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.

Social Media PowerPlay: Using Facebook to Win Friends and Elections

What do barrack Obama and Helen Zille have in common? Online clout. Especially Barrack.

Duncan McLeod (Financial Mail), please take the mike:

Obama's bid to secure the Democratic Party's nomination for the 2008 US presidential ticket has been notable for more than just his oratorical skills. His campaign will be remembered for something else: its exceptional use of technology, especially the Internet, to get younger audiences excited about politics.

The campaign's website is making extensive use of blogs, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, video streaming, and Twitter, the fast-growing texting and micro-blogging service.

Though the Clinton campaign is also making use of the Web, her popularity online is tiny next to Obama's. Obama has 730 000 "friends" on Facebook, compared with Clinton's 141 000. Republican John McCain trails with about 100 000 "friends". On Twitter, Obama has almost 20 000 people following his updates; Clinton has fewer than 2 500.

Obama's website also has a section encouraging supporters to blog, arrange fundraising events and create groups to connect with other supporters. Voters are using the Internet to talk directly to the Obama and Clinton campaigns in online forums.

Our politicians have a lot to learn.

NVDL: Indeed. This exerpt is from a fascinating and excellent article titled: A Web of politics .
Meanwhile here's more:
Clinton Haters Outpace Obama Backers on Facebook

Facebook was deliberately designed to limit mass communication by its group organizers, so that its users cannot be spammed and then turned off by the service. That's one of the reasons the Obama campaign built its own social-networking tool, which ended up stealing momentum away from the growth of his Facebook group, Sifry says.

Talking change
Clinton denies Obama electability remark

From Yahoo News: Obama currently leads in the delegate count, 1,634-1,500, according to The Associated Press. Because of the way Democrats apportion delegates, Clinton is not projected to catch Obama even if she has a strong showing in the remaining 10 contests.