Stories about Technology from February, 2011
Poland: Ex-PM Jarosław Kaczyński Starts Blogging
On Feb. 18, Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland's national conservative Law and Justice party, started a blog, and his first post has generated over 1,650 comments in just two days. Below are some examples that show how many emotions surround this new blogger.
Uruguayan Politicians on Twitter
Federico Lorenzo [es] provides a list of Uruguayan politicians on Twitter, grouped by their political party.
Cuba: Realities of Virtual Protests
Laritza Diversent and Without Evasion blog about the Middle East protests and the obstacles that may prevent similar demonstrations from happening in Cuba.
Jamaica: On “Buju Watch”
“Once again the Jamaican nation is on Buju watch”: Active Voice highlights the posts of some fellow bloggers to underscore her point that “Jamaicans are taking this very personally, it is as if the nation itself is on trial.”
Russia: Blog Mapping Project Launches
Creators of crowdsourcing mapping service blog-map.ru ambitiously aim to “unite all bloggers on one map.” Despite many incorrectly mapped blogs, the service offers quite unusual experience of finding Russian bloggers even in the most distant places [RUS].
Arab World: The Great Social Media Debate
For months it seems, a debate has been raging over the role of social media in demonstrations. More recently, that debate has focused on Tunisia and Egypt, where sites like Facebook and Twitter were prominent in the organizing of protests. Here's one element of that debate, from Twitter.
Cuba: Generación Y and Voces Cubanas Unblocked in Cuba
For nearly three years, Yoani Sánchez has called herself a “blind blogger.” Her blog, Generación Y, has been blocked in Cuba since March of 2008. But on February 8, the site was unblocked in Cuba.
North Korea: Kim Jung-un Holding a Pair of Binoculars Upside down
North Korea's heir apparent, Kim Jong-un's photo of him holding a pair of binoculars upside down has been widely tweeted in South Korean Tweetosphere. This photo of Kim was aired by North Korea's official television station.
Youtube Video Mocking Kim Jong-il's Commemorative Stamp
A South Korean user uploaded a Youtube video[ko] mocking North Korea's latest commemorative stamp which was made to celebrate Kim Jong-il's birthday. The video claims that the three monkeys from the stamp which all sit on a same tree branch (appears on the video around 2 min 10 sec) refer...
Foursquare usage in Southeast Asia
Indonesia leads the countries in Southeast Asia with the most number of Foursquare users.
Japan: It's nursing time on Twitter!
Inexperienced Japanese mums and dads use Twitter to share worries and advices on child-rearing with parent fellows.
Arab World: The Uprisings Continue
It's revolution time across the Arab world, with people rising and calling for political, economic and social reforms. Rallies, demonstrations and protests across the region are flooding our timelines, with heartbreaking news of how one Arab government after the other is using the same tactics to quash protests and silence the voices of dissent. Here are reactions from around the world as people watch the developments unfold.
North Korea's Official Newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, Launches Website
The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's official newspaper and the regime's one of the most important propaganda tool, has launched a website, Martyn Williams wrote [en] on the North Korea Tech.
Pakistan: Two Great Online Initiatives
Kalsoom at CHUP -Changing Up Pakistan informs about two great efforts – 1) ThinkChange Pakistan, a blog that aims to track the social entrepreneurship and innovation space in Pakistan and 2) Gawaahi, a new online initiative aiming to archive digital stories of abuse, survival and resistance.
Turks & Caicos: Now Is The Time
The tcipost is calling on “every Turks and Caicos Islander with access to the Internet [to] please use all the social networks at our disposal to demand our right to self determination and bring awareness to our plight.”
Cuba: Reina Luisa Tamayo Arrested
Uncommon Sense re-posts a report of the arrest and alleged beating of the mother of the late prisoner of conscience, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, saying: “Wednesday…is [the] one-year anniversary of [his] death…already, Cuban police — spooked by the calendar and the possible spread of “Egyptian flu” — have launched a new...
Bolivia: Interview with blogger Patricia Vargas (@arquitecta)
Hugo from Serbolivianoes [es] posted a video interview with blogger [es] Patricia Vargas (@arquitecta on Twitter), “one of the first bloggers and one of the most influential Twitter users in Bolivia.” In the interview she talks about the local and international blogosphere, as well as the Bolivian twittersphere.
Brazil/USA: “Can the US shutdown the Internet?”
On his blog, brazilian journalist Altamiro Borges writes [pt, en] about the capacity of the USA to shutdown the internet in moments of crisis while commenting on an article by Cuarta Generación (Fourth Generation) [es], which says “US is heavily investing in order not to be surprised by the web”.
India: Indusladies Blog Contest
Phoenixritu informs about the Indusladies 2nd annual international women's day Blog contest which offers a cash prize of Rs.10,000.
Costa Rica: Crowdfunding Costa Rican Film “El Regreso”
In Fusil de Chispas [es], Cristian Cambronero writes about how the Costa Rican film “El Regreso” (“The Return”) is using crowdfunding through Kickstarter to try to raise $40,000 USD by April 2.
Turks & Caicos: Using Social Media for Democracy
The tcipost wants fellow islanders to “remember that the people of Egypt this month used the internet to strengthen their voices and share information”, suggesting that they can use the same tools to have their voices heard when it comes to the new constitution “that will dilute our vote as...
