Get Digital, But Stay Safe

Enjoy your online life, safely from Dave Legion on Vimeo.

In light of the recent "Weinergate" scandal and June being Internet Safety Month, I thought I would take the time to share with you guys the basics of maintaining a good digital reputation.

Gaza Boat Crisis: Two Sides to Every Story

There are always two sides to every story.

This morning, the Israel Defense Force raided a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where nine activists were fatally shot. Everyone seems to agree up until that point. The interesting thing about this whole situation is how both sides used online video to plead their cases.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the activists on board "deliberately attacked soldiers."

And IDF has video to prove their point:



Meanwhile the folks on the flotilla tell a different story. The Free Gaza Movement says that "Israeli commandoes dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began to shoot the moment their feet hit the deck. They fired directly into the crowd of civilians asleep."

From the Guardian:

The Scottish journalist and documentary film-maker Hassan Ghani, 24 and from Glasgow, was on board the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish vessel attacked by Israeli forces. He was seen broadcasting for PressTV as the commandos took control of the ship. In footage shown on YouTube, Ghani said: "This is the MC Marmara, Hassan Ghani reporting for PressTV. We've had several injuries here; one is critical. He has been injured in the head and we think he may die if he doesn't receive medical treatment urgently. Another person being passed in front of me right now has been seriously injured. We are being hit by tear gas, stun grenades. We've navy ships on either side. We're being attacked from every single side. This is international waters and not Israeli waters, not in the 68-mile exclusion zone. We're being attacked in international waters completely illegally."

You decide...

Political Tweets and Transparency

By now, everyone knows the power social media giant Twitter has had in revolutionizing how our society communicates with itself. Even politicians understand the leverage of sending out 140 characters of talking points to solidify support for their positions. Recently, May 8 edition of The Economist explores political tweeting.

Sebastián Piñera, the newly elected president of Chile, has asked all cabinet members to start tweeting. His own account is now the most-followed in the country. Venezuala’s Hugo Chávez tweets too (@chavezcandanga). In June only three Japanese politicians had accounts; now Politter, a site dedicated to Twitter and Japanese politics, lists 485. An analysis of last year’s German elections by the University of St Gallen discovered that 577 politicians had opened Twitter accounts, three-quarters of them in 2009. Greece’s prime minister George Papandreou uses Twitter. But @primeministergr is the office, not the man. His staff tweet for him, sometimes using a code to signal who wrote what.

However, does social media make politicians more accessible to their constituents and detractors? Possibly not. President Barack Obama won the White House, thanks in part to his campaign's strong use of social media. According to the article, "at its height Barack Obama’s campaign (@barackobama) employed 100 staff working on social media such as Twitter." Nonetheless, "the scale of response makes it hard for office-holders to tweet themselves. Mr Obama reads just a select ten of the messages (20,000 of all kinds) he receives daily."

Recently, Global Wire went out and interviewed ordinary people about their thoughts on this matter. Some opinions were negative.

"At first, it might seem cool to follow and send tweets to your favorite politicians, but then you realize that the politician's Twitter account is being run by some intern or secretary in their office, which I think defeats the purpose of politicians connecting with your constituents about their concerns," said Nadya Ghanem of Turkey.

"What is the point of connecting with politicians online when they are not really connecting with you," said Luis Calbarro of Suriname. "It's like Twitter is no different from sending an email to a politician's office and not getting a response. It might be read or thrown in a inbox with other Tweets. It is all window dressing."

But some were hopeful of the future of political tweeting, like Shelly Kim from South Korea, who was exciting see the digital activism in her country's recent presidential election. Last March there was some controversy over the use of Twitter by South Korean lawmakers and making it accessible for all.

"I have seen the power of why social media is being taken more seriously by politicians because they really do listen to what the people have to say," she said.

Celebrity, Technology & Social Activism

Last week American actor Danny Glover was arrested with 11 other activists for participating in a nonviolent protest against Sodexo.

From Huliq:

...The group was arrested after crossing a police line outside the company's offices, refusing to step back.

