Google And Twitter Revive Speak2Tweet Initiative To Help Syrians
The Speak2Tweet initiative has been revived by Google and Twitter who have joined efforts to aid Internet users in Syria who have had their Web access cut off.
The initiative was first used was Internet access was cut off in Egypt in February of 2011.
Speak2Tweet allows users to send messages to Twitter by phoning a hotline and saying what they wish to tweet.
Last year, the two companies explained that each call is automatically turned into a voicemail message and then a link to this message is tweeted from the @Speak2Tweet account.
Syria had an estimated 90% of Internet connections cut out in the country yesterday. Authorities in Syria block both Internet and phone signals in the capital city of Damascus as the conflict between the government and rebels continues.
This isn’t the first time that the Middle Eastern has been cut off from the Internet as the whole country was almost totally disconnected for 40 minutes in July 2011.
The video above shows how Speak2Tweet was used in Egypt where contingents of volunteers translated the voicemail messages, which were mainly in Arabic, into English tweets, meaning the rest of the world could understand.
The official Google account on Google+ explains the service for Syrians.
What do you make of the Speak2Tweet service?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or via Twitter.
Daniel Barr
Follow us @SocialMediaF & @DanielAtSMF
www.socialmediafrontiers.com
Google And Twitter Revive Speak2Tweet Initiative To Help Syrians
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Friday, November 30, 2012
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Friday, November 30, 2012
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