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It's 5:30am on the East Coast and I've just been up all night, watching with rapt attention Twitter feeds since 11pm. The media's been inexplicably out of it (

by frisco 17y ago

It's 5:30am on the East Coast and I've just been up all night, watching with rapt attention Twitter feeds since 11pm. The media's been inexplicably out of it (see #CNNfail, but CNN isn't the only one), but Twitter's been amazing to watch. There's been a revolution -- who knows if it'll go anywhere, much less be successful -- organizing in front of me. Users in Tehran debating whether meetups are traps (the 12:30pm "Mousavi gathering" ended up being surrounded by special police, with Mousavi nowhere in sight), and coordinating news and rallies. Local students have been sharing paths around tear gas in and out of dorms; what doors to avoid due to waiting unmarked vans on the other side. How to avoid secret police going door-to-door collecting satellite dishes and modems; cell phone service status throughout the city. It's amazing. Edit: There's one picture that sums it up: http://twitpic.com/7c85l http://twitpic.com/7c85l At least she's facing people, not tanks. Hopefully she's still around...

DanielBMarkham 17y ago
Great picture. Thanks for the link. Twitter gives a sense of immediacy and importance to, well, rather mundane things. I wonder if it might be magnifying the effect here. After all, even a few thousand temporarily upset people many times don't amount to much than a few protests. I don't know one way or the other -- just speculating that Twitter may actually out-do cable news in hyping news stories. Whatever happens, it will be interesting to watch the mix of technology and society.
- diN0bot 17y ago
  it is real "reality tv". i think that keeps it a tad more honest and a ton more interesting.
TomOfTTB 17y ago
What exactly are you watching on Twitter? Other than "There are riots in the Tehran over the election" what more is there to say right now? Anyone who is watching the situation knows the communication lines have been cut. As for CNN they did report on it during their news casts. What else would you have them do? They have no footage (cameras are being confiscated), no direct communication with reporters and therefore no accurate information. So there's nothing really to report (other than people on Twitter who are either making things up or regurgitating news reports that repeat the same known facts over and over again) Do you really want a media that reports on something even though they have no facts?
- frisco 17y ago
  Last night it was #IranElection, the keyword "Mousavi", @Change_for_Iran, among several others. Yes, there are rumors going around, but if you found the right users there were definitely people right there, standing on the streets. That strikes me as more credible than reporters which aren't necessarily getting the whole story, especially if foreign press is being asked to leave the country. "Mackell says the crackdown on protests has also extended to journalists, making it almost impossible for the media to cover the story. "I saw yesterday a Japanese camera crew who have full government permission and were working with an approved government translator, still were beaten and arrested by the police for filming at a protest. That kind of thing is happening to a lot of people. Journalists are having their cameras taken." (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/14/world/main5087285.shtml http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/14/world/main5087285....) That's where Twitter -- as long as you're looking at people who are actually there -- comes in.
  - tlrobinson 17y ago
    If you have a list of quality Twitter users you should add them here: http://almost.at/#iran http://almost.at/#iran (click the person icon with a "+")

by frisco 17y ago

DanielBMarkham 17y ago

Great picture. Thanks for the link. Twitter gives a sense of immediacy and importance to, well, rather mundane things. I wonder if it might be magnifying the effect here. After all, even a few thousand temporarily upset people many times don't amount to much than a few protests. I don't know one way or the other -- just speculating that Twitter may actually out-do cable news in hyping news stories. Whatever happens, it will be interesting to watch the mix of technology and society.

diN0bot 17y ago
it is real "reality tv". i think that keeps it a tad more honest and a ton more interesting.

TomOfTTB 17y ago

What exactly are you watching on Twitter? Other than "There are riots in the Tehran over the election" what more is there to say right now? Anyone who is watching the situation knows the communication lines have been cut. As for CNN they did report on it during their news casts. What else would you have them do? They have no footage (cameras are being confiscated), no direct communication with reporters and therefore no accurate information. So there's nothing really to report (other than people on Twitter who are either making things up or regurgitating news reports that repeat the same known facts over and over again) Do you really want a media that reports on something even though they have no facts?

frisco 17y ago
Last night it was #IranElection, the keyword "Mousavi", @Change_for_Iran, among several others. Yes, there are rumors going around, but if you found the right users there were definitely people right there, standing on the streets. That strikes me as more credible than reporters which aren't necessarily getting the whole story, especially if foreign press is being asked to leave the country. "Mackell says the crackdown on protests has also extended to journalists, making it almost impossible for the media to cover the story. "I saw yesterday a Japanese camera crew who have full government permission and were working with an approved government translator, still were beaten and arrested by the police for filming at a protest. That kind of thing is happening to a lot of people. Journalists are having their cameras taken." (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/14/world/main5087285.shtml http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/14/world/main5087285....) That's where Twitter -- as long as you're looking at people who are actually there -- comes in.
- tlrobinson 17y ago
  If you have a list of quality Twitter users you should add them here: http://almost.at/#iran http://almost.at/#iran (click the person icon with a "+")