Review on Maha Azzam, "How WikiLeaks helped fuel Tunisian revolution" (CNN.com, 1/17/11)

Quite the opposite from the Foreign Policy reading, "The First Twitter Revolution?," this CNN opinion piece gives responsibility to WikiLeaks- not Twitter- when it comes to ending the regime of Ben Ali. 

"Anyone doing business in Tunisia, be they local or foreigner, would have been aware of the power and control of the Ben Alis, the Trabelsis and the coteries of power that surrounded them. However, the WikiLeaks revelations added to the "disgust" that many Tunisians had already been feeling at the chasm in wealth prevalent in Tunisian society, a country where unemployment runs at 30%."

WikiLeaks firmly attributes the responsibility, though with the help of Twitter, the success of the Tunisian revolution great. 

"Today's technology provided them with channels that despite their government's restrictions, proved invaluable in spreading information and support for the protests, while WikiLeaks merely further exposed an already discredited and reviled regime."

Azzam is definitely right in making claims that today's technology was beneficial in making progress in Tunisia. Today, social media like Twitter connects anyone through a simple hashtag, and makes newsworthy information stand out. After all, with only 140 characters, either you'll get the picture or click a link for more, ultimately informing yourself about something you may not have known otherwise.

Review on Net/Indies' impact on 2008 election: Jeff Cohen, "Big Election Winner: Indy Media" (CommonDreams.org, 11/5/08)

I definitely have to agree that without the contributions from independent media in the 2008 (and 2012) election, the results may have been drastically different. I do have to say, I was less politically in tune in 2008. Social media has fully blossomed by then, but I'm pretty sure I was still on MySpace.

Though I still followed the election, I was not the news junkie I am today. I never knew about all of these contributing factors in the 2008 election, like the one you mention. However, now that things have obviously changed and I have been exposed to independent media, I'm grateful it's out there. Before, I merely thought Obama won the election because of his fresh perspective, diversity and social media presence. And I really didn't even know Drudge Report was a thing until a few years ago.

Independent media's presence has become a game changer in political races, elections and news in general. Without the Mitt Romney 47% video from Mother Jones, would Obama have won re-election in 2012? But the title for this article remains true- independent media is the real winner.