Twittering the Revolution?

The revolution won't be televised - it will be twittered, apparently. NBC's Libby Leist is reporting that the State Department has asked Twitter not to shut down for regular maintenance because tweets have proved useful in monitoring the situation in Iran. From Leist:

The official said that Web sites and cell phones had been shut down and journalists were being kicked out, so the U.S. wanted "to highlight to [Twitter] that this was an important means of communication -- not with us -- but horizontally in Iran." It was a lower-level official who called Twitter -- not the Secretary of State, the official stressed. "I don't want to convey the impression that the State Department picked up the hotline, told them not to do it and it’s because of our intervention that it didn't happen," he added.

I've previously noted my disdain for Twitter and refusal to Tweet, but the idea that it is helping information circulate during this turbulent time in Iran is actually making me rethink my stance. Despite many conversations with fervent Twitter converts (I'm looking at you, psuedo-arch-enemy Michael Scherer), this the first time I've seen a genuinely useful and politically meaningful role for the service. Bravo, I say.