UPDATE 2: If you are on Twitter, you can here to support for democracy in Iran by adding a green overlay to your Twitter avatar with 1-click – http://helpiranelection.com/

UPDATE 1: Starting to see this appear on various Twitter profiles. A simpler and easier message than my original. Feel free to copy and use it.

The claims made by some about how social networks and not the mainstream media has enabled the revolution in Iran seem to be self-justificatory bullshiit and miss a key point – People would be fighting on the streets if the only communications out of the country was two yoghurt pots and a piece of string.

Feel good about social networks, Twitter and the rest by all means. Make points about Twitter seeing stuff whilst CNBC showed reality TV shows. Do whatever, just don’t lose sight of the fact that ordinary people are doing extraordinary things, right now.

What we can do? We can spread the word about those ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

I have been following @Change_for_Iran on Twitter since Saturday when he had a couple of hundred followers. He now has almost 20,000. Not quite @APlusK (a really worthy cause) but if you want to get some real insight into what is happening follow. I have changed my Twitter picture to a green one and included an Iranian twitterer to follow.  Wouldn’t it be worthwhile if we could show solidarity with a simple picture and pass on some of the real stories?

Change for Iran. #IranElection

Please feel free to add any URLs or Twitter handles of interesting sources in the comments below. You could copy and paste the jpeg below or make your own proper one.

#IranElection

This is not a political blog, and especially not one that picks on the politics of other nations. I don’t understand the politics of my own country so would not feel qualified to speak. Incredibly, the Iranian people may be on the verge of rebelling against a regime that some of the largest nations of the world have not felt able to take on and that is breathtaking in itself.

What is happening in Iran is humbling and extraordinary. We hope that any revolution is as painless as possible and moves an incredible, sophisticated, cultured nation forward.Sitting in another country it is incredibly hard to imagine what it is like to be part of something of this importance but we may be able to help – a little.

UPDATE: Starting to see this appear on various Twitter profiles. A simpler andeasier message than my original. Feel free to copy and use it.

UPDATE 2: If you are on Twitter, you can here to support for democracy in Iran by adding a green overlay to your Twitter avatar with 1-click – http://helpiranelection.com/

If you have a laptop it is going to break down – guaranteed. Sod’s Law ensures this will happen at the worst possible time possible. My hard drive failed two days after my colleague Darren went on paternity leave – 5 weeks early – leaving me to organise the five events in three weeks we were organising so he could take leave at a sensible time when we were a bit quieter.

Two things saved me. Carbonite and CambridgeLaptopRepair.

Carbonite is cool because it backs stuff up automatically in the background without you thinking about it. I was able to access my files from my home PC and carry on working on the stuff I really needed.

CambridgeLaptopRepair was amazing. They happen to be based close to my office although they operate across the UK with a free pick up and delivery service. They checked out my laptop for free, diagnosed the problem, didn’t have a part on site but pointed me to somewhere in town where I could pick it up. They then installed my new hard drive, transferred data from the old hard drive (not totally screwed, just wouldn’t start up), set it all up for me and sent me on my way – at 9.10 pm on  Tuesday evening. Then they charged me less than £ 50.

Thanks CambridgeLaptopRepair, Lee and the others. You offer a staggeringly good, friendly, straightforward, efficient and cheap service. http://www.cambridgelaptoprepair.co.uk/

Just brilliant. Thank you.