If you have been watching what’s going on in Iran from your Barrio Siete TV sets or laptop computers, what an incredible set of developments this Saturday leading to the bloody offensive against the demonstrators. One victim, ‘Neda‘ has become the rallying cry for Iranian protests.
Photo Credits: Time: Iran in chaos
You’d ask, what happened?!
Well, here’s what I know from watching what’s going on. Before, it used to be a political dispute between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his opponent Mr. Moussavi over an election protest. What happened next was that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decided to put his own credibility and sort of put up a fight against the demonstrators. Now, it’s between him and the demonstrators, kind of shielding Ahmadinejad.
Was he able to stop the demonstrations? Not really. But another interesting event is going on.
Do you recall the two EDSA People Power in the Philippines? How were they able to amass a number of people and demonstrators to EDSA and join the opposition ranks in the streets? From what I recall, those EDSA protestors were called “The Text Brigade”, correct?
Well, tehnology has changed once again, we all know it. We’re now in cyberspace and the war has now gone into Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. If you listen to western media, they hail this event in Iran as the first real cyber war of the century.
Probably. I guess…
But what about those Afghanis and Talibans who were using mobile phones? Even the Taliban loves the iPhone with an internet connection! Could he be trading stocks by now?! They should be awarded as the first ones to embrace this type of technology in warfare, eh? Who knows. I’m not their IT guy.
But what interests me are the fight in cyberspace. Cybergeeks versus the Iranian establishment. Pretty much the same bombardment of censorship the Chinese have against anybody who ostracizes their government and government officials. But you know these technogeeks, they have a way to get around the system. And they were the ones who took it upon themselves to create another uprising on the internet.
No, Virhinya, this is not the World of Warcraft which is that massively multiplayer online role-playing. Here, they have some true nationalistic roles to play. To change one nation. I don’t know what’s driving their hearts, its possible that they were energized by President Obama’s speech in Cairo, it’s possible that they are so wanting to change the theocracy in Iran – whatever it is, they want change.
But be that as it may, this events in Iran I’m sure has all the mad governments in the world to take a look. They’re watching technology at work and unfold in this very important history in Iran. They’re in a quandary on how to approach the onslaught of social networking gone wars!
I remember when Marcos proclaimed martial law, there was a media blackout. Ask the Chinese, they’re pretty good at media blackout. The Chinese establishement should be happy. There was no Twitter then during the Tianamen Massacre.
I also remember the time when everybody in the Philippine household have Friendster. They still have. They still do. Some have moved to different platforms. They now plurk. Some are now blogging profusely.
Alas! Once frowned upon, social networking sites have finally found it’s rightful place in national and moral responsibility towards a nations wanting for a meaningful change.
Care to open a Twitter account? Plurk perhaps?
I make jokes about this line. But finally, one could really say…
Don’t make tulog! Let’s make baka!
Why? Because there ain’t gonna be anymore media blackout. Kahit pa mag-brown out ang Meralco basta ba’t me baterya ka, ok lang. Di ba? What do you think?
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
bakit ba lagi na lang may gulo dito sa ME, palapit pa ng palapit sa kinaroroonan ko
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@mars, san ka ba? nasa mars ka ba?
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tama ka dyan kamahalan pagdating sa news black-out super ok dito kayang kaya nilang itago lahat at pagandahin ang fanget na balita konting mek-up lang at yung mabantot na balita konting favango lang.
pansin mo ba na pag may malalaking issue tungkol dito e kayang kaya nilang tabunan kagad ng mga ek ek na disaster kuno para matabunan yung mga kafalfakan nila? isang sampol nalang yung issue ng tivetski diba may pantabon kagad sila ang vilis ng epek?
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buti na lang malayo ako dyan..
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oo nga kamahalan, sa media lalo sabe sana daw they should observe and learn not interfere. may nagbabalita daw kasing biased.
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Hi kamahalan thank you for the update sa pangyayari sa Iran. I call it, Fresh from the Barrio Siete Inquirer!
In the 80′s, during the height of the student activism, ung mga kadreng nakausap doon sa University De Varrio Siete, sa kapanahonan ng sit-ins at teach-ins, ung experience during sa Iranian Revolution at pagpatalsik ng Shah sa Varrio Iran was also mentioned.
2009, here we go, they are back in the streets at dito sa ating Barrio Siete sit-ins na discuss na naman natin ang anti-thesis sa resulta ng rebolusyong kanilang nakamit na kapanalunan.
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oman
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yung bayaw kong hilaw na si WILSON once told me that the real meaning of KHAMENIE in Iran is TOILET, kaya pala dito sa BARRIO until now I CAN’T MAHMOUD AMAHDINE-SHIT!
magandang umaga mga TARA-TWEET-ASS!
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Ayos! Sa mga barriong ngayon pa lang nararanasan ang benepisyo ng social media, nakikita nila na napakalaki ng benepisyo nito. Ngunit kayang kayang itumba ito ng isang gobyerno na gustong takpan ang katotohanan.
Ginawa ang mga teknolohiyang ito upang umusbong ang unawaan sa bawat barrio pero nakakalungkot isipin na meron talagang mga grupo ng tao na pipiliing makita na walang alam ang kanilang mga kababayan.
