Maikel Nabil Sanad: Blogger imprisoned by Egyptian army

After the fall of Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011, I thought oppression and violation of fundamental rights and freedoms in Egypt - as seen under the Mubarak regime - will be a thing of the past, but since the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was empowered to oversee a smooth transition to democracy in Egypt, Egyptians have continued to suffer repression and widespread violation of basic rights. In March, reports of women subjected to forced virginity tests by military personnel shocked rights advocates around the world; last week, two protesters were reportedly killed when the army stormed Tahrir Square to silence protesters calling for a speedy trial of Hosni Mubarak and his cronies on corruption charges. Today, Twitter has been buzzing with disturbing news of the imprisonment of a 25-year old Egyptian blogger, Maikel Nabil Sanad - for being critical of the military in a blog post - and many Egyptians on Twitter have made no secret of their outrage.

Maikel Nabil Sanad was arrested on 28 March 2011, tried in a military court and on 10 April 2011, he was declared guilty for insulting the military and sentenced to 3 years in prison in violation of his right to hold and express opinions without state interference.

On 5 April 2011, Human Rights Watch condemned the arrest and trial of Maikel Nabil Sanad, a civilian, in a military court and urged the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to drop charges against the blogger.

News of the arrest of a blogger for being critical of the military is disturbing and of course - frightening. Free people around the world must unequivocally condemn the arrest and imprisonment of Maikel Nabil for "insulting the military" in a blog post.

The imprisonment of a blogger in any part of the world - for expressing opinions on his blog - poses a threat to free expression and internet freedom everywhere.

Egypt is party to international human rights standards that expressly oblige the state to respect the right to hold and express opinions. This right is clearly stated in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other significant human rights instruments. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces therefore has a legal obligation under international law to respect this right.



It is worth highlighting that the military court used evidence from Nabil's blog and Facebook page to convict him.

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Nigeria: Goodluck Jonathan declares presidential candidacy on Facebook

It was announced on the 3:00 pm newscast on CRTV that Nigeria's acting President - Goodluck Jonathan - on September 15, 2010 declared his candidacy for the 2011 presidential race on his Facebook page. This might be no news in the West - where many leaders have Facebook accounts, but it is breaking news in Africa - where in a bid to evade accountability, leaders distance themselves from social networking sites and from the people they lead.

You would agree that creating a Facebook page means Goodluck Jonathan is open to suggestions, criticism and is ready to listen to Nigerians on the social networking giant.

In a Facebook note entitled, "Declaration of Intent For The 2011 Presidential Race," Goodluck Jonathan reminded his "dear compatriots" that four months ago "providence" made him president following the death of his predecessor - Umaru Musa Yar'adua, and called on Nigerians to give him their "support" and "prayers."

I have read the declaration of intent and I was sincerely impressed by what the President said, amongst other things:

"Today, I confirm that after wide and thorough consultations spanning the six geo-political zones that make up Nigeria, with members of my family, my party, the opposition, civil society, the Private Sector, members of the Labour Unions, religious leaders, youths and student groups and our revered traditional institutions, I Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by the grace of God hereby offer myself and my services to the Nigerian people as a candidate for the office of President in the forth coming 2011 elections."

I noted that Goodluck Jonathan refrained from making many promises in his declaration of intent to run for president. Talking about promises, he simply said: "The only promise I make to you my friends, fellow citizens and Nigeria, is to promise LESS and deliver MORE if I am elected."

Pundits would term the creation of a Facebook page a "tactic" and an attempt to score political points, but without going into politics, permit me to reiterate that by creating a Facebook page, Goodluck Jonathan has demonstrated skills of good governance, leadership, transparency and accountability.

It is worth mentioning that president Goodluck Jonathan joined Facebook on June 28, 2010 in fulfillment of a promise made to students at the University of Port Harcourt in May 2010. As of today, 211, 682 people like Goodluck Jonathan's Facebook page.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Goodluck Jonathan represents a new generation of African leadership? Besides inspiring hope on Facebook, would Goodluck Jonathan deliver democracy, peace , human rights and development in Nigeria - if elected in 2011?

