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The Revolution Will Be Twittered

andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

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Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#31

Post by lionheart »

TomOfTTB wrote: post #24
randallsquared wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess satellite internet? Or maybe the mobile only cut the voice and it didn't occur to them that significant use could be made of SMS?

The only way I could see is through SMS using a low power satellite phone such as this: http://www.iridium.com/products/product.php?linx=0350 But in a country where people live on roughly $2 a day ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/sep/25/afghanistan.terr... ) I doubt many have $1,400 satellite phones that cost $6 a day to use. Other methods are impossible... Twitter is blocked through regular internet (see Micha…

Satellite dishes might be banned, but this doesn't mean that they aren't very widespread. This isn't the United States or Europe.

I believe there was an article in the NY Times about this exact issue. Everybody "middle-class" and up has a satellite dish. Every few months the government confiscates them, at which point everybody goes to the local black market dealer, buys a new one and puts it back up. Quite often the new one is their old one because usually the black market dealer is whoever is in charge of the local branch of the satellite dish confiscation agency.

Ah, reminds me of the bad old days in the Soviet Union.

Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#32

Post by jerf »

joel_feather wrote: post #12

The united states has a huge vested interest in this reelection failing. I prefer to withhold my opinion till I hear from BOTH sides of the conflict, and not just from the side that aligns with western interests.

I'd have to say that at this scale, talking about the "United States" as some sort of monolithic entity will lead to weak thinking. Some parts think the mullahs should be lined up and shot, some are pretty comfortable with their control, and there's everything in between, including a lot of opinions that don't show up on this axis. Some are pretty tied into a line about Iran being no threat, some are pretty tied into Iran (and what it represents) being a mortal threat to all civilization.

Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#33

Post by tlrobinson »

frisco wrote: post #27
TomOfTTB wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly are you watching on Twitter? Other than "There are riots in the Tehran over the election" what more is there to say right now? Anyone who is watching the situation knows the communication lines have been cut. As for CNN they did report on it during their news casts. What else would you have them do? They have no footage (cameras are being confiscated), no direct communication with reporters and therefore…

Last night it was #IranElection, the keyword "Mousavi", @Change_for_Iran, among several others. Yes, there are rumors going around, but if you found the right users there were definitely people right there, standing on the streets. That strikes me as more credible than reporters which aren't necessarily getting the whole story, especially if foreign press is being asked to leave the country. "Mackell says the crackdo…

If you have a list of quality Twitter users you should add them here: http://almost.at/#iran (click the person icon with a "+")

Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#35

Post by pageman »

spazmaster wrote: post #5

i'm just a tad confused. if all internet and mobile lines are cut, how can they use twitter?

http://twitter.com/persiankiwi/status/2169483495

"I am accessing twitter from 148.233.239.24 Port:80 in tehran. you can avoid gov filters from here. spread to others. #Iranelection"

Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#36

Post by pageman »

TomOfTTB wrote: post #24
randallsquared wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess satellite internet? Or maybe the mobile only cut the voice and it didn't occur to them that significant use could be made of SMS?

The only way I could see is through SMS using a low power satellite phone such as this: http://www.iridium.com/products/product.php?linx=0350 But in a country where people live on roughly $2 a day ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/sep/25/afghanistan.terr... ) I doubt many have $1,400 satellite phones that cost $6 a day to use. Other methods are impossible... Twitter is blocked through regular internet (see Micha…

we used to have Thuraya phones in Afghanistan for emergencies (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090421134111AA...) - if they satellite you are trying to upload to DOESN'T point to the horizon, you could have your satellite pointing to the sky on the roof and people would be none the wiser.

Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#37

Post by pageman »

dasil003 wrote: post #34
spazmaster wrote: post #5

i'm just a tad confused. if all internet and mobile lines are cut, how can they use twitter?

Is everyone here so young (and I'm only 31 mind you) that you've never heard of land lines? Not so much directed at the parent as all the responses.

exactly. you can actually set-up a dial-down (callback service) to setup an internet connection.

Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#39

Post by smhinsey »

bilbo0s wrote: post #29
smhinsey wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i probably don't have any info you don't (assuming you're following the story) but i do know that satellite dishes are very common in the middle east. it wouldn't surprise me if satellite phone and internet service are equally popular, particularly among the set of people who are most likely to be involved in twitter. that said, i'm sure there are a lot of fakes out there right now, but there are those who do seem le…

I wish I could upvote you more. I am learning Farsi right now, so naturally I am trying to follow all of the happenings in Iran as best I can. There is an interesting exchange on CNN, for instance, that is really disturbing me. Christiane Amanpour asked M. Ahmedinejad if he would guarantee the safety of his rival. He said everyone is equal under the law, Mousavi would get a fine just like anyone else. Which is a stra…

I actually watched that exchange live on CNN and was really confused by it. Have you come across any good accounts of what was really going on there? I'm particularly curious about what was going on while she restated her question, it seemed like the translator was almost trying to shout her down. I am pretty sure she is at least conversant enough to know what was being said natively without translation.

Re: The Revolution Will Be Twittered

#40

Post by dagobart »

dasil003 wrote: post #34
spazmaster wrote: post #5

i'm just a tad confused. if all internet and mobile lines are cut, how can they use twitter?

Is everyone here so young (and I'm only 31 mind you) that you've never heard of land lines? Not so much directed at the parent as all the responses.

I thought so too, but I don't grasp how a stationary "Twitter access point" would be of use while the revolution is going on at the street.
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