CAIRO: Attention is slowly diverting away from one social networking website to another, as more and more users substitute Facebook with the latest fad: Twitter.
But that kind of attention can prove to be a double-edged sword – many expect the government to crack down on the micro-blogging website.
Twitter is a social-networking website that allows users to send status updates, or “tweets, from cell phones, instant messaging services and Facebook in less than 140 characters.
Twitter came into the local spotlight on April 10, 2008 when journalist James Buck used it to report his arrest after the April 6 protests in Mahalla.
On his way to the police station, Buck sent a one-word message to his friends and contacts on Twitter; “Arrested.
He continued to send updates every couple of hours until he was finally released 24 hours later.
Internet activists around Egypt unanimously agree that 2009 will be the year of Twitter. It was also used by outspoken political blogger Wael Abbas and Palestinian journalist Laila El-Haddad, who tweeted updates to the world while being held in police custody.
During his brief detainment, Abbas’ number of “followers skyrocketed as a number of lawyers and activists scampered to offer their services.
Twitterholic, a website that ranks the most important people on Twitter, places Abbas, who now has 1,162 followers, at number 34.
The majority of Twitter users use it to update their friends and social network on their personal status. However, journalists and activists now use it to report news and disseminate information.
From 2006 until the summer of 2008, Twitter users in Egypt were receiving tweets on their mobile phones, however this service was cancelled because it was costly.
“Twitter is a central tool for activists in organizing demonstrations, reporting human rights abuses, in addition to tweeting when someone is arrested, and the most famous case is James Buck in Mahalla, said blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy of arabawy.org.
“Even though this SMS service is no longer available, it wasn’t that detrimental as many Egyptians are increasingly getting on the internet by mobile so it is still a vital tool, he added.
While some believe Twitter is slowly winning over Facebook users, El-Hamalawy said each social networking website has its unique advantages.
“For me, Facebook is for personal use, such as uploading music and photos, my blog is for longer pieces and analysis and Twitter is mainly for quick updates, things like an accident on the Ring Road and detentions during demonstrations, El-Hamalawy said. “It is also a primary source for the internet traffic generation, among the websites I use to refer to my blog entries, Twitter definitely comes first.
He added that lawyers, journalists and activists are his target audience on Twitter.
Recently, accounts allegedly belonging to Egyptian State Security as well as Minister of Interior Affairs Habib El-Adly appeared on Twitter.
However, blogger Moustafa Hussein claimed responsibility for the State Security account.
“The way Twitter notifies you by email about new followers gave me an idea. What if instead of ‘user X is following you,’ something more serious was following you. Something evil that usually follows people, he wrote on his blog Muftasa.net.
“If you think it was a sick joke or that it ended prematurely, I don’t care much. The coolest thing is that I created some inane controversy of tweets, blog posts and copy-cats to feed my ego for a day, he said.
However, El-Adly’s account is yet to be verified.
The minister allegedly sent out tweets advising people about which highways to take before Easter weekend, while State Security said that it is now on Twitter “as a way of finding a way for constant communication with the citizens and open forum for dialogue and cooperation.
Others however believe the government will not be able to keep up with Twitter.
“When the State Security account was [allegedly] created, I wrote to them, ‘Good news: Tomorrow all of Egypt will be joining Twitter and as a result you will have to work an extra shift’, said publisher Hisham Kassem, an active Twitter user.
“The government monitoring anything is a mindset [they have], but this is a lost cause, they won’t be able to do that with Twitter, said Kassem.
“They won’t be able to keep up with 500 or 600 users, but they will keep trying until they realize it’s pointless, he added.
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