FrontlineSMS and Technological Responsibility
When an innovator is struck with a new idea for a technology, his or her first thought isn't naturally "How can this be used for a humanitarian, development,…
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Newseum, Google and YouTube Commemorate The Fallen Journalists of 2010
On May 16 th 2011, Washington DC's Newseum – interactive media museum that instills an appreciation of the importance of a free press and the US' First Amendment…
The Self-Imposed Challenge: Assessment and Games-Based Learning
(Cross-posted from Aaron's blog) For all the talk about games-based learning and gamification of the classroom, I'm surprised the question of assessment hasn't come up as often as it…
Three Take-Aways from the Ashoka and World Bank Event: Public Goods through Social Enterprises
Last Wednesday, Ashoka delivered a terrific panel conversation at the World Bank called, Public Goods through Social Enterprises: Creating Hybrid Value Chains. Bill Drayton and Valeria Budinich spearheaded the…
TechChange & Movements.org Twitter Chat on Friday, June 3rd
How can digital activists harness new technologies, tools, and platforms to be as effective as possible in their work? Digital organizing has arguably been at the heart of…
e-Portfolios: Networking Across Continents
Whether you think of HTML as a familiar friend or a terrifying alien monster, we can all agree that sometimes code just takes too much time. In an…
Exchange 2.0: The Conversation Continues
This is the second post in a two part series on this topic. The first installment was written by TJ earlier in the week. The Exchange 2.0 conference…
Exchange 2.0- Weighing the Benefits of Increased Intercultural Awareness
This is part one of a two part series on Exchange 2.0. Even though I never had the chance to do a study abroad, for ten years of…
Canadians Protest Election Results Ban Using Social Media Ahead of Monday Polls
On Monday May 2, 2011 Canadians will be voting in the 41st Canadian Federal Election. The election comes as the result of non-confidence vote held on March 25th,…
Internet Security in an Age of International Protest
Last month, the government of Sudan declared a "cyber-jihad" against youth groups and other anti-government organizations organizing protests in that country. Responding harshly to earlier protests with beatings…
Does Chinese Internet censorship have an effect on its ICT industry?
The issue of Internet censorship has cycled throughout headlines, whether it's Congress interrogating Microsoft and Yahoo! as to why they are selling products that assist Chinese filtration or…
Power to the People: The Risk and Rewards of Mobile Technology in Governance Development
For the frustrated governance advisor, exasperated force commander, and perpetually under funded election observer the notion that technology can solve our problems is a tempting one. But as…
Time for a Cell Phone Detox? Have We Become Too Dependant on our Devices?
Call it a social experiment or just plain crazy, but I refuse to buy a cell phone. This mobile-addict is detoxing. Not long ago, I was a slave…
Is GroupMe the Next Big Thing for SMS and How Might It Support Social Change?
Perhaps the biggest thing to come out of this years famed South By Southwest Conference (SXSWi) was the GroupMe app. And since there's basically an app for everything,…
From the Trading Floor to the Polling Booth: Twitter's Value-Added
The BBC reported today (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12976254) on the value that Twitter has provided to stock traders. This is an example of how social media, when well filtered, can…
SwiftRiver: Where Software Meets Social Change
You land in a country that is recovering from a long war. The infrastructure is limited, but there is a nascent democratic government. To make up for the…
Facebook Pulls "Third Palestinian Intifada Page": Violent Incitement Overrules Free Speech
The first Palestinian Intifada (meaning "Uprising" in Arabic: الانتفاضة) began in 1987 and the second in 2000. With the recent flock of revolution in the Middle East, a third…
A Personal Encounter with Paraguay's Tech Progress
Deep in the "Chaco" of Paraguay where farmers live under two dollars a day, resides a budding entrepreneur named Alfonso Parada. "I took out a loan to start…
Social Media and Non-Violence: The Debate Heats Up at Georgetown
This past week, I had the valuable opportunity to step out of my usual role as a graduate student at Georgetown and instead, for one day, serve as…
A look at World Bank's Urgent Evoke: Reflections for Season 2
On March 3, 2010, the World Bank launched Urgent Evoke—an online video game designed to help individuals across the world develop innovative, creative solutions to the globe's most…