· May, 2008

Stories about Technology from May, 2008

Paraguay: First Actions for Lugo

  20 May 2008

Edgar Ruiz Diaz of Las Preguntas de Venerando [es] provides his thoughts on the first steps that Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo should take upon taking office, such as lowering his own salary, as well as of senators and deputies.

Brazil: Investigating bloggers motivations

  19 May 2008

Raquel Recuero [pt] is investigating the Brazilian blogosphere to assert “the motivations that people have to “pass on” any particular piece of information and how those motivations influence the way in which the social network “echoes” the same information”.

Egypt: Sad for Hadeel

Zeinobia, from Egypt, mourns the death of Saudi blogger Hadeel and asks: “I do not know why I feel sad. Is it because Hadeel was young like me , she had just celebrated her 25th Birthday ?? !! Or because she is a blogger like [me] ?? Or because she...

Bahrain: Gender Challenged!!

“You would think that it would be relatively easy for the CIO, who is entrusted to keep more than we like of our private and very personal information, that they would know the gender of a person whom they issue the mandatory Central Population Register (CPR) card, wouldn’t you?” asks...

Arabeyes: Mourning for Hadeel

Saudi blogger Hadeel El Hadeef passed away exactly a month after her 25th birthday. Bloggers from around the region come together to mourn the death and celebrate the life of the blogger, whose contributions and humanity will continue to remain a living legacy on the world wide web.

Korea: The birth of the New Political Generation Online

  19 May 2008

Since the content of the US-Korea Beef Trade agreement was publicized in Korean society, many things have happened. Unexpected scenes of teenage students’ active participation in candlelight vigils against the trade and policies of the current government and their continual activities (not just temporary participation) have been ongoing. Even though...

Jordan: Hackers Eyes on Palestinian Blogs

It's funny how every time I write about Palestine, I get a slew of hack attempts ranging from the most primitive to the most complicated scary ones. I won't get into much details, but I've been noticing a huge amount of unnatural activity,” writes Jordanian blogger Qwaider.

Blogger of the Week: Jillian York

Today's Blogger of the Week celebrates the work of Jillian C York, our Morocco author, and a regular contributor to Voices without Votes. A freelance writer, blogger, and author of a guidebook to Morocco, Jillian currently lives in Boston, US, after spending two memorable years in Meknes, Morocco.

Iraq: BlogIraq is Dead

I am sad to report the death of Ahmed the writer of the blog BlogIraq who was murdered in the Al-Mansour district of Baghdad. May he rest in peace. Also, waiting for war to come in Mosul. And find out which world leader one young Iraqi looks to as a role model for the country.

Brazil: Making your blog speak tongues

  17 May 2008

Tiago Dória [pt] tips bloggers about Der Mundo, a multilingual publishing tool for blogs whose “idea is to follow a hybrid model in which machine and the readers themselves translate”. The Brazilian blogger remarks that besides culture differences, the language barrier is still a conversation stopper in the web.

Brazil: Brazilian Network of Virtual Memory

  17 May 2008

Marcos Palacios [pt] brings the news of a project that aims to automate and make available online collections of all national institutions which have a visual or textual heritage. “The Brazilian Network of Virtual Memory is a project that concerns all of us. And it depends on our support and...

China: Dealing with Negative Comments

  17 May 2008

China Digital Times has a post on how the Chinese police are using their own forum participants and blog comment makers  to deal with online negative comments. (via Imagethief)

Egypt: Torture for Bloggers and Activists

Egyptian bloggers, cyberactivists and activists on the ground continue to pay the price for speaking up against the rising cost of living and calling for higher wages and a better life. What started as a call for a strike on April 6, quickly spiralled out of control, with a face off between rioters, protesters and the police. Here's an account of what has happened and is still happening to some of the activists who have used the worldwide web to spread news of what is happening at home.

Zimbabwe: E-Cards For Democracy

  16 May 2008

Online activism using e-cards in Zimbabwe: “Sokwanele will be releasing regular e-card designs in the days leading up to the run-off election, now scheduled for June 27. We’d like to ask everyone around the world to join us and use them to help all Zimbabweans stay fully engaged with their...

Caucasus: Creative Commons

Social Science in the Caucasus posts more details, including a video, on Creative Commons and comments on the importance of introducing the licensing concept to the South Caucasus. My Caucasus Knot also weighs in on the significance of promoting Creative Commons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Korean internet site attacked by Chinese hackers

  16 May 2008

The biggest auction site in Korea, “Auction,” was involved in a hacker attack in February and lost the personal information of at least 11 million customers. Recently, the hackers were found to be Chinese. In addition, Koreans are related to this crime. The fact that the personal information is used...

Notes From Berkman@10 Conference

  15 May 2008

At the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, attendees and special guests discussed “The Future of the Internet,” and its political dimensions and its affect on the global community. In addition, during the opening remarks there was an announcement that the Berkman Center will become a university-wide research center. GV author Renata Avila is attending the celebration and provides these notes.