donya's blog

"The return of the Twitter Revolution?" Part II

donya — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:57:28 +0000

Perhaps looking back on the rise of the "Twitter Revolution" narrative can shed some light on the path forward, including how to approach its more subtle but persistent variants such as “the Wikileaks Revolution” (Tunisia) and “Revolution 2.0” (Egypt).

"The return of the Twitter Revolution?" Part I

donya — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:08:25 +0000

In her latest speech on internet freedom, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the internet the “town square” of the 21st century. Clinton seized on the widespread attention for Facebook during the Egyptian revolution and used the opportunity to reiterate internet-oriented US foreign policy. Just days earlier the Egyptian people had ousted Hosni Mubarak, their dictator of 30 years.

Going Viral: How the Web is changing Iranian Americans

donya — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:42:07 +0000

I’ve been wondering for a while why certain YouTube clips go viral among Iranian Americans while others obviously don’t. Are there videos that go particularly viral among the second generation? An example that comes to mind is the “I love you America” video that I had sent to me by a second generation friend I met in LA.

Strong Aversion to the "Persian Version"

donya — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:26:05 +0000

The reactions started immediately. I have to admit, my own gut couldn't hold back its own impulsive repulsion to possibly the newest addition to the quality MTV programing that graces our screens across the globe. Hot on the heels of the announcement came the angry, sarcastic, concerned, ridiculing, responses from Iranian Americans. I secretly felt quite proud.

Census 2010: Iranian Americans getting recognition

donya — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:23:16 +0000

This year’s US census is something I'm quite curious about these days, especially since the impetus behind getting Iranians to fill out their race/ethnicity as Iranians seems to have such broad/popular appeal.

Translating a Movement

donya — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:04:17 +0000

A few days ago, blogger Omid Memarian told me a story about the day after the June elections this year. As someone who knows pretty much all the major news agencies’ Iran correspondents, he called one of these colleagues and started talking animatedly about his analysis of the events. The journalist on the other end sounded confused. He listened but didn’t have much to say. 48 hours passed. It was only then that the journalist friend started to feel he had grasped what had happened after the elections, how, and why, and called Omid back.