Instant Gratification Becomes Even More Instant

I know this is old news, but I'm still amazed by our generation and how communication has become even more instantaneous than ever before! I must admit that my last post was a bit cynical, but a recent article I happend upon has really given me a new perspective. In The Atlantic, an article entitled "How Word of Mubarak's Resignation Spread on Social Media," indicated that the news spread most on Facebook, leaving other favorites such as Twitter and e-mail in the dust.
A company called ShareThis, which tracks hour-by-hour email, Twitter, and Facebook exchanges, shows that early on Friday, Feb 11, before Mubarak officially announced his resignation, people used these three modes of communication pretty evenly. However, after the announcement came, the usage of Facebook spiked, and remained the most utilized method, while Tweets also increased somewhat, but both severely outnumbered e-mail.
It's interesting that the once most talked about method of communication was the least utilized method here. It makes me realize that not only have we become more technologically advance, but we have taken our need for instant gratification to a whole new level. E-mail used to be the technology that epitomized this mentality, but now there are even newer, more advanced tools that make us even more connected at lightning speed.
When people think about instant gratification, negative connotations come to mind. I share this attitude, but I guess I never fully appreciated the benefits and impact of such tools until the Egyptian protests. To think that as a result of these methods of communication, an entire movement was formed and managed to overthrow its leadership, is incredible. This just goes to show the awesome opportunity an individual or a group has to effect change through the various social media tools that are available to us today. Obviously, this isn't the first case where social media has been utilized to effect change. The current administration relied on this heavily during the campaign and continues to utilize it today, and many social justice groups create groups on Facebook and Twitter in order to spread their missions.
These are obviously only a few examples of the power of social media, but I'm constantly fascinated by positive way these tools have been utilized.