"Our research confirms that the Persian blogosphere has undergone significant shifts since the late 2000s as a result of a confluence of multiple factors: state intervention, the rise of social networking sites, changes to iran’s socio-political culture, and personal/professional issues. Our study ... finds that these factors have indeed resulted in a general dilution of Blogestan, as indicated by declines in blogging activities and the number of active blogs in our sample. Changes to the internal dynamics of the Persian blogosphere are also evidenced by shifts in blog content, how audiences interact with blogs and bloggers, and blogger-to-blogger relationships.." (Page 3) more

"The Internet is one of the few remaining platforms where Iranians can practice some level of open debate, less susceptible to social and political limitations. Research on Internet use in Iran sheds light on a large online community engaged in a diversity of activities and expanding at a significan ... t pace. This study seeks to complement standard online research techniques by providing a richer picture of Iranian Internet users. The novel research method utilized in this study features 'archetypes' whose characteristics are described in vignettes, and who are defined based on their relationship with the Internet. Taking this approach, our study considers the Internet as an ecosystem, and works toward providing a more realistic narration of the diversity of Iranian Internet users and online environments." (Iran Media Program website) more