Remixing the Spring!: Connective leadership and read‐write practices in the 2011 Arab uprisings

Abstract

AbstractThis article discusses the connections between the unfolding of the 2011 Arab uprisings and the “culture of the net.” Being far from overestimating the role that Internet has played in the uprisings, we propose to look at it not as an ensemble of tools, applications and technologies; but as a specific set of values, behaviors, skills and strategies that define the cultural dimension of the web. The article shows how linking, sharing and remixing have been among the core cultural practices behind the social movements that were successful in confronting Egypt and Tunisia's regimes. We also discuss how, despite the fact that the Syrian uprising has not achieved its political goal, yet it shares a similar cultural framework based on participation, peer-production, remix practices.