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"The revolution may not be televised in Iran, but it may well be tweeted," user 'kaplanmyrth' said Wednesday in one of the concise messages flooding an Iran election feed at the microblogging service.
Online allies have set up scores of Internet-linked computers called "proxy servers" that can be used by people inside Iran to get around blocks imposed to stifle the spread of news about demonstrators accusing incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of having stolen last Friday's presidential election.
"If everybody sets up proxies that are rerouting Twitter traffic from there, unless they know what your proxies are, they can't block them," said Nitin Borwankar, a US technology consultant specializing in social data mining.
"It's like a needle in a haystack, much worse than a needle and a haystack. So people are setting up a lot of proxies."
For days Twitter users have been changing time and location settings to make it appear they are messaging from Tehran to make it harder for authorities to find those really tweeting from that country.
Twitter on Wednesday was abuzz with messages and links by those claiming to have dissected photos of an Ahmadinejad victory rally and found the images were doctored to make the crowd appear many times larger than it actually was.
It is problematic to block all satellite and telephone service across the country because doing so would cut military and police communications, Borwankar told AFP at a 140 Characters conference in New York city dedicated to Twitter use.
"You can block certain channels but you can't really do a blanket blocking," Borwankar said.
The Internet was designed as a network with redundant and alternate pathways to assure the free flow of data, and in that structure lays opportunity for those wishing to dodge censorship.
"There's a principle that says the Internet routes around damage; that's how it was designed," Borwankar said.
"It can withstand a nuclear attack. So, socially now people have created communications channels that route around damage. Censorship is viewed as damage and people find ways to get around it."
Twitter users were also busy trying to ferret out spying or misinformation in Iran-related message streams.
A sea of green was spreading on Twitter in a display of solidarity with protestors, as users changed or tinted ID photographs or avatars to the campaign color of moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
"Show support for democracy in Iran add green overlay to your Twitter avatar," Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said in a forwarded tweet.
The use of Web technology amid the Iran protests is being closely watched in Washington, where a State Department official asked Twitter to postpone a planned maintenance shutdown by a day to allow Iranians to speak out and organize.
"We promote the right of free expression," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in defending the US request, adding that Twitter was a vital means to enjoying such freedoms.
"I wouldn't know a twitter from a tweeter, but apparently it is very important," Clinton said.
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Online allies have set up scores of Internet-linked computers called "proxy servers" that can be used by people inside Iran to get around blocks imposed to stifle the spread of news about demonstrators accusing incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of having stolen last Friday's presidential election.
"If everybody sets up proxies that are rerouting Twitter traffic from there, unless they know what your proxies are, they can't block them," said Nitin Borwankar, a US technology consultant specializing in social data mining.
"It's like a needle in a haystack, much worse than a needle and a haystack. So people are setting up a lot of proxies."
For days Twitter users have been changing time and location settings to make it appear they are messaging from Tehran to make it harder for authorities to find those really tweeting from that country.
Twitter on Wednesday was abuzz with messages and links by those claiming to have dissected photos of an Ahmadinejad victory rally and found the images were doctored to make the crowd appear many times larger than it actually was.
It is problematic to block all satellite and telephone service across the country because doing so would cut military and police communications, Borwankar told AFP at a 140 Characters conference in New York city dedicated to Twitter use.
"You can block certain channels but you can't really do a blanket blocking," Borwankar said.
The Internet was designed as a network with redundant and alternate pathways to assure the free flow of data, and in that structure lays opportunity for those wishing to dodge censorship.
"There's a principle that says the Internet routes around damage; that's how it was designed," Borwankar said.
"It can withstand a nuclear attack. So, socially now people have created communications channels that route around damage. Censorship is viewed as damage and people find ways to get around it."
Twitter users were also busy trying to ferret out spying or misinformation in Iran-related message streams.
A sea of green was spreading on Twitter in a display of solidarity with protestors, as users changed or tinted ID photographs or avatars to the campaign color of moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
"Show support for democracy in Iran add green overlay to your Twitter avatar," Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said in a forwarded tweet.
The use of Web technology amid the Iran protests is being closely watched in Washington, where a State Department official asked Twitter to postpone a planned maintenance shutdown by a day to allow Iranians to speak out and organize.
"We promote the right of free expression," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in defending the US request, adding that Twitter was a vital means to enjoying such freedoms.
"I wouldn't know a twitter from a tweeter, but apparently it is very important," Clinton said.
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