Word of the “Kony 2012″ video spread like lightning via social media networks like Twitter and Facebook, reaching “so many Americans in a relatively short period of time,” it demonstrated the “critical role social media played, especially for adults under age 30,” says a new study.
via Kony video proves social media’s role as youth news source: Pew – Technolog on msnbc.com.
Hashtag Activism, and Its Limits – NYTimes.com.
Online movements are probably not as effective as real world engagement, but occasionally they are powerful beyond the computer.
KAMPALA, Uganda — In its own way, Uganda is trying to claim its moment in an unfortunate spotlight.
A video posted online this month, “Kony 2012,” which is trying to call attention to the brutality of the Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony and his penchant for kidnapping and killing children, has turned the eyes of more than 100 million people to this developing, landlocked country.
via Uganda, After ‘Kony 2012,’ Tries to Emphasize the Positive – NYTimes.com.
By Amie Ferris-Rotman
KABUL | Thu Mar 8, 2012 11:00am EST
Reuters – Afghanistan opened its first female-only internet cafe on Thursday, hoping to give women a chance to connect to the world without verbal and sexual harassment and free from the unwanted gazes of their countrymen.
via Afghanistan opens first women-only internet cafe | Reuters.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY (8 MARCH)
via About International Women’s Day 2012 – Glenda Stone re. Global IWD Arts.
Will be interesting to map the diffusion of blogging and social media platforms overtime.
The going rate to get a child who has already passed the entrance requirements into high school in Nairobi, Kenya? 20,000 shillings.
The expense of obtaining a driver’s license after having passed the test in Karachi, Pakistan? 3,000 rupees.
Such is the price of what Swati Ramanathan calls “retail corruption,” the sort of nickel-and-dime bribery, as opposed to large-scale graft, that infects everyday life in so many parts of the world.
Ms. Ramanathan and her husband, Ramesh, along with Sridar Iyengar, set out to change all that in August 2010 when they started ipaidabribe.com, a site that collects anonymous reports of bribes paid, bribes requested but not paid and requests that were expected but not forthcoming.
Mr. Ragui in Kenya is working to develop a system to enable reporting of bribery by mobile phone that he hopes to have ready in time for elections later this year. The idea is to allow people to report vote-buying in real time that will be connected to a map. “It could be really powerful to have real time, granular data to analyze how much corruption affect the election,” he said.
“My real goal, though,” he added, “is to change just one government department and how it does business.”
That is what happened in Bangalore, where Bhaskar Rao, the transport commissioner for the state of Karnataka, used the data collected on I Paid a Bribe to push through reforms in the motor vehicle department. Some 20 senior officers in the department were “cautioned,” Mr. Rao said, and many others received ethics counseling.
via I Paid a Bribe and Similar Corruption-Exposing Sites Spread – NYTimes.com.
RIYADH—A court in Saudi Arabia agreed to hear the first lawsuits by Saudi women challenging the kingdoms de facto ban on women driving, a lawyer for one of the women said.
Advocates of a ban say it is in line with stringent interpretations of the Quran that discourage the mixing of unrelated women and men. A report prepared by a Saudi academic in December for an advisory body to the king said allowing women the freedom to drive would lead to widespread loss of virginity among unmarried Saudi women.
via
