Posted by Fuchs,

As far as I know the events started with a tiny tragedy that ignited the powder keg. It takes no internet or special software to do this - it's not unlike what happened in East Europe around '90.
After reviewing all the links I have to agree there is little evidence that the internet played a significant. The comments on Wikileaks appears to be mere speculation. The tension has been mounting for many years, and while it isn't clear what elevated it to this level, I haven't seen any evidence that the internet media contributed in a major way. Maybe in time we will.

Anonymous seems to believe that he/she is making a major contribution to the uprising, but I see limited posts on his/her site, and the one I did see from Tunsia said his/her contributions weren't helpful. While I'm confident the internet is being used to coordinate, mobilize, and garner global support (perhaps unintentionally), there is no evidence presented yet that it has played a significant role like it did during the Seattle WTO chaos.

I think the bigger questions now that need to be asked are what does this mean to region at large? Will it prompt citizens in other Arab countries with oppressive governments to raise up? Will this present new challenges or opportunities to the extremists? Since the uprising appears to be mostly unorganized, who will assume the new leadership role in Tunsia? If it is the military, will anything really change?