April, 2008

Stories from April, 2008

Armenia: Norwegians Abroad

  30 April 2008

Armenia and Me, the blog of an expat Norwegian in the country, reports on stumbling upon a bus crewed by 11 fellow countrymen and women touring the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. The blog posts photographs of a brief excursion with the Strangeways crew who also have a...

Brazil: WordPress attorney blogs about the blocking

  30 April 2008

Marcel Leonardi [pt], the Brazilian attorney who is representing WordPress in the case of a possible ban on the platform in the country, blogs: “In the motion filled by the Automattic Inc. [on Monday], among other pieces of information, it has been highlighted the tremendous damage that the blanket ban...

Kenya: Mobile TV

  30 April 2008

Mobile TV arrives in Kenya: “Safaricom has partner with DSTV to provide Mobile TV to their subscribers. Mobile TV is a technology that allows people to view regular live television content on their mobile phones or other mobile devices that they get through traditional cable or pay TV subscriptions at...

Africa: Sleeping giants

  30 April 2008

Bankelele wonders whether Africa has to reform or develop: “Rwanda is on the fast path to being an ICT powerhouse. They may get there, but we have the beach, undersea cable etc. – all we have to do is wait to benefit from them. Uganda and Sudan have oil –...

South Africa: Announcing Tech Leader

  30 April 2008

The South African Mail&Guardian launches Tech Leader: “The Thought Leader concept is expanding over the next few months and the first incarnation is Tech Leader. Tech Leader is an edited group blog aimed at thinkers in the South African technology industry.”

China: We Made the World Hate Us

  30 April 2008

Zhou kou dian ren from china week pointed out that the Chinese government has failed to improve its public image with the Olympic torch relay, on the contrary the Chinese government and people have made the world hate us with the protest.

South Africa: Serious blogging arrives

  30 April 2008

Serious blogging has arrived in South Africa: “The key moments for blogging included the launches of Afrigator, the continent’s first blogging aggregator; Amatomu, the first comprehensive tracking service for blogs and bloggers in South Africa; My Digital Life by ITWeb, which put solid commercial resources and interests behind blogging; and...

Sudan: Coffee ceremony in Al Meganis

  30 April 2008

Andrew writes about coffee culture in Al Meganis, Sudan: “It is almost as complicated as an Ethiopian coffee ceremony – look at all those pots, including the glue tin containing the final brew. But the end result is harsher and sweeter. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing on...

South Africa: Ideas for Muti 2.0

  30 April 2008

Wogan's ideas for Muti 2.0: “About a week ago, the ability to downvote articles on muti.co.za was removed. Apparently, responses were mixed, but most were in favour of not allowing people to forcibly bury articles. Now, someone’s gone and raised the question of whether or not downvoting should be brought...

Tanzania: Perils of an IT Geek

  30 April 2008

Jesp visits hardware geeks in Tanzania: “I then consult Dennis, a hardware geek of the kind that never even puts the cover on his computer because his head is more often inside the cabinet than in front of the screen. “It is not the graphic card” Dennis says “The RAM...

Zimbabwe: Pay Day Facts

  30 April 2008

Pay day in Zimbabwe: “Today is pay day. I received a gross wage of just under $860 million. I also received benefits being $400 million dollars as a transport allowance and $67 million as a housing allowance. These benefits were awarded by the government as some sort of assistance towards...

Rising Voices Seeks Micro-Grant Proposals for Health-Related New Media Outreach

  30 April 2008

Rising Voices, the outreach arm of Global Voices, in collaboration with the Open Society Institute Public Health Program’s Health Media Initiative, is now accepting project proposals for the third round of microgrant funding of up to $5,000 for new media outreach projects focused especially on public health issues involving marginalized populations.

South Africa: Jacob Zuma – marketer of the year

  30 April 2008

Jacob Zuma's marketing strategy works: “But there has been a noticeable shift in attitude amongst (mostly) white, middle class South Africans to a man who used to be famous for kangas, baby oil and homophobia. Jacob Zuma is making one of the most impressive comebacks in South African political history....

Thailand: Boycott Tesco Lotus campaign

  30 April 2008

British company Tesco Lotus has sued three Thai journalists in just one month for writing about the “aggressive” operations of the global retailer in Thailand. As a protest, Fable supports a worldwide boycott campaign of Tesco Lotus.

Vietnam ends adoption program with U.S.

  30 April 2008

American couple and bloggers Robert and Lesa went to Vietnam 16 months ago to adopt a girl. Imagine their disappointment as Vietnam ends its adoption program with the United States

Malaysia: Parliament begins session

  30 April 2008

My Life My Stories comments on the opening session of Malaysia's Parliament: “Parliament is like a wet market. Shouting everywhere, speaking without raising hand to get approval and of course calling each other nickname.”