Twitter is great for a lot of things. For example, I enjoy mocking people who have Twitter accounts. But you know what else Twitter is great for? Providing journalists covering an uprising with an angle that also happens to include an ultra-popular, search-engine-friendly keyword.
Georgia had the Rose Revolution, which sounds sexy, and Czechoslovakia had the Velvet Revolution, which is badass because it was supposedly named after the Velvet Underground. What’s going down in Iran right now can’t be called the “Iranian Revolution,” because I guess that already happened or something, but I guarantee you that when the dust settles, we will smugly look on and label this the Twitter Revolution. Look, it’s already happening. (Moldova had one too, but it’s Moldova, so whatever, right?)
This is clearly a sign that the good people of Iran want to become more like us. (By “us” I mean “Canadians,” and by “Canadians” I mean “Americans.”) Not only are they rejecting the leader we instructed them to reject—they are doing it in 140 characters or less! Truly, now, their democratic process is as insipid and puerile as our own. Maybe, instead of invading Iraq, Washington should have just dropped a bajillion iPhones and said, “@iraqippl Start a revolution, and also tell us every mundane detail of your personal life #wmd.”
Please, people. With Iran blocking cell phone services, texting and many websites, Twitter really has been an incredible resource for the country’s protestors. But this is a popular struggle, not another excuse to self-importantly jabber about social networking like a bunch of freshman university students who’ve discovered Facebook for the first time. And to the trying-too-hard-it’s-painful folks at Twitter: this is not a chance to turn your ridiculous “service” into the saviour of democracy. When you start delaying maintenance in order to help protests that don’t happen to coincide perfectly with US foreign policy interests, then we’ll tweet—er, talk.
8 Comments
Totally true, journalists continue to overplay the role of Twitter and other social media in electoral politics. Maybe this is because by celebrating microblogging, as a means of communication, journalists affirm the political importance of their own profession by proxy.
In the same way, its funny to look back at the way journalists and pop-theorists in the 90s were so hyped about the Internet as the golden key to populism and perfect direct-access democracy. Now (and even back then, as some people saw), the Internet simulates participation while keeping it under the surveillance of a small number of companies and governments.
But, um, does the outcome of the election coincide with US interests?
Posted by Anthony on June 16, 2009
Anthony, you’re spot-on with the mid-nineties internet parallel. But please note that I said the protests, not the election outcome, coincide with US interests.
Posted by Drew on June 16, 2009
Four paragraphs oozing with pure Nelles-ness. This is what the world needs more of — not middle-aged people awkwardly trying to tap into what the young kids (don’t) use.
Posted by Max on June 16, 2009
At first, I thought this was funny, in a snarky, smart-ass kind of way (which is of course, nothing less than what I would expect from Drew). Now a whole fecesload of people have attempted to provide Iranians twitters camoflage by switching locations to Tehran. Which is well and good…until we get a whole bunch of people informing us of their mundane lives…still using their Tehran location.
Tragicomedy.
Posted by Kyle Bailey on June 16, 2009
Translation: Don’t try to out-progressive me with your hype for the masses. I’ll find a way to align you with the United States and its business interests to make me feel better about myself. I don’t care whether we’re talking about Iran or Built to Spill.
Posted by Bill on June 18, 2009
All, I have to say is that all Iranians, Need to look within themselfs, do not let the fear of harm, sway you in your Pursuit Of Freedom. Don’t let the powers of one, stop the rights of the many.
Posted by Freedom for all on June 19, 2009
The results are more clear than we might think. There were several polls taken before the election and there are several voices that aren’t being heard. I just read a great article outlining this:
http://internationalinsights.blogspot.com
Posted by truthseeker on June 20, 2009
Sometimes it’s really that simple, isn’t it? I feel a little stupid for not thinking of this myself/earlier, though.
Posted by Trial on July 29, 2009