Tag Archives: technology

My Social Media Sabbatical

January 18 10

I did my annual break from the internet.  This year it was different though.  It was more of a sabbatical for social media during which time I remember what life was like without 24/7 access to random people who I don’t really know but are constantly in my realm of awareness because I’ve let them in to my brain space.  I don’t even remember the day I decided to walk away from it all, close down accounts, forget password, leave it outside of my life.  It was a wonderful experiment though.  I found that not having the constant stream of noise allowed me to refocus and reground.  My life looks completely different know.  I think I actually relearned how to speak to people face to face, and as a result I’ve made more people I would consider “Friends” rather than “acquaintances” that I probably have in the entire time we’ve been in North Carolina.  Because of this, I shall consider the sabbatical experience a success.  As a result, I will be changing the way I use social media.

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Submarine Communications Cables and Africa

August 1 09

Cable_Map_big

No really. I don’t understand. I mean, we never really learn or think about Submarine Communications Cables, we just use them all the time. I was listening to a radio program a few nights ago, and they were discussing how the west coast of Africa has only one fiber optic cable to carry high speed internet access.   When I did a web search I found numerous articles from… oh a bit over a week ago talking about east Africa just now getting a fiber optic cable.

I am having a really hard time finding information about the ownership of these cables and who pays for their development and maintenance, but I wonder what narrative could be constructed examining the decisions that led to development and lack their of in Africa.

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e-Africa Commission

January 28 09

I came across this article from Voice of America about the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). They launched a new project called called the Broadband Infrastructure Network with the goal of bringing broadband internet access to all of Africa. As stated in a previous post, only 5.5% of the continent has access to the internet, so this is a big endeavor.

As I am just learning about the e-Africa commission I am going through their site and seeing lots of really good stuff. Look at this quote from NEPAD e-Schools praised as the key to bridging the digital divide in Africa:

“We recognise that this NEPAD e-Schools Initiative holds substantial benefits for all African people. Through the use of ICT, we can raise the levels of our educational standards and improve the education and skills of our young people. And above all, we can address inequality, poverty and unemployment in our countries.”

She noted that taking this initiative forward marked the beginning of meeting the challenges of bridging the digital divide.

I love it, I love it, I love it!!! The whole article is actually great, so it should be read in its entirety. I’m mad I hadn’t heard of this commission before. It looks like the VOA article might be about something that started a while ago, and I’m not seeing any recent activities on the site, but it is definitely something I will be watching closely from this point forward because it is trying to do something big.

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5.5%

January 14 09

I was listening to the second part of yesterday’s Médias d’Afrique podcast this morning and they did a little segment on the blogosphere in Africa. It started by saying that only 5.5% of the population in Africa have access to the internet. I knew the number was low, but I was surprised to hear that it was that low. I am trying to find another source to verify the number right now, but so far no luck. They also touched on the use of cyber cafes, but not too much.

They mentioned that for some reason blogging hasn’t taken off as much in the Anglophone African countries and that most of the regular bloggers are freelance journalists. Interesting, interesting.

Anyway, thanks to the podcast, I added two new links to my blogroll. I feel all bloggy as a result, only not really because I really only keep this thing to write notes to myself about stuff I’m seeing/thinking/doing.

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Sleepy & YouNoodle

August 8 08

I am sleepy and stuff.  There hasn’t been much going on besides that.  I mean there has, but I’m not ready to discuss just yet.

Also, my iPod touch has been having battery problems.  It’s driving me crazy.   The sound on my old computer is randomly not working now.  And I broke my cell phone too.  I am having technology problems basically.

Oh!!  I signed up to be Notified when YouNoodle launched.  Yesterday I got 89 emails announcing their launch with over 100 people’s email addresses on the distribution list visible.  Nice.  We started a google group.   So far so cool.  The people are all involved in start-ups so it’s a fun bunch.

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