Stories about Technology from October, 2011
Pakistan: Bloggers Dismayed at Google Adsense Ban
A recent ban on Google Adsense accounts has left many Pakistani bloggers dismayed. Scores of genuine publishers have fallen prey in a move aimed for crackdown on fraudulent websites and blogs. Sana Saleem reports.
Azerbaijan: Twitter Diplomacy
The British Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, has announced that newly arrived Ambassador Peter Bateman will take questions via Twitter on Thursday 27th October.
Photos: Flash Mob Encouraging Youth to Vote, South Korea
South Korean citizen media Wiki Tree posted [ko] a video and photos of flash mob encouraging South Korean young voters to participate in the coming election on October 26, 2011.
Egypt: Catch the Former Regime Remnants
Last April, an Egyptian court ordered the dissolution of the political organization that ruled the nation for decades. Its members are however reinventing themselves, joining the lists of candidates vying for November's parliamentary elections. See how netizens have joined hands to expose them.
Cuba: Recounting Repression
Pedazos de La Isla posts two accounts of Cuban dissidents being beaten and detained, allegedly “just for trying to travel within their own country” and “for demonstrating peacefully”.
Trinidad & Tobago: Making Anya the Fan Favourite
The deadline for voting for the Project Runway Fan Favourite is this Wednesday, October 26, at midnight – and Trinidad Carnival Diary is drumming up support for local designer Anya Ayoung-Chee in this post, complete with instructions as to how to upload tweets in bulk.
Russia: Government to Launch Content Monitoring in December 2011
Roskomnadzor, Russian telecommunications control body, will launch content monitoring system in December 2011, Kommersant.ru reports [ru]. The system ordered in March, 2011 (see GV analysis here) is now in pre-release condition. Its documented abilities allow the monitoring of up to 5 mln keywords published at the websites registered as online mass media...
Japan: Steve Jobs, Black Turtlenecks and Uniforms
The Tofugu blog looks at school and work uniforms in Japan to explain why they're important, in Japan, Steve Jobs, and the Infamous Black Turtleneck.
Russia: Cursing Policeman Fired After YouTube Video Leak
Russian policeman who has been caught on camera [ru] cursing at his colleagues was fired after the video became public, corrupcia.net reported [ru]. Company commander of Omsk traffic police was accusing other policemen of producing not enough violation protocols. The case highlighted the so-called “sticks” system, in which police evaluation is based...
Tunisia: A Crowdmap to Monitor the Elections
The Independent Tunisian electoral commission has set up a crowdmap to monitor the voting process in Tunisia, in French and Arabic. Citizens are encouraged to report irregularities they may witness during the October 23 constituent elections. The crowdmap is also accessible from the official homepage of the electoral commission.
Moldova, Russia: Controversial Russian Blogger Escapes Prosecution in Moldova
Russian blogger Eduard Bagirov was detained in Chisinau, Moldova, this June and charged with organizing the April 2009 post-election riots there. He was released and placed under house arrest but soon escaped to Russia. While some Russian bloggers question Bagirov's motives and integrity, many seem to trust him.
Trinidad & Tobago: Tweeting for Anya
Globewriter attended the Project Runway party yesterday evening, which Trinidadian designer and finalist Anya Ayoung-Chee attended via Skype.
Tanzania: Priorities for Open Government in Tanzania
Daraja discusses the decision by the Tanzanian government to joining the Open Government Partnership: “So, an open-data platform for Tanzanian government data is option 1. But with only around 2% of Tanzanians online, this option could be described as elitist. It would help researchers, academics, journalists, students and activists, but...
Ecuador: International Free Culture Congress Held in Quito
Juan Arellano has published two Storify posts with tweets covering the first [es] and second [es] days of the International Free Culture Congress [es] held in Quito, Ecuador on October 17 and 18, 2011.
Trinidad & Tobago: Project Runway’s Social Media Queen
The season finale for Lifetime network's hit reality show, Project Runway, is almost here and Trinidad and Tobago’s Anya Ayoung-Chee, a designer who has made it into the top five, has a shot at winning this season's coveted prize. Caribbean netizens rally around her.
Italy: October 15 Protest Turns Violent in Rome
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide. Inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York and by the Spanish “Indignados”, citizens in 951 cities and 82 countries across the world took to the streets on October 15, 2011, to protest against the stranglehold on the...
India: ZaraBol – The Micro-Blogging Site
Anupam Saxena at Medianama reviews ZaraBol, the new Micro-Blogging site launched by Rediff.
Japan: We're Losing to Apple, and Here's Why
Blogger Isseki Nagae considers the sorry state of the Japanese personal electronics industry in light of the recent success of Apple in Japan. Through the words of Steve Jobs, Nagae argues that Japanese manufacturers pay too much attention to the views of the average user rather than developing new ideas.
Trinidad & Tobago: Children & the Internet
In the wake of a controversy in which a teacher was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with a student [the situation came to light because of photos he posted online], blogger Mark Lyndersay posts an interview in which he discusses ways in which parents can help manage children's use...
Russia: Newspaper Leaks Plans to Discredit Anti-Corruption Blogger
“United Russia” had ordered a massive plan (worth of ~320,000 US dollars) to discredit anti-corruption blogger Alexey Navalny, Novaya Gazeta writes [ru]. The campaign might include compromising footage with Navalny's look-alike involved in some illegal and/or immoral activities.
Russia: Photoblogger Launches New Citizen Media Agency
Ilya Varlamov, popular photoblogger, officially launches [ru] Ridus.ru, news agency dedicated to the citizen media in Russia. Its ‘special projects’ section [ru] tells about new and already existing civil society movements that deal with environmental issues, traffic violations, illegal development in the historic parts of the cities, freedom of photography...