April 16, 2006
The Impact of Ultra-low Cost Handsets
World Changing picks up a post by nextbillion which has a great overview of recent pieces (by bloggers, the BBC) exploring the implications of cheap handhelds in developing countries.
... As Ethan Zuckerman notes, the speed with which Africans are embracing mobiles (and the Net) has implications for the entire world:
"[W]e very rarely hear Africans talk about what problems they think are most important. Citizens’ media changes that. The folks starting blogs and writing about their experience in Africa aren’t starving - they’re getting by, and in many cases, thriving.
Their experience isn’t every African’s experience by a long shot… but it’s compelling evidence that Africa isn’t the basket case it sometimes seems to be in the Northern media.
Read the bloggers who contribute to BlogAfrica and Global Voices and you’ll see people who are tackling challenges head on, starting businesses, exposing corruption, pursuing higher education and finding solutions to the problems the continent faces.
I challenge you to read African blogs for a week and not come away with a renewed sense of hope for the continent."
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