19 December 2012

Stories from 19 December 2012

Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 1)

This year, events in the regional blogosphere were curiously bookended by hunger strikes. Part 1 of this 2012 recap takes a look at the topics that most shaped online discussion in the Bahamian, Cuban and French-speaking Caribbean blogospheres.

19 December 2012

China:10 Best Weibo Stories of 2012

The Chinese internet is a fascinating place. Stories break online everyday. Despite the strong censorship, Chinese internet users are able to keep their sense of humor(and the censors at bay)...

19 December 2012

Israel Media Ratings War Spills into Conflict Coverage

The financial troubles of Israeli news media is affecting the diversity and independence of reporters, who are less willing to challenge the wishes of editors or managers who answer to the tycoons who own the media outlets. Increasingly, citizen journalist and bloggers fill in the void of Israeli mainstream media coverage.

19 December 2012

Kazakhstan to Switch to Latin Script

Following years of intense debates, Kazakhstan is finally set to abandon Cyrillic script in favor of the Latin alphabet by 2025. It appears that the alphabet is still a very divisive...

19 December 2012

Bauls – Worshiping The Great God In Man

Bauliana posts a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Bauls, a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal. Although current day Bauls are very small in numbers, their influence in...

19 December 2012

The Spanish Government's “Boomerang” Hashtag

On December 12, the People's Party (PP) of Madrid decided to launched an information campaign on healthcare reform, creating the hashtag #quenotelienconlasanidad [#dontletthemscrewyouonhealthcare] on Twitter. Thousands of netizens took advantage of the campaign to flood the PP's hashtag with tweets, making it a trending topic for reasons very different from those originally intended by its creators.

19 December 2012

Cambodia Bans Internet Cafes Near Schools

Internet cafes are now banned within 500 meters of schools or educational buildings. Internet cafes are also prohibited from welcoming anyone under the age of 18, because the "internet poses numerous dangers such as terrorism, economic crimes & distribution of pornography."

19 December 2012