{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"43539856","dateCreated":"1317616997","smartDate":"Oct 2, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"MetteLP","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MetteLP","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/bloomingcreations.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/43539856"},"dateDigested":1532768295,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Culture crash","description":"Hi Najla
\n
\nI found your post very interesting. I am having a hard time understanding how it is to live in an authoritarian regime and why you would be ok with being restricted in so many ways, so this topic really touches me and makes me questions a lot of things. It seems as though the people of Saudi Arabia aren\u2019t as displeased with their situation as countries as Egypt, Libya etc. or they are at least not making a lot of protests. Here is an article<\/a> about how some saudi\u2019s tried to start a protest through facebook. It doesn\u2019t say anything about whether it worked nor had an impact, but maybe you know something about that?
\nIn this<\/a>, Dr Alsaif claims that he want gradual change and not a revolution, but yet others says that \u201cThey worried that democracy would cause strife in a tribal society.\u201d Is democracy wanted in Saudi Arabia and would it work with the culture and religion?
\nI also found this article<\/a> which claims that your King isn\u2019t doing much to prevent an uprising and concludes that the arab-spring will have an effect on Saudi Arabia and enforce changes. What do you think about that?
\n
\nArticles:<\/u>
\n1.<\/strong> Hundreds back Facebook call for Saudi Arabia protest<\/a>, Feb 24, 2011.
\n2.<\/strong> Saudi Arabia: Protest culture comes to kingdom<\/a>, March 10, 2011
\n3.<\/strong> Saudi Arabia and the Arab spring: absolute monarchy holds the line<\/a>, September 30, 2011","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"43833038","body":"
\n
\nHey Mette,
\n
\nThank you!
\n
\nThe ongoing discussion on why citizens of Saudi Arabia are not as dissatisfied with their king as the other countries could be refereed to so many reasons, on top of it is: living conditions in Saudi Arabia as not as bad as it is in the rest, but it could worsen as the days passed by. Saudi Arabia government can make things better if it want to and prevent similar uprisings from occurring, with long term solutions to improve the quality of its' citizens lives!
\n
\nThe protest that had been organized via facebook failed to say the least, as very few participated in it. It could be due to religious regulations that ban protests based on Islamic teachings, and it may be because the citizen had so much to lose and they didn't reach the tipping point where it's enough to risk what they have to gain something better in return!
\n
\nMany Saudis share the opinion of Dr. Alsaif, yet the tribal structure of the country would hinder such step. Democracy won't interfere with the religion itself, as its political regulations are poorly democratic, but the culture which in so many cases had been placed above the religion would so much affect the success of democracy in Saudi Arabia!
\n
\nThe younger generation wants more out of the government, and they in return are willing to give even more! And if there were any protest to succeed in SA, it'll be led by them but as a last resort!
\n
\nI found the articles you've posted very helpful and relevant, thank you for your interest in the topic!","dateCreated":"1317968964","smartDate":"Oct 6, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"NajlaAlNomair","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/NajlaAlNomair","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1317793729\/NajlaAlNomair-lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"43001532","dateCreated":"1316736419","smartDate":"Sep 22, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"MichelleG28","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MichelleG28","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1314079722\/MichelleG28-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/bloomingcreations.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/43001532"},"dateDigested":1532768295,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Ideas...","description":"Hi Najla,
\n
\nI thought I\u2019d put down some ideas regarding your topic for the Wiki \u2013 just as I\u2019ve done with the others when I\u2019ve missed the group discussion.
\n
\nI know that you will have more firsthand experience to draw from, so I thought I would just provide some research and a couple of points I found interesting \u2013 I hope it helps :)
\n
\nEnglish Global Voices
\nhttp:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org<\/a>
\nI\u2019m sure you probably already know about this one from your own research \u2013 but I thought I\u2019d add it just in case.
\nI found this article very interesting: http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/2011\/09\/10\/imad-bazzi-no-entry-to-egyp\/<\/a>
\nI thought it was an interesting example of the power of new media, and an interesting juxtaposition between the laws or ethics between countries \u2013 while seen as a \u201csecurity risk\u201d in Egypt and deported, it seems he wasn\u2019t denied entry to any other county \u2013 most definitely not from Lebanon.
\nThis also poses some questions about the different types of people who are embracing new media in the Arab World.
\nFrom the view in the above article and many others I have read it seems that it is the \u201cArab Youth\u201d that are the majority of supporters and users of new media. Whether this is accurate or not I\u2019m not sure? I think this may be a generalization in some ways \u2013 as I\u2019m sure that there would be some younger Arab people who do not support such revolutionary models?
\nI found the Libyan Green Electronic Army (LGEA) an interesting example of this.
