Google Revolution Beta
Google has released updated kmls with fresh satellite imagery of Tehran, though it’s from June 18th, so it can’t begin the real process of commons-based examination for clues as to what’s going on in Tehran. According to their update, they’re trying to get higher resolution imagery which, assumably, would also be more recent, in which case we’ll see a flood of image analysis. Unlike the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, which used high technology to organize protests but was an internal Ukrainian affair that was only analyzed and watched by the world abroad, there seems to be a growing desire throughout the Internet to try to do something to facilitate the Iranian protests. There’s only so much one can actually do with computer networks, but DDoS attacks, image analysis, spatial analysis, tips for dealing with tear gas or performing field first aid, even the ubiquitous “Switch your Twitter ID to Tehran”–all of these have been occurring and still people are struggling to do more than just watch. I wonder if it’s because there’s a growing sense of activism or if it’s because this is all considered to be a big interactive game. Or maybe those two aren’t as different as we may think.
Updated to add a link to a Slashdot report on the gaps in Iranian Internet censorship. Interestingly, World of Warcraft and XBox Live network traffic aren’t being blocked, so you can play Halo and pass along critical revolutionary information at the same time…