Voice of the people?

Others have made the point, but it is worth re-emphasizing that the phenomenon of people upset about the results of the recent election in Iran finding a way to get word of their plight to the rest of the world may not be wholly positive.

As the government of Iran has cracked down on the practice of journalism, disaffected Iranians have used their camera phones to photograph their demonstrations and sent out Twitter messages to spread the word where it otherwise might not be heard.

All this is being hailed as a watershed moment in the transition to an Internet-based worldwide information system. And it undeniably is noteworthy that people have found a way around an effort to stop the spread of vital information.

There are, however, some other things to consider.

First, there is little opportunity with tweets to verify their accuracy -- a standard element of mainstream journalism.

Second, if people on the street can affect worldwide perceptions by that method, what is to stop governments -- even bad governments -- from doing the same?

Food for thought.