\nLGEA: Gaddafi Supporters, and new media users
\nhttp:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/The-libyan-green-electronic-army\/148786281859058?sk=photos<\/a>
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IyZEeUWFkp8<\/a>
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Thelibyanarmy<\/a>
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rlcFOAelWTs<\/a>
\n
\nIt seems as though it\u2019s both sides in Libya that are using new media to attract attention and gather support. This is a very different story to the Egyptian uprising where the \u201crebels\u201d were identified by their use of social media and Mubarak supporters favored the propaganda of the traditional media stands (all controlled by Mubarak himself). It seems as though the use of new media in Libya has muddied the waters and it becomes increasingly difficult to see who supports what (at least from a western\/isolated view of things). However I found this website very helpful and informative: http:\/\/shababliby.com\/shabab\/?p=773<\/a>
\n
\nOn a different note, I found this use o twitter to be really interesting:
\nhttp:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/2010\/11\/15\/arab-world-tweeting-the-hajj-experience\/<\/a>
\n
\nI hope this information has helped. Let me know if I can help out in any other way.
\n
\nThanks
\nMx","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"43533258","body":"Thanks Michelle, I found the global voice website very enriching and containes a lot of insightful information. I used it after reading you post for my preliminary research and it was really helpful.
\n
\nLibya was a bit off topic to my wiki, but it's definitely strongly related to my report, thanks for sharing your finding here.","dateCreated":"1317607497","smartDate":"Oct 2, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"NajlaAlNomair","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/NajlaAlNomair","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1317793729\/NajlaAlNomair-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"43547988","body":"Hi Najla,
\n
\nI really liked your post - good work!
\n
\nI found your future predictions quite interesting. It does seem likely that governments around the world will see the importance of monitoring internet security. However where is the line in the sand that divides national security and freedom of speech? I found this article quite interesting: http:\/\/www.future500.org\/blog\/tag\/internet-censorship\/<\/a>
\nThis article is more India based - but do you think this will be something that will developed around the world?
\n
\nAdditionally here is a website related to Australia that talks about the same kind of censorship (although on a different scale) http:\/\/nocleanfeed.com\/learn.html<\/a>
\nYou can see here that the topic of censorship is being debated in first worlds too.
\n
\nIt's hard to make comments about how the internet and its progress has affected places like Saudi Arabia - and it's not really my place (as someone outside of Saudi Arabia) to critique their use of this new media. However it is interesting to research how things work in different countries - and this has been one of the things I have truly enjoyed about working in our group - such diversity! :)
\n
\nI did wonder how the government in Saudi Arabia might feel about the internet if it were used more to promote their own agenda (just as politicians use it here is Australia)? I'm not sure how they use the internet now? When I searched for Saudi Arabia on Google I came up with these top results:
\nhttp:\/\/www.state.gov\/r\/pa\/ei\/bgn\/3584.htm<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.cia.gov\/library\/publications\/the-world-factbook\/geos\/sa.html<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.saudiembassy.net\/<\/a>
\n
\nI couldn't help noticing they were all US based??? It would be very interesting to compare the Saudi Arabian governments use of the internet to that of the US' interpretation of Saudi Arabia.
\n
\nPerhaps the real evidence of new media's impact on all countries beyond first worlds (not just Saudi Arabia), will be in the next 20 years. When the children of the revolutions, the children of the age of the internet are in seats of power and influence - will we see a difference???
\n
\nGood work again! :)
\n
\nCheers,
\nMx","dateCreated":"1317643812","smartDate":"Oct 3, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"MichelleG28","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MichelleG28","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1314079722\/MichelleG28-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"43833612","body":"Hi Michelle,
\n
\nThank you, glad you enjoyed it!
\n
\nInternet censorship was a topic of debate in Saudi Arabia for as long as I can remember, and it still is! It\u2019s worth noting that many individuals have opted to just bypass the censorship using proxies & satellite connection!
\n
\nIn regard to the links about Saudi Arabia, they all are US based except for the last one which is a Saudi website run by the Saudi employees of the Saudi Embassy in the US.
\n
\nThe government is currently using the internet to mainly run the citizens\u2019 official matters (e-government), whereby many can be carried online. Most of the ministries and governmental departments has its' websites, yet not all of them are up to the standards, and many are way behind when it comes to social media! It would be really interesting to see how the governments would use the social media to its own good, and the greater good of the people of Saudi Arabia!
\n
\nI would slightly disagree on when we are going to see a new media impact on the countries beyond first worlds. I think the current revolutions are the beginning and a sign of a huge impact of the new media! I can see the difference even in the way I choose to express my opinion & the way my parents or people from a previous generation would choose to do so, that considering that they would express it in the first place!
\n
\nI've personally find the discussion about my country and the Arab world in general with you, or anyone from outside the area very interesting!
\n
\nThanks for your input, Michelle! You are welcome to add any thoughts beyond the original purpose of this wiki. Would love for this discussion to continue! : )","dateCreated":"1317971747","smartDate":"Oct 7, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"NajlaAlNomair","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/NajlaAlNomair","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1317793729\/NajlaAlNomair-lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]}],"more":false},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}