Happy Fourth of July

We are having another beautiful Fourth of July here in Fairbanks, Alaska. The picture of our home is the same as last year except that this year we have a little smoke from a forest fire north of Denali.

Cathy and I started the day with a local 5 K road race run by the Fairbanks Road Runners North. Our neighbor Bob joined us on the run. Picture below is at the finish.

After the run we went to Pioneer Park to watch our neighbor Mary Ann play in a steel drum band. Then we caught a baseball game in with the Alaska Goldpanners won the game. All in all, it has been a great Fourth of July in Alaska.

Arriving in Alaska

We have just returned to Alaska and were met by our tour guides Bob and Jan, who picked us up at the airport at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Great service, and I highly recommend these tour guides! The sign says "Hirn Road Misadventures." Very easy to spot for the stranded tourist.

Tribute to Neda

The world will long remember the sacrifice by the 16 year old girl Neda whose death was graphically published on YouTube. Who will forget the cries of her father next to her? Her face will come to represent the Iranian revolution.

Robin Wright of Time Magazine writes of the significance of Neda's death:
The first clashes in January 1978 produced two deaths that were then commemorated on the 40th day in mass gatherings, which in turn produced new confrontations with security forces — and new deaths. Those deaths then generated another 40-day period of mourning, new clashes, and further deaths. The cycle continued throughout most of the year until the shah's ouster in January 1979.
The same cycle has already become an undercurrent in Iran's current crisis. The largest demonstration, on Thursday of last week, was called by opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to commemorate the deaths of protesters three days after they were killed.
Shiite mourning is not simply a time to react with sadness. Particularly in times of conflict, it is also an opportunity for renewal. The commemorations for "Neda" and the others killed this weekend are still to come. And the 40th day events are usually the largest and most important.
"Neda" is already being hailed as a martyr, a second important concept in Shiism. With the reported deaths of 19 people Saturday, martyrdom also provides a potent force that could further deepen public anger at Iran's regime.

#IranElection Crisis: A Social Media Timeline by Ben Parr

Ben Parr in "Mashable: The Social Media Guide" provides the most comprehensive history of the interaction of social media on the Iran election crisis: #IranElection Crisis: A Social Media Timeline. If it had not been for Twitter, YouTube and Flicker, we would have never known of the events in Iran. Certainly the mainstream media did not cover it.

Web 2.0 and the Iran Election

From Ben Parr's blog "Mashable: The Social Media Guide" we have these amazing statistics on the #Iranelection:

• Twitter: 221,744 “Iran” Tweets in One Hour
• The Blogosphere: 2,250,000 Blog Posts in 24 hours
• YouTube: 184,500 Videos on Iran, 3000 in One Day

The photo below is from one of these blogs: "tehran 24: Daily Photos from Iran."

http://tehranlive.org/2009/06/17/demonstration-and-protests-to-election-results-the-5th-day/

Twitter and Iranian Revolution

There is no doubt that the social media of Web 2.0 has changed the world. In a recent talk on TED Clay Shirkey speaks to this.