On one of my previous blog post I discussed social media as a tool for revolution. I outlined how Facebook and Twitter were being used by protesters in Egypt to communicate.

Egypt eventually blocked the Internet in order to try and stop the protesters communicating. During the protests the Egyptian Government closed down the Internet and mobile phone access for six days. This ended up costing them over $90 Million Dollars, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"The current shutdown of Internet and communications services for five days will have a pronounced economic impact. It is estimated to have incurred direct costs of at minimum USD 90 million. This amount refers to lost revenues due to blocked telecommunications and Internet services, which account for around USD 18 million per day, or, on a yearly scale, for roughly 3-4% of GDP," the OECD reported.

Vast sums of money were lost when communication services were shut down and the affects will be felt long term. The Internet has become so intertwined with every countries economy that when you shut it down there are serious financial consequences.