Social Media and the Iranian Election
The recent Iranian election has created more than just controversy on an international scale; it has fueled a new way to communicate and share news faster than any “conventional” source can provide. On June 12th, extremist incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regained the presidency in a landslide election over challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi that has raised suspicion of election rigging. Following the surprising and questionable loss, Mousavi called for nonviolent protest against the election results.
This protest has play out not just on the streets of Iran, but across major social networks as well. The Iranian reaction to the election has been well documented on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Flickr, not to mention hundreds of blogs. These tools have provided the international community with news and images at a rate never before witnessed.
Although people have been getting news through unconventional sources such as Twitter and Youtube for several years, the Iranian election has single handedly revealed a full-scale information revolution. Tools such as Twitter Search , and Monitter , have proved invaluable to people searching for news through Twitter. Readers are able to obtain news faster through these outlets because people on the ground in Iran update their feeds more quickly than any other news service ever could.
Just a click of the mouse away is Youtube.com and Flickr.com. People are able to search not only for video clips and pictures from conventional news sources such as Fox or CNN, but amateur videos and pictures of the protests taken by people living in Iran. Sites such as Youtube are the only places where users can quickly obtain up to the minute footage and pictures from the protests.
For those of you who prefer a more formal news source but cannot wait for traditional news outlets, blogs can fill the void. Entering “Iran Election” into a Google Blog Search reveals many reputable blogs in an organized fashion that oftentimes update at a quicker rate than the large news sources.
Although social media can be a great tool to quickly obtain news from around the world, you also need to be careful to not take what you read at face value. The amount of information available can be overwhelming and it is not all true so be aware of where you’re getting your information. Despite these shortcomings, the immediacy and intimacy of the news delivered by social media, has turned the medium into a formidable rival of the mainstream media.
I am amazed at what is happening here. The entire world is involved in this protest and conflict. Unfortunately the VAST majority of Tweeters are sitting in the comfort of their office or living room and involved in only the most cursory way. I fear this “virtual” connection may server only to decrease world outrage and human rights abuses like the ones currently happening on the streets of Tehran.
Social media is taking over, this is very impressive.
Things must be crazy over there
Unbelievable
First newspapers are obsolete and now even online and television news sources aren’t quick enough!
I think using social media as a news source is a great way to inform everyone about the happenings in the world. Sites like Twitter and YouTube cater to such a different audience that newspapers and news websites – so for people who don’t consider themselves up to date with current events, just checking their Twitter accounts everyday can fill them in in a quick and effective way.
social media is finally taking over! and things must be crazy over there…
Social Media is the next frontier in information transfer medium. With more and more people becoming both computer and internet literate, social media will render conventional vehicles of information transfer such as TV, newspapers, etc. obsolete. This is trend of the 21st century and opens doors to limitless possibilities. Just a mere click of a mouse button can effectively deliver fresh, unadulterated information to millions around the world.
The video sharing is an amazing step towards uncensored media, but the tweets and wall posts are questionable in my mind. Does this get us closed to the true events taking place or will this cause even greater bias in the messages we are hearing from our selected groups of like minded people we are listening to?
Social Media is the way of the future and its also the best way to share information with friends, family, and people you do not know. We all need to be conscious about what we do and where we do it because someone may have a camera and you may end up on the front page of a headline. Social media is great for promoting your thoughts and actions. Lets hope that the actions promoted are positive actions.
It’s absolutely incredible how big it is in the social media world. approaching one billion tweets on the situation :O
Social Media is a powerful tool that people underestimate. Since social media travels faster than anything else, you could literally destroy a government or discredit a company in just seconds. If left unchecked, people may unleash this Pandora’s Box and wreck havoc on the world. I think this line is familiar: “With Great Power comes Great Responsibility”. I just hope people will use social media responsibly.
Using social media as a new marketing tool is important in this age where costumers go online to search for what they want. A company without an online presence misses all these tech-savvy prospects. Therefore, the importance of having your online marketing outsourced to experts cannot be stressed enough.
Social Media continuously evolves. Everyone cares to share what they have and what they know for the benefit of those who wants total experience. There’s a lot to learn. Everyday is a learning process. It empowers each and everyone when being asked how did they come up with such a brilliant idea. Some are most willing to share their knowledge. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, it will not make you look stupid at all. It is a sign how broad your interests are when it comes to Social Media and how you want it to change your life.
Social Networks continuously evolves. Everyone cares to share what they know for the benefit of those who want total experience. There’s a lot to learn in this industry. It’s flattering when someone asks you how did you come up with such a brilliant idea. And you should be willing to share your knowledge to those who shows interests and wants Social Media to change their lives. Everyday is a learning process. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, it will not make you look stupid at all. ^_^
Social media plays an important role in dessiminating information to people. It is within us to use it properly.
A continous evolution in the online world has lead to the existence of social media. These social media has completely changed our lives in a short period of time, and there is no going back. Given that everyone gets to spend their life on the web, social media has really made a lot of changes. It helps people help themselves and it is great way of sharing thoughts and information.We can feel free with the usage of these social media but there’s a responsibility that comes with it.
I gotta admit social media is becoming the trend of this net-savvy generation. I must say I’m also amazed and overwhelmed with this evolution. Goodbye newspapers!
. Hope no violence will occur there in Iran
Marie and Grace mention using social media “properly” and with “responsibility”. I wonder what people think is the “proper” use of social media. Are the people on the streets of Tehran using it “responsibly”?
Social media is really on the scene. It really is taking its peak. It helps people communicate plus it aids alot in dessiminating information among people.