While some people only see the entertainment-based uses of Twitter (News - Alert), there are some important and practical uses for the social networking site as well. Of course, most people see sites like Twitter and Facebook only as a place where people can talk about the great sporting events of the day or find out about the latest tech news. Make no mistake about it, when used the right way, Twitter can actually help spread a message of anger, revolution and eventually hope and peace if it is used the right way.

Twitter played a prominent part in the “Arab Spring” uprisings and now it looks like it might have a positive impact on what could be a burgeoning revolution against the kleptocratic rulers of Nigeria. There has already been a nationwide strike and demonstrations, but the real anger has been communicated over the social media site in a way that will actually lead to an eventual revolution. 

The social site is being used for more than simple expressions of anger or revolution, though people are getting organized and finding out more than was ever known about their government. Some protestors shared pictures of slain protesters while others broke down the finances of the country. An oil rich economy, Twitter users collaborated to examine how much the president and vice president were making compared to the average Nigerian.

One Twitter user who broadcasts protest updates, Kola Oyeneyin explained the consensus among the tweeting protestors saying, “I think the government has opened a can of worms and we are now picking each one at a time.”

The source of the anger stems from the government removing decades-old oil subsidies that kept fuel prices relatively low. On January 1, the government said that the subsidies were removed in order to save the country $8 billion that would go towards repairing a failing infrastructure. While that goal sounds worthwhile, the price of gasoline in the country more than doubled, going from $1.70 to $3.50 per gallon of gas. Prices of food and other necessities also skyrocketed upwards in a country where most live on $2 a day.

Despite low incomes, there is no reason to think the tweeting won’t continue to lead the protests. Nigeria has the highest number of smartphone users and Twitter accounts on the African continent.

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