Newsbreaks

It is widely recognized that the news industry is facing financial difficulties, but there is little agreement about the source of those difficulties or what can be done about them. The debate about the role of the web has been particularly heated: is it the source of the problem or the source of the solution?

By 'The Irrawaddy'

The door is opening ever wider on the private lives of Burmese celebrities, according to journalist's for the country's glossy magazines.

Kiran Jonnalagadda, a Twitter user from Bangalore, who was frustrated with the escalating fire crisis in the Carlton Towers in the city and the ineptitude of the firemen on Feb 23 began tweeting from where he was trapped.

He first laughed at the thought of using Twitter but Tibetan spiritual leader H.H. the Dalai Lama later agreed to open an account on the popular microblogging site Twitter. He now has more than 96,000 followers.

An online survey of 895 Web users and experts found more than three-quarters believe the Internet will make people smarter in the next 10 years, according to results released on Feb. 19.

You can tell when a print journalist has lost his full-time job because of the digital markings that suddenly appear, like the tail of a fading comet. First, he joins Facebook. A Gmail address is promptly obtained. The Twitter account comes next, followed by the inevitable blog. Throw in a LinkedIn profile for good measure.

A new eMarketer report shows that the number of Baby Boomers embracing social media, especially Facebook, jumped drastically between 2008 and 2009.

Two girls aged 15 and 16, lured by luxury goods, joined a prostitution ring in the eastern Java capital of Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, via the popular social networking site Facebook, the 'Jakarta Globe' reported Feb. 2.

There is a strong link between heavy internet use and depression, the BBC quoted UK psychologists as saying in an article on Feb. 3, 2010.

What do India, Thailand, Turkey, France and Germany have in common? Well, these are countries where Google still practices self-censorship in compliance with the respective countries' laws, according to an article in 'Forbes Magazine' due to come out on Feb. 8, 2010.