Iran and Twitter Shaping A New World

I have come to the point that many on the web find themselves where I have more resources than I can keep up with. Resources from my Milestones for a New Millennium blog include dgCommunities "a collaborative space for professionals working to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development worldwide", from the Development Gateway Foundation.

Development Gateway is an international nonprofit organization that provides Web-based platforms to make aid and development efforts more effective around the world.

One of their one of the online publications is ict.developmentgateway.org which deals with information and communication.

Recently, though they had a post of the Twitter phenomenon from another member which caught my eye. I have been on the look out for such articles. They have been pretty easy to find coming from numerous sources.

The original article was from Mashable demonstrating how information can be reshaped, in format not content, and used again to help form understanding and policy.

clipped from ict.developmentgateway.org

News #CNNfail: Twitter Blasts CNN Over Iran Election

Twitter users blasted CNN this weekend for a lack of coverage of the Tehran protests, with Iranian citizens claiming ballot fraud and taking to the streets.

Twitter has proven a powerful tool for spreading news of developing events in the country, but it has also taken on the role of media watchdog: thousands of Twitter users adopted the hashtag #CNNfail to highlight a lack of Iran coverage from the news organization.

Language: EnglishSource: Mashable: The Social Media Guide

Added by John Daly

June 15, 2009 Archive Date: June 15, 2009

News of Iran, News in Iran, New by Iran Bringing Change

The news coming out of Iran has been disturbing and fascinating at the same time. What has been particularly game changing is the use of social media, especially Twitter. My real life/day job persona now has its own Twitter account, though it took me a while to get what seemed to be a fluff application. For many, probably most, it still is, but it can be a powerful tool. This article from the Boston Globe indicates how great of a tool.

News of Iran, edited in Newton - The Boston Globe

The website is called Tehran Bureau, but it is not housed in the Iranian capital. It’s edited from Niknejad’s parents’ living room in Newton

The English-language site has generated a lot of attention over the past few weeks as tensions escalated over allegations of electoral fraud by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government. When demonstrators were shot and communication with the West was curtailed in a government clampdown, Tehran Bureau’s stream of news alerts and Twitter feeds became a valued source of information cited by The New York Times and other Western news organizations.

Shows what one person can do with two Apple Powerbooks. The Internet can be an Archimedes Lever for communicating with the rest of the world. The difference is that we can all hold on to the lever. If enough push the same way the world can move. This doesn't mean that Twitter is going to topple the regime in Tehran and I profoundly hope that there isn't a bloody crushing of the people's uprising. Even if the Resistance is forced underground Twitter and other social media tools provide a sieve for the regimes attempts to block information and support from the outside world. Iran is not Burma where one of the primary forms of control is the impoverished conditions of the people. Even though it will not be in the open, people will still be communicating and collaborating in Iran, slowly building up and slowly changing.

There has been a flurry of stories coming out of Iran and the Twitter phenomenon. This blog is not a news breaking resource, but my way of exploring and understanding issues. Particularly those dealing with social media and its affect on our global community. So I will be going back looking at this some more through some articles I have saved in drafts.

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