARD DEAN and BARACK OBAMA
In 2003, former governor of Vermont Howard Dean went for the DemocraFc Party presidenFal nominaFon. Though he wasnt popular in the beginning, things changed when he started to use Meetup.com. That website allowed people living in the same area to have meetups. There was a group set up for Deans meetups and potenFal voters showed up at them. Meetup also allowed Dean to gain informaFon about some people at a small cost. Then, Dean could raise more money by asking these people to donate. However, even with the support, he did not get nominated - John Kerry did. Following Deans strategy, Barack Obama organized a website with newsleTers and videos. FB cofounder Chris Hughes made a social network called mybarackobama.com that linked many sites about him together. He focused on the new collaboraFon and sharing features of Web 2.0. He had more than 100,000 TwiTer followers and hit millions of views on his website. When he selected Joe Biden as vice-president, a text message was sent to all subscribers. Obama was viral. In addiFon, his campaign emails were targeted to dierent groups, making them more personal.

 Obama won the elecFon.

2010 UK GENERAL ELECTION

The success of the Obama campaign prompted the UK to have the rst social media campaign. This general elecFon was to select new members from the Conserva@ve, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parFes to the House of Commons (lower part of Parliament). Each of the parFes campaign only had 10 sta, compared to mybarackobamas 100 sta. Even with online fundraising, more real life/tradiFonal elements dominated such as TV broadcasts and posters. Social network campaigns only consisted of people that were poliFcally interested as opposed to new people. AZer the elecFon, people realized that this internet campaign/elecFon didnt happen - an epic fail.

THE ARAB SPRING

Tunisian rapper El General was criFcizing his countrys government and living condiFons in the song Rais Lebled (Head of State). He was banned by the government from producing songs, but he conFnues doing so on YouTube. Later on in the same month December 2010, he released a second song, and by then, an uprising took place. El General was arrested, but was free in 3 days because the public demanded his release. Rais Lebled became not only popular in Tunisia, but in other Middle Eastern countries. The Arab Spring revoluFons began in Tunisian city Sidi Bouzid in Dec, 2010. Tunisia was under control of President Zine el Abadin Ben Ali, and there was no free elecFons. There was widespread poverty, though Ben Ali had billions of dollars. On December 17, inspectors harassed vender Mohamed Bouazizi and took his stu. He protested, but was ignored. Then, he set himself on re. Using Facebook and TwiTer, protestors protested against the government, starFng the Jasmine Revolu@on. WikiLeaks helped leak informaFon about human rights, and a site like that dedicated to Tunisia was made - TuniLeaks. Even with heavy censorship in Tunisia, the protests were successful - Ben Ali resigned on January 14, 2011. Last October, Tunisians held the rst free elecFons. This revoluFon spread to Cairo on January 2011, to protest against Hosni Mubarak, in power since 1981. Again, it was because of social media. One Facebook page called We Are All Khaled Said was made to protest the death of a young man to the hands of the police. Even aZer government censorship - which included internet shutdown and phone service disconnecFon, Mubarak was arrested in August, 2011. Between 88-94% of acFvists were geRng informaFon from social media. Government censorship seems to only strengthen the peoples want to ght against repression. The protests kept spreading. In Yemen, a protest called Day of Rage started to depose dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh in power from 1990. Saleh promised not to keep running, but protests conFnued. Even with a low literacy rate and computer usage rate, acFvists used the Internet to spread the uprising, encouraging others to protest. The Internet is a beTer tool for protest in Yemen because tradiFonal media is oZen controlled by the government. However, it can sFll be unreliable. As a result, online acFvists went searching for internet connecFons, and set up Wi-Fi tents. Saleh resigned last November. Protestors in Bahrain also staged a similar Day of Rage as they wanted to be more of a democracy than be ruled by King Hamid bin Isa al-Khalifa. Neighboring country Iran supported this and started a Facebook page.

 People in Libya opposed leader Muammar el-Qadda in power since 1969. The government and protestors baTled in Libya while the media baTle between state-controlled media and foreign media raged. Government radio broadcast pro-Qadda propaganda while channels like Al-Jazeera and libyaFeb17.com covered the protestors side. AcFvists living in Libya posted their own content online or to other news sites. Eventually, this lead to sancFons and NATO airstrikes - and Qadda was executed last October. Syrias Day of Dignity was organized parFally with Facebook. It was to oppose Bashar Assads rule since 2000, and his fathers rule for 29 years before that. The WSC resource for this guide was published while this revoluFon was ongoing. Social media acFvists in Syria are relying on what has been called ciFzen journalism, where people in the country lm the aTacks and then posFng them on YouTube or bambuser.com. To counter this, the government has cracked down on this, demanding Facebook passwords and/or their arrest. Without users, the Internet and social media would be useless. But because there are users, social media can be powerful. And of course, this condensed guide is now complete. But at the same <me, it is not complete, because new content will be posted on the WSC History Facebook page. If content is posted, I may release updates to this condensed guide.