Here is an article I wrote for collegejolt.com a few days back during the heat of the Iranian protests about the peoples’ use of twitter in the organization of events. Check it out.
It is a landmark occurrence in two separate, but closely tied, fields that are ideally interlocking paths in Tehran. The technological revolution of Generation Y, the first generation responsible for pioneering internet social interaction and self-expression through YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, has now taken on a much heavier role by being the medium for exchange of free thought and revolutionary ideas. The twitter revolution in Iran this past week is the paragon of this concept.
Am I the only one who feels that Twitter’s importance has been so greatly overplayed in the past few weeks/months? It’s validity as a source for news is dubious at its very best and otherwise just plain-outright-ridiculous. The next time I hear a news outlet quoting a random ‘tweet’ as a first-person account of a news story, I’m moving to Canada.
It depends what you mean by ‘overplayed.’ Certainly Twitter is no news source – not whatsoever. It’s mostly a place for people to be heard. During the protests in Iran, Twitter was not a news ‘source’ at all – it was merely a way for people to communicate with each other and create group protests / gatherings. It was never a ‘news source’ as you say. I agree, when Twitter is news, I will join you in Canada. Or perhaps a more enjoyable location…say, Fiji?