IRAN ELECTION
INSPIRATION SESSION SUMMER 2009: WWW.FITZROY.NL
WORLD

WHY IRAN?
• MEDIA INFLUENCE
– RECENT POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN IRAN PRESENT AN INTERESTING
VIEW ON HOW MEDIA AND THE WAY PEOPLE USE MEDIA HAS CHANGED
• CHANGES IN MEDIA THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED
THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION
– REAL TIME WEB
– 24/7 CONNECTED
– TRANSPARENCY
– GROUP ACTIVATION
– VIRALITY
– ‘YOU THE MEDIA’
– ONLINE DRIVES OFFLINE

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND
• ISLAMITIC REPUBLIC IRAN
• OVER 65 MILLION INHABITANTS
– MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE LIVING IN IRAN IS YOUNGER THAN 30
– TEHERAN CAPITAL – APPROXIMATELY 10 MILLION INHABITANTS
• AHMADINEJAD, A KNOWN CONSERVATIVE, CAME INTO POWER WHEN
HE DEFEATED KHATAMI, A ‘REFORMIST’ DURING THE 2005 ELECTION
• REAL POWER IS IN THE HANDS OF THE SPIRITUAL GUARDIANS
– COUNCIL OF GUARDIANS AND THE SUPREME LEADER
• MASS MEDIA IS STATE CONTROLLED

ORGANIGRAM
REAL POWER IN HANDS OF THE SUPREME LEADER, KHAMENEI
HARDLINER AND SUPPORTIVE OF AHMADINEJAD

SITUATION

SITUATION
• IRAN HELD ELECTIONS ON JUNE 12TH
• FOUR APPROVED CANDIDATES; TWO MAIN CANDIDATES
– AHMEDINEJAD (CURRENT PRESIDENT)
– MOUSSAVI (‘REFORMER’)
• BOTH MOUSSAVI AND AHMADINEJAD CLAIM VICTORY
EARLY AFTER THE FIRST POLLS

ELECTION RESULTS
• DIRECTLY AFTER THE FIRST POLLS THERE ARE (ONLINE)
SOURCES HINTING AT FRAUDE
• THE RUMOURS LEAD TO PROTESTS IN TEHERAN (AND SOME
OTHER CITIES) IN THE WEEKEND AFTER THE EECTIONS
• VERY LITTLE MAINSTREAM MEDIA ATTENTION FOR THE
PROTEST
– IRAN REGIME CONTROLS MASS MEDIA
– FOREIGN MEDIA IN IRAN IS TOLD TO NOT OPENLY REPORT ON PROTESTS

TRADITIONAL SOURCES
TRADITIONAL DUTCH MEDIA REPORTS ON
AHMADINEJAD WINNING THE ELECTIONS

TWITTER
EARLY REPORTS THROUGH TWITTER
HINTING AT POSSIBLE FRAUDE

SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA NUMBERS
• HUGE EXPLOSION OF REPORTS ON IRAN THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
CHANNELS SUCH AS TWITTER, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, BLOGS ETC.

TWITTER
221.000 TWEETS AN
HOUR AT IT’S PEAK
PEAK AT TWITTER ANNOUNCING MAINTENANCE DOWNTIME SCHEDULED
AT AN INCONVENIENT MOMENT FOR PROTESTING IRANIANS

BLOGS
2.2 MLN BLOG POSTS
IN 24 HOURS
BLOGPOSTS MENTIONING IRAN
AS INDEXED BY GOOGLE

YOUTUBE
184.500 IRAN VIDEOS
3.000 ON JUNE 17TH
VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE
TAGGED ‘IRAN’

SOCIAL MEDIA & IRAN
• 3 IMPROTANT WAYS ON HOW SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYS AN IMPORTANT
ROLE IN THE IRAN ELECTION
1. COMMUNICATION
2. ORGANISATION
3. PARTICIPATION

1. COMMUNICATION
1. IRANIANS COMMUNICATE AMONGST EACH OTHER THROUGH
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
2. SOCIAL MEDIA AS A LIFELINE TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD
– LATEST UPDATES ON IRAN DEVELOPMENTS THROUGH SOCIAL SITES
• YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, FLICKR
3. SUPPORT, INPUT AND FEEDBACK FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

1. COMMUNICATION
SHARING THE LATEST FROM IRAN
IRANIANS USE TWITTER
TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER

1. COMMUNICATION
FIRST PICTURES FROM PROTESTS
ONE OF THE EARLIER
PROTEST PICTURES FROM IRAN

1. COMMUNICATION
FIRST VIDEOS ON MASS PROTESTS
VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE SHOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN IRAN AT A
MOMENT WHEN MOST MAINSTREAM MEDIA STILL REMAIN SILENT

1. COMMUNICATION
PICTURES FROM TEHERAN
THROUGH FLICKR WE SEE PICTRES OF PROTESTS;
OPPOSITION LEADER MOUSSAVI JOINS THE CROWD