The twelve, including Danny Glover, were issued citations for trespassing and released. Police stated that the dozen could face a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.

Actions like the one involving Danny Glover have taken place at 11 sites across the U.S. The actions were reportedly taken after 16 Sodexo workers, including Shelly, were laid off after trying to unionize or becoming involved in union activities. Sodexo said it was not against unionization, per se. Instead, it accused the SEIU of inciting the Sodexo employees...

From AFP:

..."We're here today to say no more to deplorable pay and working conditions," Glover told the crowd of around 300 as they shouted "No Justice, No Pizza", a reference to cafeteria workers who claim they are underpaid and receive few benefits from Sodexo.

"This is a global corporation with global responsibility and we are going to hold them accountable to that responsibility," said Glover...

Two things I like about this protest:

There are so many celebrities these days that only take on causes as a publicity stunt to help further their own careers. But then you have people like Glover who are serious about their activism. I know from covering a few workers' rights protests in the past that Glover and his involvement in these issues are very sincere.

With that said, as more social activists move to using technology, having a dedicated high profile person on board helps to give an important cause an added boast that would otherwise not get the attention it deserves.

Nestle Gets Crushed Online by Green Activists

Global food giant Nestlé has been under a critical spotlight for alleged poor corporate and social practices for many years. Recently, activists have accused the company of several problems, including only one percent of Nestlé cocoa products are FairTrade certified, continued child slavery in the cocoa supply chain, and its baby milk products not meeting international standards. The latest accusation of Nestlé's bad practices is now being seen loud and clear through a viral video, which is another great example of digital activism.

Greenpeace UK uploaded a video on Youtube, showing an office worker opening a Kit Kat and finding an orangutan's finger. Nestlé, which produces the popular chocolate bar, is being blamed by the green justice group of buying palm oil, which is used in many of its products, from Indonesian producer Sinar Mar. As a result, Greenpeace claims that this partnership has resulted in destroyed rainforests where Indonesia's last orangutans live and has created a devastating carbon footprint.

From CNN:

In the last 50 years, an area more than twice the size of Germany has been logged, burned or otherwise degraded, with palm oil plantations being a major cause, according to Greenpeace.

On Wednesday, Nestlé released a statement denying it buys palm oil from Sinar Mar for any of its products, including Kit Kats.

"We do purchase palm oil from Cargill and we have sought assurances from them about their supply chain," it said.

"Cargill has informed us that Sinar Mas needs to answer Greenpeace's allegations by the end of April. They have indicated that they will de-list Sinar Mas if they do not take corrective action by then.

"Nestlé recently undertook a detailed review of its supply chain to establish the source of its palm oil supplies and we have made a commitment to using only 'Certified Sustainable Palm Oil' by 2015, when sufficient quantities should be available."

Greenpeace claims that Nestlé asked YouTube to remove the video citing copyright concerns. Specifically Nestlé was bothered by the twist on the Kit Kat's famous slogan used at the end of the video: "Have a break? Give orangutans a break." However, the video was reposted the next day. Greenpeace said the video being taken down was a censorship attempt, which was "a pretext for stopping the word being spread and an apparent attempt to silence us."

Elsewhere online, approximately 90,000 Nestle protesters have taken over the company's Facebook page, to make their grievances clear, creating possibly one of the largest digital protests since last summer's Iranian election protests. In the long run, the Nestle debacle might show other companies how not to deal with online crisis communications. While Greenpeace created a very effective and (very graphic) video, the question always remains: Will digital activists take their protests offline and actually stop eating Kit Kats in the long term? Only time will tell.

"I Know" Targets US Young Adults on HIV

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), over 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV. In the United States most aid for preventing and treating the virus tends to go towards those living in the developing world. However, there has been criticism by many American advocates that the U.S. government has neglected to provide the same aid to a group in its own country which has been the most affected by the virus - African Americans. While African Americans represent over 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for over half of all those being infected yearly and living in the United States with HIV. As the Obama administration starts to put together a national HIV/AIDS strategy - the first one in 20 years, other HIV activists are taking their message directly to the people via digital activism.

