Alternative Media Critical to Malaysian Election

marycjoyce@gmail.com — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:20:28 -0400

Malaysiakini.com, one of the biggest alternative news blogs in the country.

According to USINFO, a publication of the Department of State, alternative media played a key role in the March 8 parliamentary elections in Malaysia. The ruling Barisan National (BN) party received a surprising blow when it lost 58 seats in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat. Although the BN still holds 63% of seats, it lost its commanding two-thirds majority. The BN has ruled Malaysia for 50 years.

At a forum on April 1, at the University Malaya, columnist Datuk Johan Jaffar noted that alternative media had a crucial effect

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Thoughts on Joining Twitter

marycjoyce@gmail.com — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:17:00 -0400

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FrontlineSMS is a Finalist in the Stockholm Challenge

marycjoyce@gmail.com — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:55:59 -0400

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Awesome Digital Activism in Kenya!

marycjoyce@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:47:00 -0300

Ushahidi is a visual map of human rights abuses reported by SMS (text message). The site was created by the bloggers behind KenyanPundit.com, WhiteAfrican.com, MentalAcrobatics.com, AfroMusing.com, and Skunkworks and was built by Kobia Interactive.

"Ushahidi" means "witnessing" is Kiswahili and the site allows people to send an SMS to the site which describes an atrocity. The atrocity is then displayed on a map of Kenya using a colored pin and displayed on the home page. In this way, people can become digital witnesses of the unrest in Kenya.

The violence which Ushahidi is attempting to track is a result of the Kenyan presidential election, which occurred on December 27. On the I&D Blog, Josh Goldstein reports that, "a presidential election pitted incumbent president and Kikuyu tribesman Mwai Kabaki against leading opponent and Luo tribesman Raila Odinga. After what was initially described as a very close vote, Kabaki swiftly announced himself the winner and swore himself in for another term.

[last] week, the election results are being described domestically and internationally as fraudulent, and violence has erupted between rioting mobs and police in Nairobi, and between

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Activists Protect Themselves with Twitter

marycjoyce@gmail.com — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:35:00 -0400

Twitter is a multi-platform service that allows users to send "updates" (text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) via SMS (text message), instant messaging, and email. In its most common application, people send Twitter messages via SMS telling what they are doing at that very moment ("eating breakfast," "lots of traffic this morning," "lunch break"). Then people who have subscribed to that feed can then read these messages as they are sent out, allowing them to know what their friend is doing.

The blog Vancouver Social Enterprise Forum has an interesting post about how activists are using Twitter as a

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Chinese Activists in Xiamen Organize Online

marycjoyce@gmail.com — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:55:00 -0400

A man (center) wears a gas mask to protest a proposed toxic chemical plant in Xiamen

Despite the fact that China has the most elaborate system of internet censorship in the world, creative Chinese activists are still finding ways to use the medium for political activism.

On June 1, one million residents of coastal Xiamen protested against the proposed construction of a toxic chemical plant near the city center. Cell phones and the internet made it possible. The Chinese blogger collective Bullog used the internet and SMS to promote the event.

Because the state-controlled media refused to broadcast details of

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