By the way, on May 6, 2010, BBC stated that "as his name suggests, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has a habit of being in the right place at the right time."

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Facebook violates Right to Privacy?

It is true that many Facebook users do not have a clue about Facebook's privacy tools and policies. Personally, I have come across many Facebook profiles - profiles of people I do not know - but their photographs, personal information and postings are visible to everyone. When I became aware of this privacy and security breach, I immediately checked the privacy settings of my Facebook account and behold - all my personal information and photographs were available to everyone, including third party applications and websites! No doubt, many users join Facebook and for one reason or the other, want their personal information to be visible to everyone, but what about those who want to share information only with family and friends? What about the right to privacy? Recently, there have been rising concerns about privacy on Facebook - does the social networking site violate the right to privacy?

Facebook currently has more that 400 million users - many of whom, unfortunately, are not aware of the privacy loopholes and security features that enhance privacy on the site. On 18 May 2010, a friend of mine on Facebook posted an article on her wall, entitled - Facebook launches new security feature. I must tell you - the article addresses an important security concern, but surprisingly, Facebook failed to notify many - if not all users about the new security feature. Were you notified? Does this ring a bell? Does Facebook really care about the right to privacy and the security of its users?

It is worth mentiong that Facebook has an "opt out" - rather than an "opt in" privacy policy. This means that as a user, you must opt-out of a privacy setting that breaches your privacy, rather than opt-in; if you don't need any privacy. Simply put, by default, Facebook breaches the privacy of users!

One of Facebook's core principles is this: if people share more, the world will become more open and connected. Does this justify the sharing of personal and contact information, photographs and postings of users without their informed consent?

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's Chief Executive, said in an article in the Washington Post, that "a world that is more open and connected is a better world". Of course, this is true - but only to an extent.

Zuckerberg seems to have quickly forgotten about Nona Belomesoff - an 18-year-old Australian girl, allegedly lured to her death by a man she met on Facebook; Zuckerberg seems to have hastily forgotten about Ashleigh Hall - a 17-year-old girl lured to her death by a convicted sex offender on Facebook. Cases like these, urgently remind you to exercise caution in online interactions. Sharing personal information online could be fatal!

Recently, Facebook shared user information with advertising companies. This move is a vivid reminder of the story of Shi Tao - a Chinese journalist who was sentenced to 10 years in prison because Yahoo! exposed his identity.

Some have argued that by accepting the terms and conditions of Facebook, users can no longer claim a violation of the right to privacy. This is a valid argument, but irrespective of what you think, you would agree that it is more important to chase the fox away before you blame the chicken for wandering deep into the forest. In this information age, a violation of the right to privacy - a fundamental human right - has far reaching consequences. Criminals, repressive governments, you name it, have now turned to the internet and social networking sites like Facebook to gather more information about their next victims. By sharing personal information with third parties and failing to give users effective control over what is shared - and with whom it is shared - Facebook puts millions of unsuspecting users in harm's way.

What can Facebook do about this?

Facebook should pay more attention to the right to privacy and give users effective control over the information they share. It would be great to have a default setting where private information is shared with "only friends". Besides, the complicated privacy control settings should be simplified.

More importantly, as a Facebook user, you should be more responsible and pay particular attention to your privacy and security settings, as well as the information you share on Facebook.

Like I said in an earlier article - Authentic Personalities on Facebook - Facebook has gone beyond connecting friends.

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Authentic Personalities on Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that allows anyone to create a profile with a variety of personal information and pictures. Until recently, Facebook was an online community for college students. Facebook users provide personal information such as Home town, Relationship status, political views, interest, favorite movies/music/books/quotes and a section which contains a short description of the user - "About Me" section.

Since it's creation in 2004, Facebook has experienced unprecedented growth over the past couple of years, with an additional 20,000 accounts created daily. 60% of Facebook users log in daily and some, have become "addicted". Facebook has gone beyond connecting friends! It has aided criminal investigations and college disciplinary hearings; it has been used by employers to screen job applicants. As if this is not enough, insurance companies use Facebook to investigate clients. This has raised many questions about the social networking site. Are we entering a new reality in which Facebook profiles capture authentic personalities?
Many have argued that Facebook profiles don't represent the authentic personalities of users because users might upload the most attractive photos, update the most clever thoughts on status updates, carefully choose favorite books, movies, music or quotes - all in a bid to portray rose-tinted personalities. This is not the case. According to three researchers from the University of Texas at Austin - Samuel D. Gosling, Sam Gaddis and Simine Vazire - people's Facebook profiles reflect their authentic personalities.

