The role of social networking sites (SNSs) in the January 25th Revolution in Egypt

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to asses the role of social networking sites (SNSs) in the 25 January 2011 Egyptian Revolution, also known as the "Arab Spring". Design/methodology/approach - The research methods used were an adaptive form of snowball sampling of a heterogeneous demographic group of participants in the Revolution, used to select focus groups to explore a range of relevant issues. Findings - SNSs are shown to have played a central and pivotal role in the events known collectively as the Arab Spring. Their importance as a source of non-governmental information and as a means of informing the external and internal community of internal events is highlighted by all participants. Originality/value - The paper outlines research into contemporary events of global significance.