If posts were Tweets…

I’ve spent a lot of time on Twitter this year, since the January 25 (#Jan25) demonstrations in Egypt that successfully demanded “Irhal” (Get Out!) the departure of the former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak — who left Cairo for Sharm as-Sheikh on 11 February, but who formalized military rule in his place.

Demonstrations flared up again in November, just before the first round of elections for a new parliament, and then again last Friday, just after the second round. The violence is so extraordinary that it almost doesn’t matter at the moment who will win. [Final results are not yet in, but it is believed they will show a substantial victory for Muslim religious groups.]

The violence of the military and police forces against demonstrators has been unspeakable.

You can look it up on Youtube, as pictures speak a thousand words.

One of the many scenes of official brutality against unarmed [and, in this video, also handcuffed] demonstrators can be viewed here. This one, said to contain scenes filmed on Friday 16 December, features extraordinary brutality against women demonstrators. Some of those attacked are said to have died from the beatings.

Somehow, it has not been possible for me to post as I used to… events accelerated in Israel + in Palestine, with not fewer than five stories per day (if not more) worth covering, but it was overwhelming and not possible to maintain the pace. Events in the region and the world also demanded time that they have not been given.

Twitter in the meanwhile has been compelling. I use Twitter like a wire service, and see breaking news hours before it appears even on the wires. The links posted by journalists and other interesting Tweeps are incredibly useful: first, I stopped reading the newspapers in print, and only read them on the internet; now, I hardly even go on my former ususal patrol of websites, and simply check Twitter at regular intervals.

I’ve spent a massive amount of time studying the Twittosphere, and working on my Twitter technique (@Marianhouk). Seeing how others do it, and distilling down large chunks of information takes quite a while. Then, there are deliberate attacks from lurking Cyber-bullies — on which professional advice varies: ignore them, or take them on. Sometimes pure adrenalin kicks in…

I will continue to post my longer analyses, according to possibility and inspiration.

Otherwise, I will try to make my posts more like 140-character Tweets.