This isn’t about which side anybody is on, it’s about the safety of people trying to peacefully assemble. Why is that so hard for people to understand?

This is true. They are having the impact they are supposed to. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the people who support Ahmedinajad mostly do not have access to the internet, Twitter accounts or the ability to speak English.

And what else could he do anyway? Bomb Tehran and kill more people than the Iranian government ever has or ever will?

During Tiananmen, they used fax machines for the same purpose, and photographers have used film cannisters in the past. Twitter is being used now because it’s easier to do without getting tracked.

I agree that bearing witness never amounts to the level of action of the people themselves on the streets. But it is why they are sending the images, video, messages, and even tweets out of the country. I don’t prefer Twitter as a medium, for most things it’s inane. But right now it’s working and there is a value in reading the tweets. That’s why they’re being sent.

I agree with what you say. Still, it seems to make a lot of Iranians feel like their voice is being heard somewhere in the world. And many of them were impressed and happy to see so many people in the world responding to them. Made them feel less alone. That is something, I think.

The title is: americas-iranian-twitter-revolution

The linkee thingee never works for me, so you will have to google Open Anthropology to get there.