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There are more than 17 million Facebook users in Iran, but the site is banned throughout the country. Iran also bans its citizens from accessing Twitter and YouTube.

[More from Mashable: Foursquare on Facebook: Hands on With the New Timeline Integration]

Even so, people are finding a way around the censorship with the help of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and online proxies that work around the system.

"People in Iran can use a VPN or proxy to pass the country's filter," an Iranian food critic who goes by the name of Mr. Taster told Mashable. "Iranians can access Facebook this way without a penalty -- if you don't write anything political or against Iran's rules, you will be fine."

[More from Mashable: Tech Industry Scorns Yahoo Over Facebook Patent Suit]

Mr. Taster -- who has a large Facebook following -- discussed how he is excelling at building a personal brand on Facebook, despite the country's restrictions to keep people off social media sites during the 2012 Reykjavik Internet Marketing Conference in Iceland.

"We actually think the proxy is being controlled by the government itself," Mr. Taster said. "The VPN goes dead before an election or important thing, so they can still control the servers."

He is one of the many Iranian citizens accessing Facebook and other banned sites. Despite the limitations, he is embracing social media to reach a target audience and grow his brand like many small businesses are doing worldwide.

The Mr. Taster Facebook page, which is an extension of MrTaster.com, is a destination for Iranians to look at pictures he's taken of food from his world travels, talk about cuisine and share stories of his adventures.

"I try to make the Facebook page fun and interactive," Mr. Taster told attendees. "I post pictures and videos from restaurants I love and make the site a place that people want to keep visiting."

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Iranian Food Critic Beats Internet Censorship to Build Social Following