Technology versus

I'm more and more impressed by the use of technology these days by protesters in the issue of the Olympic Torch. A few weeks ago when the torch was passing through San Francisco I was able to follow along with what the protesters were doing through a Twitter feed.

The feed gave you a feeling for what was going on in the actual crowds, a step above reporters being on scene. That paired with the live feeds that people can broadcast through some Nokia phones on qwik, it was a much different experience.

I wouldn't go so far as calling it gritty, but definitely more authentic. More so than what feels like the scrubbed down news you would receive from normal media outlets. Not that those outlets are not aiming at reporting the truth. Unfortunately there is such an ingrained process for them, that its harder to get up to the minute information like what was accessed through twitter and qwik.

This is coming up again in the Everest climb where there is a media blackout. However, the climbers that are being blocked from continuing their climbs are keeping everyone updated through blogs and posts. Which is almost dangerous, because any of them found to be violating any of the orders in place will be immediately deported.

One young American climber, William Brant Holland, was found carrying a sign that read "Free Tibet, Fuck China" last Friday, and deported back to the United States. Despite the presence of soldiers, Holland said that he was not scared. (via Wired)

This makes it easier for people to find out about whats going on and I hope this trend continues through out the situation in China. It will set a precedence for other situations in the world that people may not be aware of because of blackouts of information enforced by the governments. This takes the power away from the people that want the power and abuse it.