I’ve been following the aftermath of the Iranian election with great interest as well as sadness. I’ve also been fascinated by the role of social media tools in this potentially historic series of events. Should #iranelection ever become #iranrevolution, its safe to say:

the revolution will not be televised, it will be streamed

There are a few various of this phrase being tossed around, each with its own merits. This revolution WILL be televised. The Revolution will Not be Televisted – it’ll be twittered. I like mine because of the visceral impact of the streamed youtube videos being transmitted out of Iran.  Access is immediate. There’s no need to wait for them to be broadcast on network news. Granted, many of these videos have been spread via Twitter, so there’s definitely something to those other witticisms.

Is the medium finally the message? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

I’m not going to sermonize on the power off social media tools to invoke social and politic change. People have been disputing the effect of sites such as Twitter as far as it extends to organizing protests and the like in favor of more “traditional tools” such as SMS and websites (it’s amazing to think of something like SMS as traditional). I think we’re going to have to wait until time has passed and we’re not in the midst of such unrest before a proper analysis can be done.

Something less open to debate is the power of raw video and images being exported out of Iran via these social networking tools. The viral nature through which these videos spread trumps the scope of television medium. I believe that when the smoke clears, we’ll see that these images did much to shape international sentiment. It’s staggering to watch some of these videos on YouTube.

Mashable has been chronicling the flow of social media communication coming out of Iran. Here is their collection of youtube videos depicting post-election protests that undersscore my point.

I both encourage and caution you to watch #9, which shows a young girl dying, after being shot by a Basij rooftop sniper. Again, the  video is very graphic, disturbing, and involves the death of an Iranian woman. Please do not watch unless you feel capable AND are old enough.

It’s worth noting that this video has not yet been authenticated by major news networks. Nonetheless, this  raw video footage has stirred up an intense reaction on Twitter. They are calling her Neda (meaning “voice” in Farsi), a name which has become both a rallying cry for social media protesters and a hastag. #neda is currently featured on 25 posts ever minute (which is tiny compared to earlier, general election statistics). Examples include;

“#Neda: You are the VOICE of the people. You are a call to FREEDOM…..rip”

“RT If an innocent girl gets shot halfway across th world, does she make a sound? Yes, & the whole world hears her.  #neda“

These videos have stirred a passionate social media response. It’s hard to say where these messages are coming from (inside or outside of Iran, though with the various government crackdowns, it’s safer to say most are coming from outside). Many are providing both instructions and warnings.

“RT PLEASE RETWEET From Iran Basij are marking doors to attack later. Use oil/petrol to remove the mark from your door. #IranElection“

“RT REMOVE ALL street signs, so shipped-in forces will lose orientation #iranElection #Tehran”

“FIRST AID INFO NOW IN FARSI !! http://gr88.tumblr.com #iranelection PLEASE RT”

Check out this map showing embassies accepting injured people in Tehran. It’s another one of many examples of how people are using tools to spread knowledge and provide aid.

I wonder how tools like twitter, youtube and facebook would have impacted the Iranian revolution in 1979. How might they have influenced the American antiwar movement of the late 1960′s and early 1970′s? Imagine if the Kent State shootings had been posted on youtube moments after they occured. How might this have helped to motivate and grow the movement? Obviously there’s no way to ever know the answers to any of these questions, but I’m betting the differences would be stunning.

Can social media tools change the world? Perhaps they already have.

Please note that my attempt here was to remark on the role of social media tools in the aftermath of the Iran election. Clearly, I have personal feelings on what’s going on over there, as well as general views regarding the roles of government and social protest (including specific views on the place of social and political revolution). I don’t feel the need to mention my personal views in any greater detail then I have above, as I don’t feel they’re relevant to this particular discussion.