RAPID: Citizen Use of Social Media in the Egyptian Uprising

这项快速提案的目的是调查围绕埃及当前政治危机期间使用社交媒体的问题。从研究的角度来看，埃及的情况是独一无二的，因为媒体在组织和报道事件方面的规模、作用和速度都是前所未有的。该项目将开发软件，对埃及起义的信息进行持续的数据收集，并使用定量和定性技术相结合的方法来分析数据。由于埃及的事件发展迅速，立即捕获与当前事件相关的数据是当务之急。尽管已经有研究考察了社交媒体在危机环境中的使用情况，但这种研究环境在几个方面都是独一无二的。首先，在当前埃及的背景下，动员的规模和速度与社交媒体的作用相结合是独一无二的，可能预示着社交媒体未来的作用。其次，大多数研究侧重于单一类型的媒体，如博客或互联网论坛，这项研究将考察不同的社交媒体，并试图了解每种媒体在当前环境中所起的作用。第三，它将研究尽管埃及政府在互联网和卫星电话上设置了“虚拟宵禁”，但信息是如何在全球范围内传播的。这项研究不仅将重点放在应用程序的技术特征上，还将集中在危机背景下社交媒体使用所涉及的社会和文化问题上。更广泛的影响。通过了解社交媒体在社会大动荡期间如何用于动员和沟通，该项目将有助于提供有关社交媒体的作用和潜力的知识。通过研究这些信息如何在“被封锁”的社会之外传播，它对理解社交媒体在促进社会民主声音方面的作用具有重要意义。虽然拟议的数据收集基础设施是针对与埃及有关的事件，但它也可以适用于许多其他国家和事件，从政治危机到自然灾害，再到全国选举等等。该项目将提供基础设施，使来自世界各地的人们能够查看数据，获得关于另一个国家正在发生的事情的第一手报告，并提供评论和讨论。这将是一个有价值的教学手段，让年轻人了解其他国家的时事。

The purpose of this RAPID proposal is to investigate questions surrounding the use of social media during the current political crisis in Egypt. From a research perspective, the case of Egypt is unique in the unprecedented scale, role, and rapidity in which media is being used in organizing and reporting on events. This project will develop software that will perform ongoing data collection of information about the Egyptian uprising and use a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques to analyze the data. Because events in Egypt are transpiring rapidly, it is imperative to capture data relevant to current events immediately. Though studies have examined social media use in crisis settings, this research setting is distinctive in several ways. First, the scale and rapidity of mobilization in the current Egyptian setting in conjunction with the role of social media is unique and may be indicative of the future role of social media. Second, most studies focus on a single type of media, such as blogs or Internet forums, and this study will examine different social media and will try to understand what function each had in the current setting. Third, it will study how information was globally communicated despite the fact that the Egyptian government installed a "virtual curfew" on the Internet and satellite phones. This research will focus not only on technical features of the applications but also on social and cultural issues involved in social media use in crisis settings. Broader Impacts. By understanding how social media is used for mobilization and communication during a major disruption in society, the project will contribute knowledge about the role and potential of social media. By examining how such information can spread outside of a "blocked" society, it has strong implications for understanding the role of social media in promoting democratic voices in a society. Though the proposed data collection infrastructure is geared towards events related to Egypt it can be applied to numerous other countries and events, ranging from political crises to natural disasters, to national elections, and more. The project will provide infrastructure that will allow people from all over the world to view the data, gain firsthand reports on what is happening in another country and provide commentary and discussion. It will be a valuable teaching device to expose young people to current events in other countries.