On the twitter and social media and attitudes

[nadinbrzezinski]

I have noticed something interesting on DU (and off). There is a concerted effort to try to diminish the role of Twitter, and Facebook in the events of the last three years. I'll admit it, I was doubtful of Twitter as a real means of communication and activism until the Green Revolution. That is when not only did I sigh on but started following threads. It became very clear to me that it was as raw intel as you were going to get. Yes, some of it is questionable... and I even got to play some games with I suspect Iranians who tried to give me a lovely gift. One reason to use a mac incidentally. Yes, they could be infected, but it is not that easy, it is the OS stupid, that and Dynamic IPs... (yes AOL sucks, but they do the dynamic IP shtick standard)

But over the recent past, especially now that we have this little revolt in Wisconsin, I am readying the same kind of ... let's call it for what it is, fear\hate from people who do not understand the medium, or less charitably, fear this new future that is forming all around us. I hear things like where are your links? All the way to well, it is the twitter and they cannot be trusted... as I said SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE in the raw can be fun, but to say that you cannot trust it because you want to diminish it's use is just strange.

For the record, this new medium is so damn powerful as an organizing medium that Egypt and now Libya, have turned it off. It is extremely hard for their police apparatus to keep up with it. Actually it is nice to see. For once the people can stay ahead of the power elites by two to three steps. This is what is scary in so many ways. People are afraid of people power, even here. I ask of you that if you do not trust the twitter, we know... but please trying to diminish it reveals quite a bit of fear of a new medium. For whatever reasons there is that fear is not for me to question, but yes, the revolution is beting tweeted facebooked and blogged. That is the way it is. And power elites, I think, are starting to collectively wake up to that new reality. Yes, when the history of this is written... the twitter will have a central role, like it or not.

Nadin

[ElbertHubbard]

1. This is the time

to turn up the heat. Make the mountain of information to sort through so large that there is no possible way to make any connections to anyone else. Go to you facebook account and like every single status you can find. Go to your email and send emails to friends you haven't talked to for years. Tweet just to tweet. Search random articles about anything really, just break your patterns.

[DCKit]

2. It's all fun until those tweets lead the twits over the cliff like lemmings.

If you don't think it could happen, you haven't been paying attention.

[Dappleganger]

3. Trust, but verify.

Twitter, Facebook, email...everything. But there are those who are known good sources and I give their news quick cred when filtering through the feeds.

[eridani]

4. It still takes people on the streets

Modern media plays an auxiliary, not a causative, role.

[Dappleganger]

5. This media tells them where to go.

Twitter and FB in particular. Even flash mobs in Philly used twitter to tell their buddies where to avoid the police.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. What do you think both are being used for?

Yes there is some navel gazing, but go read some twitter threads on Wi, or Libya or Egypt.

Go on.

They have replaced this.



Both are the modern equivalent of the working man's paper and handbills.