"Without the pen of the author of "Common Sense," the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain."

L. Gordon Crovitz writes the weekly Information Age column for the Wall Street Journal. Today he recounts the fascinating story of cyberactivist Wael Ghonim, the man who used the social media on the Web to inspire the Egyptian people to rise up and demand the ouster of their corrupt and brutal government. The regime, through its control of traditional media, could not keep up with fast-moving Facebook and Twitter communications.

Crovitz points out that revolutions have always involved media. He quotes John Adams: "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain."