I wrote a little while ago about how individualized forms of internet media such as blogs and YouTube sites are rapidly gaining validity and legitimacy in the public eye. Well, I just found out, thanks to the New York Times (link below), that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been blogging for over a year. Given most American’s perceptions of Ahmadinejad, I think this probably comes as quite a surprise. Also, in a country where most things we hear from our own president must first come through an intermediary of a press secretary, it is shocking to me that Ahmadinejad is communicating so directly with the world.
The tone of the blog is often times much more personable than one might expect. Like any political blog, he writes small commentaries outlining his opinions on various issues. In a recent entry, Ahmadinejad wrote that “the purpose of running this blog is to have a direct and mutual contact and communication with the viewers.” Readers are invited to comment, and he often responds directly to individual comments.
Personally, I think this sort of interaction is nice for a world leader to have. How often in the past has this sort of relationship been possible. True, it may be that his posts have been carefully crafted by staffers or PR people, but it does seem to be a legitimate outlet for the Iranian president. To me, this seems to be yet another recent example of blogs gaining more and more legitimacy in the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/world/asia/11blog.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/