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Twitter Travel: Now Saving You From Prison

As if we need to hype Twitter any more than we already do, it's now the tool of choice for getting out of prison in Egypt.

Journalist and grad student James Karl Buck was detained by the Egyptian police along with his translator and friend Mohammed Salah Ahmed Maree. Buck sent out a one-word tweet and soon enough his network of followers contacted his university and the US Embassy. He was sprung a few hours later.

Maree is still being held incommunicado, and Buck has dedicated his personal website to getting him released. The sort-of fortunate tech-happy outcome aside, the saga is a good reminder of why the State Department recommends avoiding public demonstrations in Egypt.

Related Stories:
· Twitter Saves Man from Egyptian Justice [Techcrunch]
· State Department Info on Egypt [Official Site]
· James Buck [Twitter]