How to lose an election, win it and then lose again [for real this time] #iranelection

SHOOT: One way to incur the ire of social media is to do one simple thing. Tell them: "Don't do that!" Or worse:"Don't say that." Once again, social media demonstrates here that it can be a force for good, and a powerful voice that doesn't go gently into the night. How do you shut down Facebook, Twitter, blogs... Answer? You can't. So governments had better learn to behave fairly on behalf of the people they claim to represent. Or else befuddle them with newsy propoganda (as is commonplace in the West). Example: Iraq is on the axis of evil/Iraq contains WMD's. Iran is looking like a sentient bunch, and that is great to see.

clipped from mashable.com We’re approaching one billion tweets on the situation, if we haven’t passed that number already. Heck, it’s been 1% of all Twitter chatter, according to Twist. Here it is compared to iPhone chatter: clipped from twist.flaptor.com clipped from mashable.com The Blogosphere: 2,250,000 Blog Posts in 24 hours YouTube: 184,500 Videos on Iran, 3000 in One Day The Buzz Only Grows While numbers can be off, these trends clearly demonstrate that social media has been front-and-center in the Iran election protests. The Iranian government has reportedly been trying to censor some of this communication, but clearly people are finding ways around it. While we know a great deal about what’s happening in Iran, we have almost no idea how it will affect the outcome. This may be the biggest question that remains to be answered. HOW TO: Track Iran Election with Twitter and Social Media.

US State Department tells Twitter: LET THEM TWEET #iranelection

SHOOT: Look, simple way to sort out the mess in Iran. Have them vote using Twitter. Or launch a spin off of Twitter dedicated to Unique User voting, and call it Tvitter or Tvote. ID numbers can be linked to a computer number or verified email address. QED.

clipped from mashable.com According to a CNN blog post, the U.S. government is connecting with Twitter and other major social media companies to make sure that the flow of information from Iran remains uninterrupted. While the Obama administration itself keeping out of the Iran controversy on official channels, it is making sure that information coming from people on the ground is getting through to the rest of the world. The biggest revelation is that the State Department asked Twitter not to go down at its original time last night in order to allow Iranians to tweet out what’s happening in their cities. It also seems that U.S. officials are watching the chatter on Twitter, YouTube, FacebookFacebook, and elsewhere to keep up-to-speed with the situation on the ground. Social media communication is even more important, since the U.S. has no embassy or official relationship with Iran.