As Events Unfold In Iran, Facebook And Google Translate Quickly Add Persian Versions on Tech Crunch points out the impact that the revolutionary events in Iran have on the way we view social media. On CNET, you can read With Iran crisis, Twitter’s youth is Over. Twitter, a tool that allows users only 140 characters to tell their story, is the leading communication medium for a social upheaval that may change the both Iran and the way we regard user generated content.
Nico Pitney has been live blogging events in Iran for the Huffington Post. He’s compiling all sorts of sources into a running mashup of what’s going on. Much of it comes from YouTube, some from Twitter and some from news agencies. There’s an ongoing list of tweets using #iranelection as a hashtag on HuffPo. Links to other bloggers writing about Iran at HuffPo are included, too.
The BBC is covering the story in much the same way in Internet brings events in Iran to life. The story is a collection of video, tweets, Facebook links, images, and blog links.
For those who watch trends in communication, traditional journalism, and citizen journalism, the idea that the Internet is changing the way the world tells its story is not new. But the events in Iran are so significant to everyone on the planet, even people who don’t normally look at trends on the Internet are becoming aware that things have changed significantly. I don’t pretend to understand the implications the unfolding events will have on future communications and future newsgathering, but I can safely say that things will be different from now on.
Addendum: See this excellent post by Ethan Zuckerman: Iran, citizen media and media attention