Fallout in Iran: Mining Social Unrest in a Web. 2.0 World

by Curt Hall

The use of social networking sites by activists covering the recent Iranian election protests is a vivid example of how Web 2.0 can upset even the staunchest government's attempts to stifle dissent and the spread of "non-official" (i.e., uncensored) information. Twitter, in particular, has found extensive use by activists inside and outside of Iran, as well as by ordinary people who are worried or interested in what is happening inside the country. There has been so much of this activity, in fact, that the US Department of State asked Twitter management (which complied with the request) to hold off on carrying out scheduled systems maintenance in order to avoid any possibility of disrupting or limiting what has essentially become a key communications and organizational tool for Iranian postelection activism.