It can be noted that they aren't really saying in mainstream media that protesters are being shot.

yeah and watching a riot in that kind of media is a bit different than hearing it on cnn.

I seriously doubt that a large percentage of casual internet users 'caring' about foreign turmoil by simply knowing it exists is going to do anything for the situation.
Unless you have a realistic way to help, then spreading gawker video all over the web isn't going to do anything except provide entertainment to those who've already been desensitized by the constant flow of this kind of shit.

We can sit here and try to fill the gaps the media leaves behind, but all we're doing is trying to influence people's opinions... and if you've been living in the same world I've been living in lately, in the grand scheme of things, you'd know your opinions don't amount to fuck all.

isn't our opinion not mattering something we SHOULD be trying to change, though?

i'm sure with the current situation, assuming that spreading information on the web and getting a change because of it is naive, but it doesn't always have to be. there are many points in history where the spread of a single book or even just a journal article have sparked a change in some way...why should now be any different? or should we all just give up trying?

There's a difference between promoting a great original book or article, versus replicating a violent video that serves as nothing more than a soundtrack to what everyone already knows and still has no capability of changing.

i disagree...they both serve the same purpose: awareness. at least in terms of what i am talking about.

I post that in my Facebook status and one of two things happens:
1. My friends who don't watch the news and probably couldn't point out Iran on a globe ask me what it is, then go back to not caring and not watching the news.
2. My friends who do watch the news pat me on the back and say "I know, I know."

At no point in that have any Iranians benefited at all in the slightest along the way. I'm all for making a difference but this does not do that.

In terms of what you are talking about, awareness will do absolutely nothing. I wish that were not true, but you have to consider the actual determining factors here... The governing bodies. And believe me, they are aware. And they are the only ones who can act without consequence.
Political pressure can force action, yes, but political pressure is not made by citizens.
It is made by money. Money is absolutely the only bargaining chip in any decision. Morality, duty, honor, etc... those are secondary.
A horde of protesting citizens falls in several categories, but I think we all know which one it does not.

this argument could go on forever...on this particular scale i happen to agree with you. i'm just pointing out in some hypothetical future...if a video such as this were to gain enough notoriety and inspire enough action then we could force some political change. it would not be pretty...but it's hard to say that it couldn't happen.

Hmmm... that second video was definately unsettling. I'm not going to make judgements as I have only seen these videos and heard a few things on the news. Now, time for some googling.