This is a great response to all that you have put here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74051863

I particularly like this bit:

I agree with you 100% the book did seem to have a political agenda that the foreign reviews precisely confirm.

http://www.portobellobooks.com/Books/We-...

The reviews I came across on that link “We Are Iran: Press reviews” on the UK publisher “Portobello Books” website range from those by The Times which some may label as right wing political agenda to the Independent (a centre leftist) and the review by Pankaj Mishra (one of my favorite writers by the way) in the New Statesman who choose that book as on his Books of the Year, list of 2005. New Statesman is always accused of having a left wing political agenda.

Or Professor Philippe Sands (QC): ‘An important contribution.’

Or Columbia Journalism Professor Bill Berkeley: “'One of the most interesting of the past year’s books on Iran is indeed about Iranian bloggers. We Are Iran”

Dear Orkid, it seems that your statement that the book “within scholarly/journalistic/intellectual circles should indeed rise eyebrows” is not a very fair comment.

Or even the review by Rageh Omaar (Al Jazeera) who made that film “Rageh Inside Iran”. I like that film so much and I found out recently that Nasrin Alavi helped make the film. I hope I am not wrong about this one as I did not notice her name in the credits but I have been told by and Iranian journalist friend who was briefly in the film that its there.

I am getting sidetrack. But the point I wanted to make that her political agenda that all these different reviews from so called leftist to rightists write in their review is about the humanity of Iran. I believe her political agenda that the foreign reviews precisely confirm was to highlight our humanity that is often buried. Which she evidently did.

With kindest wishes

سلام امیدوارم که همیشه لبخند روی لبتان وشادی در فلب شما باشد با تشکر از وبلاگ شما

اینها را بهتر است Vigilantes ترجمه کنند.

سلام، من با شما موافقم ولی توجه داشته باشید که از نام کتاب پیداست که نویسنده میخواهد روی مسایل سیاسی تمرکز کند.
اما مسأله این است که مگر مسائل سیاسی خارج از ایران در وبلاگها مطرح نمیشود و اساسا به خاطر تنوع زیاد محل سکونت بلاگرها، اتفاقا تحلیلهای مختلف آنها نسبت به مسائل جهانی برای من جالب بوده است.
یک نکتهء دیگر، اینکه به نظر می آید اکثر افرادی که در مورد وبلاگ می نویسند آنرا بزرگتر از آنی که هست معرفی می کنند (من هم قبول دارم که یک مدیوم پرقدرت است که حتی ممکن است تعریف ما را از رسانه عوض کند، صحبتم خلط بین رؤیا و واقعیت است). به این ادامه نگاه کنید (از حسین درخشان http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2004/11/041110_mj-hd-web-log-anniv.shtml)
به نظر می آید بعضی از چیزهایی که به اینترنت مربوط می شود به وبلاگ ربط داده شده است! مثلا فیلترینگ واقعا همین داستان را داشته؟ با فیلتر کردن سایتهای غیر اخلاقی شروع نشده بود؟

و ختم کلام هم اینکه فکر کنم واضح است که یک پژوهش این چنینی نمی توانسته تمام وبلاگهای ایرانی را در بر بگیرد، اما یقینا پژوهشگر میتوانسته معیار انتخاب وبلاگهای مورد بررسی را شفاف، طوری توضیح دهد که برای امثال من و شما شائبه ای ایجاد نشود.

I too, was totally surprised by the lack of accuracy on her part. Seems there is no concern about methodology either. It is a shame that the book is so biased, both politically and socially. I am also concerned about the distorted image she has generated from that society, let alone the blogsphere.

By the way, I cannot type in persian here, hope you are doing well :)

salaam darioush jan
be nazare man didgahe to nesbat be in amr az anja nashi mishavad ke tavanesteii ba didi baz o mazhabi varede yek fazazaye digari beshavi va sharayet baraye to in cheni pish miravad ke migooii.
ama in did nesbat be amr be maroof o nahi az monkar ham nashi az masaebe yek ensane gheire mazhabi va ya mazhab goriz ast ke bayad be oo ham hagh dad,

سلام . آقا این نسرین علوی کیست و چه نوشته که اینقدر در مورد حرف و حدیث هست ؟
می تونید در این باره اطلاعاتی به من بدهبد ؟