Global Voices Online

An Ordinary Citizen argues that mobile phones are changing the lifestyles of the younger generation in Bangladesh. This is affecting the students, who “are more interested to be unnecessary indulged in useless gossip/chat for hours together, keep themselves aloof from the family and immediate surroundings”.

Tunisian blogger Fatma Riahi, who blogs as Fatma Arabicca, has been charged with defamation on her own blog and is now being detained. A group has been formed on Facebook in support of the 34-year-old blogger, who is also being accused of blogging on Debat Tunise (Tunisia Debate).

Geetha Krishnan compiles a list of interviews of some TED India fellows taken by a bunch of Indian bloggers.

“Copyright violation is still a troubling one on the internet”: Signifyin' Guyana explores the issue.

Eternal Remont reports that “as of November 16, Abkhazia will adopt Russian area codes for telephone service. This means than everyone trying to reach Uncle Bagrat in Gagra will have to call Russia and not Georgia.”

Andrei Khrapavitski reports on problems faced by a Belarusian political party following the election of a new leader: “According to the Belarusian blogosphere, a webmaster, loyal to the previous leader, is refusing to pass passwords and website requisites to the new team. Thus they can’t update the party website. […] What if Bush web team refused to pass control to Obama’s team over whitehouse.gov?”

Information Policy links to a BusinessWeek/TOL article on social networks and the media in Central and Eastern Europe.

Taran Rampersad debunks “the Myth of a T&T Silicon Valley.”

Late one night, a Cuban taxi driver stops for Yoani Sanchez because of the colour of her skin, but when he learns that she's a blogger, his unease reveals another kind of prejudice: “His spectrum of classification stigmatizes not only some shades of color, but also certain leanings of opinion…that also lead, on this Island, to displays of segregation and rejection.”