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Iran's Protests: Why Twitter Is the Medium of the Movement
Time ^ | Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2009 | By Lev Grossman

Posted on 06/17/2009 10:36:01 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

The U.S. State Department doesn't usually take an interest in the maintenance schedules of dotcom start-ups. But over the weekend, officials there reached out to Twitter and asked them to delay a network upgrade that was scheduled for Monday night. The reason? To protect the interests of Iranians using the service to protest the presidential election that took place on June 12. Twitter moved the upgrade to 2 p.m. P.T. Tuesday afternoon — or 1:30 a.m. Tehran time. (Read "The Iran Election: Twitter's Big Moment.")

When Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone founded Twitter in 2006, they were probably worried about things like making money and protecting people's privacy and drunk college kids breaking up with one another in 140 characters or less. What they weren't worried about was being suppressed by the Iranian government. But in the networked, surreally flattened world of social media, those things aren't as far apart as they used to be — and what began as a toy for online flirtation is suddenly being put to much more serious uses. After the election in Iran, cries of protest from supporters of opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi arose in all possible media, but the loudest cries were heard in a medium that didn't even exist the last time Iran had an election. (See pictures of Iran's presidential election and its turbulent aftermath.)

So what exactly makes Twitter the medium of the moment? It's free, highly mobile, very personal and very quick. It's also built to spread, and fast.

(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: internet; iran; iranviolence2009; newmedia; tweeter
This makes Twitter practically ideal for a mass protest movement, both very easy for the average citizen to use and very hard for any central authority to control.
1 posted on 06/17/2009 10:36:01 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I hate Twitter because of Rick Sanchez.


2 posted on 06/17/2009 10:36:25 AM PDT by exist
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To: NormsRevenge; Marine_Uncle; SolidWood; Straight Vermonter; G8 Diplomat; Man50D

fyi


3 posted on 06/17/2009 10:36:41 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: exist; PapaBear3625

Well it is useful as we see in Iran.


4 posted on 06/17/2009 10:38:01 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: All
Related thread:

Twitter provides instant news on protests in Iran.

5 posted on 06/17/2009 10:40:42 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

This is a lie from the State Department. They had nothing to do with Twitter changing their schedule. Twitter has even stated this. The scheduled maintenance was postponed after calls from our own citizens. The sleazeball State Dept. is taking credit for this. The 4th of July can’t come soon enough for me.


6 posted on 06/17/2009 10:51:14 AM PDT by robby (xbox360 gamertag...........bainrowe)
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To: robby
It could be a very valuable use of resources to find a way to provide cellular Internet to areas such as Iran and north Korea through a network controlled by us not the regimes
7 posted on 06/17/2009 10:56:04 AM PDT by veryconernedamerican
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Go on Twitter and post things like:

Obama does nothing to help the Iranians or
This is what happens when citizens don’t have 2nd Amendment rights.

Don’t forget to tag it with #Iranelection

You’ll soon get hate filled messages from the Obamabots and other assorted nutbags.

The response is really funny.


8 posted on 06/17/2009 11:00:12 AM PDT by 109ACS (Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed!)
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To: exist

Rick “Dirty” Sanchez?


9 posted on 06/17/2009 11:09:05 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
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To: robby
More ‘Obama Narcissism at play’
10 posted on 06/17/2009 11:11:07 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
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To: robby

Ah...I wondered about that...Hillary did it.


11 posted on 06/17/2009 11:32:11 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

It would appear this about all they have left. On another note. Notice the total lack of talk or governmental statements coming out of the middle eastern countries. They seem as quiet as the proverbial churchmouse.


12 posted on 06/17/2009 4:47:29 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle (Obama must be making huge piles of cigarette butts around the WH grounds at this point.)
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