Where were you when Twitter went down?

When we turn to our computers or fancy blinky gadgets for our hourly news streams, one of those sources is Twitter. And when Twitter goes down because of a supposed DDOS attack against one politically-vocal account in Georgia, social networks everywhere call for all hands on deck. 45 million pairs of thumbs take their day of rest. Work productivity swells. NFL coaches desist in fining their players. Chuck Norris hashtags stand still. Aplusk drops off the trail.

Amid Twitter humor videos and speculation ad nauseum surrounding the criminal hackers and "Cyxymu," the social network outage affecting Facebook, LiveJournal, and the Google umbrella of sites may give other news sources a fighting chance for your eyes and ears. Maybe we'll even pick up a newspaper.

All Twitter jokes aside, Cyxymu took a risk in identifying himself as Georgy, a 34-year-old economics lecturer and critic of Moscovian politics. Approaching the one-year anniversary of the Caucasus region dispute, this is another reminder that social network shutdowns and political silencing are forming a partnership.