Wael Ghonim, Google exec, says Egypt's revolution is “like Wikipediaâ€
Los Angeles Times
Wael Ghonim has been touted as one of the leaders in Egypt's revolution and has already coined the phrase Revolution 2.0 — which he also plans to take as …
QUOTE(Newsfeed @ Mon 14th February 2011, 9:28pm) 
Wael Ghonim, Google exec, says Egypt's revolution is “like Wikipediaâ€
Los Angeles Times
Wael Ghonim has been touted as one of the leaders in Egypt's revolution and has already coined the phrase Revolution 2.0 — which he also plans to take as …
QUOTE
If Egypt were like Wikipedia, he'd still be in the hoosegow, even after the people who arrested him were run out of the country.
— Jon Awbrey • 14 Feb 2011 (08:40 pm)
I saw that and thought it was fairly idiotic. The public has this notion that Wikipedia represents the pinnacle of unorganized collective action, without realizing either that the Egyptian revolution wasn't unorganized, or that Wikipedia's results are not nearly so good as people like to believe they are.
The notion of a revolutionary movement with a cellular structure is not new; if anything the Egyptian revolution reminds me of the UK Vodaphone protests that the Nation wrote about recently. I'd say both are demonstrations of how modern technology has enabled decentralized collective action.
Wikipedia is also an example of decentralized collective action, but Wikipedians are not all seeking a common cause, or working in concert (even if without realizing it) toward a common goal. Instead, they are all working toward different goals in a single forum, which is why we get so many squabbles.
The notion of a revolutionary movement with a cellular structure is not new; if anything the Egyptian revolution reminds me of the UK Vodaphone protests that the Nation wrote about recently. I'd say both are demonstrations of how modern technology has enabled decentralized collective action.
Wikipedia is also an example of decentralized collective action, but Wikipedians are not all seeking a common cause, or working in concert (even if without realizing it) toward a common goal. Instead, they are all working toward different goals in a single forum, which is why we get so many squabbles.
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