Facebook is the number one social networking site throughout the world. This is mostly due to its ever expanding languages that the social networking site comes with. Facebook now comes with over 100 languages. The Facebook staff claims they will not stop there, they want to try and reach ever corner of the Earth.
What does this have to do with Iraq? For a long time Facebook did not come with Arabic, the most used language in Iraq. Arabic was not an easy language to translate, claims Jessica Lee a writer for www.insidefacebook.com. Lee goes on to state:
"What’s interesting about this particular translation project is the linguistic challenge of translating an English site into langauges, like Arabic, that read right to left, that are more gender-based, and that have different dialects that are constantly changing."
Facebook has solved this problem by using a system that detects certain words that the used is typing to pick the correct gender.
The types of reasons that people in Iraq use Facebook range from just meeting people, to keeping in touch with someone, to forming groups. Tim Arango, a writer for the New York Times reports:
"A common sentiment from nearly three dozen interviews with young Iraqis around the country recently is a persistent disenchantment with both their political leaders and the way democracy has played out here. “The youth is the excluded class in the Iraqi community,” said Swash Ahmed, a 19-year-old law student in Kirkuk. 'So they’ve started to unify through Facebook or the Internet or through demonstrations and evenings in cafes, symposiums and in universities. But they don’t have power.'"
Just like any new technology, the youth of that nation or even the world seem to use it and pick it up first. This is no different in Iraq. The only difference between the youth of Iraq and the rest of the world is that they are forming groups and meetings against the government. Of course this is not allowed in many other countries because of a strict government. Since the help of the United States in Iraq, they are helped in forming groups and meetings.
As for other social networks in Iraq, there are not to many to mention. Myspace has played a big role with the military of both Iraq and United States forces. Facebook has been more of an all around social network. Myspace has also been in the process of being blocked from military computers. "Soldiers serving in Iraq are disappointed and annoyed by the military’s recent move to block MySpace on official Defense computers, but also said that they understand the reasons behind the move," a quote by Leo Shane a writer for www.stripes.com.
There is a huge difference between Facebook and Myspace. Facebook is more of a place to talk and keep in touch with other family or friends, while myspace is more of a place for entertainment like music, videos, ect.