Iran Social Media

For Iran social media has helped greatly when it comes to getting their word out. The people believe that their government rigged a presidential election which as a result caused a major uprising on the people’s part they were in disbelief that their government would do such a thing. People against this were taken to jail for their beliefs against the government and newscasters trying to get the story were thrown out of the country and the visa were not renewed. And the Iranian government got what they wanted because newscasters weren’t able to tell us what happened therefore restricting out social media. Their people like China are being forced to keep a restricted view of what is happening in their own government. It would be like if CNN and BBC didn’t exist. That is a scary thought. However some Iranians are getting information from their own satellite televisions. I found very interesting that the man interviewing asked the interviewee about how Twitter is being used to discuss what is happening with Iran but the interviewee said that Twitter is being used only to for Iranians to discuss with each other what is happening, not with the rest of the world. He also said how newscasters aren’t allowed to leave their hotel room to get coverage. In addition the man said of how he wasn’t nervous about doing the interview but that word was getting around. He says this on a podcast that is on the Internet, of course it is going to get around.

China Censorship

From the first podcast I was surprised to hear that the only way people could be able to go on websites like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube were if their country’s firewall was able to shut down. I can’t image having riots and having a government where the officals giver speech to say how bad it is. People who blog aren’t even allowed to say what they want to say without worrying that it may be censored or get a warning. What I think is interesting is the people who have never ventured to other countries don’t know the difference between what is happening to them and the rest of the world. In addition, in the podcast Wall Space, the women being interviewed, Rebecca Mackinnon made a point to compare China and the Soviet Union about how things aren’t just about politics it was about the people not having fun but the people in China are having fun but their freedom is being restricted. She makes a valid point that this censorships can spread to the West but it’s only to protect children. I don’t see how censoring the internet can help a country. In America President Obama used Twitter and Facebook to get young voters to vote. Our government wouldn’t censor things except maybe for government websites. A government shouldn’t have to censor social networking sites. It is like they are scared for the people of their nation to have their own thoughts and views. I think it is smart to tell people about this because maybe it will help China change their politics and their views.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOmqq_n1-aQ

New Media Helps Haiti Relief

Due to the horrific fact that Haiti was completely shattered by an earthquake on January 12 the world of New Media has outstretched a hand to help. There have been many ways that New Media has helped Haiti. For one our own cell phones have been used to donate money. By simply sending text messages to one another’s phones, phone companies would donate a certain amount to a charity specifically to help Haiti relief. 

Along with our cell phones, Facebook has been getting involved as well. Twitter, along with Facebook has also been helpful. People writing on their statuses of how to donate or current topics about Haiti have made relief more affected. Even with online websites the media in general has helped us stay on top of Haiti relief.

 Local news stations and newspapers have specifically told people where they can donate or how to get involved. One thing that was recently done was by actor George Clooney, he organized a Haiti relief telethon that would have viewers watching from at least ten different television networks all with the same number to donate to Haiti. We just have to hope that our donations will be put to good used so it can try to help Haiti get back what they lost.