#IranElection on Twitter

I have been glued to Twitter all weekend.  Following the developments in Iran through the #IranElections tag.  It’s a bizarre mix of voyeurism, social consciousness and a real sense that I am witnessing an event in real time with the participants and spectators all mashed together.  Switching over to CNN to get their analysis only reveals that they are doing the exact same thing — following the events on Twitter.

The whole situation reminds me of watching the first Gulf War unfold on CNN.  At that time the war provided CNN the content that positioned them as the leader in world news.  Fast forward alomost 20 years and now it’s CNN that has been sidelined by the upstart Twitter.  Its too early to see how this will effect Twitter in the long run (let alone how it will effect Iran — which we ‘re praying for)  but here are some observations from a marketing perspective:

• Expect Twitter to get a lot of street cred for their part in this world event.  They will be herolded as a leading tool for getting news out of Iran.  Twitter will look to position itself as a platform for news.
• Twitter was used by both the rebels and the establishment.  The rebels used Twitter to broadcast to the world and to each other vital information — I watched as the rebels first identified which Embassies where taking wounded.   The Establishment used Twitter to broadcast false information intended to confuse the rebels.  This very serious case illustrates just how important verifying Twitter accounts is. Expect Twitter to start charging for verified accounts soon.
• A young girl named Neda was killed on Saturday.  Unedited video was spread through Twitter posts.  She quickly became an icon for the movement.  Twitter was used as a real time diseminator of the events — an unedited uneditorialized blast of information.  We’re entering a new world where newspapers are being replaced with this kind of real world data blasts.  I’m not sure how this will unfold but be aware the the audiences perception of information will be changing.
• I’ve maintained that Twitter is interesting but didn’t have the legs to make it a mainstream tool like Facebook.  Depending on how Twitter leverages the momentum garnered over this weekend they may be able to break out of being just a media darling novelty and become a tool to reach a mainstream audience — I think a lot would have to happen to get there.  But there is a chance.  Keep an eye on how Twitter uses this event to shape their identity.

The events in Iran over this weekend have been incredible.  I’m in awe that I’m seeing a real time world event unfold in 140 characters bursts.  The amount of posts is increadable.  Every second there are hundreds of new Tweets.  My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Iran.