Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents

Reporters Without Borders has posted a guide to blogging for in politically repressive regimes (a.k.a. most of the known world). It's the thought that counts...

Bloggers need to be anonymous when they are putting out information that risks their safety. The cyber-police are watching and have become expert at tracking down “troublemakers.” ...This advice is of course not for those (terrorists, racketeers or pedophiles) who use the Internet to commit crimes.

So all you terrorists, racketeers, and pedophiles please stop reading now.

The handbook is simply to help bloggers encountering opposition because of what they write to maintain their freedom of expression. However, the main problem for a blogger, even under a repressive regime, isn’t security. It’s about getting the blog known, finding an audience.

You read that right. The main problem for bloggers isn't being hauled out of bed in the middle of the night, being tortured, or being executed without trial, it's building an audience of people who like to read about the suffering of others when not logged into The World of Warcraft or Second Life.

Once you have an audience, you can earn lots of money by serving contextual ads for a wide variety of dissident-friendly gadgets like encrypted phones and minature cameras. An audience also brings notoriety, which ensures that you'll get a show trial rather than being disappeared. And that's where ad dollars can help -- bribes are the key to surviving in prison.

Start your dissident blog today at Yahoo 360.