Following on from ICANN's approval 6 months ago to start using non-Latin scripts for domain names, Egypst has introduced .misr (the Arabic name for Egypt). Depending on the browser and language packs installed, if a user mouses over a .misr link on a web page, they may see this in Arabic script. Will be interesting to see how this and forthcoming addtional non-Latin domain names impact on the language barrier aspect of the digital divide. Saudi Arabia and UAE have also set up their own new domain names - ".Al-Saudiah" and ".Emarat".

Third blog post in my series of posts about Internet Protest Movements.

Hosted by the Sydney Law School, is a seminar to discuss the very modern challenges of private international law jurisdiction in cyberspace. Very apt for this week's topic of Borders. When: 6pm-7.30pm, Tuesday 4 May 2010 (registration and refreshments from 5.30pm) Where: Sydney Law School, New Law School Building, Eastern Avenue, Camperdown Campus Registration: $77 incl GST (full-time student concession $44 incl GST)

For anyone interested.... Tues 11 May @ 6:45-8:30pm The City Recital Hall Angel Place (2 Angel Place, Sydney)

A Brazilian judge has fined Google in Brazil over a comment posted by an anonymous user stating that a priest is a paedophile. Raises the question of who is responsible for defamatory comments - the publisher (in this case Google) or the poster. Reminds me of a similar case of one of my fave blogs, Kitsune Noir - a music and design blog from the US. A poster made a critical comment about a design that the blogger had written about and the designer threatened legal action against Kitsune Noir.

The search giant has hit back at state requests (or court orders) to censor content on YouTube or in Google search by releasing a map showing the number of requests for censorship by country. Google has stated this move is "part of its continuing championing of openness of information" and insists the timing is purely coincidental regarding the complaint from 10 nations that Google releases new products without due consideration for privacy implications (as posted by Liz Gan), Reading the comments in these articles is always insightful. Someone points out that a lot of the requests may simply relate to slanderous items requested by courts to be removed (rather than evil government censorship requests).

I'm covering Protest Movements on my blog and will be focusing on cultural protest. This post looks at the furore around Nestle's use of palm oil in its products and what Greepeace have done to protest this, including a darkly comic spoof video of "Have a break, Have a Kit Kat" creative.

I first read this article months ago and it has stuck with me in my mind since then. Most of us would have no idea about the secret "nooks and crannies" of the web, but this article sheds some light on them and details software called "Freenet" which is used to anonymously surf the web and share files. It's a UK article however it's directly relevant to the current Australian internet censorship date because it is these areas of the internet that the filter will have no ability to block.

Some western companies (Yahoo, Cisco) operating in China have handed over information leading to the arrest of dissidents. Others have happily ignored the censorship and oppression in an attempt to garner market share. Google is the first and only western company operating in China to make a stand against the Chinese regime, even if this has only happened after operating in China for four years. The author argues that two things will need to happen to end internet censorship: other companies need to follow suit and a social movement from the society of internet users needs to gather force.

"Don't believe the hype", should be the sub title for this article...let's get real people! Questions whether the internet is a tool for freedom or whether it is just an instrument enabling further oppression in certain countries. Features quotes and examples from academic and former "cyber-utopian" Evgeny Morozov. The comments section of the article also provides more insight.

Great, accessible article exposing the major flaws of the proposed internet filter - the fact there are 10 major flaws is pretty indicative of the proposal itself...fundamentally flawed.

We all know video content is one of the most popular types of content on the web, driving some of the most innovative and popular web based applications (for example Skype, ChatRoulette, YouTube). However, new video-centric applications, which combine real-time, social networking and broadcasting are putting an even more intense spotlight on questions of privacy than ever before. This particular article profiles examples that are surely just web minutes away from the tipping point, giving users the chance to broadcast their lives in ways Twitter can only dream of. Surprisingly, the article only touches on privacy issues, suggesting that we are too willing to post personal information about ourselves. Reader comments rightly point out we are moving into very murky territory where the attitude seems to be that anything posted on the web is fair game and can be used against the person who posted it.

In yesterday's 5pm class, the concept of a "meme" was covered off - a cultural concept devised by Richard Dawkins in 1976 to describe cultural ideas, symbols or practices (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme) which spread and evolve.

More recently, the concept of meme has become more well known in one of its many forms: the internet meme which in its basic form is internet phenomena.

One sub-type of an internet meme is parody and I came across a great example this morning: Surprised Kitty homages at the SXSW Interactive event happening at the moment in Texas. Surprised Kitty is one of the most popular videos on Youtube with 21 million views so far.

One of the TED panels encouraged SXSW attendees to make a Surprised Kitty homag and these are the results.

Here is the original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8

Here's the vid of the audience in the TED panel taking part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5beta4AKZhg

And here is a link to the various homages: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Surprisedsxsw&aq=f