What If Your REAL Name Was "Facebook?"

While American parents (President Obama and his Better Half, First Lady Obama in particular) worry about their kids being on Facebook, Egyptian parents are actually naming their children “Facebook” to pay homage to the events surrounding the #Jan25 revolution.

According to Al-Ahram (one of the more popular newspapers in Egypt) a twenty-something Egyptian man has named his first born daughter “Facebook” in tribute to the role the social media service played in organizing the protests in Tahrir Square, and the surrounding areas.

Translation:

A New Day

Man Names His Newborn Girl Facebook

A young man in his twenties wanted to express his gratitude about the victories the youth of 25th of January have achieved and chose to express it in the form of naming his firstborn girl “Facebook” Jamal Ibrahim (his name.) The girl’s family, friends, and neighbors in the Ibrahimya region gathered around the new born to express their continuing support for the revolution that started on Facebook. “Facebook” received many gifts from the youth who were overjoyed by her arrival and the new name. A name [Facebook] that shocked the entire world.

There are approximately five million Facebook users in Egypt. That totals more than any other country in the Middle East/North Africa region. The Facebook organization has reported an increase in Egyptian users in the past month, with 32,000 Facebook groups and 14,000 pages created in the two weeks after January 25th.

Facebook seems to be transforming into something more than a Social Network, it seems to be the representation of social liberation and expression. You really need proof? How about the main picture for this article, which to some might just look like some random graffiti, but in Cairo, it means much more. Imagine our ancestors spray painting a red line through the name "TOBY" at Grand Central Station or something like that. Or how about Google MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Marketing Executive Wael Ghonim, himself personally expressing his gratitude to Mark Zuckerberg on CNN. Yeah, I said Google and yeah, I said CNN.

The temporary military government has even begun using Facebook to reach out to the Egyptian youth, that's right on Facebook [CHECK THIS OUT].

Who would have thought Facebook would have been capable of this? I mean, I knew there was power in words...that's why we started SCREAMATME.com...but this? This is something new, and honestly, we should be afraid. We should be proud. We should feel empowered. And we should embrace the movement. Because that is exactly what the Internet and social networking has become. Are you ready to move with it?

*logs off, subscribes to the Philadelphia Inquirer*

SCREAM @ ME!!!