The Shoe Heard Around the World - 705 Views,
|
Previous Article « Why I’m Not Following You on Twitter (and How to Keep Up with People on Twitter without Following Them)
Read Next Article » Detroit Newspapers First to Openly Concede Defeat to the Internet
By now just about everyone has heard the story of the “Bush shoe thrower” - the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush, and called him a “dog”, while Bush was talking at a press conference in Baghdad. Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw both his shoes and the epithet at Bush before denouncing him as having brought death and sorrow to Iraq as a result of six years of war. What is amazing about this story - among other things - is how quickly that incident made it around the world. Sure, it was covered on television news (in fact, it occurred on television, as the press conference was televised). And of course it was covered in the newspapers. But where it really buzzed was on the Internet. In fact, in the 48 hours since the shoes were thrown, more than 1200 videos relating to the incident are up on YouTube, and most of those are videos of the actual incident.
Prefer still images? There are more than 150,000 of them online.
Because of this blitz of Internet media coverage, while Muntadhar al-Zaidi may not be a household name around the world, awareness of his deed has made it to all corners. And, as a direct result, protests have been mounted from all directions, which also are being ricocheted around the Internet. So what is our point here? It is that the Internet, for better or worse, has not only changed the way that we get our news, but, indeed, it magnifies, reflects, and influences the news of the day.
Follow Anne on
Twitter 
Friend Anne on Facebook
The Shoe Heard Around the World
Twitter Explained in Plain English
Previous Article « Why I’m Not Following You on Twitter (and How to Keep Up with People on Twitter without Following Them)
Read Next Article » Detroit Newspapers First to Openly Concede Defeat to the Internet
Read more:
» Detroit Newspapers First to Openly Concede Defeat to the Internet
» You Really Can Send Free Rice to the Hungry by Playing an Educational Game at FreeRice.com
For additional similar stories check out our archives on Around the World, Internet Video
NOTE: We never, ever, ever will recommend any product or service on this site that we have not regularly used ourselves and do not wholeheartedly believe in. That said, in some cases after being very pleased with a product or service, we may enter into a relationship with the provider of that product or service such that if someone purchases that product or service based on our recommendation, we may get a small payment. Such payments go towards the upkeep of the Internet Patrol.
