New Media

Dramatization of a conversation I’m likely to hear on my way to work in the morning: “I vaguely remember something in the news, something about a lady in a Persian rug store who got shot. I don’t know. But Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died on the same day? I better catch Larry King interviewing their friends and family members. Let’s see, if I don’t see it tonight, I can probably catch the show tomorrow, or Saturday morning, or later that weekend, or any day next week…”

Not to take anything away from those who mourn the Prince of Pop and that lovely woman who acted in the original Charlie’s Angels TV series, but you’ve really got to feel bad for the Iranian opposition. The news cycle of celebrity-obsessed North American media will ensure that the next seven days are filled with stories about Michael Jackson’s musical talent and enjoyment of sleepovers with young boys and Ms. Fawcett’s courageous battle with cancer (with some choice stills of her early TV appearances thrown in for good measure).

Iran’s brave protesters will not be entirely ignored, but neither will their wounded and fallen get the attention that they very much deserve. Instead, news consumers will be fed a steady diet of celebrity news that we don’t particularly want, but which major media outlets think we need.

Until now, the opposition may have been buoyed by the robust support across the globe for their drive to bring real democratic change to Iran. The protesters certainly haven’t been getting any support from the censored and browbeaten (or just plain beaten) media in their own country (Reporters Without Borders calls Iran the world’s biggest prison for journalists). How disappointed and demoralized they’ll feel when the world’s attention shifts to eulogizing a famously talented man who couldn’t stop grabbing his crotch.

The mullahs in Iran must be loving it. Our evening’s broadcasts were clear proof that the decadent Westerners have the attention span of children. We decry political tyrants, but we knowingly accept and immerse ourselves in silly cults of personality so long as the icons are celebrities.

I hope I’m wrong. Canada and our allies have a huge stake in the Middle East. Right next door in Afghanistan, we’re helping an embattled new democracy remain on an upward path in the face of unrelenting violence by religious fundamentalists. Americans of course have an immense stake in the progress of democracy in Iraq, also right next door. Now we see a very rare glimmer of democratic change in Iran, which is under attack from more unrelenting violence from a similar breed of religious fundamentalists. It’s essential for responsible media broadcasters to keep our eyes on the news stories that continue to matter this week.

For the Tweeting Crowd
Some local Vancouver Tweeps who have noticed this disappointing trend:
FarFromSubtle Phew, I’m so glad Michael fixed that whole Iran thing before he died.
TeddysTogs Have you noticed with all of the celebrity deaths today—no Iran in the news?
BrandiCowen @accessd Priorities are screwed up. (Ex. Roommate’s friend came over crying about MJ, needed detailed explanation of situation in Iran. )
amiressy I didn’t give a fuck about MJ when he was alive and I sure don’t give a fuck now.There is a revolution going on in #iran people.FUCKIN HELL.

My brother just started using Twitter while suffering from a bout of insomnia the other night. He’d heard the buzz (not least from me) and he figured he might at least see what all the fuss was about.

I’m the proud recipient of his first Direct Message: “Can’t sleep either? Not sure exactly how useful this site is but I guess I will have to see what all the rage is”.

I thought about this for a bit and got back to him that perhaps it would be good to wait out, observe, see how others use Twitter and then a possible use for Twitter might come to him. It was a lame answer, but as I’d mentioned to him earlier, how one uses Twitter seems to really depend on your unique circumstances. Still, I couldn’t think of a better answer for him.

In my own experience, Twitter has been extremely useful to me as a way of promoting things I’ve been involved with, whether it’s events I’m helping organize or articles I want more people to read. It’s useful as an amplifier for what I already want to be doing: getting my message out. Even if very few people are actually on Twitter right now, influencers on Twitter who see my links to what I’m doing may help amplify their range through email, other social networks and the mainstream media (or perhaps even by picking up a phone).

This explains why so many Tweeps are social media marketers, PR wonks, communications specialists, journalists… you get the picture. And lately, Tweetdeck has enabled me to be much more “social” on Twitter, able to actually communicate and coordinate with some of my friends and colleagues (at the expense of time I am always conscious that I could be devoting to other activities, so I still try to limit my bi-directional Twitter usage).

If you’re not promoting something, I’d say Facebook is actually a more “social” application for keeping in touch with people you actually care about. At the very least, you probably actually know all of your Facebook friends, which cannot be said of most Twitter users’ Follower lists. Arguably, email is even more social, since the vast majority of people are still actually using it. You’re not social by locking yourself into a social media silo with all of your Twitterific friends.

At the end of the day, I’m still at a bit of a loss of how to really answer my brother’s question. As far as I know, very few of his friends, colleagues or family members aside from myself are on Twitter (Since I’m the only spin doctor in the bunch, that makes sense). It’s possible he might be able to use Twitter in a professional capacity, a la the social-media savvy doctor who authored Medicine in the Age of Twitter (although I can absolutely guarantee none of my brother’s patients will be using social networks).

But even then, I just don’t know. Maybe Twitter will just be a way of keeping in touch with his brother in Vancouver?

Soon, perhaps my brothers’ friends and colleagues will get on Twitter, joining the 1.45 per cent of Canadians who are already using it (That’s right – fewer than 2 per cent of Canadians use Twitter, even with all the press it’s getting). When that happens, I think Twitter will be useful for him. But until that happens, I’m leery of inviting him to drink more of the Twitter Kool-Aid.

While I’m on the topic, this video, Twouble with Twitters cracked me up. My brother may want to watch it before jumping in.

Vancouver’s real estate market appears to be unaffected by the laws of recessionary gravity. I’m already in the process of selling my own condo this week, so I’ve been paying a lot of attention lately to the land rush fever that seems to have gripped this city.

