It’s no secret that getting medical care to many millions of Africans remains one of the biggest challenges facing the continent today. For example in Kenya, one of the more progressive and economically sound African nations, according to the World Health Organization there are only 140 doctors for every 100,000 people. Compare that to 2,600 for every 100,000 people in the USA. As the Kenyan government also bans doctors from advertising their services, there is little way for ordinary Kenyans to find out who might be able to help them with their medical needs. Consequently, many people go without any kind of medical care and are vulnerable to a large army of “quacks” who operate in the vacuum.

Mobile technology is the preeminent form of digital communication in Africa and is growing rapidly. As a result of the increasing connectivity that mobile technology has bought to sub-Saharan Africa, there is a lot of buzz around innovative applications and technologies that are making quality information much more accessible to millions of Africans. Read more…

When I landed this past week in the O-R-Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, I had been flying a cumulative 20 hours since leaving Seattle. After clearing customs into South Africa, I made a beeline to the restroom to freshen up. On the wall of the spotless restroom was the sign photographed to the right.

I haven’t yet seen a sign like that in SeaTac Airport, but in South Africa it’s not surprising given how ubiquitous cell phones and text messaging have become.

The breathless adoption of mobile telephony on the African continent–with South Africa leading the charge — means that I learn as much about the power of mobile adoption and use when I travel there as I do when I am walking around the hyper-connected city of Seattle.

The African continent has impressed me again and again the last seven years with their creative utilization of mobile–which in large part inspired the first course I taught for the MCDM, Emerging Markets in Digital Media. Today, the African market is growing to include producers as well as consumers. According to Erik Hersman, co-founder of Ushahidi and the voice behind the blog White African, the African continent is in a great position to produce relevant technology moving forward.

Why? Read more…

In 2007 I moved to Seattle, WA and found a tech savvy community in the Pacific Northwest. I found myself in the office of the Director of the MCDM Hanson Hosein and we began talking about the program, my background in journalism, and a documentary I was producing on my great uncle, the late musician Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter.
After the meeting I was convinced and ready to sign up! The only thing I didn’t ask him was what sort of jobs most graduates seek once they are “finished” with the program. At this time in 2008 there was only one person who seemed to get a decent job by using digital media and social media marketing and that was President Barack Obama who Hosein titled as being the “first digital President” in an earlier post.

Every class I took in the MCDM program helped me to prepare for my next unforeseen big move to South Africa. Our move was swift and took place during both the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. When I arrived here in Johannesburg I found digital media everywhere and moving at a rapid pace. One thing that I have witnessed is how SMS messaging is everywhere and even playing a role in civic engagement. The second week we were in the country we drove over a pothole and not long afterward the car began to slow down. The deceivingly rain-filled pothole had caused a flat tire and I had to change the tire. Days later I read in the local newspaper The Star (yes print media is still relevant) that a new initiative called LEAD SA started by local radio stations and print media to help develop pride in South African sports teams and encourage “good Samaritan” efforts has now fixed over 4,000 potholes across the Johannesburg area.  This is how it works here in South Africa:

Read more…

Image from "This" Magazine

If this past summer’s controversial presidential election in Iran was any indication, Twitter has fast become a major platform for political discussion and grassroots organization on the global stage.  Social media, particularly the micro-blogging service Twitter, flexed its muscles during the opposition protests of the Iranian election results, and, at least for a month or two, it seemed that a global on-line conversation about democracy in Iran might actually help change the political climate of that country.  While it appears that the government of Iran eventually succeeded in squelching the unrest and cracking down on protests, it has become pretty clear that the nation of Iran will never be the same – and Twitter is partially to thank for that.  Considering the case of Facebook use in Iran, once you’ve got a taste of that sort of social freedom, it’s difficult to turn back. Read more…