A War. Broadcast Through SMS.
The war in Gaza is the first modern conflict to be carried out across the social media-sphere. The Israel Defense Force has a Youtube channel, while Hamas uses this multi-lingual site to keep the world updated on the events on the ground. Both have Youtube Channels (or equivalents) and the Twitter chatter from voices both formal and informal has been nonstop. In 140 characters or less, writes Northwestern University’s Social Entrepreneurship Blog. There are many ideas and voices rising out of the conflict, like this little piece of open source software that Al-Jazeera TV has created to picks up tweets from around Gaza to plot where things are happening. Another important source of information comes from Norwegian doctor Mads Glibert whose SMS phone messages from a Gaza hospital are increasingly being cited in news reports throughout Europe. With a blanket ban on reporters entering Gaza, Web 2.0 media is becoming the centre of news distribution in the recent Middle Eastern conflict.
