North Africa: How much does Internet access matter?

Amidst the ongoing debate of the role of social media in revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa lies another question: to what degree does Internet access matter in determining the role of the Internet and social media in these revolts? In Egypt and Tunisia, many attribute an important role to online tools while others debate their worth; most observers fall somewhere in the middle, recognising the value of the Internet but remaining realistic about its limitations. This blog post assesses various aspects of the debate.