Google launched its new Google for Nonprofits program today, offering a variety of free or discounted resources, applications and outreach tools.

"This is a new program for U.S. nonprofit organizations that will give them access to exclusive nonprofit products," Jamie Yood, a Google spokesman, said in an e-mail.

Among the exclusive offers for nonprofits are:

• Google Apps at no cost, or at a reduced price
• Google Earth Outreach, which allows groups to use Google Earth to "visualize your cause and tell your story through Google's mapping technologies."
• YouTube for non-profits which makes available increased uploading limits, a "Donate" button on videos, listing on non-profit channels and video pages, and other perks.
• Google Grants to get up to $10,000 a month in advertising on Google AdWords.

The Mountain View, Calif., company has also created a landing page online that corrals all of its products that a nonprofit could use that are also publicly available -- such as Blogger, Google Analytics, Google Checkout and its Public Data Explorer.

"We've also developed other online resources such as educational videos, case studies and better ways to connect with each other in order to better support nonprofits," Yood said.

And Google also rolled out a "Google for Nonprofits Marketplace where existing Certified Google Partners will offer their services at a free or discounted rate to approved nonprofits in our program in order to help them optimize the use of our products," he said.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

A veteran blogger in Syria was jailed Sunday -- yet another example of just how important to demonstrators, and threatening to government regimes, the Internet can be.

The blogger, Ahmad Abu Khair, was arrested early Sunday morning while driving from the coastal town of Banias to Damascus, according a Facebook group calling for his release and the citizen-journalism advocacy group Global Voices.

Times reporters in Beirut said on our sister blog, Babylon and Beyond, that the charges against Khair hadn't yet been made public, but that the blogger has been a big supporter of Tunisia's success in removing now-former President Zine el Abidine ben Ali.

From Babylon and Beyond:

In a recent post on his blog titled "Inspired by the revolution" (Arabic link), Khair compared the conditions that led to the uprising in Tunisia with the situation in Syria and other Arab countries, concluding: "Change is possible ... but by revolution!"

But others have said that Khair's comments were not seen as particularly controversial and were echoed by many in the blogosphere.

"All Syrian bloggers praised the revolution and talked generally about why change is important," a source in Syria with knowledge of social media told Babylon & Beyond. "If his blog was the reason" for his arrest, "then this is surely a change of policy: If you support a revolution you'll be detained." The source asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.

Khair's arrest coincides with reports that the hunger strike of jailed Kurdish-Syrian blogger and rights activist Kamal Hussein Sheikho had entered its fifth day on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (Arabic link).

The 33-year-old blogger was arrested in June at the Lebanese-Syrian border and charged with "spreading false information to weaken the morale of the nation."

Khair's arrest also arrives about one week after blogger Tal Mallouhi, 19, was found guilty of passing information to the United States and sentenced to five years in prison.

The imprisoning of activists who use the Internet to mobilize others as well as to criticize their governments is becoming a commonplace action of governments that are seeing massive protests calling for political reforms and, in many cases, a switch to democracy.

In Egypt, Google executive Wael Ghonim is credited as being one of the leaders in the ongoing revolution toward democracy that has removed former President Hosni Mubarak. Ghonim was held for 12 of the 18 days of protests that led to Mubarak's ouster. 

Another increasingly common move by governments facing unrest as protesters fill the streets is to cut off access to social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs and YouTube.

In Iran, Tunisia, Egypt and recently Libya, the Internet has been temporarily shut off or throttled down to a point of being unusable.

To read the full report on Babylon and Beyond, head over to the post titled 'SYRIA: Another blogger jailed as social media fuels protests in Arab world.'

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Blogger Ahmad Abu al Khair was reportedly arrested by Syrian security forces early Sunday morning. Credit: Facebook

If you've ever had a problem with a BlackBerry smart phone or an Apple computer, this skit from the BBC show "The One Ronnie" should definitely bring a smile to your face.

