I'm not voicing an opinion about the political issues involved here, but the technology used to bypass blockage is interesting. During a dispute between Republicans and Democrats over whether the house floor could or could not be used, microphones and lights gotc turned off by the majority. No problem: there's various pieces of social media software that got used instead:

Reps. John Boehner, John Culberson, and Pete Hoekstra used Twitter to keep people informed about their actions. Rep. Mike Conaway recounted the effort on his blog. Staffers and other insiders contacted nationally-read blogs, like this one.

Further, nongovernmental attendees, like our own Robert Bluey, chronicled the events on their own Web sites and Twitter feeds, even snapping photographs of the action (a verboten act, but one which helped folks reading about the action to see what was happening).

I think some of the people involved used Qik to live stream as well. Like I said, never mind the specific issues involved - it's getting easier and easier to bypass the main information routes (in this case, CSpan, which could not broadcast when the house was formally "closed").

It's a new media world out there, and it's never been easier for anyone - political actor, reporter, citizen, advocate of any kind - to get the word out.

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