“I woke up Saturday morning to a surge of activity in my News Feed about the events unfolding in Iran. I had heard that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been reelected, but I had no idea how the people of Iran were reacting to the outcome,” begins Navid Mansourian’s Facebook blog, “A Personal Note on Iran: How Information is Spreading”.

Mansourian works in Information Technology at Facebook, and as an Iranian-American, harbors deep concern over turmoil in Iran following the questionable election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency.

He also draws attention to a dramatic change that has taken place in the way information is shared globally.

“While Facebook has been a tremendous venue in which people outside of Iran can share information outside of the current situation, I think what is equally important if not more important is the impact that Facebook has had on Iranians themselves who are using it to communicate to organize, share information, or just to let friends or family know they are safe,” said Adam Conner, a Washington DC associate with Privacy and Public Policy for Facebook .

Particularly because censorship has long been a practice in Iran, Facebook has upended the manner in which information is shared within the country.

Late in May, Iranians were blocked from the site, though President Ahmadinejad did not say this was because of the election scheduled for June 12. Access to Facebook could have potentially undermined Ahmadinejad’s chances at reelection.

BBC News reported, “Correspondents say websites like Facebook have become an important way for candidates to mobilize younger voters in Iran ahead of the election.” And this mobilization could have had an impact on the outcome of the election.

While Facebook did not keep Ahmadinejad from reelection, it has had a significant impact on the country’s response, from providing a forum for Iranians to share first-aid instructions to allowing friends and family to make sure their loved ones are safe.

“Facebook’s impact is that the small things and the large things in life, making weekend plans or helping organize a revolution, are both occurring on the same website, using the same tools. That’s not something you could have said a few decades ago,” said Conner.

He added, “We’ve seen this before in places like Columbia with the global marches against the FARC organized on Facebook but it always takes our breath away to see how our site is being used to change the world.”

Navid Mansourian’s blog concludes, “I can’t help but think of how events may have unfolded differently if we had access to tools like Facebook back in 1999. I’m proud to be a part of a company that is enabling people to make their voice heard, but I am even prouder of the courage of all of the people in Iran overcoming danger to share their experiences and stand up for what they believe.”

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