Iranians both inside and outside the country are using social media networking sites to spread, to organize, and to make their voice heard. Iranians have shared online images, video, emails and tweets about the protests and spreading violence thus overtaking the local media. Efforts to control the populace of using internet is visible – limited internet bandwidth, blocking of networking sites, interrupted cell phone service and blocking SMSs and more.
And THAT is signal! This is what I guess. All these groupie networking sites Twitter, YouTube, Facebook – are heading the populace towards a new revolution - the online revolution? Is this just infatuation of the internet or the new technology? The revolution has just started in the gathering and sharing of information, of intention, of expression, of opinion and of connection.
The hierarchy is slowly reversing. Many people will control the few. Social media is a great weapon in the hands of the people. This isn't just an Iranian revolution - this is a bottom-up revolution impacting everything. Is it a boon or a bane?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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Interesting questions, Aashish. But I dont think that it is a simple matter of the hierarchy reversing, or of many people controlling the few. People will use whatever tools they can to communicate their cause - arguably the printing presses did more to wrest control from the church and state than the internet has done so far.
And, as with the printing presses, ownership is not just in the hands of the people. Much has been said of how Obama won the election through social media. That's fabulous if, as in his case, victory is part of the democratic process. But, with the right tools, social media can also be used to influence people by less benign leaders.
Andrew Thomas,
Publisher of Communicate magazine
www.communicatemagazine.co.uk
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