First Draft of History?

There is no question of the important role social media networks like Twitter and Facebook played in the recent uprisings in the Middle East. Not only were social networks used to coordinate events but also to report reactions by various regimes. OR Books just published Tweets from Tahrir (April 7), a collection of tweets from the Egyptian revolution by those on the ground edited by Alex Nunns and Nadia Idle.

The first of its kind, Tweets from Tahrir tells the story of the Egyptian revolution by those directly involved. The editors received permission from the posters to use their tweets in the book, though it is believed the tweeters received no monetary compensation for their tweets. Never before in human history has the view of historical events from the average citizen been so available. As a history teacher, I recognize the intrinsic value of a book like Tweets from Tahrir. It tells an extraordinary story by ordinary people. It is precisely this popular perspective often lost from official recorded history. Social historians (historians who study the lives of average people & how they dealt with the big movements/events of their time) are incredibly creative at finding non-traditional sources to piece together ordinary life in ancient Rome or 16^th Century Flanders. Social historians now have a treasure trove of information about any number of modern events thanks to social networking sites like Twitter. Of course posts used in Tweets from Tahrir had to be vetted as well as the tweeters themselves and it raises the question of tweet ownership. It raises a third, more historical question, for me: how is this new social media going to affect future history?

I do not think the tweeters in Tunisia, Egypt or Bahrain misrepresented their experience through their tweets. I am confident the editors of Tweets from Tahrir compiled tweets from reliable and verifiable posters—isn’t this what editors do? The speed at which Tweets from Tahrir was assembled is mind-boggling from the stand of historical perspective. The Egyptian revolution ‘began’ on 25 January 2011, culminating with Mubarak’s resignation on 11 February and who is to say if it is over. Tweets from Tahrir was released on 7 April. One of the editors, Alex Nunn, tweeted about the book, “1st draft [of] history?” The tweeters in the book did not make those tweets knowing they would be used just a few short months later in a book, certainly a book that will be a definitive one on the Egyptian revolution for decades to come. Now that Tweets from Tahrir is published (and depending on its reception) how will this change future tweeting? Will people tweet honestly about events (as much as one can from their viewpoint)? I believe the door has been opened for people to misrepresent facts/timelines/events through tweets in the hope/preparation their tweets are used for future books. Social media allows us to construct our identity through what we choose to disclose online. Will it now allow us to construct/shape/tweak historical events? Of course. It could also allow us to have a whole three-dimensional picture of historical events as never before. There is no doubt history now has a new dividing line: everything before social media and everything after it.