Twitter activism overblown; realities of online activism

I thought this New Yorker article (link below) by Malcom Gladwell was really interesting....you've probably heard that Twitter was thought to be a big deal in Iranian protests in 2009, but in fact almost everyone twittering about Iran was in the West. Gladwell talks about the difference between getting people to do difficult things -- like a protest where you could be beaten or arrested -- and getting them to donate a little money or express an opinion. He says big distributed networks are good for the later, but you need a hierarchy for commitment.

Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?printable=true#ixzz10wh4qhlf