Sam Gosling analyzed Facebook profiles of 236 participants - all of whom filled out personality questionnaires and didn't alter their Facebook profiles (profiles were saved onto a disc before Facebook was mentioned to the participants). The researchers matched the survey results against the participants' Facebook profiles. According to the results, people's online profiles were in keeping with their authentic profiles in real life.

The researchers agree that not all online profiles match real life profiles. But for the most part, online profiles represent the authentic profile of users. A psychologist, Sam Gosling, concludes that social networking sites are simply another medium for sincerely social interactions.

Does your facebook profile reflect your authentic personality? What qualities and traits are portrayed on your Facebook profile? What about your Facebook photos? What do they reveal about you? What about your status updates? These are questions every responsible Facebook user should consider because, believe it or not, Facebook has gone over and beyond helping you connect and share with the people in your life.

I totally agree with the results of the research on the "psychology of Facebook profiles". Facebook captures the authentic personalities of most of my close friends. In other words, Facebook status updates, photos, interests, you name it, reflect the personalities of Facebook users I've interacted with in real life.

It's true that if you're a jerk in real life, you'd be a jerk on Facebook too.

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Wedding Gone Bad: Twitter and Facebook at the Altar

Nowadays, people tweet and facebook all the time. This happens while driving, while giving birth, after giving birth, while in the operating theatre before going under the knife, you name it. But I have never though that it would happen in church; during a wedding; before kissing the bride. Has social networking gone too far?

I read a story that fascinated me and I thought it wise to share with my readers and maybe get some perspectives.

A bride and groom in Maryland, interrupted their wedding ceremony to tweet and update facebook. The bridegroom, Danna Hanna, before kissing the bride, paused to type: "Standing at the alter with @TracyPage where just a second ago, she became my wife! Gotta go, time to kiss my bride".

What's your take on this story. Do you think social networking has gone too far or it's cool? Personally, I think it's cool. :) It's cool so long as no one gets hurt.

Below is a video of this much talked about wedding ceremony:



From the above video, it's my opinion that it was staged. What do you think?

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How to Add a Twitter Button to Your Facebook Profile

When I started blogging, I promised myself that anything I learn, my readers would learn. That's exactly what I'm doing.

Today, 29/11/2009, I learned how to add a Twitter Button to my Facebook profile. It's a great thing to do if you're active on both Twitter and Facebook and want to spread yourself between the two networks. In order to add a Twitter button to your Facebook profile, you need to follow the 4 steps below.

1. First and foremost, you need to get a twitter button (see picture of my button above). Click here to get a button. Be sure to follow the instructions on how to customize the button so that the code that would be generated represents your Twitter account. The main thing you have to do is to put in you twitter username in the top box on the Twitter buttons page (for example, twitter.com/...............).

2. After you've chosen and customized your button, you need to log into your Facebook account. On the bottom left corner of your Facebook profile, you'll see APPLICATIONS. Click on it, a menu will show up and on the menu, you have to click on BROWSE MORE APPLICATIONS. Then type in "extended info" in the Search Apps box and search.

3. Click on EXTENDED INFO. This will take you to the Extended Info Facebook page. While on this page, click on "Go to Application" (below the profile picture). Make sure you Allow the application. When that is done, a box will come up.

4. Copy the code that was generated below the Twitter button you selected. Paste the code in the box that came up when you completed Step 3 above. Click "Save Changes" and then "Add to Profile". DONE!!

Check out my Facebook profile here. You're welcome to add me as a friend (if we're not yet connected).

If you have any questions on how to add the Twitter Button to your Facebook profile, leave a comment below. I'll respond to your question within 24 hours. I'd also like to know if you successfully added the twitter button. :)

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