The "i know" effort is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Act Against AIDS campaign, which uses multiple social media platforms to reach out to African American youth with facts about HIV/AIDS with the aim to engage them in open conversation.

"By supporting frank conversations through social media, 'i know' creates an opportunity for young people to talk directly with each other about the issues that fuel this still-deadly disease," said Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. "Their ideas and involvement will be a critical part of the solution."

The campaign uses a mix of both old and new media. Followers have a choice of using Twitter, Facebook and texting to get alerts and status updates on HIV knowledge and attitudes, as well as links to information about HIV testing and prevention. The campaign's website allows users to identify local HIV testing sites and campaign events and video stories of those living with HIV. There are also radio and online video public service announcements that has actor Jamie Foxx calling for a new discussion on HIV.

Since the campaign's launch on March 4, hundreds of users have become followers of the various platforms and it seems that the campaign has initially succeeded in engaging users, as can be seen with the many status re-tweets and discussion. While it is good that social media is being used in this campaign, it should also be highlighted that the campaign's radio use is just as important, as many African-Americans still see the significance of this medium for getting out information within their community. However, it will take a longer amount of time to actually determine if both the online and radio efforts turn into offline actions.

Kenyan farmers use mobiles to secure crops

Whether it is a new home or a television, having good insurance is a pretty important thing to have to maintain a sound mind and prevent future problems for the many investments in our lives. So, it is no surprise that farmland should also be given the same consideration for insurance. A new protection policy in Africa is using technology to insure some of the world's most vulnerable farmers.

Last year's droughts throughout Africa were some of the worst in decades, causing higher food prices, illness among both people and animals and destroyed crops that took months to repair. To address these problems, the Agricultural Index Insurance Initiative at the Syngenta Foundation launched last week Kilimo Salama, Swahili for "safe farming", to provide insurance plans for Kenyan farmers.

Here is how it works: When purchasing seeds from an retailer, farmers register to insure their seeds by filling in the insurance card. The registration process is completed when the farmer sends a text message on their mobile phone, and a record is created in a database. A local weather station records the rainfall and sends the data to the insurance company, which then calculates a payout according to an agronomic model. At the end of the season the farmer receives a text message if there is a payout and can pick up their payout at the original retailer where the insurance was purchased.

Kilimo Salama actually began as a small pilot project last year with a group of 200 farmers in the central region of Laikipia. Most of the farmers were highly impressed with the program, as many of them received a payout of up to 80 percent. This year the insurance program will cover at least 5,000 maize and wheat farmers in Central, Rift Valley and Western provinces, which is at high risk of drought. This program shows that even a simple tool like a mobile phone can make a big difference in the lives of many.

Haiti earthquake gets quick response online

Haiti was rocked Tuesday night by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake. According to a report, Haiti's First Lady Elisabeth Debrosse Delatour said that "most of Port-au-Prince is destroyed."

While almost all phone lines have gone down on the impoverished island, Haitians have been able to communicate to friends and relatives around the world with the use of new media. Not only has there been a flurry of tweets and photos of the devastation posted online over night, but charitable individuals and organizations have responded quickly with their efforts to help victims.

Victims of the earthquake immediately got on Twitter, uploaded photos and YouTube videos and text messaged to give eyewitness reports on the tragedy like this one:

RAMHaiti: It's 8:44PM and we're still getting aftershocks!!I can hear people gathered in the distance singing prayers...people in large numbers are singing prayers downtown

In the last few hours charitable organizations have been able to make initial assessments of victims' needs and have asked for donations, mostly through the use of digital tools.

Red Cross: Help Haiti right now, text Haiti to 90999 to give just $10 to the Red Cross

UNICEF: Donate now for Haiti on their website

Rap artist and activist Wyclef Jean was among the first to organize online when he sent out these tweets:

@wyclef Help Haiti by donating to Yele on www.yele.org follow @YeleHaiti

@wyclef Another way you can help Haiti after their 7.0 earthquake: Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501501 and by visiting www.YELE.org

News organizations that cater to Haitian communities in the United States have also taken the initiative to give their readers updated information about the earthquake's aftermath, such as the Boston Haitian Reporter, which has been live-blogging since Tuesday night.