The buzz from the Twittersphere tells the story:
YouthJuiceBC: The real estate market is rising. My listing just went into multiple 5 days on the market and way above list price!!!!
AderaHome: May 2009 Vancouver Real Estate Stats: GOOD times ahead
westcoasthomes: Real Estate market in Vancouver is becoming Hot again. Homes are selling fast and in some communties the M word–Multiple Offers!!!!

Undoubtedly, over-exuberant realtors catching their breath after months of hard slogging are adding to the frenzy with some strategic propaganda. But there are some other big reasons why people in Vancouver are buying houses, or closet-sized condos, once again:

5 Reasons for the Vancouver Real Estate Land Rush of 2009
1. The Olympics are coming. Nuff said.
2. Historically Low Cost of Borrowing Money for a Mortgage. They aren’t going to get any lower. Actually, they just went back up. Savvy buyers may have been able to pressure brokers to lock in the best rates for a little while longer, but those agreements won’t last long.
3. It’s Just That Time of Year. As it was explained to me, May and June just happen to be stronger months for real estate sales year after year. Nice weather is getting the people outdoors, where they can notice those open house signs.
4. A Variation on the Duddy Kravitz syndrome. If a man without land is nothing, then a man with land in Kitsilano is really something else.
5. Sustainability and Livability. Vancouver’s unique geography, eco-minded culture and a fortuitous foundation of good urban planning has made this city into one of the most livable metropolises in the world. Really. We’re not exaggerating, rest of Canada. It’s just that nice over here.

In case you were wondering about the condo I’ve put on the market, you can see the details and the pretty pictures in my real estate listing.

UPDATE 20 June 2009: My condo was shown on CTV news today. On the CTV site, click on St. John Alexander on Real Estate. See Leroy Patterson wandering around my living room. Thanks, news team!

Social hacktivists armed with little more than Twitter accounts, web browsers and an earnest desire to stick it to their perceived oppressors are hitting out at the Iranian regime’s online presence. It’s going to take much more than cyber warfare to bring down the mullahs, but it is an intriguing sideline in this protest against a regime accused of subverting democracy.

So far, official Iranian government websites and propaganda outlets including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Official Blog, Office of the Supreme Leader, Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the vile scab-ridden Iranian Press TV and a long list of others are either under attack, unresponsive, or providing only “Service Unavailable” messages (Zero Day). The hacktivists’ tactics are simple: use Twitter to organize and enable large groups of instant hackers through use of automated tools that overload websites with repeated web-page refresh requests.

It’s far from clear whether the cyber-offensive, supposedly launched by the Iranian opposition and supported by hackers outside Iran, will cause enough disruption to give the regime real cause for concern. The leadership and government bigwigs that have already shown willingness to shoot, jail and torture protesters who are demonstrating against a perceived electoral miscarriage (NP), may not feel overly inconvenienced by the online disruption.

Hijacking online communications as a means to spread the opposition message is a tactical victory. The question is whether they’ll be able to do far more. If hackers are able to shut down critical infrastructure, and if it turns out that there’s a mass movement of protesters across the country, not just in Tehran, just waiting for the chance to beat down the leadership, then this initial hacktivism could turn out to be a historic victory of Web 2.0 tools over tyranny.

By way of comparison, those who know a bit about the increasing capabilities of cyber-warriors point to attacks on critical infrastructure and government sites in Georgia last year, leading up to Georgians going toe-to-toe with the Russians (AFP). But the reality is that Georgia was not deterred from sending forces into South Ossetia after the cyber attacks started. And Georgia didn’t ultimately give up because the hackers killed the electricity. It was an overwhelming mass of Russian army soldiers, airpower and tanks that brought the tiny Eastern European country to its knees. The cyber-attacks were a sideshow while the real blood-and-guts war was happening.

The point is that even if the hacktivists in and outside Iran can step up the pace and severity of attacks to do things like disable police and military infrastructure, these tactics won’t have lasting effect without a mass movement willing to face down attacks with their own brand of violence.

Riot cops with clubs and guns don’t need much technology to do the dirty work of the regime. It’s not at all clear that the Iranian opposition will have the stomach for the kind of knock-down, drag-out fight required to oust a thuggish government.

Mind you, the regime is doing an excellent job of creating a resistance movement willing to spill blood through its harsh crackdown, and undoubtedly social media tools are helping incite the masses with live reporting of atrocities against protesters. The question is whether Iranians in the rest of the country, particularly the countryside, will also be seeing these images.

The mullahs won’t be brought down by a ragged band of hackers, bloggers and Tweeps. But there is a chance that Web 2.0 will make this protest against the government go viral in a way that the leadership – and quite possibly, the opposition – never expected.

At least the Iranian regime has learned that Saddam-esque electoral victories of 99 per cent voter approval just aren’t all that convincing to outsiders (not to mention domestic voters). But the “Orwellian” tactics they are using suggest that the world – and ordinary Iranians – can look forward to several more years at least of bad news. From Times Online:

And it was not just their presence that the regime was using to quell dissent as it turned to electronic jamming and censorship to suppress attempts to publicise protests that were raging barely a mile from the presidential office, where Mr Ahmadinejad gave a surreal, Orwellian press conference.

Mr Ahmadinejad dismissed the protests as unimportant, comparing the rioters to disappointed football supporters after a match. He said there was no evidence that he had stolen the election, and that his margin of victory — 28 per cent — was so great that it was absurd to question his legitimacy. “Don’t worry about it. Freedom prevails absolutely in our country,” he told incredulous foreign journalists.