Revolution 2.0

In many ways, Wael Ghonim is the ultimate child of the internet era. In the cyber world, he could swap his natural introversion and become an online extrovert. His IslamWay website led him to his future wife and gave him the experience of running a serious internet-based network, eventually landing him an executive role with Google. This confluence of skills coalesced with great serendipity when the Arab Spring swept his native Egypt and his Facebook page (We are all Khaled Said, named for a murdered activist), helped galvanise a generation. Ghonim is certainly an imperfect hero. Accused by some readers of taking more credit for the overthrow of Mubarak than warranted by his cyber-network facilitation and of wavering in his demands when other Egyptians were paying with their lives, but he also makes the point that the uprising was about everyone being a hero in their own way. For all its flaws, Revolution 2.0 is not the definitive account of Mubarak’s demise but it’s still a compelling insider’s version. From / The National