1. COMMUNICATION
SET YOUR TWITTER AVATAR TO GREEN
IT-ER DEVELOPS A PROGRAM THAT ENABLES YOU TO SET YOUR TWITTER
AVATAR TO GREEN IN SUPPORT OF IRAN; THE FIRST WORLDWIDE TWITTER VIRAL

1. COMMUNICATION
SUPPORT IRAN > GO GREEN
MASSES OF GREEN AVATARS
IN SUPPORT OF IRAN

1. COMMUNICATION
FOLLOW NEWS ON IRAN
IRANIANS SEE THAT THEIR MESSAGES ARE HEARD
OUTSIDE IRAN, THROUGH TWITTER

2. ORGANISATION
1. ORGANISING PHYSICAL PROTESTS
– ON FACEBOOK
– SPREADING THROUGH FACEBOOK & TWITTER
2. ORGANISING AND CATEGORISING OF INFORMATION
– NEWS
– SOURCES
– RELIABILITY

2. ORGANISATION - FACEBOOK
MOUSSAVI’S FACEBOOK
OPPOSITION LEADER MOUSSAVI ALREADY USED FACEBOOK THROUGHOUT THE ELECTIONS;
DURING THE UPROAR IT IS USED FOR ORGANISATION OF PROTESTS AND STRIKES IN IRAN

2. ORGANISATION - FACEBOOK
SOCIAL GROUPS ON FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK SOCIAL GROUPS ON IRAN
USERS SHARE AND DISCUSS THE LATEST NEWS AND DEVELOPMENTS

2. ORGANISATION - TWITTER
SHARE INFORMATION ON PROTESTS
IRANIANS USE TWITTER TO SHARE DATES
LOCATIONS AND TIMES FOR PROTESTS

2. ORGANISATION - FLICKR
PHOTOSTREAMS FROM TEHERAN
USING SOCIAL TOOLS LIKE FLICKR.COM TO QUICKLY ORGANISE HEAPS OF INFORMATION
ALL PICTURES FROM IRAN UPLOADED, AVAILABLE THROUGH 2 MOUSECLICKS

2. ORGANISATION – YOUTUBE CHANNEL
VIDEO CHANNELS ON YOUTUBE
YOUTUBE CHANNELS ON IRAN; ORGANISING VIDEOS
FROM PROTESTS WITHIN A SPLIT SECOND

2. ORGANISATION - TWITTER
SHARE TRUSTED SOURCES
SHARE TRUSTED AND INSIGHTFUL SOURCES
ON IRAN, THROUGH TWITTER

2. ORGANISATION - TWITTER
SHARE NEWS OVERVIEWS
OVERVIEWS CATEGORISING ALL TRUSTED SOURCES
AGAIN SHARED THROUGH TWITTER

2. ORGANISATION – SOCIAL NEWS
SOCIAL NEWS SITES
ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF ARTICLES RELATING TO IRAN ELECTIONS
ON SOCIAL SITES LIKE DIGG OR REDDIT

2. ORGANISATIE - BLOGS
HUFFINGTON POST: REAL-TIME POSTS
LIVE BLOGGING ON DEVELOPMENTS IN IRAN
GIVES CERTAIN BLOGS ‘MASS MEDIA’ AUTHORITY

2. ORGANISATIE - TWAZZUP
TWAZZUP: GATHERED ONLINE SOURCES
FOLLOWING ALL IMPORTANT TWEETERS, VIDEOS
AND THE LATEST NEWS INCLUDING A ‘LIVE’ FEED

3. PARTICIPATION
• USERS OFFERING SPECIFIC HELP THROUGH USER PARTICIPATION
– WIKIPEDIA
– TWEETGUIDE
– CYBERWAR GUIDE
– PROXIES
– RETWEETS
• USERS CONNECT TO OUST THEIR OPINION COLLECTIVELY
– #CNNFAIL
– TWITTER RESCHEDULE

3. PARTICIPATION - WIKIPEDIA
‘INDEPENDENT’ SOURCE ON IRAN
DETAILED AND CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED
WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON THE IRAN ELECTIONS

3. PARTICIPATION - TWITTER
ACTIVATING ONLINE CONTENT
CALL TO ACTION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
TO HELP FURTHER IMPROVE AND UPDATE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE

3. PARTICIPATION – CYBERWAR GUIDE
DO’S AND DONT’S FOR ‘NEWBIES’
UP TO DATE OVERVIEW ON HOW TO FOLLOW TRUSTED SOCIAL NEWS ON IRAN
WITHOUT ENDANGERING OR HURTING IRANIAN CITIZENS AND PROTESTORS

3. PARTICIPATION - PROXIES
PROVIDING PROXIES TO IRANIANS
HELP IRANIANS TO STAY CONNECTED THROUGH THE INTERNET
BY CONTINUOUSLY SUPPLYING NEW PROXIES

