Stories about Technology from January, 2010
China: The Internet is freer than ever?
C. Custer criticized Shaun Rein’s recent column in Forbes about China internet freedom.
Japan: Tweeting Politicians
The Twitter application Politter offers lists of tweets from the official accounts of Japanese politicians. It also has an interface for hashtags related to politics. @masamix0417 uses it instead of following the politicians on Twitter. [ja]
Africa: AfricaKnows Project
Erik discusses AfricaKnows Project: “AfricaKnows is a new project by TED Fellows Josh Wanyama and Sheila Ochugboju. Their job: to tell a different story of Africa, through big pictures that let you see directly into the heart of African cities.”
Philippines: Online behavior of netizens in 2009
Tonyo Cruz highlights the top online campaigns in the Philippines in 2009. He also noted the rising number of internet users in the country
Kucku: Vietnam-based social media site
Kucku is a Vietnam-based microblog platform that helps users to send quick messages about what they are thinking or just found out.
Indonesia: Twitter capital of Asia
Indonesia is the Twitter capital of Asia. It ranks 6th in the world with the most number of twitter users and tweets contributed in the web
Thailand: Mobile internet users
Latest data shows Thailand has 12 million mobile internet users.
Poland: Government Approves Proposal to Create Registry of Banned Websites and Services
Sylwia Presley posts an update on the Polish government's controversial decision to create a Registry of Banned Websites and Services, and on the Polish netizens' ongoing protests against Internet censorship.
Haiti: Restoring Communications and Local Media Networks
Haiti's communication infrastructure was seriously damaged after being devastated by a 7.0 earthquake on January 12. It can be very empowering for people in Haiti to be able to narrate their stories in their own words. With this is in mind, Feminist International Radio Endeavour (FIRE) and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters have launched projects to help restore local media projects.
Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti: Supporting Citizen Media
“Anything I can say about Haiti is going to sound like a platitude, so I’ll spare you those having to do with human misery and direct another one at myself instead: I have no idea what to expect and am not sure my imagination can prepare me”: Global Voices’ Managing...
Russia: Yandex Released Most Popular Search Queries in 2009
Russia's most popular search engine Yandex.ru published [RUS] top 10 search queries in 2009. Those are “New Year”, “Eurovision 2009″, “homework”, “GTA 4″, “High School Diploma exam”, “International Women's Day”, “Long Night of Museums”, “Swine Flu”, “The Sims 3″ and “Defender of the Fatherland Day.”
China: Another Cell Phone Registration System in the Works
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced a plan to enforce a “real-name” registration system for mobile phone users. The announcement comes four years after the Ministry of Information Industry—which subsequently became the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology—drew up the framework for similar legislation. Despite much talk...
Morocco: Blogging About Blogging
Moroccans, as usual, are blogging, only this time it's about…blogging! This year, two awards are being offered in the blogosphere: the third annual Maroc Blog Awards and the brand new Best of Morocco Blog Awards (or BOMBies).
Morocco: Moroccan Blog Mashup
Bill Day points to a Yahoo Pipes mashup he created of English-language Morocco blogs.
Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti: Emergency SMS
Know TnT.com sees the value of emergency SMS: “It could save lives and improve the quality of life of people. And it would work best if it's set up beforehand instead of afterward.”
Ethiopia: Cultures collide in Ethiopian blogosphere
What happens when cultures collide? One of the best places to find out is the Ethiopian blogosphere, with its writers spread across the Ethiopian Diaspora, from China, through Europe to the United States of America.
Costa Rica: Blogger Awarded National Culture Award for Journalism
For the first time in Costa Rica's National Culture Awards, digital media was honored when Cristian Cambronero was honored for his journalistic work on his blog Fusil de Chispas.
Korea: Cell phone information belt
Ask a Korean! translates an article that explains how NGOs obtain information from North Korea via cell phone imported from China.
China: Twitter survey on a Google departure
As Chinese Internet users wait for Google's decision regarding the future of its operations in China, one netizen has begun surveying peers for their views on what Google should do and what the impact will be should the company decide to leave.
Japan: QT is a Variation of ReTweet
Satomi Uchimura explores the meaning of QT (Quoted Tweets), which is used in some parts of the Japanese twittersphere.
Russia: Company To Pay $300K For Illegaly Taking Forbes Domain
Russian cybersquatter company “Landmark VIP Service” will have to pay $300,000 penalties for illegally taking domain Forbes.ru, forbesrussia.ru reports [RUS] . It is the largest fine for cybersquatting in the history of RuNet.
