Hossein Derakhshan is the pioneer of blogging in Iran. His renowned blog, "Editor: Myself", has been an outlet for his opinions and notes as a citizen journalist on trips to places forbidden for Iranians such as Israel and Egypt.

Hossein Derakhshan started to get involved with journalism by writing about the internet in Asr-e Azadegan, then moving to Hatay-e No when that newspaper was closed down. His column, Panjere-i roo be hayaat (A Window to the Yard), later expanded to a weekly page on technology and the internet. He now contributes to the Persian section of BBC World Service. He also edits Stop Censoring Us, a record of internet censorship in Iran.

He is a prominent contributor to openDemocracy's Iran Scan 1384, the only English language site devoted to Iran's elections

Hossein Derakhshan began his weblog Editor: Myself in 2001 after moving to Toronto, Canada. He is credited as the creator of the Iranian blogging community: following his instructions on how to create a weblog in Persian, one hundred weblogs emerged within a month.

Recent articles

Ramin Jahanbegloo: the courage to change

The public recantation of his views by the Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo reflects both a genuine change of mind and significant internal changes in the Tehran regime, says Hossein Derakhshan.

Wiki-ocracy

As the first international Wikimania conference is held this week in Frankfurt, pioneer Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan – who will blog for openDemocracy from the event – tests the “wiki’s” democratic potential in a bold new experiment.

Iran's young reformers

The election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reflects a fractured society, finds blogger Hossein Derakhshan on his return to Tehran; but also one where reformists have a future if they can speak to Iran’s rising generation.

Blogging Iran's wired election

Iranian bloggers are uniting to post laser-sharp ideas on their country’s momentous presidential election in June. Solana Larsen & Hossein Derakhshan (“Hoder”) introduce openDemocracy’s new Iran project.

Censor this: Iran's web of lies

Iran’s censors have a new enemy: the internet. But users of new media in the country are inventing ways to speak truth to power.