Microsoft has blocked access to Windows live messenger (i.e. Hotmail webmail and MSN chat) to people living in Iran, Syria, Sudan, Cuba and North Korea. The reason is that the company suddenly realised that it doesn't do business with countries sanctioned by the U.S. At the same time, Iran blocked Facebook ahead of the presidential elections because a candidate is using it successfully for his campaign.

Microsoft's decision doesn't mean that people in those countries can't only communicate over IM. It means they can't also access their email including their archived messages.

Ok, I understand that Iran did this because it lacks confidence. But why did Microsoft do this now?

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There are 100 million people around the world using Facebook. This number is from the official Facebook blog. They don't mention the number of active users. But it is safe to say that they are a lot.

I will describe an evil idea to control the decisions of a great number people that doesn't involve any intrusion on their privacy. They will be oblivious to this interference.

It is wrong to think that following your friends online will introduce you to new ideas, opportunities and information. However, if you spend the same amount of time reading other people ideas but following a certain topic that interest you. This will probably expose you to more information, viewpoints, ideas, etc..

Curiosity killed the cat!

I don't know were did the above proverb come from. But I know how curiosity came to exist. It could be defined as the motivation to explore or examine. Curiosity is a hard wired innate behavior in many animals including invertebrates like fish. It is an instinct that probably increases our chances of survival. Simply by increasing our chances of getting food and/or sex. It is also important for learning and