Information scenario game for the Egyptian situation

In our Information Science class today, we played an information scenario game for the Egyptian situation. In our outcome, the Mubarek government steps down, leaves the country and interim rule by ElBaradei is established. Elections to be held at a future date. My team, representing the U.S. interests via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suggested to Mubarek that this was not the preferred outcome.

There were 9 parties; 3 information outlets (twitter, vodaphone, aljerrza), 3 potential governments ( Mubarek, ElBaradei, radical Islamists), 3 voices (Egyptian army, Egyptian young radical movement, US). We were given 10 pages of information sources constituting hundreds of tweets, news articles, photos, etc. from across the internet.

Comments


Jeff March:  If the leadership of the country falls into the hands of the muslim brotherhood, then that's bad news for everybody. 

Jeff Nason: I agree that Muslim Bro is NOT our friend, but what is the preferred outcome your team argued for?

Ed:  Jeff Nason, we talked about 30 yr alliance with Egypt, all Egyptian military is outfitted with US weaponry, and most of all $1.5B in aid yearly to a country with $166B GDP. In our mind, while revolution may be preferred, we would rather deal with the devil we already know. As Jeff March notes, a vacuum potentially filled with a radical extremist group such as the Muslim Brotherhood, is not in the US interests. Maybe the Nobel Prize winner ElBaradei is the answer, but remember, we were assigned the role of Clinton.

Using social media to promote libraries.

If there is a catch phrase for our latest decade, it is social media.  While we are all familiar with this media and its various forms, the utilization of technology to create interest and mobilize folks is gaining momentum. 

The first eye-opener was the election of President Obama.  During the Presidential campaign, "Hillary Clinton's camp had about 20,000 volunteers at work in Texas. But in an e-mail, ["Internet impresario"] Trippi learned that 104,000 Texans had joined Obama's social-­networking site, www.my.barackobama.com, known as MyBO. MyBO and the main Obama site had already logged their share of achievements, particularly in helping rake in cash. The month before, the freshman senator from Illinois had set a record in American politics by garnering $55 million in donations in a single month. In Texas, MyBO also gave the Obama team the instant capacity to wage fully networked campaign warfare. After seeing the volunteer numbers, Trippi says, "I remember saying, 'Game, match--it's over.'" http://www.technologyreview.com/web/21222/?a=f

The second eye-opener was the price assigned to social networks by Wall Street.  Depending on your source, these estimates are staggering;  Facebook ($80 Billion), Zynga ($5 Billion), and LinkedIn ($2 Billion) just to name a few.   This implies that there is "capital" intrinsic to social networks.

The final eye-opener was this weeks riots in Egypt which promoted the government to shut down access to the Internet and email.   This implies that there is "power" intrinsic in online communications, especially in the dissemination of information.

So, when perusing the blogs which I am subscribed to, I was taken aback when reading this very skeptical post regarding mobilization of communities to promote libraries using social media.

Mr Tay writes, "I think he has a point, does 15,000 fans of "save library X" fanpage really help if most just click "like" and forget about it?  Does that sway the powers that be? More to the point, in this day and age, does having 15,000 fans of "Save a library" with no other action really make sufficient news for traditional mass media to take notice and help to spread the word out? I don't know. In recent months, I have noticed however a couple of campaigns that seem to have resulted in actions that go beyond the purely online realm." http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/2011/01/4-successful-social-media-campaigns-for.html

Social media was instrumental in the election of Barack Obama, it is very valuable as a consumed item and it is clearly feared by those who govern by fiat.  In conclusion, when harnessed correctly, social media is precisely the avenue which should be chosen by libraries to plead their case.  As a phenomenon, it is clearly the newest incarnation of the old adage, "the pen is mightier than the sword".

DREAM ACT Resolution-ALA MW 2011

Background detail

http://librarian.lishost.org/?p=3377

WHEREAS, The American Library Association (ALA) strongly support the protection of each person’s civil liberties, regardless of that individual’s nationality, residency, or status; and that ALA opposes any legislation that infringes on the rights of anyone in the USA or its territories, citizens or otherwise, to use library resources, programs, and services on national, state, and local levels (ALA Policy 52.4.5); and...

My Commentary

I am currently taking a course "New Directions in Public Librarianship".  I will be blogging throughout the term on issues "that impact the functioning of the public library".

Our society provides services to those members of our communities who have little access to these services outside of the community.  The proper functioning of a community must involve those with no access to basic services without reference to citizenship or otherwise.  Indeed, the library provides services to those who are impoverished and susceptible to alienation.  This proposal, which was recently resolved at the ALA midwinter meeting, is a strong step forward in providing direction for public policy going forward. 

Many of the benefits of our public libraries are instantly noticeable.  These include literacy, community, access to technology, reference, and the means to research issues such as citizenship and residency.  It is shameful that any person or body would decide to restrict access to these basic needs within our society!

The founding of the public library system was the result of the vision, faith, and philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie.  His vision was simple, to offer "surplus wealth ... [to the] industrious and ambitious; not those who need everything done for them, but those who, being most anxious and able to help themselves, deserve and will be benefited by help from others and the extension of their opportunities at the hands of the philanthropic rich" (Carnegie, 1889, p. 686).  The decision of Carnegie and others to share their "surplus wealth" with those who are not burdened by such issues, was and should be at the forefront of our public library system.

References:
Andrew Carnegie, "The Best Fields for Philanthropy", The North American Review, Volume 149, Issue 397, December, 1889.