A bit of credit goes to the Laughing Squid blog, where we came across this.

And one note, the line about a frozen BlackBerry in the skit, "let's try it on orange" is a reference to Orange, the UK mobile carrier.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Video: BBC via YouTube

Tunisia is in a state of unrest and protesters are using blogs, Facebook, Twitter, WikiLeaks documents, YouTube and other methods to mobilize themselves and report what is going on.

The catalyst for the demonstrations, which have ranged from peaceful protests to violent clashes, was the suicide attempt made by Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old university graduate in Tunisia who couldn't find work. The North African nation's unemployment rate is about 14%, and about 30% of those without work are between age 15 and 29.

On Dec. 17, Bouazizi poured fuel on his body and lit himself on fire in the city of Sidi Bouzid in protest of the economic conditions.

Bouazizi died from his injuries Friday morning. He reportedly was his family's only source of income and was unable to provide for his family after police confiscated an unlicensed produce stand he ran.

President Zine el Abidine ben Ali, who had been in power for more than two decades and was a major focus of about four weeks worth of massive demonstrations against widespread unemployment and corruption in the African country, has reportedly fled Tunisia.

Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi   is taking over the president's power on an interim basis.

Reports on how many people have died vary from at least three to as many as 20, and the weeks of demonstrations have been largely ignored by the majority of media outlets until recent days.

As such, the Internet has been the largest source of documentation of the protests, much of it provided  by the demonstrators themselves, despite Tunisia's strict censorship of the Web.

Of course, given the nature of the Internet, information about the protests can range from propaganda to earnest documentation of the reality on the streets, and a critical, skeptical eye is needed to intelligently take in the flood and diversity of reports online.

The blog NDItech DemocracyWorks remarked on the situation, writing that despite remarkable levels of censorship the protesters "have been assisted by external online activists, notably the collective known as Anonymous. Allies of the regime have reportedly engaged equally enthusiastically, utilizing phishing, censoring, and hacking against activists."

NDItech said that social media in particular has been a major battleground between the government and those demonstrating against it.

The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a letter to President Ben Ali last week calling on Tunisia to end its censorship of those covering the unrest.

"Local journalists told CPJ that additional news websites, as well as numerous Facebook pages carrying critical content, blogs, and journalists' e-mail accounts have been blocked by the state-run Tunisian Internet Agency since protests erupted on Dec. 17," the letter said.

"Regional and international media have reported that numerous local and international news websites covering the street protests were blocked in Tunisia. One report placed your country, along with Saudi Arabia, as the worst in the region regarding Internet censorship. A 2009 CPJ study found Tunisia to be one of the 10 worst countries worldwide to be a blogger, in part for the same reasons."

There are also those who have warned about giving the Web and various tech companies too much credit in the situation in Tunisia.

Laila Lalami, a Los Angeles-based writer from Morocco, wrote on Twitter, "Please stop trying to give credit to WikiLeaks, or Twitter, or YouTube for the toppling of Ben Ali. The Tunisian people did it." Later, she tweeted, "The Internet facilitates communication, but it alone doesn't keep people in the streets for four weeks."

The "hacktivist" group Anonymous has sided with protesters in Tunisia and posted multiple videos on YouTube about the situation. Some videos contain graphic images of violence in the country that Anonymous says were shared with them by Tunisian demonstrators.

More than 3,000 videos on YouTube have been tagged with the words "Sidi Bouzid," the city where many of the protests have taken place and where Mohamed Bouazizi engulfed himself in flames.

Thousands of tweets have been sent about the protests, so many that "Tunisia" was a trending topic in San Francisco earlier on Friday.

"We might be able to provide thoughtful analysis after all the events of Tunisia unfold. But, right now, along with the rest of the world, we sit back and watch in awe at how people are using Twitter and other platforms to provide on-the-ground perspective during this highly developing and potentially historical moment," said Carolyn Penner, a Twitter spokeswoman. 

