I recently came across a fascinating interview posted on Slashdot. Many of us are curious about what goes on in the Arab world. The picture painted for us by the daily news is of a war-torn world of primitive living, constant rioting, and endless political and religious repression. We know that millions of people in the Middle East carry on with their daily affairs, but we rarely hear or read about how they interact with information technology.

In other words, wouldn’t it be great to know what their online behavior is like, what kinds of software they use and prefer? For some of us this means: what market potential is there for our online product and service offerings? Did you know that there is an enormous blogging community in Iran, (mostly) freely chatting away about their lives, much the way kids do in large numbers in places like Brazil, Singapore, or the U.S.?

For insight into the thoughts and aspirations of the Iranian people, there was also a great article in the Sunday Washington post, discussing some points of departure to the literature of the people of Iran. The author writes "It is when they discover this 'other Iran' -- enigmatic, humorous, self-critical and sensual -- that Americans will celebrate the differences that make each culture unique but also experience the shock of recognition, discovering how much they have in common with Iranians."

Tags: Iranian | Iran | Arab | Middle+East