Massive Protests Organized Through Twitter and Facebook

A quick, effective way to demonstrate tech savvy and superior insight  nowadays is to claim that Twitter and Facebook are being over-hyped, particularly as instruments of political action or as venues for the spread of news and information. Certainly, this is an understandable reaction to the melodramatic proselytizing on part of the sites’ most ardent proponents. Then there’s the hilarious desperation of crusty news anchors -- eager to stay with the times -- begging you to “tweet” and "friend" them. It's the kind of thing that begs for cynicism.

But, sometimes incredibly inspiring stuff that reveals the huge potential of Twitter and Facebook happens: earlier this week, young Moldovans used the online tools to organize a massive rally protesting the Communist Party's win in Sunday's Parliamentary elections. The New York Times details how the demonstrations seemingly materialized out of nowhere, and how protesters used Twitter and Facebook to stay ahead of authorities and keep the rest of the world apprised of the situation on the ground: