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How exactly is this making a difference?

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Christopher S Penn
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I have a serious question for everyone who’s not in the country of Iran but is participating in the various Iran memes floating around the social media world, such as changing your location or making your avatar green. I want to hear your thoughts and debate on this.

How does something like changing your avatar or other forms of “showing your support” make any tangible difference to the citizens of Iran?

Bonus: if you’re Iranian, I’d like to hear what tangible impact the memes and movements online have had on you and your fellow citizens.

Please leave your comments, thoughts, and opinions below. Keep it civil.

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How exactly is this making a difference? 1 How exactly is this making a difference? 2 How exactly is this making a difference? 3

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Comments

37 responses to “How exactly is this making a difference?”

  1. Catherine Grison Avatar
    Catherine Grison

    I have the same question. Information arrives like a flood and we cannot verify most of it. Info or Intox? as we would say in French. At the same time, something terrible is obviously happening and we cannot just watch, again. If real people are calling for help, what do they really expect us to do without judging or lecturing anybody or sending the troops (busy somewhere else!)?

    Reply
  2. Catherine Grison Avatar
    Catherine Grison

    I have the same question. Information arrives like a flood and we cannot verify most of it. Info or Intox? as we would say in French. At the same time, something terrible is obviously happening and we cannot just watch, again. If real people are calling for help, what do they really expect us to do without judging or lecturing anybody or sending the troops (busy somewhere else!)?

    Reply
  3. noebie Avatar
    noebie

    hi chris

    i'm not sure either – but here's part of what i posted about it this morning

    “If nothing else, when we see the green avatars, our thoughts return to the situation. I have to believe that all of that psychic energy, in the long run, will help. It certainly can't hurt.”

    full blog post is at http://noebie.com/blog/2009/06/16.html

    Reply
  4. noebie Avatar
    noebie

    hi chris

    i'm not sure either – but here's part of what i posted about it this morning

    “If nothing else, when we see the green avatars, our thoughts return to the situation. I have to believe that all of that psychic energy, in the long run, will help. It certainly can't hurt.”

    full blog post is at http://noebie.com/blog/2009/06/16.html

    Reply
  5. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    I find it amazing that people think that thousands of expressions of support have no impact. These same people will then spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on considering how they should advertise toothpaste.
    Have I forgotten this image 40 years later?
    http://digitalrhetor.files.wordpress.com/2009/0…

    Have I forgotten this image 20 years later?
    http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf…

    Will I forget this one 20 years from now?
    Not if I still have my life or my memory.
    http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2009/06/iran…

    Reply
  6. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    I find it amazing that people think that thousands of expressions of support have no impact. These same people will then spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on considering how they should advertise toothpaste.
    Have I forgotten this image 40 years later?
    http://digitalrhetor.files.wordpress.com/2009/0…

    Have I forgotten this image 20 years later?
    http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf…

    Will I forget this one 20 years from now?
    Not if I still have my life or my memory.
    http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2009/06/iran…

    Reply
  7. cwilfong Avatar
    cwilfong

    Utility of changing avatar to green I guess is that it can remind people to think about what is going on. Im kinda “meh” about that. Do it dont do it, whatever. In my mind the effect either way is small.

    What I find much more interesting is the actual utility of Twitter at spreading real information about what is going on. There is an insane amount of info flowing “out” at the moment but it is really hard if not impossible to verify any of it, and at the same time you can clearly see lots of misinformation/conjecture/heresy proliferating.

    The power of these social network information lines is obvious, I just still have some serious questions about it's utility in crisis situations in terms of really getting any kind of a clear picture. I liken it to trying to get a glass of water from a fire hose or charge my cell phone off a raw powerline.

    Reply
  8. cwilfong Avatar
    cwilfong

    Utility of changing avatar to green I guess is that it can remind people to think about what is going on. Im kinda “meh” about that. Do it dont do it, whatever. In my mind the effect either way is small.

    What I find much more interesting is the actual utility of Twitter at spreading real information about what is going on. There is an insane amount of info flowing “out” at the moment but it is really hard if not impossible to verify any of it, and at the same time you can clearly see lots of misinformation/conjecture/heresy proliferating.

    The power of these social network information lines is obvious, I just still have some serious questions about it's utility in crisis situations in terms of really getting any kind of a clear picture. I liken it to trying to get a glass of water from a fire hose or charge my cell phone off a raw powerline.