While a full assessment of the Haitian earthquake will be long term, this latest international incident shows the incredible value in digital activism for quick response and possibly saving lives.

Global Wire Interview: Women Tech Entrepreneurs

The first New Media Women Entrepreneurs Summit occurred yesterday with dozens of enterprising women – and a few men – thinking about the business side of the new cyber frontier. Following the summit, Global Wire talked to future tech entrepreneur Juliana Bozan of Brazil about creating Internet start-ups with a focus on social justice. Bozan came to the Summit to find inspiration.

Global Wire: Why is it important for more women to get involved in technology and entrepreneurship?

Juliana Bozan: I think it is really important for women to get online today because they are so many business opportunities. Women, especially in the developing world, are blogging and tweeting about issues that affect us. Just look at the Iranian protests last summer and the continuing human rights problems against women in the Middle East; many of the bloggers are women. Journalism outlets like CNN and BBC are using information on our blogs for free, and we see no profit. But now is the time to step our game, and figure out a way to create business opportunities for our words, video and audio.

GW: Tell me about your blogging experience?

JB: I used to write for a now defunct group blog for women in Brazil a couple of years back about “Brave Women,” where we would talk about problems women in the favelas like domestic violence, prostitution and single motherhood. It was great because everyone liked it and we have a lot of unique hits on the site, including from European journalism outlets. However, some of these journalism outlets reposted some of our blog posts, which was fine at first, but eventually we got tired of them taking our stuff without giving credit to our blog, the bloggers or even asking our permission to repost or paying us for reposting. We felt like we were being used, you know, like a new kind of colonialism. Since Western outlets are cutting back on having journalists in the developing world, they now seek out bloggers in countries they want to get information about. Unfortunately, it is very commonplace these days for Western journalism outlets take information from bloggers in the developing world and not give credit where credit is due.

GW: What are you hoping to take away from this Summit?

JB: I have met a couple of interesting people here who I would like to follow up within the next few days about getting help on writing a business plan. I want to look into starting an online newsletter or blog about Brazilian women social justice activists, but this time I want to look at having a better strategy for monetizing my site, so my writers will get payment and credit for their work. I would even consider having more formalized partnerships with journalism outlets.

GW: What advice do you have for other women tech entrepreneurs?

JB: Be strong, be confident and be smart about what you are doing. Don’t let others take advantage of you or tell you that you can’t do your own website. When you do that, you have failed before you’ve even gotten started.

Tweeting for Equality

On Sunday, thousands of gays and lesbians gathered in Washington, D.C. for the National Equality March, which was billed as the largest event of its kind since 2000. While many in the gay community were divided over the reasoning for having such a march, this was also one of the first massive gay rights protests to use social media - tools that are being used by the new generation of LGBT activists. Sunday's protest was the latest example of the generational shift in how to communicate for social change.

Most of the organizing was done through Facebook, YouTube and other tools leading up to the march. Before and during the march, protesters could follow the march's official Twitter feed for any logistics matters, such as getting information about purchasing subway round-trip tickets before the march to avoid long lines stations kiosks.

Throughout the day, Twitter was the main choice of communicating, as thousands of protesters either in Washington or following the events on television reflected on march highlights. Most used the hashtag #nem to follow the conversation.

loquaciousmoi "Rights for Gays
and Lesbians aren't special rights in any way. It isn't special to be free from
discrimination." - Julian Bond #nem

700mtv Judy Shepard, "I"m here today
because I lost my son to hate . . . We're all equal Americans. Gay, straight,
whatever." #NEM

peterzimmerman Wow the speeches at #NEM are really inspiring. Gosh.
So exciting to see the outpouring of emotion at the march!

Jamal Jackson and Winston Brown moved to the United States from the Caribbean island of Jamaica to escape harassment from others about their relationship three years ago. The march was the first gay rights event they have attended as an openly gay couple. The both also used Twitter to follow what other folks were saying, as well as tweeting their own thoughts.

