September 26, 2006
This week's Carnival of the Mobilists
On a personal note, my entry was made light of, on how many Iraqis are abandoning cell phones because they bear nothing but tragic news (calls of death threats, blackmail or ransom demands). I thought it was an incredibly sad and unique tale of cell phone usage and disapointment, the first instance I'd ever read about of a backlash against cell phones, not brought on by a government trying to control information, but by the people. Articles so far - like this one from the NY Times - mostly described cell phones in Irak in a positive light, as a status symbol and a wonderful tool to reassure familes that they are safe after a bombing.
In developping countries, cell phones are generally considred a lifeline and this was the case for Irak too when cell phones were finally made available, the last country in the Middle East to get a mobile phone network. But apparently, it's no longer the case, not for everyone, not any more.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2006/09/013635.htm
