Stories about Technology from February, 2008
Taiwan: Photo Talks
A new website called veryXD is becoming very popular in Taiwan. Visitors are encourage to write caption for the photos and share with others.
Argentina: Bariloche Offline
The city of Bariloche, Argentina was disconnected from the internet for two days. That is what happens, “when the only monopolistic internet provider is down. There is no contigency plan,” writes Fabio.com.ar [es]
Morocco: No Justice for Fouad Mourtada
Is creating a Facebook profile of a famous entity a crime? Although it's been done to nearly every major celebrity (a quick search for "George W. Bush" garners over 500 results), but when Fouad Mourtada chose to mimic Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, he was committing a serious crime.
Angola: A new web forum
Angola Haria [pt] has created a new discussion forum for Angolans, a place where the blog's readers may write a simple message, share memories or promote healthy discussions.
Pakistan: Why is YouTube blocked?
YouTube appears to be blocked in Pakistan, All Things Pakistan points out that this may have a political rather than a “cultural” reason – given that a number of videos of election rigging were posted.
Mexico: AOL to Return
Vivir México [es] writes about America Online's (AOL) return to Mexico trying to become major player in that country's internet services. However, it won't be as internet providers or connections, rather through its portal.
Inmates use blogs to start a reform of society
This week we are introduced to another of the Rising Voices second round grantees, “Prison Diaries”, based in Jamaica. It will use citizen media tools like blogs, video and podcasts to share the daily journals of inmates, allowing all Jamaicans to learn about the realities of Jamaica’s overcrowded prison system with the hope that this will counteract the false ideas of veneration of gang leaders implanted by the media.
Jordan: Wikipedia and Prophet Muhammad
Another storm is brewing in the Arab world regarding the depiction of Prophet Muhammed in drawings after Wikipedia refused the demands of more than 180,000 people who called for the illustrations to be removed. Here's the latest buzz from the Middle East.
Africa: Interrogating the blogosphere
Koluki interrogates the blogosphere by looking at the Globl Voices Online coverage of “Portuguese-speaking African countries”: “The most striking observation from this graph is that OC appears not only, as we have seen before, as the “undisputed champion” of GVO reporting about the “Angolan blogosphere”, but also as the “champion”...
Japan: Advertisers abandon print, move online
Japanese blogger and journalist Fujishiro Hiroyuki at Gatonews summarizes results [ja] from a report [ja] issued by Japan's largest on ad agency Dentsu on advertising sales in Japan over the year 2007. The figures indicate a shift away from newspapers and magazines and toward online media: compared to figures from...
Taiwan: Release Netizen!
The Hong Kong sexy photo gate effect has extended to Taiwan. Police has arrested a netizen who shared photos with others under local obscenity censorship law. Portnoy pointed out that the police has no power to define the nature of the photos, and Taiwanese has the right to enjoy pleasure....
Egypt: Three Years Blogging
Egyptian Tarek Amr commemorates his third year as a blogger was an amazing insight into the Egyptian blogosphere and his own journey blogging.
Jordan: Linux Disaster
“I did a silly thing and decided to switch to Linux today. My laptop is no longer functional, it talks in strange tongues now and will not do anything. I will be back when my life is a little less ruined,” writes TololyJ, from Jordan.
Russia: Volga Cars
History of Volga cars – at Windows to Russia!
Morocco: Bloggers Rally Behind Fouad Mourtada
In Morocco, francophone bloggers rally behind Fouad Mourtada, jailed for posting a Facebook profile that spoofed a member of the Moroccan royal family. Mourtada's arrest reveals the tensions between modern Morocco and Morocco of the Middle Ages, they write, while still holding out hope for an acquittal.
Sudan/Uganda: African Rebels on YouTube
Chris Blattman writes about African rebels on YouTube: “YouTube is turning into a surprising source of archival videos on rebels and rebel leaders. Tim Allen, a friend and anthropologist at LSE, shares with me his collection of links to short films and reports on the wars in Sudan and Uganda.”
Bermuda: Open Government
“Back in November, Bermuda was fixated on our little race war, I mean election, so it’s understandable that the release of Barack Obama’s Technology platform did not get much attention”: Vexed Bermoothes thinks it's worth a read, adding: “We have no vision for open government. Obama is talking about doing...
Africa: The Grassroots Reporting Project
Afrigadget has launched a new project, The Grassroots Reporting Project: “A combination of mobile phones and computers will be assigned to individuals in 10 African countries for the purpose of getting more on-the-ground reporting of stories of African ingenuity to the world. An AfriGadget editor will be in charge of...
Ghana/Kenya: The bamboo Bike Project
AfriGadget writes a story about bamboo bikes in Ghana and Kenya: “The Bamboo Bike, an endeavour that aims at building bicycles in a sustainable fashion using bamboo as the primary construction material, is a joint project run by Craig Calfree of Calfree Design, a high tech bicycle design firm based...
Paraguay: Ex-Pat Bloggers Share New Experiences
The way foreigners see Paraguay, what, and how they feel when they first arrive to Paraguay can be quite an interesting subject. Some stay for a short time as a tourist, while others stay for a couple of years, and even some choose to live there permanently. For many, these experiences are shared with family members back home or with others within the ex-pat community in Paraguay through their blogs.
Poland: U.S. Satellite Fears
A discussion of whether or not Poland is “in danger from exploding US spy satellite” – over at the beatroot.
