Social networks all abuzz as Mubarak steps down

After eighteen days of protests and pleas on various social media platforms, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak finally resigned. People all around the world are sharing their reactions over Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.

Twitter is indeed ‘all a twitter’ with the news of Mubarak’s exit from office after 30 years. “Congrats Egypt” is now trending with tweets coming from all over the world. Tweets all celebrating Egypt’s new found freedom and some questioning where Egypt is headed now. Mubarak’s Wikipedia entry has already been changed to show the end of his presidential term.

Popular video sharing site, YouTube, teamed up with Storyful, a journalist founded site for the monitoring of real-time web, to update viewers on the most important news from the protest via its CitizenTube channel. The channel continues to give on-the-scene updates of reactions to both Mubarak’s address yesterday and today’s announcement. Below is one such update.

Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites have played some key role in bringing the world’s attention to Egypt. From the still active Jan25 hashtag that followed the block of Twitter and such social networks in Egypt to Google’s Speak2tweet initiative that allowed Egyptians to voice their tweets.

In the interim a military council headed by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Soliman will assume control of Egypt.