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and they know it in the Philippines esp yong mga tatakbo sa 2010. im fak, mag-open ka lang nang Fezbuk at talaga namang walang katapusang social climbing ang gagawin seyo, im fak uli, ilan na ang gustong making fwend ko hahaha now, i wonder wat happens neks pag nanalo na ang mga yan. maging fwend pa rin ba kaya nila ako??? hahaha
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excited lang ako dahil medyo nasundan ko ang balita
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well, masyado na kasing entrenched si ahmadinejad kaya hawak nya ang media sa iran expectedly siempre opposition ang iiyak na biased, nakikibalita lang tayo, pero tipong me traces of truth ang sinasabi nang mga opposition
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What we are seeing in Iran as well as in the other movements are the benefits of communications technology that can give to us. Dahil nga ang internet e pinaliliit na lang ang mundo, napakadaling magpasa ng information at magcommunicate via different platforms.
Andyan ang youtube, twitter, plurk, WP, other blog platforms etc. Napakadaming applications ang nagagawa ngayon sa internet at mobile phones which provide users a lot of ways to communicate and share ideas.
Of course, di din nating masasabing 100 percent na utopic ang internet – andyan pa rin ang masasamang nilalang na gagawa at gagawa ng kabalastugan like hackers, phishers and spammers.
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Pano kasi ang ginawa ni Ahmadinejad dahil hawak nya ang most of communications, shutdown ata mga telephone services tapos internet was patchy or something, but somehow yong mga technogeeks were able to find ways on how to get around the system kay they were being helped from the outside to send news tru twits
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If Ahmadinejad is truly confident of his electoral win, then, hindi siya matatakot isubject ang botohan sa recount.
E kaso, may mga elementong kumawala na sa protests like yung Basiji Militia na tumira dun sa isang babae named as Neda.
According to news e parang nickname nya lang ata yun. We dunno. Baka si Wiki e alam.
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well, i’m reading na sabi nung council, imposible daw na merong dayaan. well… dun ata sa lugar mismo ni Moussavi eh talo sya.
eto ang tanong: typically di ba once na dumami ang opposition, marami boto sa opposition, well yun na nga ang isang sampol, bat natalo si Moussavi sa lugar nya (which is also possible) samantalang dami daw opposition dun? hahaha! they discuss the problem at palitan mo lang mga mukha nang tao taz Iran – eh pilipinas na pilipinas ang problema sa bilangan hahahah
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hahahha….
parang nabalitaan ko na 11 million votes ang pinagtatalunan sa election fallout na ito.
Whether 11 million votes were rigged or not. Hahaha…
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Maski sa Twitter Reynz. Diniin ko ng todo itong si Palengke. Ang hirap kasi sa mga ito, gamit gamit ng social media channel eh di naman maintindihan bakit tinawag na social.
Some who uses social media channels should at least display authenticity and transparency at hindi PR people ang sipol ng sipol.
At pagkatapos ng election, sa tingin ko eh magiging bale wala na mga yan. These people don’t have what it takes to do an Obama. Isa lang ata ang nakita kong consistent. Si Chiz.
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Last hirit ko..
These politician should understand and know that to open a channel means to listen..Lecheng mga PR people yan PR pa naman trabaho nila.
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@rob,
swak ang sinabi mo Rob, these people think na all they have to do is open a blog, tweet their activities and that’s it.
yong reyna elena ba magiging successful if i were just doing that?
this barrio siete ba which only a litlle shy over 30 days magiging successful ba if we were simply blog and let go?
some of these politicians with blogs and social media crap don’t understand the community feeling in social media. they have no clue about interactivity in social media. none of those. instead, they bombard me with a lot of invite crap and join this shit and i don’t even know what i’m joining.
response ko to sa response mo at parinig ko na rin sa mga lecheng nagiimbita saken and you don’t even see them na mag0comment or mag introduce themselves sa blog ko or even in barrio siete samantalang haller! mas sikat pa ata ang barrio sa kanila! HAHAHAHA
ngayon, di ko pa tinatanong kung me mga platform ang mga mokong na to ha?
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Sikat na sikat ang tweeter pero ung CEO/founder hindi pa alam kung paano sila magka revenue dahil hanggang ngayon wala pa daw silang remittance.
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Cge Reynz, isampal mo sa mga leche! Imagine, mas sikat pa Barrio Siete sa mga site ng mga politko. Why? Aba mag isip naman sila.
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Aling Wiki says Iran is now the world’s 4th largest country of bloggers, blogging being very popular among the youth…
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that’s news to me dFish, but I would not be suprised, given their isolation, this is the only way for them to connect to the outside world!
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To add up to this observation, i guess blogging has been a silent protest in favor of democracy among the youth considering that the gov’t controls the media and has no diplomatic relation with the media-buzzing America. I still wonder if most of them blog in English or Persia or other local languages…
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i blogged on reyna elena that over 65 percent of Iran’s seventy million people are under the age of thirty.
http://reynaelena.com/2009/06/21/im-not-iranian-but-i-feel-the-iranians/
so, it’s not surprising really because the tendency for the youngsters is to be hip and being hip is getting on with technology.
i think this will only bring more change to Iran as they are now challenging the status quo
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65% under 30 – very “young population”, lots of fingers tinkering the keyboard. And the voices behind it…
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