Liminal states :: #iranelection and a sea of green on Twitter: at the forefront of social network activism

{ 2009 12 21 }

#iranelection and a sea of green on Twitter: at the forefront of social network activism

â€œThe first step that I suggest as a solution is that we Iranians, no matter where we live in the world, strengthen the social ties among ourselves…. This is where the power of our social network resides.â€

— Mir Hussein Mousavi, quoted in Ehsan Moghaddasi’s The Green Moharram

Mousavi was discussing real-world social networks, but his point applies just as well online. Â With the funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri in Qom turning into a huge show of strength for the “sea of green” protest movement, the Twitter #iranelection hashtag has once again turned into a vital hub for information.

Despite government censorship, arrests, and beatings, the courageous students, lawyers, mothers, clerics, journalists and so many others fighting for freedom in Iran have been extraordinarily good at using social network sites to communicate with each other, get the word out, and connect with supporters from across the globe. Â Videos on YouTube, photos on Flickr, Facebook groups and pages … and of course the #iranelection hashtag on Twitter.

Back in June, San Francisco-based startup Twazzup set up http://iran.twazzup.com/ and for me it continues to be the best place to follow what’s happening in Iran.* Â The sections for the most popular tweets, links, photos, and videos are a great spam-free crowdsourced overview. Â And the regulars in the “correspondents” section include a great range of high-quality tweeters like @tehranbureau, @iranbaan, @iranriggedelect, @oxfordgirl, @laraabcnews.

People who have following the #iranelection hashtag will probably recognize a lot of these names and avatars. Â This goes back to Mousavi’s point about the power of strengthening ties. Â I’ve been following many of these people for six months now, and have developed a lot of confidence in the information they provide. Â And since many of them tweet about other things in their life as well, I (and the tens of thousands of people around the world who follow Iran information via Twitter) others have gotten to know them at least to some extent as people.

One of the ways in which social network sites are very different from email and most blogs is that the visuals are typically very prominent relative to the text. Â With an abundance of great graphics and talented designers from the Sea of Green movement, and many supporters around the world turning their avatars green using sites like Green Thumbnails, it’s a particularly vibrant effect on Twitter.

A lot of people are skeptical about Twitter’s value for activists, and have some good reasons: the Iranian government monitors all communications and frequently cuts access to cell phone service and the Internet. What I think they’re overlooking, though, is the value Twitter (and Facebook, and YouTube, and Flickr) can bring: as a communication mechanism, as a way of showing support, and to help deepen social ties — no matter where we live in the world.

And a note to my progressive and civil liberties activism friends: out of necessity, in an incredibly hostile environment, the Sea of Green movement is on the forefront of social network activism, online and off. So watch and learn — and even more importantly, try to find ways to help.

jon

Update, December 22: The quality of the information on Twitter remains extremely high. See my “favorites” for a sampling.

Enduring America has had some great coverage, including videos of university demonstrations, live-blogs (1, 2), and a thoughtful situation analysis titled From protest to victory?. There’s also a good interview with Mehdi Karroubi in the Times Online, a Farsi-language site with sousveillance photos of government agents videoing the protestors, a report from John Shahryar (aka The Nite Owl), and much much more.

* for some interesting visualizations of Twitter conversations about Iran in June 2009 check out Gilad Lotan’s gallery.

{ 29 }

Comments

jon | 22-Dec-09 at 9:21 pm | Permalink

And speaking of social network sites … the Mousavi Facebook page does a great job of presenting information and videos in Farsi and English. Once again, US activists take note! Here are a couple of excerpts.
Hugo | 23-Dec-09 at 3:47 pm | Permalink

I couldn’t agree mor: social media is likely to have a profound impact on the distribution of information (taking a lot of that power away from big-media).

There is work to be done before we get there; it’s still difficult today to find & consume interesting, credible stories on twitter, facebook etc… But the plumbings are in place and this is going to get easier, more mainstream.
jon | 26-Dec-09 at 12:49 am | Permalink

December 26, morning Tehran time:
jon | 26-Dec-09 at 11:36 am | Permalink

later on December 26:
jon | 26-Dec-09 at 9:14 pm | Permalink

December, 27, very early morning in Tehran:

Various people have already posted the links to their liveblogs for today, including Iran Streets and Enduring America. Demonstrations start at 10 a.m. in Tehran …
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 12:38 am | Permalink

10 a.m. Tehran time:

11 a.m.:
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 1:00 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 1:14 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 1:29 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 1:49 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 2:07 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 2:45 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 3:34 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 3:45 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 4:10 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 4:16 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 10:25 am | Permalink

and the #CN4Iran (China for Iran) tag is also trending. Here’s a sampling:
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 10:42 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 11:28 am | Permalink

Great CN4Iran graphic:

There’s a couple more posts about CN4Iran with some more screenshots in The Examiner: 1, 2
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 11:46 am | Permalink
jon | 27-Dec-09 at 1:20 pm | Permalink
jon | 28-Dec-09 at 10:50 am | Permalink

David Batty, in the Guardian, describes Twitter as the focal point of the protests:

Amid renewed clashes between the Iranian authorities and the reformist Green Movement, social networking sites such as Twitter have again become a focal point of the protests against the Islamic regime. As in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections in June, anti-government protesters have been posting hundreds of accounts, photos and videos of the latest clashes on the micro-blogging network.

With foreign media facing tough restrictions by the Iranian authorities and state-controlled media mistrusted by much of the country’s population, these posts on Twitter â€“ although often difficult to verify â€“ provide a vivid insight into the chaotic situation on the streets.

Die Welt is more skeptical about the role of online communications: “Das Internet aber ist nur so gut wie die Geschichten, die es zu verbreiten hat. Es ist ein Nachrichtensystem, keine Demokratiemaschine.”

