Twitter for revolutionaries
2011 March 10
Update 2011-06-12: Just noticed this article about the current unrest in Syria. The #syria hashtag is apparently being flooded by government spam. This shows that this problem really exists, whether or not the following offers any real chance for a solution.
Twitter is the opposite of an authoritative source. It's a mighty stream of uncertain information, and trying to take it all in is known as 'drinking from the fire-hose.' Hearsay gets cut and pasted as fact. The most sensational news gets retweeted most often. Before you know it, you've got running gun battles on Oxford Street.
There's been some debate about whether Twitter played any role in bringing down Mubarak in Egypt. It can't be doubted that technology shaped the way we remote observers heard about the situation, but it's a stretch to claim it provided useful information to the people doing the protesting.
Is it possible to take the fire-hose and make it useful for such people? The penetration of Twitter and similar social media is increasing. Smartphones are heading towards ubiquity. Is there a way to make these trends work for an internet-connected protester in a Tahrir-square situation?
Read more...