Registering Iranian Blogs

It's a little old, but I was struck by this article that I happened across recently. The government's actions are perfectly in line with their other attempts to censor the net, but trying to get 100,000+ active bloggers to register? How are they planning on doing that I ask? It would have been much simpler to start off with a registering system, but of course that is part of the systemic problem with Internet censorship in Iran. Like satellite tv before it, the regime has been slow to pick up on the dangers of the Internet, and without a comprehensive strategy for dealing with it, their uncoordinated tactics seem sloppy. Of course part of that has to do with the necessary impression of democratic legitimacy that the regime must feign. Still, I think the underlying problem is one of disunity. Of course, this doesn't mean that their actions are impotent. Iranian bloggers still have to deal with the consequences.

Oh, and the article mentions Ahmadinejad's own blog as well. Pretty funny stuff.

Iran: View From Here

Farid just forwarded me a link to the GVO interview with View From Iran's Tori Egherman. Her blog is one of my favorites- an insightful, thought-provoking and accessable blog about Iran from the perspective of an American.

Apparently, she has decided to publish a book based on her experiences in Iran during her stay there with her husband the past three years. I'm ordering a copy today or tomorrow.

I'm glad to see that a good portion of what I said earlier was corroborated by Tori in her interview. In it she comments,

I think that their influence on the political sphere in Iran itself is limited. On the other hand, I think the blogs offer a valuable insight into Iranian life for people living outside of Iran. They humanize Iran.

I agree and I think that this is what struck me most when I began reading Iranian blogs over two years ago. It's truly amazing to be able to "live" a slice of a life so different from your own, yet also in ways similar enough to connect with its humanity. I think I echo her point about the segmentation of Iranian society when I talk about the narrowness generally speaking of the blogger political perspective there. I would only differ slightly in saying that I think the effect of the Internet and blogs in Iran do have political significance, but in more indirect and subtle ways.

Anyway, I'm excited to read the book, and see the pictures (inspiration for my trip)! I'm addicted to the escapism of photography.