Twitter for good

Expanding from what has already been written on how social media can be used for good and how they can help humanitarian causes I'd like to underline the important role that twitter has played in the past. Twitter is without doubt a marketing tool and recently the favorite way for celebrities, businesses and politicians to communicate with their followers; however we cannot forget that it also allows disseminating information in real time to a huge network of people. Not only tweets are sent to friends but everyone can choose to receive tweets from people they don't know and that they decide they want to read.
Last year it was used in Iran after the disputed elections and it was vital for organizing the protests that followed and let the world know what was happening in the Country. The Iranian government was able to control the flow of information and block text-messaging on cell phones but even if they tried, they couldn't block the news that was divulgated by twitter. The role played by twitter was so preeminent that according to the Time: "State Department official e-mailed Twitter to request a delay in scheduled maintenance of its global network, which would have cut off service while Iranians were using Twitter to swap information and inform the outside world about the mushrooming protests around Tehran". Similarly Twitter played a huge role in the protest that was organized in Moldavia last year against a communist victory in the Moldavian elections.
I'm certain that in both cases the rally's organization and the protests would have happened with or without twitter but I think that both instances demonstrate what a powerful communication tool twitter is and how it is almost impossible to stop it from disseminating information and reaching people.
To read more:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/04/inside-moldovas/

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905125,00.html