Stories about Technology from October, 2009
Georgia: New Media Forum assessed, bloggers interviewed
Following the recent New Media Forum, an event staged in Tbilisi, Georgia, comes coverage in the local press. Although lagging behind its neighbors in the South Caucasus, interest in the online world is increasing and there are signs that new media will develop considerably in 2010.
Trinidad & Tobago: 350 Action
“Trinidad and Tobago is a wealthy small island developing nation rich in oil and natural gas. But we are also seeing the damaging effects of aggressive industrialisation on our islands. This is an opportunity for women’s voices to be heard”: Attillah Springer is getting involved in 350's climate action tomorrow.
Online Tools to Monitor Climate Change
Leading up to the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) in December 2009, here is a sample of online tools to monitor climate change.
Pakistan: A Dissenting Voice On War Against Terror
Liaquat Ali Khan at Pak Tea House opines: “under coercion, Pakistan has started a civil war that will consume its economy, national security, and tear apart its social fabric. [..] It is not yet too late for Pakistan to return from the precipice of national suicide. Pakistan must take a...
China: Fanfou is coming back?
Fanfou is a micro-blogging tool similar to twitter which has been closed down for more than 100 days in China. However, many still have hope that it will be back. Chinageeks translated a blog post by He Caitou discussing fanfou users’ loyalty towards the platform.
Mexico: The Internet as a Necessity, not a Luxury
An increase in taxes was approved by the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, including an special tax for Internet and cable services prompting online protests saying that the Internet is a necessity, and not a luxury.
Russia: Kindle
Profy reports on Amazon Kindle's “international expansion”: “This decision is obviously good at least because I personally don’t like any limitations and opening yet another window to the huge Russian market is hopefully a wise decision for Amazon. […] At the same time I myself suspect that the vast majority...
Trinidad & Tobago: Truth or Dare
“We are a society that publicly cries corruption but privately upload mega-project photos on Flickr with misguided pride”: This Beach Called Life uncovers “the hidden truth” about Trinidad and Tobago.
Namibia: Introducing Namibia election bloggers
Namibia will hold presidential and national assembly elections on 27 and 28 November 2009. A number of Namibian journalists will use blogs to report and monitor the elections. We are introducing these new election bloggers to you.
Saudi Arabia: Where Plagiarism is a Crime
Saudi bloggers are rallying to the support of a fellow blogger who claims that a newspaper had lifted photographs and copy from his blog without permission.
Cuba: Internet & Freedom
Generation Y makes a call for “freedom for Cuba” and thinks that the Internet is the way: “It occurs to me to use kilobytes, to take advantage of the cutting edge of a word that is also sharp and makes precepts grow more durable than the machete.”
Jamaica: Publishing in the Internet Age
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp gets thinking “about publishing, the Internet, and Caribbean writers.”
Pakistan: Routable GPS Map Available For Free
Teeth Maestro informs that “independent efforts by a group of volunteers have finally paid off to present a fully routable GPS map for Karachi (& Pakistan) available FREE to the general public.”
Cuba: Real-Time Aggregator Cubanoscope
Cubanoscope is a real-time news aggregator that publishes links to online newspapers, but also videos, tweets, and blogs about Cuba. The site was presented by David Chapet of Bloggers Cuba [es].
Trinidad & Tobago: Open Content
“In Trinidad and Tobago…copyright culture is confused. Fortunately, most people who are creating content on the Internet from Trinidad and Tobago seem to at least have a clue about how copyright works. But even with that,” says KnowTnT.com, “a lot of people don't realize the power of open content.”
China: Does Internet matter?
Li Huafang discusses the relation between the Internet and politics with reference to Yang Guobin's paper, the Internet and Civil Society in China: a preliminary assessment, and Hu Yong's book, the Rising Cacophony: Personal expression and Public Discussion in the Internet Age.
Russia: Election Fraud and Blogging
Reports of vote-rigging in the local elections, which took place in 75 of Russia’s 83 regions on Oct. 11, spurred protests by citizens and politicians in Moscow - and quite an outrage among some of the country's bloggers.
Hungary: “Downtown Smog Reducing Station”
Architects, artists, biologists and technicians worked together in downtown Budapest to show that a small plantation of algae could contribute to improving our environment.
Egypt: Campaign Against Abusive Publishers
An Egyptian blogger and author has had it with dealing with unscrupulous publishers and is taking the initiative to make the voices of authors not given a chance a a sounding board. Check out what Marwa Rakha is up to and how successful her initiative is.
Japan: Avatars come to life in the anime Summer Wars
Against the background of the Japanese countryside, feel good sentiments and an extraordinary virtual world are featured in Summer Wars (サマーウォーズSama wozu) [ja], the new animated movie by director Mamoru Hosoda [en]. The anime tells the story of Kenji, an awkward teenage math genius who finds himself involved in an...
Trinidad & Tobago: Poor Coverage
An incident at Beetham Gardens in Port of Spain causes KnowProSE.com to take a look at the roles of both mainstream and new media: “Here's what I got from the media: some stones thrown, some gunshots, some tires lit…in what is categorized as ‘almost a riot’. From the social media,...
