Iran residents share information via Internet
By Elissa Harrington KVAL NewsSALEM, Ore - A lot of the video Americans see of protests in Iran were not taken by professional journalists. Instead, they were taken by Iranian citizens. As Iran's government limits foreign media access, Iranians on the scene with cell phones and twitter accounts are becoming citizen journalists. "They want to share with the world what's happening," says John Hayden who runs Portland-based website "Englishbaby.com." He describles "English Baby" as, "kind of like a Myspace for people who want to learn English." Ten thousand of their 1 million members are from Iran. Lately, the site has become a place where they share stories and get feedback from others around the world. "The Chinese have been very vocal about this whole situation," says Hayden. "And a lot of it has to do with how their government is set up and how they're not allowed to vote at all." Iranian users also share pictures many of us don't see. Pictures of a peaceful Tehran. The caption reads "my beautiful city." "These are people just like you and I," says Hayden. "This is not juts a country full of bloodshed and cars on fire. The more we know about eachother, the better off we all are." The Iranian government controls Iran's media and has been shutting down some channels of communication. So what about "English Baby?" "We're not too worried about that," says Hayden. "I think we're a little protected because of the educational nature of the site. We just want to be the medium for people to communicate, make the world a better place and learn English." |
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