9781422270417

chapter 1

STORY OF A STARTUP

Occupy Wall Street was the name of an organized protest against the financial system and income inequality in America. Although the initial protest was a physical demonstration that began on September 17, 2011, in New York City’s financial district, the movement spread and grew thanks to the online social network known as Facebook. By mid-October there were more than 400 Occupy pages on Facebook which, in addition to helping recruit more than 170,000 people, facilitated information sharing and storytelling. Facebook helped Occupy Wall Street mobilize its online following to show up and protest in person. During the previous summer, Wael Ghonim, a twenty-nine year-old Google marketing executive, learned about the death of Khaled Mohamed Said, who had been beaten to death by the Egyptian police. Compelled to act, he created a Facebook page on which he wrote, “Today, they killed Khaled. If I don’t act for his sake, tomorrow, they will kill me.” He named the Facebook page “We Are All Khaled Said.” The page attracted a quarter million followers in three months. Then, the voices on the Facebook page spilled out into Egypt’s streets, helping to ignite the uprising that eventually forced Egypt’s president to resign. The page was one of the sparks that ignited the movement known as the Arab Spring. Wael’s actions proved that one person can start a change and, with the help of Facebook, have it spread like wildfire.

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