Do You Want the Good Nowruz First or the Bad Nowruz?

There's been a lot of talk about President Obama's direct appeal to the people and government of Iran as part of his online video Nowruz greeting, which combines public and traditional diplomacy in new ways.

Perhaps equally noteworthy is the fact that the White House website seems to be sticking with displaying its messages without relying on solely on YouTube diplomacy and continuing to raise issues with digital rights advocates about the conflicts created by the company's compromising of consumer privacy and use of proprietary software.

Of course, the President of Iran has also sent out his own online New Year's greetings to heads of state who mark it on January 1st in their countries.