Here’s an interesting development. Long and acrimonious battles have been fought over the question, “Can you trust Wikipedia?” Now, at last, there’s a new answer to this question.
Media
Posted inMedia
An open letter to Jawah Hassan — all the way from Dubai
Since I started blogging on http://silwanekanjila.amagama.com I have attached my email address ([email protected]) at the bottom of my blogs almost from day one. It proved to be a master stroke because of all the excellent feedback I’ve received from some of my readers. Granted, some of the feedback is of the “your blogs are dog […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics, Tech
Crowdsourcing the campaign
In 2004, the Howard Dean campaign in the United States blazed the way in taking the election campaign online. Dean not only raised more than anyone else online, but more importantly also pioneered the use of the internet to gather and mobilise support both online and in real life. Since then we’ve seen social media […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
Why newspapers and social media make a good fit
Since early 2005, when I started working with Colin Daniels at the New Media Lab, my thinking about the web has been saturated by the language, principles and ideals of Web 2.0 and specifically the sub-set of uses we call “social media”. So I had to laugh at the provocative piece written by Paul Jacobson […]
Posted inGeneral, Media, News/Politics
Curiouser and curiouser …
Curious report just out on Reuters: Johannesburg (Reuters) — South Africa has denied it blamed Britain for Zimbabwe’s isolation in a report prepared for a regional summit earlier this month. The office of President Thabo Mbeki denied that the government produced a report on Zimbabwe critical of Britain before Mbeki briefed leaders of the Southern […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
From the Prophet Muhammad to Manto Tshabalala-Msimang: some thoughts on press freedom
Eighteen months ago, Judge Mohammed Jajbhay ruled that the Prophet Muhammad’s right to privacy outweighed the right to freedom of expression, and interdicted the Sunday Times from publishing cartoons of the prophet. This week, the same judge delivered a ringing endorsement of media freedom, made a decisive statement against censorship, and rejected the health minister’s […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
Blogger’s block
Immediately after I was approached to join Thought Leader, I was overwhelmed with an inner excitement that somehow left my fingers shaking at the same time. My immediate conclusion, before my profile was launched, was that I finally had a neutral place to lay down my thoughts and ideas indefinitely, where the information I squeezed […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Counter-media: Alive in Baghdad
A group of American and Iraqi reporters has launched a blog, website and YouTube video channel called Alive in Baghdad that “formed to counter the sound-bite-driven, ‘live from’ news model”. The videos on YouTube, predictably, have inspired a lot of comments. The interesting aspect of this project, and many others like it, is its counter-media […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
How to be a blog star
It is fairly clear who the most active players are in South African blogging, social networking and social media. Already, a laundry list is forming of names of individuals who are highly successful at rolling out new offerings in this Web 2.0 space, or simply successful at making a noise about it. The names will […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, News/Politics, Tech
Let’s not be narrow-minded about broadband
The government’s plan to create a state-controlled company, Infraco, to drive down telecommunication costs and improve broadband internet access has, predictably, come under fire from free marketers. What we need, writes Duncan McLeod in the Financial Mail, is less state interference in the telecommunications sector, not more (read McLeod’s column). This strikes me as a […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
Facebook, the Web 2.0 killer
The existence of Facebook, the smash-hit social-networking site, may unwittingly kill off a host of other Web 2.0 start-ups. This is mainly because of Facebook’s inclusive and all-encompassing nature. The site appears to be blogging (lite), Twittering (short blogging), multiplayer gaming (simple games), dating, social networking, online photo management and even emailing all in one. […]
Posted inMedia
Times hijacks New York Times
It’s Sunday. And there’s something wrong. Very wrong. I’ve got my coffee, my newspaper and the couch all to myself. But where the hell is the New York Times supplement? They’ve moved it to the Times … on a Friday. You have got to be kidding me. This means that only Sunday Times subscribers who […]