Social Media Observatory

The YouTube video that may have contributed to sparking violent and deadly protests in Libya and demonstrations in Egypt overnight is still accessible on the site as of late Wednesday morning. The video in question is a trailer for a film which satirizes the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam. Sam Bacile, the creator of the video, has gone into hiding but told the Associated Press that he views…

Ahmed Shafik and Mohamed Morsi are two presidential candidates who have claimed victory in Egypt’s election, the results of which are expected Thursday. The process has been muddled by allegations of fraud and Constitutional Court rulings whic

Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court sparked a new wave of chaos and disorder in the country on Thursday by dissolving Parliament and giving a green light to the presidential aspirations of ousted president Hosnai Mubark’s former prime ministe

Much like any other year, 2011 experienced major events that shook the world, whether the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East or the worldwide protests led by Occupy Wall Street. But in 2011, microblogging service Twitter was at th

In a speech early Thursday, President Barack Obama laid out the U.S.’s stance and outlook on the uprisings in the Middle East and Africa. He affirmed technology’s role in powering these movements and stressed the U.S.’s suppor

dsc_0376.jpg On Tuesday, May 3, Dr. Richard Lobban joined Social Media Club Providence at Candita Clayton Studio to speak about Egypt’s Social Media Revolution. Dr. Lobban is an expe

As newspapers played this role in pre-revolutionary America, social media has played it in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle East hot spots. Gladwell is right, of course, that the conditions need to exist in order for people to have stories to share. B

Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera has launched a Twitter dashboard to illustrate tweets about uprisings and revolutions around the world.The dashboard tallies the daily number of tweets about developments in each listed country (the sit

Twitter’s role in the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is disputed. But nobody disputes that the micro-blogging platform helped tell the story of the revolution as it unfolded.Now, OR Books plans to use tweets posted

Officially, Facebook has remained mum on its role in the protests in Egypt and Tunisia, which grew into full-on revolutions. But this week, reports have surfaced that reveal a somewhat active involvement in the events and outline Facebook’