Update December 17, 2011: the situation heats up yet again in Egypt. Here's how it all started..

Susan notes February 6, 2011: 26-year-old Egyptian activist and prolific vlogger Asmaa Mafhouz was one of the main instigators of the Egyptian part of the Arab Spring. This is her account of what led up to the events of January 25, 2010, and beyond. Watch the vlog that set the nation on fire here.

“I hadn't thought about it,” said award-winning science writer Jessa Gamble.

We sat side-by-side in the theater at Ted Global 2010 in Oxford, UK, chatting as we waited for the next in a lineup of stellar speakers (of which 29% were women), at one of the world's premier conferences (TED basics here: TED 101 (Or TED For Dummies)).

Former journalist turned online media powerhouse, Sue Gardner is the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.

Before joining the Wikimedia Foundation, she ran CBC.CA, the website for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, one of Canada’s most prominent and best-loved cultural institutions (and one of my personal favorites).

I was especially interested in Gardner's talk as I am a HUGE fan and regular supporter of Wikipedia, without which Amazing Women Rock would not be the site it is today.

In this informal interview, Gardner explains how Wikipedia depends on the generosity of "strangers" to stay afloat: