My intention in preparing this list is to use the experience of the Egyptian Revolution, and in particular the on-line aspects of it as described by Wael Ghonim, as a source of ideas for those who may desire to liberate their own countries from corruption and authoritarianism. This is in no way a substitute for reading the original work, which is highly inspiring and contains a wealth of information that cannot be captured by a simple list like this. You can find Ghonim’s book here: http://www.amazon.com/... (most of the book can be read by clicking on the “Look Inside” window).
This list is inspired by, and is partially intended as an update to, the famous list of “The Methods of Nonviolent Action” which can be found as an appendix in Gene Sharp’s book “From Dictatorship to Democracy: A conceptual framework for liberation” available for free download here: http://www.aeinstein.org/...
The listings are divided into two groupings: “General Principles” and “Specific Tactics”. In each section, each entry is followed by a brief explanation, sometimes by a quote and finally the page number in parenthesis.
Gene Sharp wrote: “No outside force is coming to give oppressed people the freedom they so much want. People will have to learn how to take that freedom themselves.” This is how.
General Principles
1. The Internet as a Force for Change: It provides the means to communicate, organize, and promote real world actions (51-52)
2. Utilize the “Sales Tunnel” Approach to Marketing the Revolution. Four Phases: 1) Join the Page 2) Interact with the Content (Liking and Commenting) 3) Contribute Content 4) Take Actions “In the Street” (67-68)
3. Web Page as a Non-Hierarchical Organization: mobilizes street action from the bottom up (79)
4. Web Page as a Community: Encourages expressions of hope, solidarity, and community (79)
5. Breaking Free of Fear: Encourage members’ expressions of hope and optimism (childrens’ drawings, etc.) (68)
6. Cycle between on-line and real-life: Build support between demonstrations (86-87); The rapid pace of events drove home one of the key strategies that I learned from the revolution: to achieve your vision, you need friends and communication channels more than you need plans. The world moves too fast for even the best-laid plans to hold up. (232)
7. Encourage members to remain non-confrontational/non-political in face of violence: “…marching and chanting were the cause of these confrontations…” (104); “Why Do They Attack Us?” (to scare people at home and to provoke extremism) (105); Ghandi’s example (“…there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill…”) (107)
8. Commit to Participatory Democracy: On-line survey regarding how page is managed (108); Whether to cover events in Tunisia (86% in favor) (131); “My plan was to base my own decision on the majority’s opinion… even if the result was gunfire from the presidential guard…” (285)
9. Let Purpose of Page Evolve Over Time: “…the page’s primary concern… had evolved to focus on the abuses of the Egyptian police…” (123)
10. Staying just ahead of the mainstream/events: “…with the toppling of the Tunisian president… I found myself unable to resist the word revolution…” (136)
11. Let demonstrators organize themselves: “…I sent Maher a message saying we were lost. Nobody was in charge; everyone had his or her own idea about where we should meet. He said that the bright side… is that the security forces are lost too…” (150)
12. Promote Ideas Not Heroes: “People’s attachment to ideas is much stronger than their attachment to individuals, who can be doubted or defamed…” (266)
13. Stick to Demands, Make No Concessions to the Regime: “I received two phone calls later that day from officials who wanted to discuss possible ways out of the current crisis… I agreed to attend both meetings after clearly stating that the demands of the people in Tahrir were my demands- and they were non-negotiable… The Minister spoke of Egypt’s situation and how impossible it was for President Mubarak to step down… All three of us strongly rejected the minister’s attempts to persuade us… In the absence of a revolutionary leader who could easily be pressured, the will of the people was in control… “You obviously don’t understand the youth. You think everything is about deal-making. You thought we were willing to negotiate the rights of martyrs in return for a photo-op with a minister or a prime minister”… We all left the room… We tuned in and heard an announcer cite Dr. Badrawy as the source of the news that the president had decided to step down…” (270-282)
14. The Revolution Starts With One Person: “I was no more than a guy with some marketing experience who started a facebook page that snowballed into something greater than any of its’ thousands of contributors” (293)
15. This is Revolution 2.0: “The Egyptian revolution showed us that the great mass of people who are normally risk averse, aren’t normally activists, can become extraordinarily brave and active when they unite together as one… it was truly a spontaneous movement led by nothing other than the wisdom of the crowd…” (293)
Specific Tactics
1. A place to post multimedia files on a specialized topic: Islamway.com (14)
2. Counter-propaganda using factual sources: El Baradei’s facebook page (39)
3. Make Demands by using On-Line Petitions: “Together for Change” (44)
4. Form and Build On Face-2-Face Connections: Meeting El Baradei (46)
5. Use Twitter to Engage Informally: El Baradei’s account (48)
6. Use Opinion Polls to Make Collective Decisions: “Why Haven’t You Signed The Petition?” (50); Selecting a Protest Option (285)
7. Use Opinion Polls to Share Information: Reactions to the first demonstration (83)
8. Solicit Questions from public then get them answered (Google Moderator): “Ask El Baradei” (55)
9. Balance Activists vs. Mainstream Public (Aggressive language vs. Moderate tone): “We Are All Kaled Said” page (59)
10. Make Powerful Initial Impression (page name, first post, writing style, essays, visual): “We Are All Kaled Said” (60)
