Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition

Tweets Heard 'Round the World

The most powerful voice reporting from within Iran about the recent presidential election didn't belong to a single person. Rather, it was a chorus of many voices^a:

Mohamadreza mohamadreza (Tehran, Iran) It is not officially approved by any of candidates but its spreading: Tuesday national strike in Iran. #iranelection 13 June 2009 from web

Iran Election 2009 iran09 (Tehran, Iran) Massive arrests are the sign of a coup! Help us to a REVOLUTION! #iranelection #newiran 13 Jun 2009 from TwitterFox

tehranelection (Tehran, Iran) On my street, the crowd is pushing the police to the side. 14 Jun 2009 from web

Yashar Khaz douzion Yshar (Tehran, Iran) The rumors are spreading faster … Is it true that people have taken over the police station at Tajrish Sq. ?!?! #iranelection 13 June 2009 from Seesmic Desktop.

“[Twitter] has emboldened the protesters, reinforced their conviction that they are not alone, and engaged populations outside Iran in an emotional, immediate way that was never possible before.” –Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine^d

When Iran blocked text messaging and throttled Internet speeds in the days surrounding the hotly contested election, thousands of Iranians took to Twitter because of the service's worldwide visibility and low bandwidth requirements.

The early postelection tweets tended to focus on individual reactions to voting and the election's ...