In preparation for Wednesday's class, please review the press coverage around the "Voices of Jan 25th" project (see posts below).
Also, go through the tweets that John posted for the Jan25voices (especially the early ones when the Internet was "turned off" in Egypt (Jan. 28-Feb. 1) and also the tweets for the Libya project, Feb17voices.
Everyone in the class should post a question and a comment about the twitter project for John (who will be visiting us in class this week). Please think about questions that will open up the discussion and debate the central issues around social media and the political revolutions in the Middle East.
To John:
ReplyDeleteUpon having the idea for this project, did you ever image it would get as big as it did? Depending on answer, do you feel your project had a large impact on those who dealt with these political revolutions directly, especially those who you had direct communication with? Are you satisfied with the success of these projects, and do you feel you created a project that best utilized the current social media available to the public sphere?
What motivated you to choose Twitter as the basis for Jan25voices rather than using other social media outlets? As Jan25voices began to enter the spotlight in media coverage, did you find that it helped your cause or did it create problems for the project? Finally, do you have any other current or future projects related to Jan25voices or that have come about because of it?
ReplyDeleteTo John:
ReplyDeleteJan25voices quickly became a go-to Twitter feed for hard news media around the world. What do you think are the implications, positive or negative, of using of social media outlets as sources for news?
In what ways has the immense press coverage surrounding "Jan25voices" helped or hindered your goals for the project and its operations?
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I think Jan25voices is a wonderful project and interesting case in the study of social media. At a low-production cost (monetarily), you were able to effectively and efficiently give a voice to those in a voiceless revolution. The project certainly illuminates the potential of social media to stimulate change.
John,
ReplyDeleteJan25voices is an unconventional way of reporting and gathering information. I heard that reporters would call you for information to help write their stories but I'm not sure. If this is true, did you feel that reporters were skeptical of your information and that they did not trust you. It seems as though what you were doping would upset the traditional balance of power and reporters may not appreciate that. In other words, did anyone give you trouble or question your information based on how you got it and how you reported it?
Hi John!
ReplyDeleteDoes Jan25Voices ever become so extreme to the point where you don't want to continue working on the project anymore? Whether it be the workload, commitments, and sacrifices you have to make in order to continue to run the project or an experience that you've had with one of the callers or Twitter users that made you question what you were doing was right.
What's the most challenging thing you have to deal with in order to make this project function properly?
I am shocked by how many people were killed in Egypt and how intense the situation is in Lybia. I cannot imagine how lives are like for people who are still struggling to survive due to dis- stability of the government.
ReplyDeleteHow do you manage to talk to those people in countries that are so terrified? Do you think your life is endangered because of working on this project?
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteThe Jan25voices project in Egypt and the Feb17voices project in Libya seem very similar to me. Were there any important differences between the two? Did you encounter more obstacles throughout one than the other? Did your experience with Jan25voices help you improve your project in Libya? If you keep doing what you're doing, what are some improvements you might want to make (because you said in your video that though what you do is effective, it is not the most efficient way to get a message out)?
Hello John,
ReplyDeleteMy question is:
Did you imagine that your project would have such a big impact and do you think, given the importance of freedom of speech and communication in such situations, that it will influence the outcome of the revolution?
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteIs there a specific reason why you chose to become involved with the relationship between social media and the revolution in Egypt? What motivated you to create the Jan25voices project? So far, have you received responses similar to what you expected before starting the project?
If you had the opportunity to re-do this whole experience, would you do anything differently (to improve the project, for example)?
ReplyDeleteThrough reading the tweets from late January - early February, I realized the extent to which the Jan25Voices project illustrated the revolutionary events in Egypt. By tweeting actual phone calls, and Mubarak's speech as it happened, I believe he succeeded in accomplishing his goal of informing the general public through Twitter.
John,
ReplyDeleteThe success of your project is evident in the widespread recognition and authority that it has mustered, but what do you feel, if any, is the biggest consequence to what you are doing? If so was there ever a point where you asked yourself if you were possibly doing more harm than good? Also, as your site gained popularity At what point did you realize that your idea was going to be big?
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteWhen doing this project did it ever cross your mind that this could be dangerous? Are you afraid of being harmed ?
Hey John,
ReplyDeleteThis is late, but the questions I asked during class were:
1. How did you fund this project? I assumed the phone bill would have particularly large.
2.How did you distinguish what information was actually put on Twitter based off how serious the matter being reported was?