Stories about Technology from April, 2015
A Chilean Real-Time Video App Launches at the Boston Marathon
The application RhinoBirdTV, developed by the Chilean Felipe Heusser, who founded the NGO Ciudadano Inteligente, allows users to share video experiences in real time. The makers of RhinoBirdTV hope their product will help facilitate a more democratic world by breaking down boundaries and connecting people through simple-to-distribute live videos. RhinoBirdTV chose to launch its Android version on...
The Curious Chronology of Russian Twitter Bots
Multiple Twitter accounts were created on the same day, sometimes within hours of each other. This trend, typical for automated bot networks, was evident throughout Alexander's pro-Kremlin bot sample.
Social Media Becomes a Lifeline in the Nepal Earthquake Aftermath
A spontaneous global social network is now building data collection to provide key support to people back in Nepal and are calling for action.
Colombia's Festival on the Value of Data in Development
The Cartagena Data Festival has just wrapped up in Cartagena, Colombia. The festival is an international event committed to discussing data deployment for human development and related topics, like open data, data journalism, big data, and other analysis tools. The festival, which ran from April 20 to April 22 and took place in...
Protecting Personal Data in Argentina Is a Work in Progress
In an article for online magazine Digital Rights: Latin America & The Caribbean, No.21, Argentinean lawyer Valeria Milanés explains that even though the United States is a world leader in data processing, it does not have legislation for the protection of personal data. The US is also considered to have “an inadequate level of protection...
How Blogging is Held Hostage by Ethiopian Politics
"Why is there just a single—and poorly functioning—Internet service provider for Ethiopia’s 90 million people? We know better than to ask this of public officials."
Tanzania's Cyber Crime Bill Gives More Power to Police, Less to People
Leading opponents of the legislation from civil society say they will take the government to court if the president signs the bill into law.
Caracas #SmartCityHack Proposes Solutions to People's Problems
The Venezuelan edition of the Hackathon Smart Cities took place in Caracas from 6 to 8 March, 2015. Don't you know what a hackathon is? If so, read this post! The #SmartCityHack event was simultaneously organized in 27 cities by Global Datafest. “@forummedia: 5historias de querer es poder detrás del...
Finally, a Mobile App for Geolocated News in Latin America
FACTICO is the first mobile media designed in Latin America to geolocate information. But, what is app all about? FACTICO es la aplicación de noticias e información más innovadora y atractiva de América Latina. Nuestras notas son compactas y fáciles de leer, y todos nuestros contenidos están georreferenciados. La información más importante del...
Iran's Minister of ICT Suggests Instagram Will Not Be (Completely) Blocked Until an Alternative Is Found
Iran's leading reformist newspaper, Shargh, ran an article this past Sunday entitled: “The promises of the Minister of ICT to clear the problems of mobile social media.” The focus of Iran's Minister of Information and Communication Technology Mahmoud Vaezi was the filtering status of popular mobile applications, with a particular...
Voting Underway in Kenya Blog Awards 2015
The voting phase of the Kenyan Blog Awards is ongoing and will continue until April 30, 2015: The Kenyan Blog Awards seeks to reward bloggers that post on a regular basis, have great and useful content, are creative and innovative. These awards represent BAKE’s efforts in the promotion of quality...
How a Celebrity's Facebook Check-In Brought Down a Brigade in Taiwan
After the photos of the unauthorized tour to Apache helicopters AH-64E were posted on Facebook, 18 militant officials were disciplined.
Are Zuckerberg and Internet.org Genuinely Good for Panama?
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took advantage of his invitation to attend the Summit of the Americas in Panama City and met with his CEO counterparts in the region to promote Internet.org, a partnership he initiated between big business, non-profit organizations, and communities, the goal of which is to connect more...
Are Google and eBay Bowing to the Kremlin's Data Localization Demands?
Google and eBay may be caving to Russia's data localization law, a move that would leave users even more vulnerable to state surveillance than they are today.
KaiKai News Trains Young Sierra Leoneans to Make Documentaries
KaiKai News empowers young Sierra Leoneans with documentary-making skills.
Is Global Voices Blocked in Iran? Yes and No.
Globalvoicesonline.org is now blocked in Iran. But you can outsmart these Internet filters and access our site by adding "https://" to the beginning of the URL. What's up with that?
Are the World's Biggest Internet Companies Under the Turkish President's Thumb?
Turkey's ruling party is becoming accustomed to getting its way more often than not in its long-running war on social media users.
Turkey Blocks Twitter, YouTube, Scores of Websites After Prosecutor’s Killing
After photos of public prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz with a gun pointed to his head began circulating on Twitter, hundreds of news sites and social networks were blocked.
Meet Mexico's Crowdfunding Campaign Against Censorship and Bots
A developer behind the crowdfunding project says the proposed software "would have the ability to analyze millions of messages and could also measure various parameters such as geographical origin."
In Bangladesh, a Mobile App Provides a Platform Where Women Can Feel Free to Talk
Maya provides a platform where women can freely speak about their emotional, medical, legal, and social needs anonymously, without being judged.
In Conflict with China's Internet Security Regulator, Chinese Techies Side with Google, Mozilla
Chinese social media users are openly expressing support for the decision of both Google and Mozilla to revoke security certificates issued by China's Internet Network Information Center.
