As more video comes to light from the struggle inside Iran, one must marvel at the technology making this all possible. Even a decade ago, people had to reply mostly on images smuggled out of an area of conflict by journalists working for the traditional media. Now, with all the quick down-n-dirty ways of getting images on the airwaves, anyone who can get footage to the right sources can get their footage seen by the world.

A story from FOX News is an example of ways some people within Iran have gotten some of the graphic images to the press: by a James Bond-like spy camera embedded in what looks like an ordinary writing pen.

Unlike tiny spy cameras of days gone by, this one records to a flash drive and can be exported through a common USB port. FOX News reports that thousands of these pens were sent to the citizens inside Iran to get these images. Once the Iranian government found out about the pens, they began to confiscate them, and new unknown devices have since replaced the pen-cams. Read the rest of this entry »

These videos are graphic, please watch with caution

On June 16 Charlie Fulton posted a very thought provoking blog. After discovering the new video of Iranian Protestor Neda Soltan’s death that is quickly reaching alarming views on Youtube I decided to give my thoughts on the same issue. Today we live in an age where technology rules, with the click of a button and audience awaits all of us and what we choose to show that audience. The idea that in a place where the media does not have access, the people are using social networks and privately shot video to bring the news to the media is a powerful example of how times have changed since the birth of Youtube & social networks.  It is also alarming and at the same time refreshing to think that people are turning to themselves that there own abilities to bring each other into the know, rather than a tv with a rather one sided point of view. Here are a few more links and media outlets on the story:

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The situation in Iran is frightening and is still unfolding rather quickly. (For anyone using us as their sole news source, the results of the recent election in Iran are being questioned by a large number of citizens, and the stability of the current Iranian government is in some question.)

Before, if someone noted that, our instincts probably would have been to turn on the TV to one of the news channels just like what some of us did on that one horrible day in 2001. But today, there’s not much of a reason to bother turning on the idiot box–just opening your Web browser can tell you everything you need to know faster. And that has made for a lot of interesting discussions on the net Read the rest of this entry »