Haystack: Iran's key to internet access

I didn't realize how scary and amazing the internet is until we've watched "Virtual Revolution", a BBC documentary. It showed me what internet skills and determination can do to a country's economy. It made me realize the power of an individual. Watching the documentary actually troubled me, thinking that its about 20 years of existence enabled a single person to cripple a whole nation. I can't even imagine the horror of being able to truly comprehend the full potential of the web. I'm sure, a few years from now, the internet geeks will discover yet another tremendous power of the internet. I hope that when that day comes, we will be responsible enough with our actions and use our internet knowledge to make the world a little bit of a better place to live in.

After watching, Ma'am Data told us to visit sites mentioned in the video that we haven't come across to before. Some of these are Wikileaks and Haystack.

I checked out Haystack since it caught my interest when the documentary talked about it. Haystack is a program that allows internet access in places with heavy internet filtering such as Iran. It is really unfortunate that there is a need to invent this just so that the people of Iran can have access to social networking sites such as Twitter. I felt so blessed having the ability to log in to Twitter without difficulty. I am really grateful to the inventor of Haystack. It may be an easy task to conceptualize a technology like Haystack but it requires great sympathy and compassion for the people of Iran, to actually create it. It gave the Iranians the right to information that was taken away from them by the government. I felt guilty knowing that I don't make full use of what I have access of. It's really sad to know that other people can't get their hands on information that I've always taken for granted. I realized that the internet is more than updating your Facebook status. It's more than researching (which is merely a copy paste command) on your homework. It's more than watching Super Juniors on Youtube. It's a tool to have your voice heard. It's a venue for people with a common advocacy to come together. It's a medium of communication, a communication that is deprived from the people in the other parts of the world. The access to internet is a right.