"I started using Twitter a year ago and I found using it to be very useful," Jackson told Global Wire following the march. "I was able to tweet other protesters, find out where to meet my friends and navigate the city during the protest. I was able to find other people here from the West Indies, like Trinidad, Dominica and Haiti."

For Winston Brown, tweeting had a more sentimental meaning.

"I am using Twitter because I still have closeted gay friends back home in Kingston, and they are reading my updates," Brown said to Global Wire. "They will not feel alone anymore and might feel inspired."

Twitter and Citizen Driven Info Sharing

As you all know already, Twitter is all the rage these days, especially among us digital activists. Recent world events such as the presidential election in Iran and the 2008 Mumbai bombings have made many wonder aloud again if Twitter's powerful citizen-driven info-sharing is actually activism.

Agus Sari, blogger behind The Goose, recently had musings about how the popular social media tool was used during Jakarta bombings.

From #idonesiaunite create a simple one-stop to finding information quickly.

What was unique about this incident were the offline connections made afterward. A local Jakarta radio station hosted a party for all the "Twitterati" who participated in the online activism to put faces to the Twitter handles and hastags, and start "a movement beyond the social network." There is also a website dedicated to building upon these relationships.

"There are many other 'causes' that will make use of the new medium," said Sari. "And with the internet universe being flat, the social network media will also become the democratizing means for Indonesia, and for the world. The tenet “one person one vote” will be closer to your heart, and your Blackberry."

Online green mapping fights eco-injustice

Being "green" has finally become a catchphrase in our daily lives. From hybrid cars to organic eating, more people are realizing that environmentalism is the right way to go to make the planet a more sustainable place to live in. However, despite all the green progress, environmental injustices still occur in both industrialized and developing countries. Recently, there has been a spur of online activism through the means of green mapping to bridge the sustainability gap.

Green maps were created in 1995 by the nonprofit Green Maps System to empower online activists around the world to locate areas in their communities that are both good and bad for the environment, such as recycling, traffic hazards, community gardens and toxic sites. The system is used in over 400 communities in 51 countries.

The system is very simple: users can create a map of their region on the website, and place icons indicating environmental impacts. Using the map created for the Banjul area of The Gambia, one can see where such things as solar energy sites, wetlands and horticulture gardens and clean drinking water sites are located. Hazards can also be seen, such as air and water pollution and waste dumps.

Green mapping helps different fractions work together to make the quality of life better for everyone. Many governments and local activists have used their finished maps to proactively address environmental problems in their communities. See the video above produced by Dorst MediaWorks for the Earth Institute at Columbia University about environmental justice activists in New York City.

Brits use Twitter in support of NHS

Relations between Americans and the British have not always been the greatest. From the American Revolutionary War to the disagreement over the military campaign in Iraq, sometimes it might have seem like a good idea by Mother Nature that the Atlantic Ocean separates the two warring factions.

The latest battle has been taking place online. Currently, Americans are debating the future of its health care system. President Barack Obama has stated that he would like all Americans to have access to quality health care within the next decade. However, not only are Americans fighting each other over this issue in town hall meetings, Republican politicians have also accused Obama's plan to be a reflection of the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which has been viewed by some as being "socialist" at best and similar to a "death panel" at worst.

Of course, the Brits are not taking this laying down.

Over the last couple of days British and some Canadian folks have gotten onto Twitter, using the hashtag #welovetheNHS to campaign in support of their health care system against verbal attacks from their American counterparts. Here are a just few of the millions of tweets that have come up on this topic:

lollaloves: NHS free? You gotta be kidding me. You're all taxed through your nose for a health care with Third World standards. #welovethenhs

dontgetfooled: My grandmother had a major heart op on the NHS, for free, in her 80s. "Death panels" are a big fat lie... #welovethenhs

jetersfan: #welovethenhs NOT IF UR DEALING W/ A TERMINAL DISEASE AND NEVER SEE THE SAME DOCTOR TWICE!!!

editoriale: My son was premature, couldn't swallow, underweight and yellow. He'd have died without the NHS. Didn't cost me a f**king dime #WeLoveTheNHS

girlonasoapbox: #welovethenhs I wouldn't be typing this if it wasn't for free prescriptions and good care I have received from the NHS. Leave off you prats.

