Like many people around the world, I've been trying to keep up with events in Iran since last week's contested election triggered massive demonstrations by outraged Iranians opposed to the incumbent President, who was officially declared the winner before the ballots could even have been counted.
Tehran, in particular, is home to a large population of young, tech-savvy people who were actively committed to the leading opposition candidate in the weeks leading up to the election. Therefore, the best news coverage of what has become a full-fledged rebellion has been from the social media services, particularly Twitter.
I've been covering these developments for Bnet, and here are six recent posts:
June 17 (Today) When Will (Post-Iran) Twitter Grow a Business Model?
"One perplexing difficulty we face here at Bnet as we document Twitter’s prominent role the events unfolding in Iran is the young company’s utter lack of any apparent business model..."
June 16 U.S. State Department to Twitter: "Stay Up"
"If there were any doubters left about the importance of social media in the ongoing rebellion occurring in Iran, today’s intervention by the U.S. government, requesting that the micro-blogging service Twitter delay its scheduled maintenance shutdown, should put an end to any debate..."
June 16 Foreign Media Banned in Iran so Twitter and YouTube Rock On
"News coverage of the situation in Tehran and other Iranian cities today has reverted back to the early stages of the rebellion last Saturday, i.e., once again we have to get most of our news from social media..."
June 15 Using Social Media, Iranians Outwit Regime
"Apparently, there’s not going to be any actual regime change anytime soon inside Iran, but that country is undergoing a fundamental revolution nonetheless..."
June 15 Iran: Twitter Users' Outrage at CNN, Fox Triggers Coverage
"The riveting coverage of the massive rebellion by what BBC estimates to be over a million people in the streets of Tehran continues over Twitter. In addition, European media have been providing active coverage led by eyewitness reports from reporters like Robert Fisk..."
June 14 Twitter Users Put CNN to Shame on Iran Riot Coverage
"Yesterday may have been a slow news day in the U.S. but in Tehran and other major Iranian cities there was major rioting in response to the government’s announcement that reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi had lost the Presidential election by a landslide to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad..."
P.S. Yesterday, I also was interviewed by Cy Musiker at KQED-FM in a segment called Iran's Election Aftermath and Social Media.
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