We’ve written here extensively about the power of new online tools — such as Twitter — to allow individuals and organizations quickly and effectively collect and disseminate content … and how these tools have been used from everything from breaking important global news to empowering citizen journalists in Iran.
Now, the Christian Science Monitor editorial page is calling for Twitter to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. I’m not sure if we agree with giving them that prize — although the Twitter team certainly would be as deserving (if not more) than some recent recipients. However, we did want to share with you the first several paragraphs of the editorial, which are very powerful and on point:
The video gave substance to what seemed so far away. We saw the look in her eyes as they went lifeless. We heard the sounds of her friends and family as they begged her to hold on. And she became the personification of the struggle for democracy in a country where voices for freedom are quelled.
Her name was Neda Agha-Soltan, and without Twitter we might never have known that she lived in Iran, that she dreamed of a free Iran, and that she died in a divided Iran for her dreams.
Neda became the voice of a movement; Twitter became the megaphone. Twitter is a free social-messaging utility. It drove people around the world to pictures, videos, sound bites, and blogs in a true reality show of life, dreams, and death. Last month’s marches for freedom and the violent crackdowns were not only documented but personalized into a story of mythic tragedy.
When traditional journalists were forced to leave the country, Twitter became a window for the world to view hope, heroism, and horror. It became the assignment desk, the reporter, and the producer. And, because of this, Twitter and its creators are worthy of being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.
As the editorial page states, Twitter was merely a megaphone that allowed the dissemination of the content and voices of protest in Iran. As such, we disagree that Twitter is the “assignment desk, the reporter, and the producer.” Those jobs will always belong to the people who produce the content — the brave citizen journalists.
In our opinion, Twitter is akin to the camera, the microphone, the television and the radio.
And we’d rather the Nobel Peace Prize go to these brave citizen journalists — rather than the mere tools they used.