Are social network discussions ever off limits?

An Islamic court in Nigeria has banned a human rights group from using Facebook and Twitter, to discuss the country’s first amputation for theft.
“We condemn the ruling and reject it. We think it is a violation of our freedom of expression,”  says Shehu Sani the Civil Rights Congress president.  

On air: Does Facebook improve your life?

In our meeting today we all were able to come up with a story regarding Facebook. From the case of Anthony Stancl the American teenager who blackmailed fellow students at his secondary school into having sex after using their Facebook images . And to a story here in the UK about Craig Lynch, he is on the run from police after absconding from prison three months ago, but is still finding time to update his Facebook page.

Do you trust Facebook?

When I logged into my Facebook last night I had a message about my privacy settings.  It confused me. My first thought was that the message was going to encourage me to strenghten my privacy settings. But in fact it was the opposite:  they wanted me to reveal more.  I felt like I was being tricked.

Seems that I am not the only one who feels like this.  Many of Facebooks 350 million users have expressed anger at the site for changing privacy settings, which they say can cause personal information to be inadvertently exposed.

On air: Are our children’s multi-media lives good for them?

We’re pulling together two discussions today. The first is about television. Charles Kenny, a Washington developmental economist, believes that TV can teach us all, including our children, useful lessons for life. He argues it’s too easy to dismiss its benefits. The second is a row that’s broken out over Facebook and MySpace’s refusal to adopt a help button for children to report concerns about grooming and bullying. (Here’s an excellent commentary on the story.)It once again raises the issue of how safe and beneficial being online is for children. 

Newshour’s on Facebook…

It’s been up and running for just a week, but we’re really excited with the response so far, well over 500 members and growing fast. (wites Dan Isaacs, on the bike).

Who do you trust to tell you what’s happening in Iran ?

If you are anywhere near a TV showing BBC World – we’re on at 16.30 BST

The true and undisputed winners of the Iranian elections have emerged – Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and You Tube  have been bathing in the limelight. Here’s the BBC’s breakdown on social media in Iran. The Iranian government’s blocking of traditional media outlets has meant that microblogging has been our main source of information.

Join our new Facebook Fan Page

We’re always up for new ways for people to access WHYS. 

 So, we’ve set up a Facebook Fan Page  a) to find out if we actually have any fans and b) where you can pull apart each question we ask, and tell us what you think of the show.

Hopefully, it will complement the blog by being “open all hours”.