According to NDItech, some have estimated that tweets with the hashtag #sidibouzid have been sent out at a rate of about 28,000 per hour since Dec. 27. "It requires careful reading to find informative sources of information and updates," the website wrote about the estimate.

Officials at Facebook and Google (which owns YouTube) were unavailable for comment on Friday.

Another example of demonstrators in Tunisia using the Web to get their messages out is the creation of a website called TuniLeaks, which collects U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks that have to do with Tunisia.

Discussions over the cables and what they mean for the nation have taken place at TuniLeaks since it launched in November. The documents include those about human rights violations in Tunisia and censorship of free speech. The site also led to a Twitter hashtag of #tunileaks to identify when tweets referred to the website.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Top photo: A Tunisian woman waves the national flag in front of the interior ministry during clashes between demonstrators and security forces in Tunis on Friday. Credit: Fethi Belaidi / AFP/Getty Images.

Middle photo: Riot police officers detain a protester during clashes in Tunis on Friday. Credit: Christophe Ena / Associated Press.

Bottom photo: Demonstrators outside the International Court in The Hague take part in a rally Friday to pay tribute to the "blood of the martyrs" and celebrate the departure of Tunisia's President Zine el Abidine ben Ali.  Credit: Robet Vosi / AFP/Getty Images.

Google Chrome is going to drop H.264 video codec, dumping arguably the most popular video standard currently on the Internet in favor of WebM, a format it created.

The move has stirred anger, with many comparing Google's dropping of H.264 with Apple's abandonment of Adobe Flash.

Among those who have spoken out against Google's decision is Microsoft evangelist Tim Sneath, who in a tweet likened the decision to despotism.

Sneath's Twitter message linked to a blog post he wrote comparing the move with abandoning English in favor of Klingon, titling the post "An Open Letter From the President of the United States of Google."

Ars Technica called the move "a step backward for openness."

Jason Perlow, writing on ZDNet, speculated that the move had more to do with future infrastructure costs for Google's Web video behemoth YouTube than what's best for the Internet.

According to TechCrunch, H.264 format video made up about 66% of the video on the Web. H.264 is royalty free as long as it's distributed for free; otherwise, companies have to pay a licensing fee to MPEG LA, the group that owns the patents on the format.

WebM is a royalty-free video standard, with no current licensing fees in any form, and its list of backers includes Adobe, Mozilla (builder of the popular Firefox browser) and Opera, among others.

Apple and Microsoft are huge supporters of H.264. Abode Flash isn't yet compatible with Google's WebM video format, though it is compatible with H.264 video. But Adobe has said WebM friendliness is on its way.

Flash, a downloadable add-on for many Web browsers, is baked into Google's Chrome browser, leading to others, such as John Gruber of Daring Fireball, to call Google a hypocrite for embracing one not-open standard while shelving another.

So why is Google doing this? The company said Tuesday it was focusing on more open video standards -- those being its own WebM codec and the little used Theora standard.

The move is merely the latest in what is a never-ending battle to determine what the future of the Web will look like and what technologies and formats will power it.

"Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies," Google Chrome product manager Mike Jazayeri said in a blog post announcing the move.

"These changes will occur in the next couple months but we are announcing them now to give content publishers and developers using HTML an opportunity to make any necessary changes to their sites."

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Image: a screen shot of a Twitter message from Tim Sneath of Microsoft condemning Google's plan to drop H.264 video from Chrome. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Virtual armies of technology enthusiasts won’t be the only attendees at CES this year. They’ll be joined by a fleet of bloggers employed by exhibitors looking to capture the public’s imagination.

C.C. Chapman, a “digital dad” and blogger of five years from Boston, will blog for consumer goods maker Kenmore from the floor of the show at the Las Vegas Convention Center and host a blog-themed discussion with company executives. 

He said:  “Kenmore asked me to go out and cover things you find at CES and share them across social media. Not only  for people at the event but for people who can’t go. 

