Main Page | About PostGlobal | The Panel |

THE QUESTION

Egypt has detained a number of its citizens for using the social networking site Facebook to organize anti-government protests. What online sites are most effective in influencing politics -- and is the impact positive?

Posted by Lauren Keane on May 22, 2008 3:15 PM

FROM THE PANEL

In Egypt, YouTube Trumps Facebook

It's rare to hear of a human rights violation, a political event or a major incident in Egypt that isn't accompanied with a mobile phone video published on Youtube.

Posted by Alaa Abd El Fattah |

9 COMMENTS
May 29, 2008 at 12:52 PM

Mona Eltahawy is an award-winning syndicated columnist and an international lecturer on Arab and Muslim issues. Before she moved to the U.S. in 2000, she was a news reporter in the Middle East, including in Cairo and Jerusalem as a Reuters correspondent. She also reported from the region for Britain's The Guardian and U.S. News and World Report. She has lived in Egypt, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, and is currently based in New York.

Arab Bloggers Keep Watch Over Government – And Each Other

A thrilling equation in the Arab world: one man/woman + internet = very angry dictator.

Posted by Mona Eltahawy New York City, NY, USA |

22 COMMENTS
May 22, 2008 at 3:23 PM

Njoroge is a journalist who formerly worked for the Kenya-based People Daily. He was Africa Correspondent for the Science and Development Network (SciDev.net), a UK-based web site highlighting science and technology issues from developing countries. He also freelanced for the Switzerland-based Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO). Njoroge was a press fellow at the Wolfson College, University of Cambridge for four months in 2003, where he researched the role of alternative press in the democratization process in Africa. Njoroge currently lives in the U.S. He has studied Journalism and Technical Communication at the graduate level.

Social Networks, Political Weapons

Social networking sites will continue to define the frontier of political advocacy for years to come.

Posted by Njoroge Wachai Kenya |

1 COMMENTS
May 22, 2008 at 3:21 PM

Mustafa Domanic is an online activist and blogger. He contributes to several blogs on Turkish current affairs as well as global political issues including foreignsight.blogspot.com.

Internet Alone Won't Change Politics

Without grass-roots action on the field, online political activism is useless. If you want to start a revolution, you cannot do it from your laptop.

Posted by Mustafa Domanic Istanbul, Turkey |

3 COMMENTS
May 22, 2008 at 3:18 PM

Originally from Pakistan, Anwer Sher is based in Dubai and writes for Gulf News, Khaleej Times and Emirates Today. His varied career experience includes banking, consulting, and real estate development. He has a Masters degree in International Relations.