    Reply
  9. Karl Bimshas Avatar
    Karl Bimshas

    Often the intangible makes a difference. The intangible becomes temporarily tangible through symbols. Show me how love, faith, liberty or other intangibles ever exactly make a difference, yet we know they do.

    Attention. Interest. Desire. Action. Perhaps the intangibles are just the top of the funnel for change. We can’t always define what seemingly passive and insignificant actions will make a difference and which ones won’t, but that doesn’t mean you stop.

    Reply
  10. Karl Bimshas Avatar
    Karl Bimshas

    Often the intangible makes a difference. The intangible becomes temporarily tangible through symbols. Show me how love, faith, liberty or other intangibles ever exactly make a difference, yet we know they do.

    Attention. Interest. Desire. Action. Perhaps the intangibles are just the top of the funnel for change. We can’t always define what seemingly passive and insignificant actions will make a difference and which ones won’t, but that doesn’t mean you stop.

    Reply
  11. Stuartfoster Avatar
    Stuartfoster

    I'm not sure if I'm making a difference at all. I don't think that any harm will come with engaging in a dialogue though. I think this is currently the only means that some people have to express their opinions.

    Reply
  12. Stuartfoster Avatar
    Stuartfoster

    I'm not sure if I'm making a difference at all. I don't think that any harm will come with engaging in a dialogue though. I think this is currently the only means that some people have to express their opinions.

    Reply
  13. Richard Mondello Avatar
    Richard Mondello

    Tangible difference? Doubtful.

    But I'm going to do it anyway.

    Reply
  14. Richard Mondello Avatar
    Richard Mondello

    Tangible difference? Doubtful.

    But I'm going to do it anyway.

    Reply
  15. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    From Facebook group -> “Telling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad he's full of crap”

    “Check this out — Twitterers across the Tweetosphere are changing their location to “Tehran.” Why? Because it makes it waaaaaay harder for Iranian censors to locate the ones who actually ARE in Tehran! Check out the article for more details, and if you like it, consider changing your own Twitter location to Tehran as well. Very clever stuff.”

    http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=96138…

    Not agreeing or not – just reporting…

    Reply
  16. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    From Facebook group -> “Telling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad he's full of crap”

    “Check this out — Twitterers across the Tweetosphere are changing their location to “Tehran.” Why? Because it makes it waaaaaay harder for Iranian censors to locate the ones who actually ARE in Tehran! Check out the article for more details, and if you like it, consider changing your own Twitter location to Tehran as well. Very clever stuff.”

    http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=96138…

    Not agreeing or not – just reporting…

    Reply
  17. noebie Avatar
    noebie

    hi chris

    i’m not sure either – but here’s part of what i posted about it this morning

    “If nothing else, when we see the green avatars, our thoughts return to the situation. I have to believe that all of that psychic energy, in the long run, will help. It certainly can’t hurt.”

    full blog post is at http://noebie.com/blog/2009/06/16.html

    Reply
  18. Catherine Grison Avatar
    Catherine Grison

    I have the same question. Information arrives like a flood and we cannot verify most of it. Info or Intox? as we would say in French. At the same time, something terrible is obviously happening and we cannot just watch, again. If real people are calling for help, what do they really expect us to do without judging or lecturing anybody or sending the troops (busy somewhere else!)?

    Reply
  19. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    I find it amazing that people think that thousands of expressions of support have no impact. These same people will then spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on considering how they should advertise toothpaste.
    Have I forgotten this image 40 years later?
    http://digitalrhetor.files.wordpress.com/2009/0…

    Have I forgotten this image 20 years later?
    http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf…

    Will I forget this one 20 years from now?
    Not if I still have my life or my memory.
    http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2009/06/iran…

    Reply
  20. cwilfong Avatar
    cwilfong

    Utility of changing avatar to green I guess is that it can remind people to think about what is going on. Im kinda “meh” about that. Do it dont do it, whatever. In my mind the effect either way is small.

    What I find much more interesting is the actual utility of Twitter at spreading real information about what is going on. There is an insane amount of info flowing “out” at the moment but it is really hard if not impossible to verify any of it, and at the same time you can clearly see lots of misinformation/conjecture/heresy proliferating.

    The power of these social network information lines is obvious, I just still have some serious questions about it's utility in crisis situations in terms of really getting any kind of a clear picture. I liken it to trying to get a glass of water from a fire hose or charge my cell phone off a raw powerline.

