Using social media sites to organize and mobilize groups of people is nothing new. What I am finding particularly intriguing as I watch the Iranian Election crisis unfold, is how some of these social networks are making decisions as corporate entities that are evolving their roles from neutral platforms to powerful players within a new digital narrative. It’s no longer about USERS leveraging a site’s features, but organizational decisions which are adding a new variable to social media’s role in impacting global change.

For the first time, tech companies like Twitter, Facebook & Google are taking direct action in response to an unfolding crisis and are having a big impact. I’m trying to puzzle out the corporate agendas behind these acts as well as thinking of the implications that these decisions will have on driving the development of governmental IT policies and the creation of emerging digital rights legislation.

1) Twitter Reschedules Maintenance after US Government Appeal

The US State Department asked Twitter to reschedule its maintenance in order to keep the service available to Iranians so they could continue to share up to the second reports of the unfolding situation. A CNN blog post reported that US Government officials are pushing to ensure that they (and the rest of the world) continue to receive as much information as possible from social networking and content sharing sites. With this request coming from the US Government, it is clear that social media channels are being monitored by the Obama administration which has no diplomatic relationship with Iran. The content they are receiving through Twitter, Facebook and Youtube is an invaluable source of information.

Twitter made the corporate decision to change their maintenance date to provide the Iranian people the opportunity to share information at a critical juncture.

On to Facebook & Google

2) Facebook releases Persian Translation

On June 18, Mashable reported that Facebook released an early version of the platform in Persian in direct response to the Iran Elections Crisis:

The Persian translation is already live on Facebook, but the company warns that it’s a test version. In other words, the company and its 400+ volunteer translators have not completed all the steps to assure that all translations are correct, so the text or language may be awkward in places. Here’s what Facebook said in a draft release that should appear later tonight:

“Since the Iranian election last week, people around the world have increasingly been sharing news and information on Facebook about the results and its aftermath. Much of the content created and shared on Facebook related to these events has been in Persian – the native language of Iran – but the users have had to navigate the site in English or other languages.

Today we’re making the entire site available in a test version of Persian, so Persian speakers inside of Iran and around the world can begin using it in their native language.

Persian was already in translation before worldwide attention turned to the Iranian elections, but because of the sudden increase in activity we decided to launch it sooner than planned. This means that the translation isn’t perfect, but we felt it was important to help more people communicate rather than wait.”

3) Google Introduces Farsi support for Google Translate

Not to be outdone by Facebook and Twitter, the search-engine giant announced they would be offering Farsi support for their Google Translate tool. The service was hastily launched meaning users may experience some bugs and delays for now.  According to the Google Blog:

“Today, we added Persian (Farsi) to Google Translate. This means you can now translate any text from Persian into English and from English into Persian — whether it’s a news story, a website, a blog, an email, a tweet or a Facebook message. The service is available free at http://translate.google.com.

We feel that launching Persian is particularly important now, given ongoing events in Iran. Like YouTube and other services, Google Translate is one more tool that Persian speakers can use to communicate directly to the world, and vice versa — increasing everyone’s access to information.

As with all machine translation, it’s not perfect yet. And we’re launching this service quickly, so it may perform slowly at times. We’ll keep a close watch and if it breaks, we’ll restore service as quickly as we can.”

Mulling it over: What about China?

So I am left with more questions than answers. Are the these companies remaining neutral or being subversive? If the Iranian government succeeds in suppressing rioters, will there be consequences for online companies who can be blamed for promoting civil unrest? Or will it be citizens who find their online rights even more curtailed than before?

Governments will have to think about their technology approach, they’ll probably take a cue from the Obama administration’s decision to hire a CTO. I find myself wondering what the Iranian government has learned from this process and how they will adapt to these collaborative technologies in the future.

I really want to believe that Twitter, Facebook and Google’s actions are a step in the right direction for transparency and greater access to information. However, the cynical part of me remains caustic. Was this a move to help a troubled part of the world or a great opportunity for some PR?

With official statements regarding Iran, I wonder why we don’t see as much of a push for digital rights in China? The Chinese government  continues to block sites such as YouTube and heavily censored everything from the Economist to the Huffington Post for the anniversary of Tianemen Square.  Maybe China is just too profitable a market to risk its wrath? In fact, just today, the Chinese Government ordered Google to place even more restrictions on some of the sites it makes available.

What do you think?

In the next part of this mini-series, I will take a look at how social media is redefining activism and how people are showing their support worldwide.

I think my favorite part is meeting so many cool people who shared their own favorite campaign moments with me.

