Twitter's Importance in Iran

Before the recent revolts and riots caused by the disputed Iranian elections, I never really understood the draw of Twitter. Most people I know use it to follow the actions of celebrities, and I never really wanted to "tweet" myself, because my life isn't nearly interesting enough. But with what is going on in Iran, Twitter is literally saving lives. The Iranian government is watching the Internet trying to find people who are against Ahmadinejad and are posting pictures and stories from the streets of Iran. People are using Twitter to go around the government intervention, and so far it is working well. One of the most interesting facets about this is that because government agents are looking for the time zone settings on peoples accounts to see if they are in Iran, thousands and thousands of people are switching their account settings and personal information to pretend that they are in Iran. This mass action by the Twitter population is actually making a difference in the world, and could possibly save the lives of the courageous people posting from Iran.

For further reading- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leah-anthony-libresco/irans-revolution-will-be_b_216490.html

One Last Quote to Share

There is one last quote from the Spier which I would like to talk about

“While the internet acted as the networking tool to bring the activists together from across the country, the face-to-face meetings and the formations of affinity groups were the essential step in forming the community that would act as the one on the street. Strong arguments are made by those who believe there can be no “out of body” community, that it could not have formed exclusively on the internet. It is impossible, they say, for people to form communities if they do not or cannot interact face-to-face in shared public space. There must be actions between them involving discourse, contracts, promises and shoulder-to-shoulder heavy lifting.”

I really like this quote because it shows how Zeke used the internet to supplement his actions, not replace them. Zeke knows that the real action, the action that would help change the world was not done over the internet, but in real life. Instead Zeke used the internet as a tool, to learn research issues, talk about them with like-minded people and then organize so you can be effective when you meet up in real life. While the author in this situation says that it is impossible for a community to form purely on the internet, I believe in our previous readings and discussions we have debunked that idea. Instead I believe that while real communities can form purely on the internet, those same communities are made much stronger with additional face-to-face interaction.

Another Great Quote

There was another really interesting quote in the article about Zeke which I think is worth talking about.

“The absence of any correlation between internet usage and civic engagement could mean that the internet attracts reclusive nerds and energizes them, but it could also mean that the Net disproportionately attracts civil dynamos and sedates them.”

I am not sure if I agree with this whole quote, but it definitely provides some food for thought. Do activists write their hearts out on the internet, and then fail to take action in real life because they feel like they have already done their part? Is the act of discussing your beliefs online the same as doing so offline? While I am not sure about the validity of his second statement, I really agree with the first one. I believe that people who normally would never speak up about an issue in the real world have no problem talking about it and speaking passionately online. Do the positives outweigh the negatives in this case? Is it better for a cause to have people actively discussing it on the internet? I think that the answer to that is undeniably yes, as Barak Obama can readily attest to.

There is a great quote from the article about Zeke that really stood out to me and I would like to talk about here.
"The internet's information, communication and networking power enabled Spier to discover his passion for social justice and to find the willingness to sacrifice his freedom to express it. Although other media had stirred his emotions and informed his ideology, the internet enabled him to conduct unmediated…communications with others of like mind. The internet became for him the link between education and motivation and the catalyst for action.”

I feel like this quote from the reading really hits on a point that everyone can agree with. In today’s society, the internet acts as a connector between people who share common beliefs. Television and newspaper articles do a great job about informing you about an issue, but the communication is one sided, there is no back and forth of dialogue. Once Zeke was education by the traditional forms of media, it was the internet that really grabbed him and caused him to take action because it was a form of media that he could interact with.

Rainy Life in New York

So I am not here to complain about living in New York this summer, because so far almost everything has been amazing. Despite that, a hot, muggy summer day in the city can be unbearable in the pouring rain. First of all, New Yorkers have no umbrella etiquette, or maybe they just don't care. I work in Times Square and with all the masses of people walking around, it can be a very dangerous place with all of those sharp umbrella tips! You might think that I am joking around or maybe that I am blowing this out of proportion, but today I was walking to work when the person in front of me wasn't paying attention while talking on the phone and nailed someone in the face! Also, normally I don't mind taking the subway into work, but in the rain large parts of the stations flood and huge lines form so that people can walk around them (if at all possible).

I am going to start keeping people updated about my summer in the city by posting every once in a while about a certain unique aspect of New York life that only an outsider like myself would notice.

Cynical view of a great romantic story

There is no doubt that Alexis ends up being in love with Craig by the end of the story. But the aspect that I am the most interested is would their relationship have blossomed into what it is today if Alexis wasn't feeling isolated and alone at Lehigh.

In the time period that Alexis was chatting online and later initially meeting Craig, she was not very happy at Lehigh.

"I was feeling somewhat isolated and lonely the months I found myself chatting online with people. I feel like most of the students at Lehigh are drowning in apathy and that no one cares about anything outside their circle of friends. They don't know the outside world exists, never mind care about it... I felt like no one cared here and that I was really different from everyone else. I felt unable to relate to anyone in that capacity. Plus, I wasn't doing too well in school... I was having trouble with my best friend on top of all that, so I guess that's why I became so totally engrossed in the random chat thing."

I feel that if Alexis was happier and not feeling ostracized at Lehigh, she would never of even starting chatting on the Internet, and certainly would not of wanted to spend every night taking to Craig, who initially already had a girlfriend. No matter how engrossing your online persona may be, it still cannot compare to what can happen in real life. In my mind, Alexis would of had a much better chance meeting someone interesting by spending every night in Hawksnest or the library, instead of talking to random people on the Internet hoping to have an intelligent conversation. We go to an elite university, and she wrote off the entire population, instead preferring to hide behind the anonymity of her computer screen.

My first Post!

So this is my first post and I am not going to lie, I am pretty excited. I am looking forward to writing about what interests me and my opinions on our class material. Keep checking in, you will be hearing from me soon!