    Reply
  21. Karl Bimshas Avatar
    Karl Bimshas

    Often the intangible makes a difference. The intangible becomes temporarily tangible through symbols. Show me how love, faith, liberty or other intangibles ever exactly make a difference, yet we know they do.

    Attention. Interest. Desire. Action. Perhaps the intangibles are just the top of the funnel for change. We can’t always define what seemingly passive and insignificant actions will make a difference and which ones won’t, but that doesn’t mean you stop.

    Reply
  22. Stuart Foster Avatar
    Stuart Foster

    I'm not sure if I'm making a difference at all. I don't think that any harm will come with engaging in a dialogue though. I think this is currently the only means that some people have to express their opinions.

    Reply
  23. Richard Mondello Avatar
    Richard Mondello

    Tangible difference? Doubtful.

    But I'm going to do it anyway.

    Reply
  24. jlbraaten Avatar
    jlbraaten

    I'd argue that it doesn't have to do much, if anything at all. It's like the rubber wristbands that everyone wears for one cause or another. Sure, there is probably a donation that goes to a cause somewhere, but that's the first 5 minutes. The rest of the time it's just more about awareness than anything.

    Reply
  25. jlbraaten Avatar
    jlbraaten

    I'd argue that it doesn't have to do much, if anything at all. It's like the rubber wristbands that everyone wears for one cause or another. Sure, there is probably a donation that goes to a cause somewhere, but that's the first 5 minutes. The rest of the time it's just more about awareness than anything.

    Reply
  26. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    From Facebook group -> “Telling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad he's full of crap”

    “Check this out — Twitterers across the Tweetosphere are changing their location to “Tehran.” Why? Because it makes it waaaaaay harder for Iranian censors to locate the ones who actually ARE in Tehran! Check out the article for more details, and if you like it, consider changing your own Twitter location to Tehran as well. Very clever stuff.”

    http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=96138…

    Not agreeing or not – just reporting…

    Reply
  27. jlbraaten Avatar
    jlbraaten

    I'd argue that it doesn't have to do much, if anything at all. It's like the rubber wristbands that everyone wears for one cause or another. Sure, there is probably a donation that goes to a cause somewhere, but that's the first 5 minutes. The rest of the time it's just more about awareness than anything.

    Reply
  28. janschwartz Avatar
    janschwartz

    They are asking for our support, and Twitter is what they are using to tell us what's going on. By making these small changes they can see they have support–we care what's happening over there. I would think psychologically it is important for them to know that, even if it's not tangible.

    Reply
  29. janschwartz Avatar
    janschwartz

    They are asking for our support, and Twitter is what they are using to tell us what's going on. By making these small changes they can see they have support–we care what's happening over there. I would think psychologically it is important for them to know that, even if it's not tangible.

    Reply
  30. Clay Avatar
    Clay

    It is helping to conceal locals from the police there, and it is a small gesture that ppl can do to show support, kinda like asking why ppl put yellow ribbons magnets on their cars, doesn't DO/help in anyway, but is a show of support.
    -Twitter/freemindconsult

    Reply
  31. Clay Avatar
    Clay

    It is helping to conceal locals from the police there, and it is a small gesture that ppl can do to show support, kinda like asking why ppl put yellow ribbons magnets on their cars, doesn't DO/help in anyway, but is a show of support.
    -Twitter/freemindconsult

    Reply
  32. Jeremy L. Avatar
    Jeremy L.

    I think it's about awareness, like wearing ribbons or rubber-band bracelets for various causes. Awareness opens opportunity for tangible actions.

    Reply
  33. catherine grison Avatar
    catherine grison

    Awareness abt freedom, awareness abt sustainability, awareness abt Humanity! Jeremy, could you tweet that? I would RT you in a heart beat!

    Reply
  34. Jeremy L. Avatar
    Jeremy L.

    I think it’s about awareness, like wearing ribbons or rubber-band bracelets for various causes. Awareness opens opportunity for tangible actions.

    Reply
  35. catherine grison Avatar
    catherine grison

    Awareness abt freedom, awareness abt sustainability, awareness abt Humanity! Jeremy, could you tweet that? I would RT you in a heart beat!

    Reply
  36. Jeremy L. Avatar
    Jeremy L.

    I think it's about awareness, like wearing ribbons or rubber-band bracelets for various causes. Awareness opens opportunity for tangible actions.

    Reply
  37. catherine grison Avatar
    catherine grison

    Awareness abt freedom, awareness abt sustainability, awareness abt Humanity! Jeremy, could you tweet that? I would RT you in a heart beat!

    Reply

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