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.

Kabab and more vs. Kabab and less!

I am resisting to accept this attitude is part of our culture. As soon as we feel secure, we stop trying!
I really liked this place called "Kabab and More" in down town Los Angeles' Grand Central Market. I even wrote them a great review on Yelp and praised the quality and the quantity of the food they have been providing. Recently, I am not reeving the same service and I see that the food is shrinking :)) I tried to send them a message by not going as frequently cause I used to go at least once a week. But today, after three weeks no improvements.

Sense of control over life

Long hours of work. Facing different people with different expectations. Finding solutions for financial, technical and all day to day matters that are inevitable. Although entrepreneurial work is characterized as commonplace yet demanding, frequently unrewarding but often personally satisfying, it sometimes increases the stress in your life. Also, makes it very difficult to keep your professional life separate from your personal life. Few people win while many are left working long hours for little pay and few benefits.

Having said all that "Having Control Over Your Own Life" is hard and isn't even comparable to anything else in your life. Try to learn this skill ...

Certified Copy

I am amazed how a great movie can be reproduced by the same director and make an even greater movie! "Certified Copy" is exactly the kind of film it looks like: an elegant, charming and simple story of life! But in fact it's a clever copy of that kind of film, with lots of other things under the surface... like Taste of cherry. Not only the similarities between two stories (Taste of cherry and Certified Copy), but also the familiar face of the actor and the simplest moral of story: Life is beautiful and meaningful just because you can taste cherry and just because you can enjoy a day with no particular plan! Loved it!

My best qout

If you fail the responsibility of being God, someone else takes the responsibility of being your God.... and religions appear!

Two Poles Law

It is really important to have two strong poles in you - and not one. One pole should be responsible of taking care of you AND SIMPLIFY THINGS, to absorb good things and to create vision.

And The second pole is there to accept the reality, talk to people and be tactful!

Iran's Horn-shaped vessels

Iran's Horn-shaped vessels _kept in Metropolitan museum of art in New York- ending in an animal's head have a long history in the Near East as well as in Greece and Italy. Early Iranian examples are straight, with the cup and animal head on the same plane. Later, in the Achaemenid period, the head, or animal protome, was often placed at a right angle to the cup, as in this piece. In the manufacture of this gold vessel, several parts were invisibly joined by brazing, which demonstrates superb technical skill. The upper band of the vessel is decorated with 136 feet of twisted wire in 44 even rows, and the roof of the lion's mouth is raised in tiny ribs. Typical of Achaemenid style, the ferocity of the snarling lion has been tempered and restrained by decorative convention. The lion has a crest running down his back; his mane has the disciplined appearance of a woven material; and his flanks are covered by an ostrich plume. The inclusion of the plume, a departure from convention, suggests that this lion is winged and has some supernatural significance.

Too Much Love Will Kill You

I'm just the pieces of the man I used to be
Too many bitter tears are raining down on me
I'm far away from home
And I've been facing this alone
For much too long
I feel like no-one ever told the truth to me
About growing up and what a struggle it would be
In my tangled state of mind
I've been looking back to find
Where I went wrong
Too much love will kill you
If you can't make up your mind
Torn between the lover
And the love you leave behind
You're headed for disaster
'cos you never read the signs
Too much love will kill you
Every time
I'm just the shadow of the man I used to be
And it seems like there's no way out of this for me
I used to bring you sunshine
Now all I ever do is bring you down
How would it be if you were standing in my shoes
Can't you see that it's impossible to choose
No there's no making sense of it
Every way I go I'm bound to lose
Too much love will kill you
Just as sure as none at all
It'll drain the power that's in you
Make you plead and scream and crawl
And the pain will make you crazy
You're the victim of your crime
Too much love will kill you
Every time
Too much love will kill you
It'll make your life a lie
Yes, too much love will kill you
And you won't understand why
You'd give your life, you'd sell your soul
But here it comes again
Too much love will kill you
In the end...
In the end.

Iran's Green Wave won't die

Many Unhappy Returns
The anniversary of Neda Soltan's death shows why Iran's Green Wave
won't die.

