On April 10, James Karl Buck, a graduate student from the University of California-Berkeley, was in Mahalla, Egypt, covering an anti-government protest when he and his translator, Mohammed Maree, were arrested. On his way to the police station, Buck took out his cell phone and sent a message to his friends and contacts using the micro-blogging site Twitter. The message only had one word-- "Arrested." Within seconds, colleagues in the United States were alerted that he was being held. This simple message allowed Buck's college to hire a lawyer on his behalf and Buck was eventually released. Maree was, however, transferred to another police station. Buck wrote another message after his release-- "Free" to let others know that he had been released.
Twitter is a social-networking blog site that allows users to send status updates, or "tweets," from cell phones, instant messaging services and Facebook in less than 140 characters. Biz Stone, co-founder of of Twitter, said that, "James' case is particularly compelling to us because of the simplicity of his message -- one word, 'arrested' -- and the speed with which the whole scene played out. It highlights the simplicity and value of a real-time communication network that follows you wherever you go."
Buck is now using his story and the Twitter page as a way to rally people looking for answers about Maree's status
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/25/twitter.buck/index.html
Jennifer Wang
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