Twitter responds... And we learn a few lessons

Tomas Bilbao at The Havana Note reports that Twitter has responded saying that a technical glitch (not the Cuban censors) is responsible for the loss of sms Twitter service in Cuba.  They are working to restore service now or advise customers the new number they have to use to Tweet in the future.

However, this brief episode tells us a few interesting things:

First, it indicates that when Yoani talks or tweets, people (including the Cuban government and the executives at Twitter) listen.

Second, the long and immediate response from the Cuban government indicates that they are very sensitive to news, PR, and critical claims about access and use of ICT and social networking in Cuba.

Third, while we continue to "kick the darkness (in Cuba) 'till it bleeds daylight" - i.e., demand transparent freedom of expression and assembly whether in the streets or on the net, we can't forget that our own counterproductive, "torpe y anacronico" embargo (in the memorable words of la flaca) and travel restrictions are responsible for part of Cuba's continued isolation from the rest of the world...

...Not to mention constituting, as always, a convenient whipping boy whenever the Cuban government needs a scapegoat for its own desire to control the free flow of information and communications.