Iran and the Social Media Revolution

By now you have probably read about how powerful social media has been in connecting people in Iran protesting the recent election results. It is absolutely incredible to watch how these tools have changed the way the world operates in the face of an event like those that are happening in Iran.

Twitter
Twitter has been a powerful means to connect people to the cause in Iran. Notice the green photos of your friends on Twitter? That's in support of the protesters who have taken on green as their symbolic color. Search at any time of day on Twitter Search for #iranelection to see what the world is saying. The U.S. government even asked Twitter to reschedule a planned upgrade of the site for maintenance for during the middle of the night in Iran so as not to disrupt communications. Wow! I bet the founders of Twitter never imagined this day.

According to a Time magazine article, here are some examples of the real time tweets coming out of Iran:

Woman says ppl knocking on her door 2 AM saying they were intelligence agents, took her daughter

Ashora platoons now moving from valiasr toward National Tv staion. mousavi's supporters are already there. my father is out there!

we hear 1dead in shiraz, livefire used in other cities RT

Many folks on Twitter have also changed their location in their profiles to Tehran to help throw off the Iranian government as to who's actually tweeting from there and who isn't.

YouTube
Have you heard about the video of Neda, the young woman in Iran who was killed and whose death was captured on video by a bystander? She has become the face of the protests thanks to the viral spread of her horror.

Hers is not the only brutal violence captured and shared with the world. The downside: there are no filters. We see all the violence in its complete and utter brutality and with little context as to what's going on. The upside: there are no filters. Iran cannot stop the flow of information coming out about what's going on as hard as it tries. Media cannot put their own spin on the story. Headlines cannot be deleted. It's there in all its ugliness for us to make our own judgment as best we can.

Google & Facebook
Google and Facebook also both added Persian translation services to their site to help folks trying to communicate about this issue in multiple languages.

Bloggers
And of course bloggers inside and outside of Iran are writing in depth about what's happening in the country and weighing in with their thoughts. Here is a good directory of blogs on the topic.

So, suffice it so say, social media has become a critical form of communication, and this may be a real turning point for the world in embracing social media and its power. While this is a major world event happening here, doesn't this also show you how powerful it can be for your own business, as well? I mean, it's changing the world!

About Lyn Mettler
Lyn is the mother of two young boys, a social media nerd and the president of Step Ahead Inc., a company which combines the best of traditional public relations with social media campaigns to maximize visibility for clients both online and off. She is the social media featured blogger for TwitterMoms.com and also blogs regularly on her company Web site. Follow her on Twitter at @webprgirl.