Yes, you read that correctly. As I said in class, I was the biggest Twitter skeptic and a committed resistor of the social networking thing generally. But the Iranian election and aftermath totally changed my mind and although I haven't personally invested a lot of time yet, I think that the whole phenomenon is worthy of a second look. Because the mainstream media outlets, particularly cable news, were completely AWOL on the story until it was well underway, I relied completely on some of my favorite political bloggers to keep me aprised of the situation in Iran. CNN failed big time and I'm not sure that I will ever trust that network to cover important stories again. People like Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic, Nico Pitney at Huffington Post, the New York Time's The Lede blog, Tehran Bureau and the BBC provided the kind of comprehensive coverage that I was looking for. Not only could they link to official reports and interviews, they also uploaded photos and video from Iranians that offered a real-time glimpse into the on-the-ground narrative that was unfolding. Watching a cell phone video that recorded Iranians at night on their rooftops chanting "Allah-o Akbar" (God is Great) in open defiance of their leadership was awe-inspiring.
So many of these reports came through Twitter and Facebook that I signed up for both services just so I could follow the news. Endless refreshes on twitter made for riveting viewing. As Jeff mentioned, the State Department actually asked Twitter to postpone a scheduled maintenance because the tool was so vital to the protesters. Amazing stuff.
So, now I am a twitter convert. But what of facebook? Well, not two days after I signed up I received a really sweet email from a friend that I had fallen out with years ago. We have reestablished contact and I have Facebook to thank! Although I still haven't spent the time fixing up my page that I would like, I finaly understand what all the fuss is about.
Friday, July 10, 2009
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Stella
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent post concerning why Twitter can be useful and educative in our connected world! It is also wonderful to read about a future teacher who has taken a new perspective on a technological tool. Having this "willingness" to look at the other perspective will serve you well in your future teaching! It really is an interconnected world and citizen journalism is just one amazing aspect of micro-blogging. Thank you for sharing this post!
Wow, that video was incredibly moving. Thanks for posting it. I totally agree about being a Twitter convert. I was vehemently opposed to it until recently, but now I see it as a powerful tool with which to follow breaking news.
ReplyDeleteThat video is really moving. I had been thinking about the possibilities of using twitter for poetry and this video far exceeds what I imagined. My thanks to you, too, Stella, for posting this.
ReplyDeleteIt really is incredible how influential these seemingly simple social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter are. Like you, I was very resistant to Twitter prior to setting up an account in class. After having sent out some Tweets (sorry I know you hate the term), and having started to follow some celebs that I like, and not to mention the massive impact Twitter has had on the global community due to the events mentioned in your post, I am with you in jumping on the Twitter bandwagon!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I wish I had your enthusiasm about Twitter. I'm not thrilled right now, because I can update on Facebook a lot. Although, I am glad that I can follow some of my favorite newscasters and celebs on Twitter, not to mention the M Den (lol). So that's kind of cool. But as far as following all of my friends, I still prefer Facebook, because I can go to their profiles and see what's up. That being said, I am soooo glad that my Facebook account has not yet been taken over by the MAC program
ReplyDeleteStella, I have also been reluctant to use social networking sites and never joined Facebook. I have always cherished my privacy which is something Facebook does not protect. Therefore, I was skeptical about setting up my Twitter account in our 504 class. I don't mind it and appreciate the links to various education websites. Still, I need to find a way to sort through all the noise and make the most out of Twitter. I am trying to keep an open mind; it will be interesting to see where we stand on this issue at the end of our program, Stefan.
ReplyDeleteStella,
ReplyDeleteThanks for offering your perspective about Twitter and the Iran situation. I can definitely see the benefits in this case. I've just become accustomed to Facebook -- it's a great way to keep in touch with my former co-workers. I'm still feeling a little uncertain about Twitter for my personal use, but time will tell whether I too become a convert!