Twitter in Iran

I loved the report in the Times today about an Obama official calling Twitter to ask them not to shut down so that tweets from Iran could continue. Iran has shut down texts on cell phones and journalists aren't allowed to cover the protests, so Twitter has become one of the few places where reports can be posted.

I actually joined Twitter just to look at the tweets from Iran. I remain unenlightened but I'm sure if I spent more time I would find the photos and posts that are actually from Iran. I just got a lot of posts telling people to make their avatar green to show support for the people in Iran. I'm not sure what a green avatar has to do with Iran. In fact, I'm not sure what an avatar is, but I was interested to see the conversation about Iran.

Robert Schlessinger at U.S. News and World Report points out that not all the tweets and blog posts from Iran are accurate and that they don't replace journalism. And he's right, of course. There's no interpretation or sorting through the facts.

Marla Singer on Zero Hedge makes the point even more strongly warning readers not to "believe the hype." She points out that the secret police in Iran can use Twitter just as easily as the protesters and, since Twitter isn't anonymous, they can use it to find the people who are sending out Twitter.

Still, it is inspiring that people have found a way to get the word out, for as long as they're able to do it. It's not so much a testament to the power of Twitter as a testament to the power of information to leak out despite attempts to suppress it.