Twitter and I have sort of a love-hate relationship, mainly because my life is usually not interesting enough to lend itself to minute-by-minute microblogging (although this does not appear to deter almost everyone else on Twitter). However, I have to give it props today, because it's part of the reason Iranian protesters have managed to organize massive demonstrations over the country's disputed presidential election for the past two days.
Reading some of the posts from Iranians on Twitter makes me feel like the most vapid person in the world. My most recent Twitter entries are on spotting Rob Pattinson outside my dorm yesterday, while the latest missives from Tehran are on violence and arrests and protests. It's scary stuff, but it's also pretty cool to follow what might be a revolution in the making.
"Citizen journalism" is not one of my favorite concepts, mainly because over here, actual journalists do it better (and more ethically, Mayhill Fowler). But in a country where the press has been banned from reporting on the streets, where foreign journalists' press credentials have been revoked, where the government is reportedly starting to crack down on electronic media, citizen journalism might be Iran's last best hope.
There's some Web site called Dipity that catalogues your tweets, and obnoxiously, it's the third thing that comes up when I google myself.
ReplyDelete"Playing Bubble Spinner again for the first time in weeks."
"At a neighbor's party, and one woman is the spitting image of Kara DioGuardi. What an Idol week."
"Ah, the twists and turns of MI-5. Used to hate Ros, love Adam. Now he's a prat, and she's a badass."
"Watching the sixth season of MI-5 - finally. They gave Miranda Raison a great new haircut! Oh, and Iranian terrorists are here."
"Yeah, I'm listening to "All I Want For Christmas is You" in May. Deal with it."
I AM INSIPID. WHY AM I NOT IRANIAN.