Social media's role in the world moves to new levels when governments like China and Iran block site like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube and SMS services during recent events to curb communications between dissidents and prevent too much information from leaking out.

These pictures below which appeared on Twitter hours before maintstream media covered events in Iran also speak volumes about the role of citizen journalism.



My parents and god-brother have grumbled about my "addiction" to Twitter but today they were bugging me about what was happening in Iran and asking to see pictures of the students protesting against riot police.

I think the number of wonderful links to amazing articles that teach about Pranayama, design, internet trends, thought-leadership in my Twitter favourites' page also points to how much I've gained with Twitter.

:-)

Some of my favourites are:
- KimSherrellRT @iamkhayyam: 35 Awesome User Interface Design Tutorials | http://bit.ly/4jKDL
- TEDchris 'Men are geniuses and idiots' theory - well articulated here http://bit.ly/3sLWq
- GuyKawasakiVia http://trkk.us/?XFw 3 step plan every blogger should know: http://trkk.us/?XFx

Now my only wish is more hours in a day to catch up on reading all the great things shared.

"Hi my name is Jermyn and I'm a netaholic"

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How do you know you are a Twitter addict?

1. you have more than one twitter desktop application loaded on your computer

2. you have more than one twitter application loaded on your phone

3. its the first thing you check when you wake

4. you bid good-night to Twitterverse before you go to bed

5. you send tweets regardless of your state of intoxication

6. you feel guilty when you go for long periods (measured in hours) without posting a tweet

7. you get pangs of withdrawal when Twitter is unaccessible for anything more than 30 mins


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I now have some spare time to do other things online like play games on Facebook, catch up reading the long list of blogs I've bookmarked but I must admit I get pangs of withdrawals coz I can't read what's happening out in Twitterverse or know wat my frens are doing.


I'm glad for Twitter as its been a great quick source of information, insights, inspirations that I wouldn't have had access to otherwise. I've bookmarked so many links that I often struggle to go through all these interesting tit-bits.

Guess this down-time Twitter is going through for server servicing is good. Its a reminder that life is about balance.

:-)

Thought this might be interesting for some:

49 Amazing Social Media, Web 2.0 And Internet Stats
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/01/12/social-media-web-20-internet-numbers-stats/

Why Twitter Is So Popular
http://www.shaolintiger.com/2009/05/08/why-twitter-is-so-popular/

The Ultimate Guide To Twitter
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/

Top 100 Mentioned Brands on Twitter
http://mediahustler.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/top-100-mentioned-brands-on-twitter/

27 Twitter Tools To Help You Find And Manage Followers
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/development/27-twitter-tools-to-help-you-find-and-manage-followers/

A tool to use for helping us track effectiveness of social media
http://zygote.egg-co.com/how-to-read-a-peashoot-report/

wat does it say when i'm cross-posting from a tweet?

here's an cute video of a diff flight experience sent to me from Joejnr me that lifted my spirits. i was doing the KL-SG trek again and it felt somewhat twilightzone

Thanks for devinjay
Twitter is a wonderful social tool, but did you know that it’s also a goldmine of information? You can use Twitter to get the latest scoop on current events as well as topical interests. Read on, and you’ll learn about 50 tools that will help you use Twitter to get the information you seek.

Full article: http://onlinecollegedegree.org/2009/04/27/50-useful-twitter-tools-for-writers-and-researchers/

A friend introduced this to me since I've been getting hooked on twitter.

Its an application that combines Facebook updates with your Twitter ones with the ability to filter and display specific searches all at one glance.

Recommended for anyone who tweets and checks facebook updates regularly. This one does it all for u in one screen without you needing to hit the refresh button.

TweetDeck
http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/

How To Use Tweet Deck Like A Pro
http://www.gissisim.com/2009/03/how-to-tweet-deck-like-a-pro/

I've finally gotten around to Twittering regularly and I'm completely in sync with orientalflower's thoughts about Twitter. There are times I read twitter updates and find that they are sort of a lazy way of blogging.

But you do get a sense of how people's minds work and see glimpses of their personalities reading their tweets.

I'm scorpiojerm on twitter if anyone is wondering.

So why twitter?

An article in the Businessweek said "Twitterers find and follow the people they care about".

Its through twitter that I found out that a friend had gotten robbed, got updates about traffic and sometimes learned quirky things.

Following The Edge, CNN or SGnews keeps me up-to-date without having to read newspapers or watch the news or listen to the radio and more often I know things as it happens.

Given the lack of time that has resulted as our lives speed up with the internet & technology plus the overwhelming barrage of information out there, we need to find tools and things to help us sift through all that and that's what twitter does too.

Guess this means I'll be twittering regularly now ... only thing I'm wondering is will I be twittering for the rest of my life?

That only waits to be seen.