11. Provide Links (to on-line media, real world events): Torture videos (61)
12. Respond to Members Input (even if disagree): Removing an unsubstantiated video (62)
13. Solicit Member Generated Content: Evidence of government lies (66)
14. Organize On-Line Actions: Members adopting a common avatar on Facebook (67); Members self-photos holding sign (68)
15. Non-Confrontational Demonstrations: The “Silent Stand” (70)
16. Use the “Event” function on Facebook: The “Silent Stand” (70)
17. Distribute Press Releases to the Media (to inform general public): The “Silent Stand” (73)
18. Measure Performance of Pages using on-line tools (page counts, etc.): Silent Stand Event page vs. El Baradei page (Time to 100,000 members) (73); Numbers of ‘likes’ and comments per day (85); “…even though our page had 30% fewer members, the participation and comments on our page were sometimes double the other page’s…” (111)
19. Solicit Designs for logos and banners: “Yes, We Can” (75)
20. Encourage Members to send invitations: The “Silent Stand” (75)
21. High Frequency Posting before an event: “…nine straight hours…” (75)
22. Solicit Relevant Celebrities: Kaled Said’s mother (75)
23. Use Twitter for Real World/Real Time Updates: “…more than a hundred people have showed up…” (77)
24. Document Event Using Video: Still pics, ‘drive-by video’ (78)
25. Celebrate Every Small Victory: “…eight thousand people…” (79); government concessions (85)
26. Combine music and lyrics with imagery: “The Resurrection of Egyptians” (86)
27. Protect Anonymity using Proxy Programs: using Tor (82); Facebook notification that revealed sender’s identity (115); page members getting arrested (190)
28. Balance Facts/Statistics/News with Emotional Bonding: “Clearly both are needed” (87)
29. Reveal own interests and ideology (but it’s not about yourself): “Who Are You, Admin?” (88)
30. Reiterate members’ Goals and Dreams (esp. for outsiders): “What is it you people want?... I Wish…” (150)
31. International Outreach via National versions of the page: www.elshaheeed.co.uk
32. Use very short works of fiction/dialogue to make a point: “Abbas and the Administrator” (‘Abbas’ is a very negative character) (95)
33. Promote dialogue with members of the security forces: Members asked to send non-confrontational messages to police officers with on-line accounts (100); Photos depicting positive interactions between the army and demonstrators (140); “…I posted… news of good, honest police officers…” (158)
34. Build on popular culture: holidays, movies (101/102)
35. Be aware of your “brand” and style: “…the issue lies in the difference between activists and regular non-politicized young men and women…” (111)
36. Mobilize members to monitor an election: “…We asked our members to report any violations they witnessed…” (119)
37. Mobilizing “Human Shields” to protect vulnerable populations: “…I wrote that the perpetrator (of a bombing at a Christian church) did not just cause 21 Christians to die, he also caused 80 million Egyptians to fight…” (129)
38. Appealing to organized groups: “…I began with the “ultras,” as zealous soccer fans are known- many thousands in number…” (139)
39. Protect demonstrators by announcing location at last minute: “…two or three days before…” (145)
40. Utilizing photographers: “The Camera is my Weapon” (155)
41. Compile all relevant information into one document (so easy to print or distribute): “Everything You Need To Know About Jan25” (164)
42. Force the Regime to React to You: “The regime’s decision to block these two websites was a grave mistake, they did not realize it was impeccable testimony to the strength of the protests…” (186)
43. Backup methods if website blocked: “However, several activists had begun spreading information via traditional means. I remembered the backup e-mail list that included 20,000 members, and I quickly set up a Google Group to send the message to everyone… The Revolution had transcended any single Facebook page, event invitation, video or design…” (195)
44. Force the regime to affect non-protesters: “On the morning of Jan28, all communication in the country was cut off… Little did the regime know that this was the single largest promotional effort possible for the revolution. Every citizen who had not heard of the uprising now realized that a major challenge to the regime must be underway…” (212)
45. Use public gatherings to promote demonstration: “The ritual Friday Prayer was ideal for mobilizing the masses and later proved to be the main reason behind activists’ success on Jan28…” (212)
46. Resist lawlessness (by thugs or the Police): In the absence of security measures and police protection, “Popular committees” formed to protect districts and neighborhoods… They also formed checkpoints at key entrances… Religious Muslims and Christians protected each others’ places of worship…” (224-225)
47. Organize the Occupation: “The sit-in participants were organized… some groups were responsible for cleaning litter, while others took care of securing the entrances and searching people coming into Tahrir. Doctors… established a field hospital… Plumbers brilliantly converted a few of the now dysfunctional armored vehicles into public restrooms… Other people created a lost and found desk… One guy rigged up a power-charging unit using a light pole… Many citizens outside the square also played a critical role delivering food and medical supplies. They also handled traffic control…” (225)
48. Pressure the security forces to declare their position: “The armed forces’ response was a clear statement of support for the protesters…” (227)
49. Prepare in case administrators get arrested: Arrange alternate admin’s, passwords changed if arrested, delete sensitive info (230)
This list is obviously taken directly from Ghonim's book, but I am interested in the knowledge and experience of the people reading this diary. If you have suggestions, questions or ideas regarding this list of methods and techniques, please share them.
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