It was described as the "Twitter revolution", but almost a year on from Iran’s disputed presidential elections, during which the use of social media by the opposition movement made headlines around the world, such claims prompt wry smiles from seasoned observers.

Carried away by the enthusiasm of the protests, tens of thousands of Twitter users across the world switched their locations to Tehran in an attempt to confuse Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s henchmen. The US state department official who persuaded Twitter to delay a technical upgrade of its software so that it didn’t occur during a protest was described as the "man who saved Iran". And a former aide to George Bush even suggested awarding Twitter the Nobel peace prize for its role in the Iran crisis.

Such hyperbole reveals more about western fantasies for new media than the reality in Iran, argues Hamid Tehrani, the Persian editor of the blogging network Global Voices.

"The west was…

It was described as the "Twitter revolution", but almost a year on from Iran’s disputed presidential elections, during which the use of social media by the opposition movement made headlines around the world, such claims prompt wry smiles from seasoned observers.

Carried away by the enthusiasm of the protests, tens of thousands of Twitter users across the world switched their locations to Tehran in an attempt to confuse Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s henchmen. The US state department official who persuaded Twitter to delay a technical upgrade of its software so that it didn’t occur during a protest was described as the "man who saved Iran". And a former aide to George Bush even suggested awarding Twitter the Nobel peace prize for its role in the Iran crisis.

Such hyperbole reveals more about western fantasies for new media than the reality in Iran, argues Hamid Tehrani, the Persian editor of the blogging network Global Voices.

"The west was…

It was described as the "Twitter revolution", but almost a year on from Iran’s disputed presidential elections, during which the use of social media by the opposition movement made headlines around the world, such claims prompt wry smiles from seasoned observers.

Carried away by the enthusiasm of the protests, tens of thousands of Twitter users across the world switched their locations to Tehran in an attempt to confuse Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s henchmen. The US state department official who persuaded Twitter to delay a technical upgrade of its software so that it didn’t occur during a protest was described as the "man who saved Iran". And a former aide to George Bush even suggested awarding Twitter the Nobel peace prize for its role in the Iran crisis.

Such hyperbole reveals more about western fantasies for new media than the reality in Iran, argues Hamid Tehrani, the Persian editor of the blogging network Global Voices.

"The west was…

It was described as the "Twitter revolution", but almost a year on from Iran’s disputed presidential elections, during which the use of social media by the opposition movement made headlines around the world, such claims prompt wry smiles from seasoned observers.

Carried away by the enthusiasm of the protests, tens of thousands of Twitter users across the world switched their locations to Tehran in an attempt to confuse Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s henchmen. The US state department official who persuaded Twitter to delay a technical upgrade of its software so that it didn’t occur during a protest was described as the "man who saved Iran". And a former aide to George Bush even suggested awarding Twitter the Nobel peace prize for its role in the Iran crisis.

Such hyperbole reveals more about western fantasies for new media than the reality in Iran, argues Hamid Tehrani, the Persian editor of the blogging network Global Voices.

"The west was…