Just 55 days into the new year, we have witnessed a dramatic political shift in Egypt, triggered by civil protest and fueled by electronic communication. We are all well aware of the unparalleled access to information with which social media has presented us. But these events have given new definition to revolution, showing us just how much power is harnessed within our fingertips.

As students, we place our lives on public display, voluntarily making our personal information accessible to millions of people.

For us, social media serves its primary purpose – a social outlet, a way for us to stay in constant communication with our peers, our friends and our family.

But these recent events have exposed us to this medium’s dual function as a platform to further political causes and initiate revolution through the hands of ordinary citizens who otherwise could have never had such power and political pull.

Through mediums such as Twitter and Facebook, citizens were able to make public the political issues that plagued their nation, thus making millions upon millions of people across the globe socially aware of events that affect them directly and indirectly.

The recent political shift in Egypt, and other protests occurring now in our own country, have a two-sided effect on us.

For one, they have made us more aware of the looming potential for exploitation of political power, and thus the need to be vigilant over our own government.

Secondly, these events have revealed to us the incredible power that we possess as a society.

And this occurrence has caused us to rethink about the place and potential power of social media and its role in our society.

Perhaps we have underestimated the capacity of these resources and their ability to serve as ammunition in political movements.

Social media has become the pulse of revolution, pumping vital lifeblood into it, delivering oxygen to the veins of political change.

Social media has the capacity to give an incredibly heightened level of momentum to these social movements, thus giving a fresh perspective, and perhaps a complete revitalization, to grass-roots movements.

Anyone with access to a computer screen, mobile phone, iPad or iPod have at their fingertips an immeasurable amount of power, and the impact of this influence are only limited or expanded by how wisely or responsibly citizens use it.

The advent of social media as political tool has presented average citizens with a platform through which they have the ability to reach a larger audience of people in a short period of time.

It automatically makes outsiders more socially aware of the occurrences in these countries and thus the need for political revolution.

Thus, citizens in these countries are able to garner huge amounts of outside support for their protests and bring their issues to the political forefront in their own country and in others around the world.

And tyrannical leaders under the microscopic scrutiny of social media, have nowhere to hide.

Their oppressive tactics become the central focus of public discourse.

Our world is no utopia, by any means. But social media has the potential to serve as a bridge to close the gap between the powerful and the voiceless.

This medium allows most ordinary citizens to compensate for what they lack in funds, resources and influence.

Social media has become a communication gateway. And with its instantaneous quality, it has empowered us. It is our direct gateway to our leaders.

This new medium has breathed life into revolution, evolving it into something more efficient and better organized.

This is the new era of revolution. The global community that social media fosters gives grassroots movements greater momentum, allowing them to reach larger audiences with every tweet or Facebook post.

Social media plays an important role within our society – helping movements gain traction and garner support.

Social media has a place within political revolution. And that place is everywhere.

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