The blogging revolution by Australian freelance journalist Antony Loewenstein is a striking account of the writers investigation of the web role in repressive regimes which brought him face-to-face with blogger risking torture imprisonment and even death. Antony travels to Iran Egypt Saudi Arabia Syria Cuba and China get him taking to a vibrant universe of bloggers struggling to be heard under difficult condition for them everyday in a struggle pitted as they are against the random tide of authoritarian regimes in start contrast to the scenario where on the global map where freedom is taken for granted as everyday commodity.
The work get the reader to experience what citizens themselves feel about their situation this is an contrast to journalist account where quoting official sources or being close to power is a priority .To put things is perspective he gets talking about Arab Spring Revolution thundered across the Muslim world in 2011 Regimes fell and leaders fled into exile millions of citizens rose up to oust and challenge largely western backed dictators and about Tunisia the spark Frustrated street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in the city of Sidi Bouzid on 17 December 2010 after constant harassment bt local authorities.

On Facebook soon viewed across the Arab world by millions Protesters took to the stress with rough a third of the Tunisian population having access to the internet Faceboom became as essential tool in spreading the word despite authorities shutting down power supplies within weeks the president and his family the country.

The phenomenon runs wide the author cites a Twitter enthusiasts saying Saudi cannot go out to demonstrate so they retweet  shortly before the disputed that brought Ahmadinejad back to poer in iran one women Neda Agha Soltan shot by  sniper’s bullet in Tehran become a symbol of resistance the video of her death being watched be millions on YouTube.Internet censorship the state weapon Russia China and iran far more seriously online space to root out any possible dissent even then as an Iranian blogger told Antony they block and we evade the blocks it goes on everyday they code we decode.

Iran’s burgeoning online community has fundamentally changed the national conversation and forced the ruling mullahs to a least recognize the necessity of reaching the massive youth population this is an country where in some remote towns stoning of allegedly adulterous women still takes place

The complicity of western technology and security firms with autocratic states has only worsened of late Chinese dissidents pursued legal action in the US in June 2011 against System for knowingly assisting Microsoft the list goes on up to a point where human rights take a backseat to profit making. And a reminder Google is a commercial organization that has office In India and advertising space to sell Monitoring censorship and privacy issues are not just concerns in repressive states Antony met an Egyptian women blogger who started blogging to promote human rights and to campaign against female circumcision her blog has made her distinctly unpopular with his large segments of the Islamist population.

A blogger in Saudi Arabia explained to the author that it would take long before the internet could truly challenge decades old practices. China’s states news service Xinhua claims there are more than 3 lakh government employees who spend their days monitoring the web for dissent and removing comments. Even mild criticism of the regime has lead to arrest physical abuse and imprisonment alternative media and the blogosphere are providing an outlet to here the hopes and fear on a generation that’s want to be heard the candour and courage of these bloggers which one of them tells Antony is simply a necessity shine through in plain language the reader gets an understanding of lives and dilemma of citizens in repressive regimes and rather than eulogizing the merits of online activism it is a telling account of the challenges bloggers are up against.