Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

Until recently, the buzz about Twitter had been almost entirely focused either on its explosive growth or on challenges to its cool cred (how many instances of "Twitter" can be found paired alongside "jumped the shark" in online posts? About 43,500 according to Google). Then, #IranElection happened.

Now, the conversation has turned from Ashton Kutcher to how social media may supplant traditional communication channels in times of crisis or dissent. While foreign news coverage is being severely curtailed and reporters are being kicked out of Iran, satellite coverage cut off, and state news is... well... being run by the state, at least a few tech-savvy citizens on the ground are finding ways to break through government-mandated blackout via Twitter and other social media services.

With its unique capability to post user reports via SMS, the Web or other applications, protesters are embracing Twitter as a tool to pass along eyewitness reports ("police are acting party on protesters side"), assist others ("Help protect the bloggers in Iran: change your settings so that your location is TEHRAN & your time zone is GMT +3.30"), and organize ("demonstration Wednesday at 4:00 pm from Enghelab Sq. to Azadi Sq.").

Expats and others supporting the protesters are in turn forwarding their tweets and posting their photos and videos on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and other social media aggregators for the world to see. The Iranian government has responded by attempting to shut off access to social media properties, although many are getting through via proxies set up by others outside of Iran to access the blocked sites. Others like our very own State Department are quietly helping as well, requesting that Twitter delay scheduled maintenance earlier in the week to avoid disrupting communications in Iran.

Whether this will make the difference for Iranians hoping for democratic legitimacy or greater freedoms remains to be seen. While protesters are so far successfully transmitting their message to the world, the world may have a difficult time interpreting what it all means. The sheer number of posts (#iranelection is the top trending Twitter topic) are mostly unverifiable without an independent press. Anonymous or third party posters make it almost impossible to know who to trust. And the messages that are getting out are deeply local and personal rather than analytical or contextual in nature. All of this makes it easy for the world to get caught up in the rush of events, but makes it difficult to assess actual impact.

Can Twitter fuel a revolution?

For more analysis and information on how the post-election protests are being waged via social media, check out the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/5446

Bridget McKinley