‘I’ve always said that if you want to liberate a society just give them the internet.’

I wish that’s a quote that could be attributed to me. In fact, it was said by Wael Ghonim, who helped co-ordinate, via Facebook, the first mass rally against the regime in Egypt earlier this year. Ghonim, Google’s marketing manager, was jailed, but the wave of protest against the autocratic leadership of then president Hosni Mubarak had profound repercussions.

Within days of the first demonstrations hundreds of thousands of Egyptians had joined the anti-government movement and despite some strong-armed tactics against the populace, Mubarak was sidelined.

‘We would post a video on Facebook that would be shared by 60 000 people within a few hours,’ recalls Ghonim.

Just weeks before, another North African country, Tunisia, was also swept by a popular uprising, the beginning of the ‘Arab Spring’ that deposed the president. Like Egypt this revolt was helped by the spreading of information via social media. Facebook, Twitter and – not to forget – ‘plain old’ text messaging were the weapons of choice. Never before have humans had the ability to disseminate news and information so quickly and so simply – and it’s only going to become more significant in our lives. Africa has lagged somewhat behind the rest of the world but it is catching up fast, as ‘Power to the People’ reveals on page 73.

On the subject of Egypt, the land of the pharaohs is the focus of another of our features on page 58, this time detailing the efforts it has made on the ICT front. Realising the need to be highly competitive, the government began a series of programmes – many of them with business backing – to use ICT as the engine to help build a generation armed with modern skills.

Companies have been at the forefront of efforts. Intel, for example, has helped boost knowledge so that over 80 000 teachers have learnt how to bring technology into the classroom. Cisco too has created nearly 400 Networking Academies throughout the country.

On page 48 we investigate outsourcing and find out if it’s possible to have the best of both worlds while on pages 62 and 68, a couple of other modern business necessities, vehicle fleet tracking and data storage, come under the spotlight in ‘Eye in the Sky’ and ‘Getting Smarter with Data’.

We haven’t forgotten about VoIP either (although in the rush of new technologies some consider it old hat). Catch up with the latest on the subject on page 43.

Finally, back to the social networking expansion. Closely allied to the boom has been the rise of the smartphone. On the continent it’s not just about updating a Facebook page that makes them so attractive, but also their potential to run apps that allow small businesses quick and easy access to vital information. On page 30 we detail how uniquely African solutions are helping farmers with livestock and crop prices, as well as enabling people access to things like banking and medical advice.

Now that’s truly a revolution.

Patrick Farrell

Gizmos & gadgets – The latest hot technology

Sound bytes – News and developments from the industry

Radar – Arthur Goldstuck laying cables

Riding the new wave – Neotel CEO and MD Sunil Joshi

Joining the club – Smartphones and the mobile data market

Talking of the future – Where VoIP is header

Best of both worlds – The pros and cons of outsourcing

Pyramid schemes – Egypt’s ICT revolution

Eye in the sky – The necessity of fleet tracking

Getting smarter with data – Finding the right storage solution

Power to the people – Impact of social media

What’s on – Conferences and exhibitions