A few weeks ago, we posted about Turkey’s incident with YouTube, and how YouTube was giving in to state-sponsored censorship. They did it again. This time the case is with Egypt:

The video-sharing Web site YouTube has suspended the account of a prominent Egyptian anti-torture activist who posted videos of what he said was brutal behaviour by some Egyptian policemen, the activist said. Read the rest.

Way to go YouTube!

Also relevant: Google reveals Blogger’s IP address:

Google’s settlement and subsequent handing over of a blogger’s IP address without being legally forced to has the potential to set a dangerous precedent for the thousands of bloggers reporting on controversial topics who previously felt protected that their ISP or blogging provider (such as Google) would fight to preserve their anonymity.

Hmm. I wonder if they’re going to pull a Yahoo and start handing out Gmail passwords of controversial activists/authors to the relevant authorities.

For the second time now, “a Turkish court ordered telecom authorities Tuesday to block access to the popular video-sharing website YouTube over videos that allegedly insulted the country’s leaders,” according to the AFP news service which broke the story about an hour ago.

Censorship in Turkey remains to be on the rise, this is definitely not good news to follow Turkey’s ban of WordPress, for which we have a petition for here.

How was the ban uplifted the first time around in early March? Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t due to public protests or outrage. It was due to YouTube giving into censorship, by bending over to the Turkish authorities:

YouTube has removed all of the offending videos that led a Turkish court to order that YouTube be banned from the country earlier this week, and the ban has been lifted.

More at TechCrunch.

But look, guys! YouTube is trying to be taken seriously:

YouTube said in a written statement, carried by Anatolia, that it was ready to cooperate with Turkish authorities to resolve the dispute.

Cooperate? More like, get threatened into self-censorship.

We can only expect YouTube to make the same mistake it did earlier, aiding the unacceptable curbing of free speech in Turkey. It’s not like they didn’t do it with Thailand. Thank God the developers of WordPress actually have values and standards by not removing the content and blogs that resulted in the ban of their website. Let’s just hope they keep it up.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m really tempted to just boycott YouTube, for it favors business over free speech and it’s clearly not here to serve the interests of those in restricted societies. So much for media ethics.

Edited:

I just come across this article on BoingBoing, claiming that YouTube did not and never gave into censorship as the videos in question were immediately removed by the users themselves. Which I am still not sure of. What the article quoted says is:

A later court ruling said that the service could be restored after YouTube removed the offending material, Anatolia reported, but it was not clear when that would be.

And what YouTube claims is:

YouTube expressed dismay over the move, adding that the offending video had been removed and that the company was working with the government to resolve the situation.

So if it wasn’t removed by the user, YouTube was going to remove it anyways?

This is the day when thousands of voices blog about one issue on the same day. The next date is coming up very soon, on the 15th of October, where everyone will unite through their blogs and write about issues concerning the environment.

This is a very great idea if you run campaigns, you can ask others to commit to writing about your subject in an attempt to increase awareness. In fact we might try this idea with our Free Kareem campaign, setting up a network where everyone writes about freedom of speech with a dedication to Kareem, who is an Egyptian blogger serving prison time merely because he practiced his right to free speech on his personal blog.

The Turkish government has blocked WordPress, a blog publishing system, in all of Turkey because of a private defamation case. Because this censorship silences the voices of thousands of Turkish bloggers, we are petitioning for their rights to free speech.

Banning WordPress is a clear violation of free speech that effects the citizens of Turkey, WordPress bloggers, and readers all over the world. Certainly these disputes can be handled more judiciously by the Turkish courts.

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask the Turkish authorities to reconsider the decision to block WordPress.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION!


Click and add this banner on the sidebar of your blog. Support free speech in Turkey.

As you know, having a website is the most helpful thing in a campaign, it’s the place where everyone can stay up-to-date. There are lots of places where you can host your website, and a while ago I made some extensive research about the cheapest and best places to host your blog/website. You can read the full article here This article doesn’t contain every host there is, it only contains the best hosts in my point of view and according to the reviews I read about them and my experience.

Having a network, organization or even one campaign might be very costly, that’s why you should consider doing some research, to find cheap stuff, and doing more research to see what people are saying about the service provider!

Good Luck and Keep up the good work!

Blogs were one of the most important softwares that started the idea of “Web 2.0″, the new era of communication and sharing of information. Some people started using blogs to share their thoughts and ideas, others use it for sharing information with the world, hence why they are also referred to as “citizen journalists.” Nowadays, people are using blogs to raise awareness of the issues that effect us all. It’s a powerful tool for global awareness.

Since then, blogging started to get more and more popular and developers started to make more developments to make a blog more of a multi-media sharing utility, that’s when vlogs were introduced.

Vlog stands for Video Blog, which is one of the more effective type of blogging, why? Well… think of it this way, what do you prefer, reading the newspaper, listening to the radio or watching the TV? Honestly, I prefer watching TV, because it brings you everything in motion with voice! You can see and heard everything that’s happening; emotions, views, people…etc.

