Google and Twitter Launch Speak-To-Tweet for Egypt

With the whole nation demanding President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, with several political leaders of Egypt behind bars, with many big companies closing down, the economic conditions worsening, communication services shutting down and thousands evacuating the country, the life in Egypt has turned into a total chaos. Egypt protests 2011 have taken a violent turn, making it almost impossible for the residents of Egypt to sustain living in the country. While dark clouds of political and social unrest seem to be hovering over Egypt, there's one ray of hope piercing this darkness... as Google and Twitter launch Speak-To-Tweet for Egypt.

What is this Speak-To-Tweet service all about? Well, Google and Twitter have announced a new service, whereby people can post messages to Twitter by making telephone calls. Google has recently acquired SayNow that specializes in web-based voice messaging. Using SayNow, Google and Twitter have made it possible for anyone sitting in Egypt to tweet. Now, this is definitely a remarkable step taken against the blockage of Internet services in Egypt that had literally disconnected the country from the rest of the world. A blog post by Google's product manager Abdel-Karim Mardini and SayNow co-founder Ujjwal Singh read, "Like many people we've been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground". They said, they came up with the idea of launcing a Speak-To-Tweet service for Egyptians over the weekend. The service has provided users with three numbers +16504194196; +390662207294 and +97316199855. Under the Speak-To-Tweet service, voice mail messages left on any one of these numbers will be converted into text messages and posted on Twitter, with a hashtag of #egypt.

Instant conversion of voice messages into tweets, with no need of an Internet connection has enabled people in Egypt to come out in the open to communicate over a global platform. People the world over can listen to these messages from twitter.com/speak2tweet or by dialing one of the three numbers (+16504194196; +390662207294 or +97316199855) provided under the service.

The four main Internet service providers of Egypt - Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt and Etisalat Misr have gone down. The last working Internet service provider of the country, its last web communication link broke down on Monday, leaving the nation in total darkness. It's horrible to even imagine being totally cut off from the rest of the world, the very idea of having no Internet access sends chills down the spine, and that too when communication becomes a dire need in the wake of an unsettling political and social scenario. People in Egypt would have had this horrifying experience, but for the Speak-To-Tweet service launched by Google and Twitter. For Egyptians, this service is one ray of hope amid the unrest eclipsing their lives. With the launching of Speak-To-Tweet service for Egyptians, Google and Twitter have catered to a social cause. They have harnessed their technology and expertise towards equipping every commoner in the country with the means to communicate with the world during this difficult time.

Meanwhile there were reports saying that Wael Ghonim, an Egypt-based marketing executive of Google, had gone missing. However, Google refused to comment on this, saying that the organization cares for its employees and understands the need to protect their privacy in this critical time.

May Speak-To-Tweet for Egypt help Wael Ghonin and the millions like him, who are waiting for a God's messenger to re-establish their lost link with the rest of the world. Google's "Speak-To-Tweet service for Egyptians" is this messenger of God, who will lend a voice to their expression at this critical moment!