Pro-NHS campaigners are also adding "Twibbons" to their avatars to show their support. Last night, even British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Sarah got into the debate with his own tweets.

@DowningStreet PM:NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death. Thanks for always being there #welovetheNHS

@SarahBrown10 #welovetheNHS - more than words can say

The White House has put out generic rebuttals on their Twitter account about the attacks.

@whitehouse Don't believe everything you see on the web about health insurance reform. Pls share: http://bit.ly/maVkF #healthreform #hc09

U.S. Congress is expected to vote on health reform in the next few weeks, and many analysts say that Obama's plan might have an uphill battle to face, despite having a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate. Nonetheless, this Twitter face-off might be the first of many examples where people with disagreeing views might engage each other in civil debate.

Youth fight for food justice online

Photo by Umoja Community Builders

Last month the US Department of Agriculture released a report on food deserts - areas in the United States where communities lack access to supermarkets and other outlets selling foods necessary for a healthy diet. According to the report, 2.3 million Americans live more than a mile from a supermarket and do not have access to a vehicle. The report goes on to say that the "urban core areas with limited food access are characterized by higher levels of racial segregation and greater income inequality." In short, this problem largely affects low income communities and people of color. In recent years, there have been efforts by food justice activists around the country to bridge the food gap. One group in Chicago is taking back the food system online.

The Umoja Student Development Corporation is a Chicago-based, youth development organization which runs a six-week summer program in partnership with youth media group Free Spirit to film a short documentary about food deserts in the predominately African American community of North Lawndale.

"In my neighborhood, there are no grocery stores," said Porsha Treadwell, a student intern in Umoja's community builders program. "It is unfair that my community doesn't have the same access to healthy foods as other communities. It's just not right."

In addition to learning how to grow organic foods in community gardens and polling residents about their food shopping habits, the student interns have also kept a blog for the duration of the program about their own eating habits and the various social and environmental injustices that block access to food equity.

Also on the blog, the youth have created a slide show, displaying photos of themselves learning how to use cameras for their documentary.

Treadwell said this program has been a rewarding experience. She noted that she has had informative conversations with other residents about the food problem in the community, and how they now feel empowered to do something about it.

"When a community comes together, we can do powerful things," she said.

NAACP gets digital to curb police abuse

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. During its centennial convention in New York this week, it was announced that the venerable organization will be moving into the new digital frontier with the use of video and mobile technology. After much complaining from African American bloggers about the organization's lack of online media use and relevance to engage constituents with its advocacy agenda, it looks like the NAACP is making strides to close its digital gap.

The organization launched its new Rapid Response System though its website last week, which will be "a quick, effective way for citizens to report instances of police misconduct, and to help public safety officials move beyond the “tough on crime” policies that have lost their effectiveness."

Users can send text messages, emails, or video reports of police abuse to the organization either by mobile phone or a web form that can found its website.

"Nationwide, more than 26,000 citizen complaints of police officer use of force were filed with state and local law enforcement agencies in 2002," said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous in a statement. "However, because many incidents are not reported, this number does not capture the full magnitude of the problem...[P]ublic safety is a civil and a human right; and so we want a more accurate count of these incidents.”

In an interview yesterday, Monique Morris, NAACP's vice president of advocacy and research, noted that with the recent proliferation of digital activism, such as the videos that appeared online following the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant by Oakland police officers (Viewer Discretion is Advised) earlier this year, there is a need to create a uniform space where information about police brutality can be collect and action can be taken to deal with the problem.

"There are so many videos on YouTube that show varying levels of injustices, but we want people to send their videos to us, so we can take the necessary legal and advocacy steps to address the problem in an organized fashion," Morris said. "This idea will help drive our advocacy agenda."

