Tarek Nasr is a man living at the epicenter of two massive social upheavals.
As a citizen of Egypt he participated in the Arab Spring revolution that in 2011 toppled the long-standing regime of President Hosni Mubareck, and brought to power a democratically elected government.
Tarek is also the founder and Managing Director of Planet 360, a social media and digital strategy agency in Cairo. His clients include multi-national brands like Nokia and Discovery Channel, as well as regional brands like Azza Fahmy Jewelry.
A year ago I interviewed him from his home in Cairo via Skype. We wanted to know what role social media played in "crowdsourcing" the revolution. We also wanted to get his expert analysis of how social networks are now used in the Arab region for business, personal connection, and politics.
Last week we spoke again. Much has changed in Egypt. People are free to speak their opinions in public, after decades of police state rule. But the various factions that united to topple the Mubarek government are now fighting for control of this infant democracy.
President Mohamed Morsai is supported by the Muslin Brotherhood while other groups fighting for a more secular Egypt struggle to gain a fair share of power. Tarek continues to help these secular forces through participation in social networks, which are much more political than in North America.
We connected with Tarek late at night as he sat in a café near his home in Cairo. Here's an except from that interview in which we discuss politics, changes in the last year, social networks and how his business is doing in this struggling post-revolutionary democracy:
Tarek Nasr: Egypt, The Revolution, and Social Networks from rohnjaymiller on Vimeo.