#StopKony: The Simple Viral Demand That Sparked a Broad Debate
BY Nick Judd | Wednesday, March 7 2012
Every part of a viral marketing campaign targeted at raising pressure on the U.S. and other governments to work towards the capture of Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony, called "Kony 2012," is fascinating. (Some supporters also invented the hashtag #stopkony, hence the headline.) The campaign intends to pressure specific American elected officials, using the newfound power of networked public opinion to spur more action. Last year, President Barack Obama ordered 100 military advisors to help the Ugandan military remove Kony. But the campaign's scale and the narrow focus of the advocacy in its centerpiece, a free 30-minute web video with high production values, raised a laundry list of questions about its sponsor organization, their exact goals and their mission. Read More
Advocates Ask for an Open Government to Open Corporate Activity in Africa
BY Nick Judd | Tuesday, September 20 2011
A quick hit on the U.S.' Open Government Partnership action plan, released today — the aspect of that plan that seems most likely to make waves is a commitment, per the summary text, to strengthen whistleblower ... Read More
Museveni Government: We're Willing to Order Blackouts on Facebook, Tweeter
BY Nancy Scola | Thursday, April 21 2011
Source: Alan Kasujja With price protests raging, Uganda's telecom authority is telling Reporters Without Borders that they're ready to order the shutdown of Facebook and Twitter: [Uganda Communications Commission] ... Read More
iCow, and Other Apps for East Africa
BY Nancy Scola | Monday, October 4 2010
Remember "Apps 4 Africa," the contest being put on in East Africa by the U.S. State Department aimed at stimulating local developers to build apps that in some way improve the quality of life in Africa? The ... Read More
State Dept. Calls for Apps for E. Africa, By E. Africans
BY Nancy Scola | Thursday, July 1 2010
The U.S. State Department and local entrepreneurs announced the launch of an Apps 4 Africa contest in Nairobi earlier today. Read More
Obama's Ghana Strategy: Use New Media Tools, But Keep the Old
BY Nancy Scola | Tuesday, July 7 2009
African Approaches to Connected Culture, Stronger Civil Society
BY Nancy Scola | Friday, June 26 2009