Anyway, that’s a long introduction as it is, let’s get to the point: What do I need to get my own vlog? The answer is, almost nothing exept for a computer and a camera, you can use a webcam if you want a personal vlog, in your own room, or to record outdoors. You can use your cell phone if it has a built-in camera, but it’s better to have a digital camera for video quality.

All you have to do is get your camera, start recording what you want to put on your vlog, and if it’s not good enough or you want to add some effects and cut some of the parts out, you could use a video editor, such as “Windows Movie Maker” that comes with Windows XP and newer versions. Or you can search for some video editing software on the internet, you’ll find some good and free editors out there, here’s a list of some on Download.com

Well now after you got your video all you have to do is find a place to host it. You can host your videos on one of the Video-sharing sites such as Youtube, Google Videos, Metacafe, Lulu TV, the new Arabic website called Ikbis.com, or any of the many other choices available. The upside to this way is that you host your videos on a community website where people that don’t know you or your website can watch your videos, and you get your own “Channel” or Album, where people can watch all your videos.

After that, if you want, you can have a normal blog, either hosted free on one of the blog-hosting services, such as Blogger, or Wordpress, or you can get a hosting plan where you install a blogging software, so you could add comments, or make the video part of an article you are writing.

Blogging, Podcasting and Vlogging have changed the way that people get information, and it’s a new way where everyone can say whatever they want.

According to their website, Civiblog Central “is an international initiative with the aim of giving voice to individuals and organizations involved in global civil society. We provide platforms and resources for NGOs, activists, dissidents and individuals at risk through the medium of blogging.”

It seems like a promising source for those in highly restricted locations. You can easily create a blog here. And here is a list of some of the blogs involved and countries represented.

Firstly, many might be asking themselves “what is a podcast?” This is a question that I get quite often when I ask others whether or not they’re willing to be “podcasted” (a term used when someone or something is featured in a certain podcast.) But what is it?! Yes, good question. Put simply, a podcast functions like a very brief radio show, kind of like an audio version of a blog entry except it’s more interactive.

PC Mag defines podcasting as the following:

(iPOD broadCAST) An audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player or computer. The “pod” in podcast was coined from “iPod,” the predominant portable, digital music player, and although podcasts are mostly verbal, they may contain music.

Here is a much better and broader definition:

What are podcasts:

a) A new type of media that puts you in control of what you listen to, when you listen to it and how you listen to it (usually on a computer or portable audio player)

b) An easy way to share your own audio content on the internet with a focused audience

c) A media that can be created with equipment you probably already own, for little cost and in as little as a day

d) A way to become a recognized expert or celebrity in your niche

e) A powerful way to connect with your customers and promote your business to them on regular basis

Podcasts are time-consuming to make, and thus most blogs feature podcasts weekly or monthly. Ideally, they would not be over one hour. Inexperienced users should always aim for 10-20 minutes until they increase their audience.

Why should you podcast? Different people do it for different reasons. I personally do it for interviews. It is much easier, faster, more accurate and interesting to feature audio interviews rather than text-based interviews. Firstly, it allows listerners to relate to the person and you won’t feel as if you are misrepresenting the people you interview. Secondly, people are more available for you if you take your device and ask them for a brief interview, rather than ask for their e-mail address and then try to conduct the interview online. This way is faster and usually more efficient, and as stated above, it’s also more interesting to listen to. It also gives other people access to people they would otherwise have no access to (in terms of their opinions or backgrounds.)

How would the final product sound like? Most podcasters online feature a personalized theme song to start and end their podcasts with. They also feature more than one person, so that it’s not just one person ranting about a certain subject but rather it records a discussion two or more people are having, which is what makes podcasts interesting to listen to. However it’s very possible to make a podcast by yourself and by only featuring your voice, which is what a lot of successful podcasters do. But that makes it harder for you since you need to think of ways to maintain the average listerner’s attention.

Don’t know where to start? Video tutorials are the best when it comes to introducing yourself to the broad world of podcasting. This is a good one to start with -

How to setup your audio for podcasting -

Note: You can download Audacity for free here.At the very bottom of this post, you will find an example of a podcast conducted with two Moroccan students after the Casablanca terror attacks last month. I used an iRiver MP3 Player to create it, GarageBand to edit it, and PodPress to publish it.

Listen to podcast.

[In our next lesson, we’ll offer a step-by-step guide in English and Arabic about how to start and publish a podcast.]

Much thanks to Siham, our first lesson is now available in Arabic!

A lot of questions have been raised about the reliability of cyber activism. Can we effectively change the way we are being treated by the authorities, who moderate us, harass us, threaten us, and in some cases, imprison us merely because we chose to bravely express our opinions on a blog or website?

We think that we can achieve many things if we start networks like these where we come together in order to fight towards a common cause.

Press freedom should be valued! Don’t be scared to express your opinions. Every time you reconsider posting or starting a blog due to fear, you should think of how many others you are silencing with you. Speak up, and speak loudly. We are here for you, and we support your right to free speech!

(Thanks to Siham for the video.)