Foreign Policy – Excerpt: But it is time to get Twitter’s role in the events in Iran right. Simply put: There was no Twitter Revolution inside Iran. As Mehdi Yahyanejad, the manager of “Balatarin,” one of the Internet’s most popular Farsi-language websites, told the Washington Post last June, Twitter’s impact inside Iran is nil. “Here [in the United States], there is lots of buzz,” he said. “But once you look, you see most of it are Americans tweeting among themselves.”
A number of opposition activists have told me they used text messages, email, and blog posts to publicize protest actions. However, good old-fashioned word of mouth was by far the most influential medium used to shape the postelection opposition activity. There is still a lively discussion happening on Facebook about how the activists spread information, but Twitter was definitely not a major communications tool for activists on the ground in Iran.
Hi Pouya, I have actually be following your blog for a long time, this is the first time I’ve commented. I am a student at Stanford majoring in History, hope to get my Phd some day. Id love to get in contact with you and discuss the type of work your doind and even collaborate. Nice to meet you!
Hi Khashayar, nice to meet you. You should comment more, and if you’re not comfortable using your real name use a blog name 🙂 And Id love to chat academics anytime. What time period and region is the focus of your studies?
Im focusing on modern European history but I may want to do Middle Eastern Studies afterwards for my Phd. Im taking a lot of MES classes. Ill definitely email you Id love to hear about the Michigan program and get any advice. 🙂