Happy Birthday!
The blog sphere in Iran is officially 10 years old. It started with a wave that crashed through social perceptions like a tsunami. Sometimes I think it was like us hearing our own voices. It is always startling when one records his or her own voice for the very first time and then listens to it. It is like a new discovery, sounds familiar, but unbelievable. Blogging in Iran was like that: familiar and yet unbelievable.
People discovered they are similar in ordinary and in extraordinary ways, it was like discovering others and self discovery. And we believed everybody else also sees the emperor naked. At the beginning it was exciting: people talked about their habits, their parties, some even spoke of their affairs and love life (not in a very elegant way). Still it was revolutionary.
Tsunami brought to shore many individuals who would have remained obscure, it is interesting to notice that many ended up working for professional media organizations. Some of the earliest bloggers were imprisoned and some like Hoder still are imprisoned. Some continued their studies and some used blogging to promote their businesses and ideas. Blogging was accepted as a media, easy to use and easy to follow. Revolution over, evolution has begun.
On the 10th anniversary many talked of pessimism, of lack of enthusiasm and fresh ideas and of passivity. I disagree. Certainly the excitement of the early days is gone and that is only natural. The maturity is setting in. Blogging has a significant role in Iran now and it is an established part of media. It will go on and bloggers will contribute as they have contributed to the social process in Iran. Despite all of its ups and downs its anniversary is worthy of remembrance, after all few events has contributed as much as blogging has does. It is indeed a meaningful anniversary.