“I’m curious to see what’s truly new. I’m excited to know some of the things Kenmore will be showing. Talking about a cellphone is old hat, but talking about a washer is exciting.”

Chapman will create video and audio content with an iPhone and two digital cameras and post frequently to Kenmore's Twitter feed and Facebook page. He’ll check in at locations using Foursquare and Gowalla so that his fans -- and his wife and children -- can track his movements. 

He’s based out of the Kenmore booth, which features new products and daily cooking demonstrations,  including a virtual cookery face-off with chefs based in a Chicago studio.   

Other major exhibitors have tapped big-name bloggers. Chip maker Intel said its strategy involved working with bloggers -- or “brand ambassadors” -- who attend the show on the company’s behalf. These include mommy bloggers, daddy bloggers, vloggers and podcasters.

Allison Wesley, a spokeswoman at Intel, said, “Their advice, networking and content sharing amplify our traditional media efforts at the show so that it reaches consumers where they enjoy tuning in online.”

Audiovox and RCA have employed two "social ambassadors" to walk the floor for the four days of the show and sign up social media fans and followers. They will be wearing RCA- and Audiovox-branded shirts with social-media-themed slogans.

Robin Raskin, the founder of Living in Digital Times, a technology-themed events and promotions company, said CES offers bloggers the chance to showcase their talents to a wider --  but also more targeted -- audience.

“Our most social show is MommyTech. Microsoft Mommy bloggers will be there and we’ve partnered with BlogHer too.

“We’ll be presenting and tweeting all sorts of data on how moms buy and use tech. We’ll have a mommy blogging area on the show floor, a special tour for mommy bloggers.”

Raskin’s recommendations include Elisa Camahort from BlogHer, Beth Blecherman at coolmomtech.com and Diana Eng, a designer who blends fashion and technology.

Raskin, a former editor of PC Magazine, who created CES’ Last Gadget Standing award,  said she uses Twitter, Facebook, Constant Contact,  Freeconference.com, Skype, LinkedIn and Gwabbit.com. 

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-- Craig Howie

Photo: "Digital dad" C.C. Chapman will blog from Kenmore's booth at the CES. Credit: Kenmore

When Christmas rolls around, even influential tech personalities have wish lists.

Craig Newmark, who founded Craigslist, would like a completely new Leonard Cohen album. Tony Hsieh, founder and chief executive of online shoe and accessories giant Zappos, is hoping for “hugs and kisses.”

And for Dennis Crowley, who founded Foursquare, 10 more engineers and two more project managers would really hit the spot.

Several big names are among the more than 130 industry players who fessed up to blogger Sam England, who listed their responses on What They Want for Christmas.

Mashable.com co-editor Ben Parr has lofty holiday requests: “true and everlasting love, followed by a Bernese Mountain Dog.”

Over at Gizmodo.com, editor Jason Chen wants attention. But not in the way you think.

“It is one of the rarest things you can get, yet everyone can give it,” he explains. “Unlike most actual gifts, attention is free, yet also very expensive. You can never get your attention back, and once you give it away, you can never give it again. There’s not an infinite amount of attention to pass around.”

Freakonomics author Steven Levitt was much less philosophical. He’d be happy with a round of golf with a top professional golfer.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo credit: Jim Barcus / Kansas City Star/MCT

The generation gap is narrowing online, according to a newly released report by the Pew Research Center.

"There are still notable differences by generation in online activities, but the dominance of the millennial generation that we documented in our first 'Generations' report in 2009 has slipped in many activities," the report concluded.

Millennials, defined in this case as people ages 18 to 33, still surpass their elders in many areas, including use of social networking sites and instant messaging, online gaming and reading blogs, the report found. But older users were catching up in some of these areas. The fastest-growing group of social networking users was the oldest: The percentage of adults age 74 and older who said they used such sites quadrupled from 4% in December 2008 to 16% in May 2010.

