The advent of new technology has often had a marked effect on societies and their political structures. The printing press, telegraph, radio, and  internet all brought the world closer together and facilitated the proliferation of ideas and by extension political change.

Enter Twitter. The micro-blogging service, according to its proponents, already redefined the way social movements organize in Moldova and Iran and it is set to liberate more closed societies as soon as they get reliable 3G networks.

Not so fast says Evgeny Morozov.

Morozov, in his recent Foreign Policy article, presents and debunks seven misconceptions about Twitter and its usefulness in authoritarian contexts. The truth, as Morozov artfully describes, is that Twitter is simply a tool and a poor one at that. It has far less potential than other social networking sites and can easily be turned against activist by a semi-internet-literate opponent.

Twitter represents more of a challenge to media gathering standards than to authoritarian governments.

-Evan