For many of the demonstrators in the streets engaged in the numerous popular uprisings in North Africa, the most powerful weapon against tear gas and gunfire was the small camera in their cell phones.
By sending images of the violence to sites like YouTube or Vimeo and then sharing them on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, people have eclipsed the official voice of governments and brought themselves directly to the world's attention. The cell phone camera has become a crucial tool for documenting revolutions against repressive governments cornered by protests. Only ten years ago it was unthinkable to imagine a similar future for the portable telephone.
Revolution of mobile phones
Even human rights associations have published guides and tutorials on the effective use of camera phones: “We have video technology that can fit in the palm of your hand,” says J.Kats, director of the Study Center for Mobile Communication. “This is perhaps a decisive blow to the rigidity of the old regimes based on the centrality of information”.
In Tunisia, cell phones have been successfully used to document images of the early protests of December in Sidi Bouzid. The contribution was decisive in the explosion of the movement throughout the country, and was also collected and broadcast by the most important networks.
From there it is a short step to Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain. A click, I would say.
Although present since the end of the 90s, cameras have caused a revolution in our world Cell only with the 2004 Tsunami and the attacks in the London Underground. Since then, testimonies filmed by ordinary citizens have struck, moved and documented the whole world. I think of the murder of the young Neda during the youth protests in Iran, and of other reportages that would otherwise be impossible.
What future for this type of information? There is no doubt that the exponential multiplication of photographic and video sources will require enormous and thoughtful cataloging and sorting work: Youtube, for example, makes use of the help of an aggregator which 'keeps count' of videos already published and places greater highlights the most relevant ones. Another key factor will be the improvement of image quality.
Videos are stories. What is happening is a story of freedom and democracy. There will be many in the future: the mobile phone revolution will bring us stories that we will often have no more than 5 minutes to tell.
