Wednesday, June 17, 2009

What Iranian Protestors Are Showing Us

Twitter is hitting mainstream. I am saying this not because I am looking at some numbers, but because I am getting asked aboutit outside of work by people of different professional backgrounds - none of whom work at agencies. These folks first ask me what Twitter is and what it really does or mean. I say it's about networking and tapping into the power of loose connections and shared knowledge.

When it comes to twiter, don't just think marketing. Think politics, think rural vs urban, think cross-polinations across schools and schools of thought. The way protesters in Iran kept communicating through Twitter and got tips on where to be, which streets to avoid, how to act is a very vivid example of how powerful this simple tool can be. Is it because it's using the latest technology? No, not just that. Twitter's power lies in people and ideas they can share at the speed of a few clicks.