Comments on: Why Twitter Goes Green and Why You Should Too

By: S.D.

S.D. — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:31:48 +0000

There’s a guy running a Twitter app to turn them green

By: Why my Twitter profile picture is green | The Tyler Hayes

Why my Twitter profile picture is green | The Tyler Hayes — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:49:57 +0000

[...] on this exact topic. Just visit Ari Herzog’s blog post on the matter instead, titled “Why Twitter Goes Green and Why You Should Too.” Share and [...]

By: Will

Will — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:59:16 +0000

I see all of your points, but I think your comments are mostly directed toward the bandwagon-jumpers (maybe that was the point?). I didn’t don the green just for the hell of it, I did it to show support for the Iranian protestors while their government continues to strengthen its stranglehold on their communications to the outside world. Basically, I did it to let it be known that I want to help by being a conduit of information. The fact that everyone else is doing it too is great for solidarity and all, but don’t just knock the wave of green icons because you assume it’s all superficial. There are some of us vegan, bicycling, permaculturing, alternative educating, human rights advocates out here trying to do everything we can on every front possible, and work toward the positive in any aspect I can. Maybe I’m not old enough to completely lose faith in my ideals and become an empty shell of myself yet, and I don’t think I can single-handedly “save the world”, but I can say that it doesn’t help when snarky pessimists like you look down upon a movement only for the faults of superficial ones.

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:29:44 +0000

I frequently see people wear yellow silicone bracelets to support cancer research. I remember, not too long ago, people wore many rubber bracelets for different causes: red for AIDS, orange for multiple sclerosis, brown for anti-smoking, multi-colored for gay pride. One needn't wear a bracelet to indicate support. And many friends wore them, then stopped, then wore them, then stopped. I figure the same will happen with the green for Iran twitter picture.

By: Scott Hale

Scott Hale — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:42:46 +0000

While many great points have been made about forms of support, the main reason my Twitter avatar is green is to raise awareness. At the beginning of this week, nobody was talking about Iran. Not even CNN covered what was happening in Iran. Those of us weighing in on this post obviously spend some time (I’m willing to bet a lot of time) with social media. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many people I know. And many of the people I know just trying to build an online presence are not connected enough to run by buried Iranian election results (they simply aren’t following the right accounts and blogs for such).

At the beginning of this week, I changed my avatar to green because I wanted people to know I had been reading as much information as I could find flowing out of Iran and that they could ask me what was going on. I think the entire situation is intriguing, empowering, and internationally significant and I want to share it with others.

So, not only is my picture green in support of Iranians, but my picture is green so that people will ask me about it and I can create a conversation to raise awareness. Green or not, I’d love to talk to you about it because it is unbelievably interesting.

By: David Spinks

David Spinks — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:26:16 +0000

This is an amazing conversation and as I write this, I am still formulating my thoughts on this topic. Before reading this post and its comments, I was pretty much in the same boat as Wayne. I thought, how does my changing my twitter avatar do anything to help the situation?

It’s not a matter of showing a support for this issue and not for others. That reality, that we care more about some issues, possibly because they get more publicity, is extremely unfortunate. To say that’s a reason to refuse support is ridiculous though. Helping to solve one cause over another is certainly better than doing nothing at all.

When it comes down to it, Danny’s got it right…there are a number of ways that you can help. Changing your avatar does help. You are contributing to a level of support for Iran and that absolutely empowers them. Ultimately, it’s up to them to fight through these tough times, and knowing they have the support of those outside of their country will give them that much more courage and confidence. So while it may not be helping directly, it is certainly serving a valuable contribution. To say that you don’t have to change it just because others are doing it is the equivalent of not voting because you’re just one small vote.

Then there are a number of ways to help a little more directly. Danny already named a few. Signing petitions is one example and there are many others I’m sure.

Will I green my avatar? I’m thinking yes. Is it jumping on a bandwagon? Giving in to a viral social trend? Does it matter? If there were 1million people drowning in front of me and everyone around me went to help them, should I not help them as well just because everyone else is doing it?

Thanks for helping me think it through (=

By: Tim Allik

Tim Allik — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:34:29 +0000

I just went green on Twitter after hesistating to do so earlier this week. A nationwide telephone poll in Iran conducted by Ken Ballen and Patrick Doherty three weeks prior to the election showed overwhelming support for Ahmadinejad. But this opinion piece in today's New York Times by an Iranian student finally swayed me by pointing out that the poll preceded unprecedented televised debates between the candidates that may have shifted support and momentum significantly. I'm not the kind of guy who generally wears wrist bands or lapel pins but this mass demonstration is uniquely related to Twitter and therefore I'd like to express my solidarity with the demonstrators in Twitter. These are people who want to engage with the world and value free expression and I welcome that.