USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN POLITICS

Since this topic is general I am trying to find some examples for this to better answer this question. I would like to focus on one part of the world which has the highest number of bloggers in the world after Japan and probably one of the most complicate political systems in the world: Iran. The country has faced a lot of political challenges challenges in its very long history. One of the most interesting ones has happened very recently during the latest presidential election. The 2009 Iranian presidential election was held on 12 June 2009 in Iran, the tenth presidential election to be held in the country and many protestors believed a fraud has happened and the results was not based on true number of voters and their choice. Protestors was beaten by the revolutionary guard and "Basij" forces. Pictures and videos were takes by people and was broadcasted using their cell phones. Twitter, youtube and Facebook was used heavily by Iranian protesters.

In general, the increasing penetration of new communication technologies and social media into everyday life has attracted a growing interest in the social, economic and political implications of these technologies. At Western democratic societies the use of blogs and twitter is mostly around the cool subjects such as sports, wine tasting or the literature. The bloggers in Iran are mostly interested in social or political debates. Perhaps for this reason, the use of blogs and social media is substancial in developing countries such as Iran.

In 2009 Iran witnessed a political upheaval in the aftermath of the presidential election in which the Internet was utilized effectively by the political opposition. News and videos of police brutality and repression were uploaded online, including onto social networking sites, in what was called the ‘Twitter Revolution’. Expectations rose on the capacity of new media to bring about democratic change in Iran. I'd like to suggest that, firstly, new media has helped ordinary citizens and the political opposition challenge the government’s monopoly of information and propaganda. Secondly, I suggest that new media have paved the way for the emergence of a global public sphere for Iranians across the globe. Also looking at the social and cultural impacts of the satellite channels which have been an ongoing source of concern for the Iranian conservative regime and the number of text messages that was being sent everyday tells me that social media is not only a tool for communication but also influences people by sharing ideas. 1

When Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone founded Twitter in 2006, they were probably worried about things like making money and protecting people's privacy and drunk college kids breaking up with one another in 140 characters or less. What they weren't worried about was being suppressed by the Iranian government. But in the networked, surreally flattened world of social media, those things aren't as far apart as they used to be — and what began as a toy for online flirtation is suddenly being put to much more serious uses. After the election in Iran, cries of protest from supporters of opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi arose in all possible media, but the loudest cries were heard in a medium that didn't even exist the last time Iran had an election. 2

The 2009 presidential election attracted global attention and gave rise to hopes for progressive change in Iran. However, the events that followed cast doubt on the realization of these hopes (Esfandiari 2010).

No matter the social media is being used as the main vehicle of mobilizing political actions, I believe social media is playing a vital role in new democratic movements in Iran since one of the biggest fears of dictators is from the people who understand their true power by uniting and social media is helping people to understand how powerful they are! Thank you twitter!

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1: Online journal of the virtual middle east: http://www.cyberorient.net/article.do?articleId=6187

2: Time Magazine: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905125,00.html#ixzz1ug4bJwdK

How to grow up in west

Technics in the west and the east for personal development are different.

A trap; to covet

A motivation; to covet

stay in the middle of the two boundaries and don't go too far. You may grow up and make a good life for yourself and your beloved ones but if you covet and decide to be in the role of decision maker for other peoples lives you should have things beyond ...

Funeral of traditional Media

Media is the fundamental of democracy. The statements “thanks to the internet, newspapers are dying!” has become one of the clichés of our lives. The concern is that media might not be as efficient with less attention it is receiving each day especially amongst the younger generation without the newspapers as the main source of the News. According to the book “How Canadian Communicate IV”; “As the public no longer accepts the media playing the old important role and instead has created its own media, ignoring and undermining the institutional media along the way, the digital revolution creates the conditions and provides the tools for encouraging the same revolution in political communication. “

The truth is that the Radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and even local television stations are struggling, and many are predicting their demise! But is this true?

Before we plan for the funeral, let's answer one question: In this world of smart phones and tablets becoming our primary computer, are mainframe computers dead? The answer is “no! We're still using mainframes”. Of course, the usage of the mainframes are changed and perhaps improved!

In order to define the problem statement and analyze it properly I would like to list the main functions that media are serving us by generating the news:

1-    Surveillance; Media as the dogwatch for monitoring the government etc.

2-    Cultural glue; To improve the culture and keep the society together

3-    Increase public engagement in politics and number of voters

4-    Inform; a teacher function

5-    Service the economic system

6-    Entertain

7-    Act as a community forum (media equivalent of town hall meeting or group discussion)

8-     Set the public agenda

9-     Service the political system

I believe most of these functionalities are transformed to other forms and people have made their own media to serve as the media. The focus is mostly on the “news” in this text. The point is that when new technology emerges, we tend to think that the old technology is completely dead, but that usually isn't the case. Rather, the old technology gets repurposed and integrated to add value to the future.

Some people tend to call radio the old media. Today, a radio station can have a website, which allows them to have video, interactivity, contests, and all sorts of things they couldn't have done in the past. Radio is no longer a physical device; rather, it's audio-sponsored content that can be delivered anywhere, at any time. As you see it is improved and not dead!

Therefore, I would like to assume each of the functionalities of the media mentioned above is going to be improved and embedded in a new medium. I would like to claim that the old doesn't always go away; often, it gets repurposed into the new. So let's forget the concept of big media versus the Internet. It's really big media AND the Internet! For each of the functionalities mentioned above we can find a few new media that is helping the traditional media to serve better.

I don't believe in decision making!

I remember the time a well known consultant told me once that I was unable to make decisions. Well, he was right! I was not able to make decisions at that time and I still don't make perfect decisions. Instead I changed my perception towards decision making. Today, I just follow a couple of simple rules. These rules make my life so much easier:

- Spend reasonable amount of time collecting and analyzing data. What is reasonable is your call and is different from person to person and from situation to situation.
- Allow yourself to make mistakes. Enjoy your past mistakes and try to make new mistakes only.
- Don't make perfect decisions. Just make good and OK decisions and make them perfect as you go.

The Art of Relationships: How to create "Intimacy"?

My best friend comes to my home and goes to the fridge to get some juice. He finds out that there is no juice left. He asks me to go get some juice for him! He goes directly to the point and is not shy to say what he wants! He does not always get what he wants but his intimacy has made our friendship a strong one.
I applied the same principals to my relationship with my girlfriend (who is now my fiance) and observed that it worked amazingly and created a healthy environment that is based on honesty and respect.