A bastion of traditional newsmedia, the New York Times reports that the Iranian government has formally shut down journalists’ ability to report on the unrest in the streets. In the absence (and actually, even despite of and before) traditional journalism, social media fills in.

Andrew Sullivan’s blog has served up an almost-constant feed of news items and eye-witness reports from Tehran, and one bone-chilling post in particular highlights the power of social media. A student protester in Iran uses Facebook to post videos of the aftermath of an attack, one video after another showing a first-person account of  the blood, the chaos, the death that surrounds him.

Its a terrifying reality that some Iranians are living right now, as I sit and type nine time zones away. But its one that deserves attention and recognition, as the living-room wars give way to the mobile revolutions.