Hmm, that seems somewhat myopic to me. When the government is controlling the news, channels for unfiltered photos, videos, and information are a key part of a “democracy machine”. Speaking of which …
jon | 29-Dec-09 at 1:13 am | Permalink

As Iran moves closer to the tipping point of revolution …
jon | 29-Dec-09 at 9:44 am | Permalink

Will Heaven’s Iran and Twitter: the fatal folly of the online revolutionaries is subtitled “Smug Twitter activists are wrong to think they are liberating Iran”. The comments are a lot more interesting than the article. Here’s Katie:

I just want to say this– when foreign media is banned from reporting inside Iran, news must spread some way. Without twitter, news from inside the country would not be able to get out to the world and the movement would surely not be going on today. Many of the trusted twitter sources are not in Iran, but have friends and family who they can call and talk to. From there, they spread the news. Twitter is not the reason for this revolution, no, that can be found in the past 30 years of oppression. But it is what keeps it alive, and what keeps information flowing in and out of Iran, and that surely is important.

Iran and the protesters there need all the support they can get. I cannot imagine that you wish to keep Ahmadinejad in power, so instead of just sitting at your computer and complaining, do something. I promise you’ll feel better about yourself.

And Reza, who identifies himself as an Iranian, deconstructing a couple of Will’s points:

2-It’s deluded to think that “hashtags”, “Tweets” and “Twibbons” have threatened the regime for a second.

If so, why does the regime shuts down the Internet? You yourself admit Iranian govt has a smart system to track down people who tweet. Does it as a hobby or as a response to a threat?

3-If all the internet could muster in a decade was smug armchair activists and pontificating techies,…

Those 8 people killed on this bloody Sunday, came to streets after reading statements on social networking sites. I am sure you know the Iranian government has a monopoly on the radio and TV stations. Protesters have just Twitter, Faceook, Balatarin, which is the Iranian version of Digg and a few blogs to invite each other into rallies.

And Nooshin74:

The dangerous mixture of arrogance and ignorance in this article is truly depressing. Will Heaven needs to get out of his self-induced fantasy world and enter reality. Perhaps he feels his privileged journalism (if that’s what narrow-minded attitude passes for) position is under threat, but he’s missed the big picture. The tremendous benefit Twitter/Facebook and the wider online community has had for the brave Iranians on the streets of Tehran is immeasurable, and they would be the first to tell you so. Cling tight to your establishment media, Will. Your patronising days are numbered.

Meanwhile, on Twitter …
jon | 29-Dec-09 at 9:53 am | Permalink

1, 2, 3 have more
jon | 29-Dec-09 at 9:42 pm | Permalink
jon | 30-Dec-09 at 10:41 am | Permalink
jon | 10-Jan-10 at 10:33 am | Permalink

The debate continues about the role social media (and especially Twitter) are playing. Josh Shahryar’s Twitter Revolution 101: Get Your Facts Right on The Daily Nite Owl, cross-posted on Enduring America, is a response to Will Heaven’s ongoing anti-Twitter writing in the Daily Telegraph. Will, to his credit, engages in the comments. Meanwhile, Evgeny Morozov and Clay Shirky debate in the (UK) Prospect, and Patrick Philippe Meier critiques them both on iRevolution.

I think Free Iran’s comment on EA says it well:

May I also remind you that it is people in Iran who themselves took the initiative of using Twitter and other networks to let the world know what was going on in the country and to ask for support? Do I have to copy and paste here all the statements from Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, Karroubi, and many many others asking for world support? Do I have to post all the speeches from people like Ahmad Batebi, Amir Fakhravar, and many others, who had to leave Iran and are doing all they can to raise awareness about the nature of Iranâ€™s government? What they ask for is not an armed operation, they ask us to watch and support, this is what we do, and this is what, for the most part, â€œofficialâ€ medias have failed to do.
jon | 10-Jan-10 at 11:41 am | Permalink

Here’s my comment, cross-posted on the Daily Nite Owl and Enduring America:

Excellent points, by Josh, Scott, IranNewsNow, Connie, and so many other commentators. Several people have brought it up already, but it’s worth highlighting how disrespectful Will’s attitude is to the judgment of the activists in Iran and abroad. Why does he think that he — with what appears to be no background in Iranian politics, no first-hand experience on the ground, no communication with any of the activists or experts to understand the reality of the situation — is more qualified to evaluate the risk/rewards or strategic implications than they are?

A few more positive thoughts, from my perspective as a social network researcher and activist in the US:

I saw a quote from Mousavi that said â€œThe first step that I suggest as a solution is that we Iranians, no matter where we live in the world, strengthen the social ties among ourselvesâ€¦. This is where the power of our social network resides.â€ The Sea of Green their supporters have been extraordinarily good at using online communication to unleash the power of this social network. There was a great example of this (now conveniently forgotten by all the critics) in the protests right after the election, when discussions of #cnnfail on Twitter pushed CNN to increase their coverage. The Mousavi Facebook page’s role is another good example: anybody on Facebook can follow along easily enough — and just as easily let their friends and acquaintances know about important news.

These effects are likely to increase over time, because the social network has expanded, the connections between the people in it have deepened, and there are more shared experiences. A lot people who hadn’t given a lot of thought to democracy and freedom in Iran are now involved and doing what they can to help. People who have been following #iranelection regularly know who is and isn’t credible — and we have a shared history and vocabulary. And while it’s too early to know, it’s quite possible that #cn4iran is going to be very significant going forward. So cynics like Will Heaven and Evgeny Morozov may well be in for a surprise.

Yay for chubby fingers!

jon