It's tempting to think that protesters may have finally given up on
overturning Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election. At points it has
seemed like the broad base of support they once enjoyed had gone and
that demonstrators were now merely wealthy secularists. At others, it
seemed like the fierce official response—and government attempts to
limit movement and assembly—was thwarting organizers of the
opposition. But a funeral Thursday showed not only that the Green Wave
lives on, but that we can expect regular revivals well into the
future.

Today is the chehelom, the 40-day anniversary, of the death of Neda
Agha Soltan, a young woman who was shot at a post-election protest on
June 21. Her final moments were captured in a shaky, bloody, cell-
phone video that became a rallying point for the opposition. To mark
their grief, thousands of Iranians flocked to the Behesht e Zahra
cemetery south of Tehran today, where they clashed with security
forces (dozens were wounded and many were also arrested) and chanted
"death to dictator." Mir Hussein Mousavi, the presidential candidate
disputing the election results, was turned away from the cemetery by
security forces.

The chehelom has deep symbolic significance in Iran and among Shiites
around the world. The origins of the practice can be traced to the
martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the prophet Mohammed. In
Iran, the chehelom has also taken on political significance. During
the Islamic Revolution in 1979, these anniversaries were used as an
excuse to mount protests against the Shah and to keep up the momentum
of street rallies. The same thing is happening today. Except now that
they're in the government, the revolutionaries will have a hard time
telling chehelom participants not to grieve without looking like
hypocrites.

Which is not to say they haven't tried: since post-election violence
broke out last month, security forces have prevented the families of
people killed in protests from holding large funeral ceremonies,
infuriating mourners. Families have also been blocked from burying
their family members in Tehran so protesters wouldn't have a fixed
gathering site.

Today's gathering was a clear sign that the opposition still has the
ability to rally crowds, despite the threat of violence. Farsi news
sites report that hundreds of riot police and plainclothes Basiji
surrounded the cemetery, which is about 10 miles south of the Tehran
city center. Still, protesters began gathering in the early afternoon
and attempted to reach Neda's burial site. Amateur videos posted on
YouTube show large crowds surrounding Mousavi's car and chanting, "Ya
Hussein, Mir Hussein." "People inside Iran know that the world is
watching and listening to them," says Akbar Ganji, a prominent
dissident who attended an Iran rally in New York last week.

Neda's murder 40 days ago drew out today's throng of dissidents. But
she wasn't the only protester to die: in the past week, Tehran has
announced the death of four detainees, including Mohsen Ruholamini,
the son of an adviser to conservative presidential candidate Mohsen
Rezaie. (Authorities claim that there was an outbreak of meningitis in
Evin, a notorious prison where many political prisoners are being
held, but Farsi news sites report that most of these detainees died
after beatings in custody.) Roughly one month from now will mark their
chehelom, and the protests—which were only just beginning to peter out—
will return again to challenge the regime. Every protester killed will
breathe more life into the Green Wave.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/209468

To the new beginnings...

To my dear family and friends... Look forward for the brighter future.

How to take the chance to express yourself

Why some people don’t say what they thinkThere are many reasons why people fail to speak their minds. Some people become so
anxious at the mere prospect of speaking out, they hide their anxiety by not saying anything
or making some noncommittal remark.
Afer the fact—assuming you are one of those people—you may regret your silence and
mentally kick yourself for not speaking out. Rather than give yourself a mental kick, look at
what may be the source of your anxiety in these situations. The source, more often than not,
is what psychologists call self-talk.
Your self-talk can increase or decrease your fear of expressing yourself.For some, this feeling of discomfort or anxiety is so strong it keeps them from taking whatthey think of as the risk of saying what they think. The consequence of the fear of assertingyourself is that you give away power—the power of your views—to someone else.The process becomes cumulative. Every time you fail to make your opinions known, youfeel less power. And feeling this loss of power, you continue not to speak up for yourself.Furthermore, the other person in the equation takes the power you have given up andconsiders this is exactly what you want.

