Facebook, Twitter fuel fire for war
As the Internet grows exponentially in users and content, so grows the desire to pin it down to a purpose. Because of possible anonymity, the Internet gives voice to the otherwise-silent. The Internet is a gathering place of extreme inanity and surprising profundity, and to give it a single purpose or single explanation is nearly impossible.
Nevertheless, recent speculations on the Internet have focused on its centrality to popular uprisings, first noticeably in Tunisia, then Egypt and now in Libya. Rebellions in the first two countries relied on social networking for the garnering of support and communications, and the Libyan rebels are quickly following suit. Such rebellions are pioneers, and signal a movement away from traditional methods and arenas of discourse.
Considering the primary function of social networks, to bring people together and forge new connections, it is unsurprising how effectively they have served these rebellions. Social networks encourage not only voicing your opinions but also finding others with similar opinions. They are also powerful tools of interaction; therefore, discontented citizens could assemble, plan a protest and spread the word of that protest, all without leaving their homes.
Social networking severely limits the preventative abilities of oppressive regimes. The only guarantee of preventing oppositional organization through social networks is cutting off access to the Internet. Due to the extensive access to the Internet in much of the world, only the communication needs to move across borders. If social networks were only a new tool, there wouldn't be such an explosion of rebellions, only perhaps more successful ones.
While it's important to pay attention to Libya and others as they use social networking to achieve freedom, we should not reduce the Internet to a site of rebellion.