Iran’s Twitter Revolution
Just when you thought that social networking had been successfully dismissed as a fad and a frivolity, the elections in Iran show the world exactly how powerful sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be.
Since the disputed election results were announced, Iranians have taken to the streets — and the Internet.
They’re using Facebook to organize marches, they’re posting videos on YouTube to show the world the violence used to quell the demonstrations, and the discussion is so active on Twitter that you can find more than 1,500 messages detailing the actions and reactions from around the globe. Huffington Post has a live blogger who updates his reports on a nearly minute-by-minute basis.
People on both sides of the dispute are mobilizing their supporters and organizing their protests on a vast scale.
“Twitter” doesn’t seem like such a funny word anymore.