As the afternoon progressed I become increasingly nervous for the official launch. Rotman had contacted me to let me know that there were over 400 people attending! Having my longtime mentor, Don Tapscott (who also wrote the forward to my book) introduce me was such an emotional moment for me, and I became doubly nervous knowing he would be in the audience. Once I got underway I started feeling all of the support pouring in from my family and friends  and got through the presentation without any major hitches.

I just want to say a big, big, BIG thank you to everyone who came out to support me or who send their digital love via   facebook messages, emails, text messages and tweets. I could not have gotten through the last few months without the humor and warmth of my community and I count myself to be so blessed to have such amazing friends in my life.

I’ll be touring around various places promoting the book for the rest of the year, but I am happy to say that this month has been the peak of the insane travel I have planned. I just might get to enjoy living in Europe for a while instead of constantly trekking back and forth to North America in the mother of all commutes, lol.

I have sorely missed my blog and plan to revive TED Tuesdays with a vengeance, along with a few more blog series I have kicking around. I am a bit behind in terms of my schedule, but hopefully after this week I’ll be back on top of everything.

The Foush is back!

You can take a peek here:

Coming up: An interview on BNN, and photos from the official YES WE DID booklaunch party at Rotman!!

So you can imagine my surprise when I found out the Kindle DX was just…bigger? Meh. I was puzzled. This was the new version? Lame. You can’t even fit it in your purse like my sweet and thin Kindle 2! Thanks, but no thanks.  Apparently I’m not the only one who thought it was a little ridiculous.

For the record, I love, love, LOVE my Kindle. It is one of the best purchases I have ever made. As a frequent travel and rabid reader I cannot imagine going back to physical books ever again. Honestly, the fact that I can load up my Kindle with 1500 books guarantees I am endlessly entertained on plane rides where the only alternative is the horror that is “Inkheart.” It saved my sanity! It does have some drawbacks which I’m currently covering in a review video I am making and will post soon so stay tuned!

In the meantime, check out this trailer for Inkheart. I rest my case.

If you’re around on June 4th you should definitely swing my the Rotman School of Management and celebrate the launch of Yes We Did, the book that has consumed my life for the past six months!

Not only is this a big milestone for me, but I am really looking forward to seeing my friends and family. I’ve been in Geneva now for about two months and still miss them like crazy!

So what does the evening have in store?

• The event will be hosted by Alexander Manu (Author of Everything 2.0) and Don Tapscott (Author of Grown Up Digital)
• I’ll be giving a brief presentation on some of the ideas covered in the book.
• There will be a book signing
• Refreshments and mingling (my favorite part!)

Tickets are $30, and include a copy of the book as well as some tasty treats.

You can register for the event HERE.

Facebook event listing can be found here.

WHEN AND WHERE:

June 4, 5:00pm-7:30pm

The Rotman School of Management, Fleck Auditorium

105 St. George Street

More info about the book

Ok that is the last time I dissapear for three weeks without so much as a mini-blog post - PROMISE. But I have exciting news: the book is finished! After months of researching, writing, and battling writer’s block it is finally all coming together in something that can actually be sold in respectable establishments!

Honestly, this book has been the most challenging and rewarding work I have ever done. I struggled. I fretted. I doubted. I tossed and turned. I battled writer’s block and insecurity. But I held true to the philosphy of “just show up,” and little by little chapters were formed. There were days when it seemed that stringing together coherent sentences was beyond my grasp, and there were magical days when the words just seemed to write themselves.

I aplogize for falling of the face of the planet, but between the World Economic Forum and copy-editing after work there was very little time for anything else.

So some news:

I am speaking at the 2009 Innotech Conference in beautiful Portland, Oregon. I am joined by some excellent company.I am so excited to be here especially since I can finally use my Kindle the way that Jeff Bezos intended it. Rick Turoczy, the smart mind behind Silicon Florist asked me a few questions about my keynote.

Next week I am speaking at the Voices that Matter 2009 conference in San Francisco. I’ll be posting more about that as soon as I get there.

I’ll be uploading a special book section on this site shortly that will have pictures, videos and the first chapter for your reading pleasure!

My project is called the Global Partnership Project and it’s really fascinating.  In association with the governments of Qatar, Singapore, and Switzerland, the Forum is creating a global multi-stakeholder dialogue on a wider global cooperation system to deal with some of the world’s most complex challenges. The aim of the project is to examine ways to improve global governance from some of the world’s leading experts and thinkers.

My favorite part is that this project will uphold the Forum’s mandate to improve the state of the world, and I can’t wait to hear your feedback and comments as the project takes shape.

I’ll be tagging all Forum posts with “The Forum” tag.