A Protest Grows One Tweet at a Time

With the onset of the protests of the Iranian election and an increase in deaths (such as Neda), there was one thing that was very powerful: the ability to tweet information as easy as 1-2-3…Or 140. With the ease of typing a quick 140 characters, a person was able to tell each and every follower to do something without needing to write a crafty post. Mir-Hossein Mousavi has been able to create a network of over 25,000 followers who, some in Iran, some elsewhere, have followed what he is saying, waiting for orders on what to do. Consider this tweet from him: @mousavi1388 I am prepared For martyrdom, go on strike if I am arrested #IranElection

We’re talking the ability to type a quick message and within ten minutes, thousands and thousands of people know what the plan is. Seven hours ago, he tweeted, “Please come to Baharestan Sq. in Tehran tomorrow at 4pm #IranElection.” Now, people can quickly spread to all their friends that there is a meeting at Baharestan Square in Tehran tomorrow at 4pm. What better way to persuade people to join a protest than the ability to post information as easy as 1-2-3-140?

It’s not just twitter, though. On Twitter, people can post quick little blurbs about what’s going on. On Flickr, an image of the Basij beating protesters with clubs could get around the web within the hour. On Facebook and myspace, people can network together and exchange information about when and where to meet. All of these free sites have created the chance for the average person to quickly and easily post information to better make their argument heard. Even I have been able to participate in a small revolution just like the Iranians have. For me, my outlet is this very website, WeThePeoplePolitics.com. My writing here, my average person’s opinion has become so much more.

The day of it taking weeks and months to prepare a revolution is over. With all of these different web 2.0 publications (Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Myspace, StumbleUpon, Digg, blogs, and so many others), someone like Mousavi is able to get his message out to followers much easier. It’s because of this ease that sites like these are blocked in authoritative countries. China blocked twitter and flickr during the Tiananmen Square anniversary as a way of preventing negative talks about the government. Iran has tried to block Twitter, but there is technology available (actually from a Chinese company) that allows people to squeeze through the web blocks. No authoratative government wants negative information about them to be passed with such ease.

Fortunately for the people of Iran, freedom will reign. So long as the people of Iran want that freedom, there is nothing that the rulers can do. Ayatollah Khamenei may say that protesting is illegal, but the age of the tweet has made it impossible to stop. One hundred and forty characters later and all of Mousavi’s followers know where to meet. A revolution and protest can grow one tweet at a time. The next thing you know, there are thousands of people protesting. The internet has taken over.