When contacting the NAACP using the forms, users have the option of saying what type of incident occurred (i.e. sexual harassment, false arrest), what type of law enforcement agency was involved (i.e. state, federal) and what was the believed primary reason behind the incident (i.e. racism, sexism, homophobia). If this is used the way it is being proposed, along with the organization's long established reputation, it could make an impact in the long term, which can both address injustices still occurring among vulnerable communities while maintaining its reputation with the next generation of social activists.

Hondurans get online despite gov't ban

Last week's coup in Honduras is the latest incident where a government shut down radio and television stations during a political crisis, which has yet again outraged the international community. Just in the last month, China and Iran have made all efforts to create media blackouts in their respective countries. Digital activism has now made its way to the Central American country and making an impact in citizen journalism.

Discussions and protests about the coup lit up the Internet over the last week. People from around the world have been debating each other on Twitter at #Honduras and #crisisHN in both English and Spanish. There have been many videos shared also shared on Twitter relating to the coup, including this one. Since Honduras is not usually a country that makes international headlines, some folks are taking over the role of traditional media and have started up their own blogs with the sole purpose of educating the world about the issues that led up to the crisis. One blog compared the ousting of President Manual Zelaya to the 1974 pending impeachment and resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon. Another blog was started up by a group of academics and writers to address "the confusion encouraged by lack of basic knowledge about Honduras."

The Latin Americanist hosted spirited discussions on its blog on the mixed Honduran reaction to the overthrow. Many anonymous comments left on the blog posts relating to the topic have been deemed suspicious by others, like this blogger.

These comments are typical. Clearly from right-wing Hondurans, probably in
the United States - as Tegucigalpa has no internet with the military blocking
access.

I posted on my blog a short update immediately as I heard of it. Just to
update readers. Within hours I got two posts (similar, huh?), and have seen this
elsewhere, of what appears to be trollers commenting:

"we hondurans are proud of this day in which we defended our constitutional
system viva honduras!"

and

"WE DON’T WANT MEL ZELAYA HERE!!! TRAITOR!!! OUR COUNTRY IS NOT FOR SALE! LISTEN VERY WELL CHAVEZ, OUR COUNTRY IS NOT FOR SALE!!!"

The top above me are more wordy but express the same sentiments. Curfews, murder, running over protesters are freedom-loving expressions. The military is
"defending" the constitution - which these people have not yet read.

It is still too early to determine the impact of social media used during this crisis, as Zelaya is now demanding his rivals to give up power, and met with U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton yesterday in Washington. However, whatever happens, Hondurans are determined to make sure their voices are hear.

"The silent majority of Honduras offers you our support and personal testimonies," said one blogger. "We are here to defend our democracy and constitution, and will help the international community in anything that may be needed to provide them with authentic facts and eventualities. We will be silent no more."

BWB bloggers on digital activism's past, present and future

The second annual Blogging While Brown conference concluded yesterday in Chicago, presenting a recharged enthusiasm for the potentials social media tools can present for digital activism. In what was possibly the largest gathering of African American bloggers and web content users since the election of the "Internet President" Barack Obama, there is a call from many in the black community to use Web 2.0 to actively campaign more on behalf of issues of most concern.

The online organizing and fundraising around Jena 6, led by Web-based activist group Color of Change, to date is still considered the most successful Internet campaign among African Americans. However, the ongoing protests and digital activism in the aftermath of Iran's presidential election last week have brought up some new thoughts on how the African Diaspora could handle social movements - past, present and in the near future. Some conference attendees wondered if the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the Rwandan Genocide and the start of violence in Darfur could have had different outcomes if today's communications tools were around at the time of these events.

"What if black bloggers protested the Bush administration after [Hurricane] Katrina, like the Iranian protesters are doing now with their government," said one attendee. "We can learn a lot from the Iranians."

There was also discussion about how the black blogosphere will hold the first African American commander-in-chief and other politicians accountable on various domestic and international issues, such as health care, education, the war on terror, environmental justice, drug and criminal reform, unemployment and AFRICOM.

