The growing realm of social media is greatly increasing the pace in which information is passed around the world.  Instantaneous messages are able to inform people of what is happening in different parts of the world in a matter of seconds.  This is particularly true with the social networking site “Twitter.”  The Twitter Revolution was so named because of the frequency that Twitter was used by Iranians to report news, coordinate protests, and air their grievances.

The relatively recent revolution in Iran is a key example of how Twitter is changing the media paradigm.  The revolution in Iran was about a supposed “rigged election” in which more people supported Hossein Mousavi for President, yet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won.  This occurred on June 12, 2009 and ended on February 11, 2010.

The Iranian Twitter Revolution was a modern day attempt at a revolt against the government, as opposed to past revolutions, such as the French Revolution in which weapons were used to overthrow the government, now there is media.  I believe that Twitter has allowed for the oppressed people of Iran to voice their opinions and fight against the government for what they believe to be right.  The presenters, Casey Medina and Pete Markel, mentioned that there are “23 million Iranians have access to the Internet and over 45 million people own mobile phones.”  In essence, this allowed for Iranians to connect to one another during the revolution.  Other social networking sites were used as well, including Facebook and YouTube, however,Twitter was the site that seemed to be the most vital for the rapid spreading of information.  This was especially since the revolution was never televised, but videos and pictures still spread because of social media.

However, because of this rapid spread and constant updating of information, the Iranian government revoked press credentials, and blocked the Internet in hopes of stopping the revolution from becoming worldwide knowledge.  Nonetheless, this did not halt the outgoing flow of information as the UK stepped in to help by posting different IP addresses to help keep Iran connected.  This is very much like the ban of Facebook and YouTube in China, where they have been blocked since 2009.  Ironically, China is also where 20% of Facebook’s application development is.  In my opinion, individuals who attempted to get around the blocking of the Internet in Iran put themselves at a risk, as the government could have taken the necessary steps to suppress those individuals.  This could have happened through the tracking and following of certain IP addresses, although, because of the vast amount of people “tweeting” about this topic, it would still be extremely hard for the government to control.  Though, the government could still block the IP addresses from the UK if they were found, hence creating a type of “whack-a-mole” effect; as soon as an IP address would “pop up” the government would suppress it.

The evidence that Twitter as well as other social media sites are becoming the medium for democratic movements as such, are becoming increasingly apparent.  This can only continue to grow as technology continues to progress within society.

“I think Twitter’s a success for us when people stop talking about it, when we stop doing these panels and people just use it as a utility, use it like electricity.” – Jack Dorsey

By: Courtney Lee

Modern society has evolved such that communication has become globalized and ultimately becoming an effective platform for discussion.  The presence of a geographical barrier is no longer problematic, and information can now be passed almost instantaneously.  This is evidenced through the increase in Internet users, particularly in aspects of news media and journalism.

The news website called “OhmyNews” was founded in Korea during February 2000 by a man named Oh Yeon Ho.  This site is said to be the founder of bidirectional journalism; indicating that citizens and reporters alike are able to engage in topics of conversation revolving around the news, rather than allowing citizens to simply take information in.  A concept that can be defined as participatory journalism.  However this was not always the case, as OhmyNews was simply started as a unidirectional news website in Korea, much like CBC News in Canada.  In comparison to CBC News, one is able to see that both websites are locations for reporting news, without having the aspect of discussion.  The original website of OhmyNews was very informative and covered a range of topics including: politics, society, culture, international affairs, the economy, information technology, sports, and entertainment.  This peaked the interest of many readers, and allowed the website to reach two million viewers per day.  However even with the vast amount of readers the site accumulated, the company still experienced a net loss of $625 000 in mid 2008.

This promoted Oh Yeon Ho to archive OhmyNews as a news website, and re open it in Sept 2010 as an interactive blog, allocating more of the power towards the public.  This initiated a test run of direct democracy in the world of media.  As a concept of interaction, this gave the public the opportunity to voice their opinions and display their work.  This was greatly improved the status of the company and encouraged more people to read the news and participate.  Convergent thinking began to occur online, which has now become an invaluable asset within the modern world, predominantly in news media.  As passive roles are being left behind, more online news sites are starting to catch onto this trend.  An example of this would be The Washington Post Social Reader.  This social reader is also strongly continuing on this new found path of interactive media, increasing the level of social interdependence within society, quite alike the interactive blog of OhmyNews.

Promoting this trend, will radically increase the change of communicational direction around the world.  This will allow for an up to date news report, not only in content, but in presentation and format as well.  Freedom of speech is no longer becoming simply about “saying your opinion”, but about creating a change in opinions as well.  Allowing people of all ages to comment, empowers people of the younger generation to insert their opinion, despite the fact that they are considered “not politically experienced.”  This opens up the platform for discussion to a broader set of readers and encourages the voices of tomorrow to speak up on subjects of importance to them.  The journey of news media is an interesting one to follow, and will only increase over time as generations evolve.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

Courtney Lee