3. Wael Ghonim
Degree in computer engineering
MBA from American University in Cairo
Married relatively young to an American woman, Ilka
Two children
Works in marketing for Google
4. Ghonim’s political acitivism begins
Started FB page for political figure Mohamed Mostafa ElBaradei, who he believed would
bring peace
Helped ElBaradei with his Twitter, giving him ideas to help his public persona
Started FB page for Khaled Said, who was beaten to death by police in June 2010
Initiated the first protest, Silent Stand. More than 8,000 people attended
Soon after, protesters began gathering in Tahrir Square
Even though people were questioning the identity of the FB page’s admin, they still
participated in a second Silent Stand
5. Silent Stand
The protest was scheduled for June 25, but the National Democratic Party scheduled a
children’s march for the same day and time
Silent Stand still happened and was a success
Ghonim began operating the Said FB page under the name Nadine Wahab to avoid
identification
Ghonim organized a demonstration on Police Day, Jan. 25, 2011
27,000 people confirmed, 365,000 people were following the FB page; it became a
recognized date for all Internet users
When the Jan. 25 location was announced, daily comments reached 15,000
6. Tahrir Square
YouTube videos from protesters were used to garner attention for the protest
When Ghonim left for Cairo on Jan. 23, he told Nadine to wait a week and if she hadn’t
heard from him, she should announce his connection to the Kullena Khaled Said page
The Internet, particularly Facebook, was flooded with pictures of those willing to die for the
cause
Used his Twitter account to post personal messages
During the protest, he used his Twitter account to let people know of his location and if he
thought he was going to be attacked
7. Tahrir Square
After it was over, Tahrir square was covered in tear gas, and people were
being shot with rubber bullets as police tried by any means necessary to get
them to leave
Ghonim still believed the protest was a success and wrote on the event’s
page, “Jan. 25 is no the end... It is the beginning of the end.”
Egyptian government blocked Facebook and Twitter in the country and
blamed it on server traffic because of protesters
Ghonim was abducted the day before protests were planned, Jan. 28
8. Wael’s abduction
He was interrogated and brutally beaten
When interrogators tried to sign into his accounts, his passwords weren’t
working – someone had changed them after noticing he hadn’t signed into
Twitter or Facebook for too long
An interrogator was able to sign into the Facebook page
He posted messages that opposed the revolutionaries’
Because of this, Mubarak supporters flooded the streets, and Tahrir Square
became a battlefield
9. Mubarak resigns
After 11 days, Ghonim was released
Afterwards, he told his stories to interviewers, which spread on
YouTube
Mubarak resigned on Feb. 11, 2011
“Congratulations, Egypt! This is the historical moment we have
been longing to witness!” Ghonim wrote on the activists’
Facebook page
10. Revolution 2.0
Ghonim describes past revolutions as “revolution 1.0,”
describing the people who start them as charismatic, politically
savvy leaders
They are what made past revolutions possible
Today, the Internet and social media are what gave young
Egyptians the tools to ignite a revolution. Otherwise, it wouldn’t
have been possible.
