http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/12/facebook-hurt-syrian-revolution-161203125951577.html
"Erica Chenoweth, a professor at the School of International
Studies at the University of Denver, has argued that social media is
helping dictators, while giving the masses an illusion of empowerment
and political worthiness.
At a recent lecture at Columbia University, when asked for an
example where social media played a negative role in a social movement,
Chenoweth paused a little to finally say, 'what comes to my mind now is
Syria.'
Indeed, social media hurt the Syrian uprising. It gave the
Syrian people the hope that the old dictatorship can be toppled just by
uploading videos of protests and publishing critical posts. Many were
convinced that if social media helped Egyptians get rid of Hosni
Mubarak, it would help them overthrow Bashar al-Assad.
It created the false illusion that toppling him would be easy and doable."
I'll have to ponder this a while. I would assume Syrians would know more about their country than what they read on Facebook and not be swayed by information that contradicts their on-the-ground knowledge.
Internet Collective Action is people organizing in a nonhierarchical manner to accomplish a particular goal. The reward is in the doing, and how much or how little anyone participates is completely voluntary, depending on their abilities and commitment to the goal. By this process amazing things can be accomplished. ICA will grow so long as the Internet is free. http://www.lisamcpherson.org/pc.htm is an example of ICA.
