Exactly What Role Did Social Media Play in the Egyptian Revolution?

The January 25th revolution in Egypt was an incredible achievement by its people and a truly inspiring example of the power of peaceful protest. Yet the work towards an effective transition to democratic government within Egypt has just begun. Meanwhile a debate continues to rage in the blogosphere as to the exact role played by social media.

While commentators such as Brian Solis and myself have argued against the off-hand dismissal of social media by Malcolm Gladwell,Evgeny Morozov and Will Heaven, Jeff Jarvis and Jay Rosen made the sobering point that it's silly to argue the issue in absolutist terms. Rosen argues "Factors are not causes," and insists that social media was neither fully responsible for the revolution in Egypt nor irrelevant, and that social transformation is far more complex involving a high degree of mystery. With sobriety and complexity in mind, I want to take a closer look at the specific role that social media played in terms of scaling awareness and support among anti-government protesters that ultimately resulted in the resignation of President Mubarak. The role of social media is critical because it helps to spread cognitive dissonance by connecting thought leaders and activists to ordinary citizens rapidly expanding the network of people who become willing to take action.