What exactly is self-talk?Self-talk is just what it sounds like—it’s what we tell ourselves in the course of every day
interactions with others, whether at work or in a social situation.
This unspoken speech comes quite rapidly before, during, or just after a particular
interaction. This self-talk expresses our perceptions of the particular event and how we feel
about how we react.
Research has shown that the nature of a person’s self-talk is one of the most important
factors causing anxiety in social situations.
For example, someone in a group says something you disagree with. Your self-talk might be
“I know she’s wrong about that but if I say so, I’ll only be embarrassed in front of everybody
else.” So you say nothing and your subsequent self talk might be “I should have spoken up
but at least I didn’t embarrass myself.”
How to become aware of your self-talk
One of the ways to become aware of your self-talk is to consciously pay attention to it.
Observe yourself in the course of your interactions with others and take careful note of what
you say to yourself. Some people find it helpful to write down their self-talk in the form of a
scenario. Such a scenario might go something like this:
Situation: Yesterday, at a meeting at work, I wanted to comment on the discussion.
My self-talk: “What if someone tells me what I am saying is wrong? Everybody will think I am
incompetent.”
Behavior: I did not talk.
Evaluate your self-talk
Ask yourself if your self-talk is based on reality or fear. You can also ask close friends what
they think. People are often surprised to find out how unrealistic some of their self-talk is.
Take the scenario outlined above. In evaluating the self-talk, the speaker might say, “If
someone tells me what I am saying is wrong, it could mean I might indeed be wrong, in
which case, the other person will probably tell me why. Or, the other person might be wrong,
in which case, I can explain what I know. But one thing is certain, nothing in the situation
says I am incompetent. It is simply a disagreement. An honest discussion of our differences
can only have a positive outcome.”
How can I change my self-talk?
When you realize your self-talk is not realistic, you can modify it. Begin by taking time
to consider your self-talk. Then, rather than criticize yourself, give yourself constructive
comments.
For example: “It’s perfectly natural that not everybody will agree with me all the time. In fact,
I may learn something from such disagreements. By the same token, by giving my honest
opinion, I may be giving others an opportunity to learn. In any case, I have nothing to lose.”
Persist
You now have a simple and proven strategy to use the next time you feel anxious or fearful
about expressing yourself. The techniques we have described and illustrated should help
you overcome your anxieties and eventually make it easier for you to express yourself.

13 bedar

Today can be taken out from my calender since I had so much fun. I did not just live today... I enjoyed every moment of it. Thank you friends!

Team Melli

Iran lost an important football match today. I woke up this morning to watch this game same as most of you. They played not bad but they were all playing like "KINGS". I really imagined and missed Hamid Estili and even Abbas Kargar (!) for this game. I wish we don't lose our good attitudes like being humble and down to earth when we grow up or achieve big successes. Losing a game can be a lessen. Being messed-up can be a good thing if we consider it a pre-step to step up.

Happy New Year - Happy Norooz - Happy Spring

Hope you have a great 1388. This Nowrooz will bring you more economic stability along with happiness and joy.

Nowrus is cheerfully celebrated and observed by Iranian peoples and the related cultural continent and has spread in many other parts of the world, including parts of Central Asia, South Asia, Northwestern China, the Crimea, and some ethnic groups in Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia.
Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in Iranian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday and having significance amongst the Zoroastrian ancestors of modern Iranians. The moment the Sun crosses the equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and Persian families gather together to observe the rituals.
Since the Achaemenid era the official year has begun with the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox. The celebration is observed by Iranian peoples and the related cultural continent and has spread in many other parts of the world, including parts of Central Asia, South Asia, Northwestern China, the Crimea, and some ethnic groups in Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the Jewish festival of Purim is probably adopted from the Persian New Year.[1] It is also a holy day for Ismailis, Alawites,[2] Alevis, and adherents of the Bahá'í Faith.[3]
The term Nowruz first appeared in Persian records in the second century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids (c. 648-330 BC), where kings from different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the emperor (Shahanshah) of Persia on Nowruz.[4]

You

The time all the nice words flowing out of my mind... I am not gonna repeat the words cause I believe one time should be enough for some moments to stick in minds.
Those moments...

Now, it is the time that other nice words comes to my mind and I am gonna say them out loud:
CHANGE!
Change, to be as simple as possible. No complexity. No confusion. SIMPLE.
The rest... will be mine. Me.
Those moments... you my dear. You are simply mine. This wont change.

Darband - Shirpala - Oosoon - Darband

I wish I can climb up there till the last day of my life. In other words I wish I die in these mountains.