The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Carmen Joy King -
In march, at the peak of Facebook popularity, I quit. with four swift clicks of the mouse, I canceled my account. Gone was the entire online persona I had created for myself -- profile pictures, interests and activities, work history, friends acquired -- all carefully thought out to showcase to the world the very best version of me, all now deleted.
Ironically, the decision to destroy my carefully built-up virtual image came as a result of wanting to enhance my profile. All that particular...
Saliem Fakir -
Book: The Man Who Loved China
The fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
Author: Simon Winchester
Publisher: Harper Collins
Reviewer: Saliem Fakir
In 1824, the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote off China as 'the booby nation'. Emerson’s attitude marked the pervasive western prejudice doing its rounds on China: a poor backward country, suffering from squalor and poverty. Not much was known...
Using dark humour to great effect, this critique of Facebook, produced by Idiotsofants, reveals that the online fad that has become the social phenomenon of the new millennium, offers many risks for unsuspecting members. For a more damning account of the onslaught on personal privacy spearheaded by Facebook, see here.
We are living in exponential times. Its been predicted that by 2049, a computer worth a thousand dollars, will exceed the computational capabilities of the human race. That's fifty years from now. What does this mean for Africans who haven't even yet experienced basic freedoms from having access to electricity? Something that's been around for more than a hundred years.
Fazila Farouk -
People who work in the digital divide world, routinely over emphasize the value of information communication technology (ICT) for the poor, often forgetting that technology is nothing more than a means to an end and one that’s only of value if it increases conveniences and the quality of people's lives.
The common argument one hears for lowering the cost of broadband is that it will bridge the digital divide and increase socio-economic benefits for the poor. There’s certainly...
