Fitzroy inspiration session on the role of social media in the Iran elections of 2009.

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

2. 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

3. BACKGROUND

4. 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

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

6. SITUATION

7. 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

8. 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

9. TRADITIONAL SOURCES
TRADITIONAL DUTCH MEDIA REPORTS ON
AHMADINEJAD WINNING THE ELECTIONS

10. TWITTER
EARLY REPORTS THROUGH TWITTER
HINTING AT POSSIBLE FRAUDE

11. SOCIAL MEDIA

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

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

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

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

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

17. 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

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

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

20. 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

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

22. 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

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

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

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

26. 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

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

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

29. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

36. 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

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

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

39. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

46. 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

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

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

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

50. 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

51. BRANDS AND IRAN
HOW BRANDS GOT INVOLVED

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

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

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

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

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

57. LESSONS

58. 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

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

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

61. 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

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