June 20, 2009
this is it. The big one
A TED interview with Clay Shirky on Twitter and Iran.
What do you make of what’s going on in Iran right now.
I’m always a little reticent to draw lessons from things still unfolding, but it seems pretty clear that … this is it. The big one. This is the first revolution that has been catapulted onto a global stage and transformed by social media. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Chicago demonstrations of 1968 where they chanted “the whole world is watching.” Really, that wasn’t true then. But this time it’s true … and people throughout the world are not only listening but responding. They’re engaging with individual participants, they’re passing on their messages to their friends, and they’re even providing detailed instructions to enable web proxies allowing Internet access that the authorities can’t immediately censor. That kind of participation is reallly extraordinary.
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In 1978-79, I ripped wire copy about the revolution in Iran from a clattering teletype news machine and tried to show it to co-workers, friends in Birmingham, AL. I couldn’t believe what was happening, but few seemed interested. I am even more astounded now. It is a relief, frankly, that everyone can “see” it now.