In two areas -- visiting government websites and getting financial information online -- older users surpassed millennials.

And in the area of blogging, older users may overtake the young. While the percentage of teens and millennials who said they work on a personal blog has dropped, a higher percentage of adults ages 34 to 73 were blogging in 2010 than in 2008.

Some activities gained popularity among all groups, such as using e-mail and search engines, getting news and using online classified ad sites.

-- Abby Sewell

Photo: Mary Lee, 13, of suburban Cleveland, surfs the Web. The Pew Research Center report found that older generations are catching up with teens and millennials in Internet use. Credit: Tony Dejak / Associated Press

Gawker's stolen user data, such as user names and e-mail address information, have exposed a bad habit among commenters of the popular network of blogs -- easy-to-guess passwords.

Really, really bad passwords. Even worse than one might think.

Take for example, the No. 1 choice among Gawker users whose info was exposed: "123456."

Or the second-most-popular password -- "password."

Coming in third-place was "12345678."

And the list doesn't get much better from there. The 50th-most-selected password was "Internet."

"Starwars," "pokemon," and "batman" are also on the list; bringing a little pop culture into the poor-choice password mix.

The Wall Street Journal compiled the list of the top 50 passwords chosen by the 188,279 Gawker users whose information was exposed in the Monday hack.

Given Gawker's breach, which was also tied to a spamming of Twitter, as well as a recent hack of McDonald's customer information and the temporary-take-downs of WikiLeaks, Visa and MasterCard, choosing a new, more unique password might not be a bad idea.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Image: A screenshot of Gawker blog LifeHacker.com addressing its hacked user data.

Gawker and its ring of blogs, as well as Twitter, were hacked this weekend by a group calling itself "Gnosis."

Gawker said thousands of its commenter usernames and passwords for its blogs were broken into and Gnosis said its hacking of the network of blogs led it to breach of e-mail address belonging to banks, federal government employees and NASA.

"This weekend we discovered that Gawker Media's servers were compromised, resulting in a security breach at Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Gawker, Jezebel, io9, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Deadspin and Fleshbot," Gawker said in a post on its Lifehacker blog.

"We understand how important trust is on the Internet, and we're deeply sorry for and embarrassed about this breach of security -- and of trust. We're working around-the-clock to ensure our security (and our commenters' account security) moving forward," Gawker said.

Twitter said a virus that hijacked some of its user's accounts to send out spam advertisements for a fake Acai berry weight-loss program was linked to Gawker's user accounts being compromised.

Gawker has so far denied the link between the two hacking incidents.

"We never stored Twitter passwords from users who linked their Twitter accounts with their Gawker Media account," Gawker said. "However, if you used the same password for your Twitter account as you did on your Gawker Media account, you should change your password immediatley."

Unlike Twitter, Gawker does not allow users to delete their accounts with its blog sites.

Due to the hack, Gawker sites were unable to publish blog posts. Gawker.com had no new blog posts from Sunday afternoon until about 2 a.m. Monday -- which is a notable period of down-time for the prolific blog known for its snarky celebrity and political gossip posts.

An official at Jezebel, Gawker's blog aimed at female readers, tweeted, "I'd write a post about how we've been hacked and can't publish, but we've been hacked and can't publish."

Gnosis leaked files of Gawker statistics and thousands of its commenter usernames and passwords on various hacker forums and websites after its breach of Gawker servers.

An anonymous source identifying itself as one of the Gnosis hackers told the news blog Mediaite that the group attacked Gawker because of its "arrogance."

"It took us a few hours to find a way to dump all their source code and a bit longer to find a way into their database," the source told Mediaite.

"We have been cracking the database for about 17 hours and have managed to retrieve 273,789 passwords," the source told the blog. "If our release schedule wasn’t so tight we could get 500,000-plus. Included in the dump are passwords linked to accounts from NASA, about every .gov domain you could imagine and hundreds from banks. One can only pray that they do not use the same password everywhere."

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog