If I ruled Iran (every day would be the first day of Spring)

Specifically, if I were trying to claim that the protests going on in my country (literally, my country) were being whipped up by the evils of the Zionist Western media, I would probably mention that helpiranelection.com's creator, Arik Fraimovich, until recently mentioned on his "about" page that he was a consultant for the Israeli Ministry of Defence. No longer on the page, but still in the Google cache and Linkedin. I'm starting to wonder if the Supreme Leader is even checking Twitter, much less Google - there's a convoluted conspiracy theory there just waiting to happen.

(Although, curiously, Miriam Shariv, writing in the Jewish Chronicle, endorsed the incumbent, on the grounds that Moussavi is far too reasonable-looking without being any less determined to develop Iran as a nuclear nation. It seems that this is not the paper's editorial line, however.)

The role of social media in the current ongoings in Iran is uncertain - it could be a driving force of protest, or it could be not. It certainly seems that the gatherings are being organised by a mix of social networks, mobile phones and individuals speaking to other individuals, but which technology - tweets, texts or throats - actually gets bragging rights at the end of this remains unclear.

Twitter in particular is providing some interesting developments, about Iran and also about twitter. The viral spread of Fraimovich's green wash is clearly intended to communicate a belief and to have an effect, but it's not clear, at least to me, what the effect is supposed to be; it shows the immediacy of Twitter, but also some of its limitations.

Tangent: George Myerson, in "Heidegger, Habermas and the Mobile Phone" (which already seems quaint and dated - a cavalry charge up the M5) contrasts Habermas' theory of communicative reason with the way people communicate (or, the argument goes, don't communicate) over mobile phones. According to the Habermeister, reason exists in dialogue - when people talk, they talk to generate a mutual position of understanding. It's potentially tricky to do that in 140 characters. It's easy to communicate that you support Moussavi, or a recount, or the protestors, but from looking at the automated message and the green tint it's hard to know where that support is coming from.

Is social media making a difference to Iran, and, if it is, is it also a difference in Iran?