3. PARTICIPATION - #CNNFAIL
#CNNFAIL: COLLECTIVELY ACT
GROUP ACTIVATION: COLLECTIVELY CALLING ON CNN
TO DEMAND ATTENTION AND AIRTIME FOR THE SITUATION IN IRAN

3. PARTICIPATION – TWITTER DOWNTIME
CALLING ON TWITTER
TWITTER LISTENS TO ITS USERS AND RESCHEDULES
DOWNTIME TO A TIME MORE CONVENIENT FOR PROTESTING IRANIANS

3. PARTICIPATION – TWITTER LIST
WHO TO TRUST?
TWITTER USERS COMPILE LISTS OF RELIABLE TWITTER SOURCES
TO FILTER OUT INFILTRANTS FROM IRANIAN POLICE AND GOVERNMENT

3. PARTICIPATION - TRANSLATIONS
TRANSLATING PERSIAN INTO ENGLISH
PERSIAN MESSAGES ARE BEING TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
ONLY MINUTES AFTER THEY APPEAR ONLINE

3. PARTICIPATION - HACKING
TAKE DOWN GOVERNMENT SITES
CALLS FOR DDOS ATTACKS IN ORDER TO TAKE DOWN IRANIAN
GOVERNMENT SITES

3. PARTICIPATION - HACKING
OR MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T
REPLY SAYING THE DDOS ATTACKS NEED TO STOP BECAUSE IT MAY HURT
ALL OFF IRAN’S ONLINE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THUS DOING MORE HARM THAN GOOD

3. PARTICIPATION - HACKING
…BUT WHO DO YOU TRUST?
YOU ASK YOURSELF
WHO TO TRUST

3. PARTICIPATION - HACKING
GET YOUR ARGUMENTATION OUT
SEVERAL PEOPLE OPPOSING DDOS ATTACKS
PUT OUT THEIR ARGUMENTATION QUICKLY AND GAIN TRUST

3. PARTICIPATION - PHOTOSHOP
SPECIALISTS SPOT PHOTOSHOP FLAWS
SPECIALISTS POINT OUT THAT THE PICTURES PUT OUT TO SHOW PEOPLE
SUPPORTING AHMADINEJAD ARE PARTLY PHOTOSHOPPED

3. PARTICIPATION - PHOTOSHOP
IRANIAN GOVERNMENT HAS A REP…
IT HAPPENED BEFORE: ON THE LEFT THE ORIGINAL PICTURE
THE ‘EXTRA THREATENING’ PICTURE IN THE MIDDLE AND USER GENERATED VERSION ON THE RIGHT

BRANDS AND IRAN
HOW BRANDS GOT INVOLVED

IRAN AND SIEMENS & NOKIA
IRAN BUYS SPYING EQUIPMENT
ONLINE NEWS ON HOW NOKIA SIEMENS SOLD
SPYING EQUIPMENT TO IRAN

..CONSUMER ACTIVISM
BLOGS CALL FOR BOYCOT
THE NEWS IS PICKED UP BY BLOGS
MESSING WITH NOKIA’S LOGO TO SHOW THEIR DISCONTENT

..MASS EXPOSURE
PICKED UP BY AUTHORITATIVE BLOGS
EVEN THOUGH NOKIA PUTS OUT A REACTION
SOME MAJOR BLOGS SPREAD THE WORD

..INFLUENCING SEO
NEGATIVE PUBLICITY ON GOOGLE
NEWS THAT WILL SHOW UP IN YOUR SEARCH RESULTS
FOR QUITE SOME TIME

RESULTING IN?
LOST CONTRACTS
IN THE USA SIEMENS IS SAID TO ALREADY LOOSE
A LUCRATIVE DEAL

LESSONS

A NEW AGE IN MEDIA
NEWS ON IRAN PREDOMINANTLY FED BY ONLINE, USER GENERATED NEWS;
QUICK, PERSONAL AND UNFILTERED NEWS SEEMD TO BE TO SUBJECTIVE FOR MAINSTREAM MEDIA CHANNELS TO PICK UP ON

CONSUMER IS ALWAYS ON
& CONNECTED
THROUGH ONLINE SOCIAL TOOLS;
THE IRANIAN REGIME HAD A HARD TIME CONTROLING THE NEWS

ORGANISATION NO LONGER
LIMITS ACTIVATION
BY ORGANIING INFORMATION IN NEW WAYS
GROUP ACTIVATION IS NOW EASIER THAN EVER BEFORE

POTENTIAL OF PARTICIPATION
& CROWD SOURCING
WITH PEOPLE BEING ENGAGED A SIMPLE CRY FOR HELP
CAN BECOME A POWERFUL SELF ORGANISING MOVEMENT THAT IS VERY HARD TO STOP

THE BEGINNING
PICTURES BY FLICKR.COM, BOSTON.COM, THE BIG PICTURE