However, many agreed that possibly the next digital battle should be to make sure that the Internet is accessible to all. According to Megan Tady of the media reform group, Free Press, only 40 percent of Americans have access to broadband. When that number is broken down by ethnicity, Emarketer statistics show that African Americans make up 13.4 percent of the U.S. population, but only 48.7 percent are online. Mobile technology is a widely used tool in this demographic, and text messaging was used by Katrina survivors after the storm.

With all the above discussed topics, clearly there is a yearning to take advantage of the new digital era. Gina McCauley, BWB founder, said she will make efforts at future conferences to make sure attendees will have all the available training to stay on top of their social media skills.

"Now is the time for us to stay ahead of the curve on this technology so we can make a difference in our community," she said.

BWB:The Entrepreneurial Blogger

The business of social media was the overarching theme for this year's Blogging While Brown

Blacks Gone Geek's founder Milt Haynes gave some tips to conference attendees on Internet marketing. He uses blogs, podcasts, RSS Feeds, Facebook groups, Groupsite.com, Yahoogroups and his web site to network with an online community of African American IT professionals.

“Not only do you need a blog and a website, but you also need a good Internet strategy to be successful,” he said. “Fish where your buyers swim.”

Personal branding strategist Hajj Flemings shared his knowledge on how to stand out from the cyberspace pack. He argues that one's online presence can make or break anyone's career today. Consistency in how a person presents themselves in various social media tools is key to success.

“You personal brand is everything,” Flemings said. “It is about producing quality content that has supporting data is important.”

On a panel discussion on "Bloggerpreneurs," bloggers who have made significant money off of their social media discussed their secrets to success.

Frederic Mitchell is a Chicago-based web developer who is proof of who you know and networking can help anyone become successful. He also said that complimenting others when they do good can work in your favor in the future. He is a strong advocate of African Americans becoming leaders in the tech world.

“The IT world is predominately white," he said. Not only should we be using new technologies, we should also be building it.”

Blogging While Brown this weekend!

This weekend we will be liveblogging from Blogging While Brown, the only international conference for bloggers of color, which will be held this year in Chicago. We will bring you both the triumph and drama that will occur during this most important convening. We will also be looking out for discussion on how the Obama White House has flipped the script on how African Americans engage in technology.

What if Tiananmen Square happened today?

This week commemorations are occurring worldwide in observance of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacres of 1989. With the rise of Flickr and Twitter used for social justice, many digital activists wonder out loud if the now famed events would have transpired differently had social media tools been around twenty years ago. Clearly, the Chinese government knows the power of cyber-activism, as they have blocked most Internet social networks and foreign newspapers in the country ahead of the anniversary. Although there is an online blackout in China, activists still find ways to get their messages of protest out.

Twitter has been blocked for the last two days, nonetheless, users worldwide have been using the hashtag #fuckGFW (Great FireWall of China) to express their outrage at the online blocking. Chinese blogger Xavier Lur said on his website TechXav that the Chinese officials created the drastic blockade to not only protect national security and prevent anti-government content from being seen, but it may have also been economics.

He says:

Without blocking Google, Baidu cannot success. Without blocking Wikipedia, Hoodong cannot success. Without blocking Blogger, Blogcn cannot success. Without blocking YouTube, Youku cannot success. These huge International Internet Companies do not pay taxes to China Government, but the Internet Companies in China do pay taxes. The Chinese government wants to make more bucks, so and to boost their GDP. Also, they want to “protect” China websites and hence blocking successful International websites.

"Ellen" (she asked to not have her real name used) is a Chinese college student and blogger who was only a toddler twenty years ago. She says that as much as the Chinese government tries to block the Internet, they will eventually realize that censorship will increasingly be hard to regulate as more people get connected.

"The revolution is happening in cyberspace," she said. "If Tiananmen happened today, the government wouldn't be able to suppress anger towards them around the globe. I might not see YouTube or read blogs in Beijing, but someone else can in Singapore, in Cairo, in Nairobi, in Rio, in London, in New York. My country is fighting an uphill battle, and it needs to put up their white flag."