I’ve blogged about Twitter before and the non-stop streaming of 140-words or fewer messages, many of which seem utterly inane. Up until this weekend, I was nearly convinced that Twitter would soon go the way of low-hanging pants, bling, and gang hand signals—interesting fads that quickly fade. That opinion was supported by data indicating that the vast majority of those who sign up for Twitter either completely stop or dramatically pull-back from using the service within about a month.

 

What we now see taking place in Iran—young people, in particular, countering a totalitarian regime largely through the power of several social networking sites—demonstrates these sites are a tool, and an extremely powerful one at that. Those in power in Iran have succeeded in closing down all mainstream media. The social networking sites, however, have kept the world apprised of events while simultaneously encouraging Iranians of all ages to go to the streets and take back their government.

 

In my program on generational issues, I talk about one of the Millennial generation’s most readily apparent characteristics being their complete comfort with technology. What we’re now seeing is they are more than just comfortable with technology. They are determined to use technology to change the world.