Stories about Technology from April, 2010
Pakistan: First E-Village Starts Operation
Babar Bhatti informs that the first “E-Village” has been launched in Pakistan: “the village of Mira Bagwal has been wired with 2 MB Broad Band internet connection and provided access to medical professionals.”
India: Twittering Minister Forced To Resign
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Shashi Tharoor was forced to resign from his post over allegations of corruption and misuse of office. He gained popularity and at the same time was often subject to controversy because of his open views on state affairs in his Twitter account (followed by over 738000 people).
Barbados: Cyberbullying
Barbados’ Keltruth Corp. is “deeply saddened by the personal attacks made on Johan Bjerkhamn after the most tragic death of his son” and advocates for a cessation of the cyberbullying.
Russia: Medvedev Twitter Accounts
Profy writes about the soon-to-be-launched official Twitter account of the Russian president – and the recently suspended fake one: “The thing is that this Twitter account misbehaved on the day of last week’s terrorist bombings in Moscow: a comment was published that looked very much like the first official comment...
Cuba: Reporting via Twitter
“It is true that we broadcast blindly and that we cannot read our readers’ replies or references, but at least we are reporting on the Island in 140 character fragments”: Generation Y says that the Cuban authorities “haven’t noticed that the technologies have turned every citizen into his or her...
Guatemala: Live Streaming Video of Central American Conference
The citizen media site HablaGuate [es] is currently live streaming the Conference Post Conflict: Social and Economic Challenges in Central America currently being held in Guatemala City.
Russia: Authorities Inspect Major Social Network
Russia authorities started inspection of the country's major social network Vkontakte.ru, rbcdaily.ru reported. The authorities claim the social network became popular with neo-Nazi, xenophobic and extremist groups. But the inspection can also be an attempt to extract users’ private data.
Russia: Internet Development in Regions
Yandex.ru published report [RUS, .pdf] on Internet development in Russian regions. Report concludes that the drastic increase in Internet penetration during 2009 was in Russian regions. The average speed of the Internet there is 1,100 kbs. The most active bloggers are in the Far East.
Malawi: Wedding of Year, Flag Changes and Media Suppression
In what some describe as the wedding of the year, Malawi’s President Dr Bingu wa Mutharika wed his former cabinet minister Callista Chapola Chimombo Saturday April 17, 2010. The officiation took place at Civo Stadium, an open place contrary to Roman Catholic procedure. Over 20 heads of states and governments were among the 4,500 delegates to the ceremony.
Paraguay: Spreading the Guaraní Language Through Blogging
In Paraguay, where 88% of the population speaks the indigenous language of Guaraní, there were no blogs in this native tongue, until blogger and journalist Mirta Martínez decided to begin writing in Guaraní as a way to promote the use of the language.
Japan: Blogosphere Reactions to the Nikkei Ban on Links
Growing up in a salaryman household in Japan, one assumes that in the future, one will start wearing a tie, drink coffee, and read the Nikkei. And that would mean that you're all grown up! Admittedly, this is a gross exaggeration but hopefully it conveys the tone of the Nikkei's...
Bangladesh: Let Language Be Free
The Bangla blogosphere and Bangladeshi Facebook users are angry with protests as 'Avro', a freeware and one of the popular and widely used Bangla input systems, was accused as a pirated version of another proprietary Bangla input system 'Bijoy' and the Avro team was mentioned as hackers.
Brazil: Blogging Against ACTA
Brazilian cyber-activist João Carlos Caribé calls on bloggers [pt] for a mass blogging against the ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). According to the EFF, the ACTA text will be made public this Wednesday, April 21.
Nicaragua: The Uses of Twitter
Juan Ortega is launching a survey to examine how Nicaraguans use Twitter [es].
Caucasus: Social Innovation Camp
Although Internet penetration remains low in the South Caucasus, all indications are that new and social media has an increasingly important role to play in the area of democratization and activism. With that in mind, the first Social Innovation Camp in the region took place in Tbilisi, Georgia on 8-10 April.
India: Gay Blogs And Twitter Accounts
Deepti Lamba at Desicritics highlights some Indian gay blogs and twitter accounts.
Sri Lanka: Heading For An Internet Dark Age?
“Given the bent of the Defence Secretary, post-war Sri Lanka is set to head into an Internet dark age,” comments Sanjana Hattotuwa while discussing about the inclination of the Sri Lankan government on internet censorship.
GITChina
Girl in Tech China will be launched in May 8, 2010.
Cameroon: E-Government for Southern Nations
Hervé Djia reflects on how governments could use information technology to simplify a multitude of administrative procedures and improve public services (fr).
Poland: Social Network Criticized for ‘Black Ribbon’ Gifting Option
Sylwia Presley translates online reactions to a new gifting option that a popular Polish social network has introduced this week: black ribbons.
Bangladesh: Best Weblog Bengali At The BOBs
Ali Mahmed (Shuvo) won the best weblog Bengali award at the BOBs – Deutsche Welle Best Of The Blogs Award.
