NetSquared, an initiative of TechSoup.org - Developing world

net2con: Surfing the Rolling Cloud of Connectivity: ICT and the Developing World

Mike Lawrence — Tue, 30 May 2006 18:55:23 -0400

Mike Lawrence of Computer-Using Educators here, live blogging the session led by David Barnard of SANGONeT, Partha Pratim Sarker of Bytes for All, and Kate Raynes-Goldie of TakingITGlobal (immoderator). These are merely my notes - I will return to provide insight and reflection.

Web 2.0 and Africa

David Barnard — Mon, 29 May 2006 17:58:17 -0400

Web 2.0 and Africa

David Barnard — Mon, 29 May 2006 17:43:10 -0400

Connectivity and ICTs in developing countries are contextualised by the “digital divide”. More than ten years ago, at a G-7 conference on the information society in February 1995 in Brussels, then deputy president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, pointed out that there were more telephone lines in Manhattan than in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. "Half of humanity has never made a telephone call," he said.

Although mobile communication and other applications are changing the telecommunications environment in Africa, given the topic of this session, the “digital divide” can be summarised as follows:

web2.0 and the developing world

kate — Sat, 27 May 2006 21:11:07 -0400

web2.0 and the developing world

Sat, 27 May 2006 21:02:52 -0400

La Solidaridad´s comeback

tuesdaygutz — Sat, 13 May 2006 15:09:59 -0400

Creating personal websites is always a disheartening affair. You think you´ve got a special idea on your head and that people would find it interesting, but nothing can lure them to join you in your quest to at least, through bits and maps, virtually change the world.

The idea of the universal binary code has been sold a lot of times, and unfortunately, you are merely just a page in the digital world.

And when I first pitched the idea to some friends to create a website with a social responsibility angle, it fell on deaf ears. Disappointed at the outcome, I totally abandoned writing.

What about Internet access?

Mark Liu — Tue, 09 May 2006 18:25:33 -0400

In many areas high bandwidth Internet access is unavailable or cost-prohibitive. How do you plan to deal with this issue?