By Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi
Media reports indicate that a notorious fraud fugitive has been netted by Mexican police after being traced through a social networking site. Please follow the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8306032.stm
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPANDS OPPORTUNITIES FOR JUSTICE
October 14, 2009 by sbkamanziONLINE ADVERTISING OVERTAKES TV
September 30, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi.
Latest studies indicate that online advertising has for the first time overtaked television advertising in the UK. This is regarded as a milestone in the advancement of the New Media which hasn’t been well recieved by the association ot TV Broadcacters in Britain. The change of fortunes has been largely attributed to the widespread econonic recession afflicting World economies. It should be noted that TV advertising is relatively expensive compared to other media. Companies known to have recently been reducing their work force couldn’t have done otherwise. Please follow the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8280557.stm
SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTES HEALTH CARE REFORM IN THE USA
September 5, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi
Newsweek Magazine has reported that a popular slogan to promote the health care reform debate in the USA has rapidly spread through facebook raising questions whether the powers that be really take notice of the impact of this type of social mobilisation for a noble cause. In this particular case, it is significant that President Obama who came to power riding on the power of social media, has also posted encouraging messages in respect of the debate on his own Facebook page. Please follow the link: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/09/04/facebook-s-healthcare-revolt-the-real-town-halls-are-social-networks.aspx
SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES LEAD POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS
September 5, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi.
Social networking sites are seen as increasingly influencing political events in many countries. Here is an example of how a political campaign, coodinated through Facebook and Twitter,against left wing Venzueran strong man Hugo Chavez, has spread in many Central and North American cities. Please follow the link http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_anti_chavez_protests
THE DOES AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
September 3, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi
There are no fixed rules for the use of social networking sites. Here are some suggestons on how to avoid offending millions of viewers who may access your profile. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/may/16/news.newmedia1)
PRINT MEDIA FACES MORE THREATS FROM THE INTERNET
August 12, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Samuel Byamugisha Kamanzi
The 2009 worldwide economic crisis which has greatly affected advertising revenues has parked off an intensive debate on the survival of News Papers in their old print form. A recent edition of TIME MAGAZINE has observed that a number of American papers are threatened with closure as their revenues continue to fall and many of their readers are unwilling to pay for their online editions. The financial crisis has therefore exposed one of the greatest dilemas of the old media. All arguements lead to one conclusion: they must charge for their online content or perish. But their readers are so used to free content online that they don’t eve appreciate the fact that the people who gather the news need to be faciliteted. This has lead some media houses proprieters such as Rupert Murdoch to go it alone by adopting new measures which will see his media industry charge for its online content by July 2010. Howerver,internet experts think this is gamble as history strongly suggests that all past attempts to survive by charging online content alone have failed before. Please follow these links which highlight some of the issues raised in the current debate:
1. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1877191,00.html
2. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1915722-2,00.html
CHINESE GOVERNMENT TIGHTEND NOOSE ON THE INTERNET
July 1, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi.
The Chinese Government is determined to control internet usage in the country. In yet another measure to ensure control of this media form widely credited for its hard to control characteristics,the communist establishment intends to introduce a software called “Green Dam Youth Escort filter” which will be inserted on all computers sold in China. Where as the regime argues that the measure is aimed at protecting children from ponography and violence, given its record in media censorship,obviously the measure is a technical form of censorship which has attracted the attention of free speech activists. Please follow the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8126832.stm
NEW MEDIA AND POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS:THE CASE OF IRAN
June 21, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi
Recent events in Iran, and some others before them, have confirmed the profound impact the New Media, represented by mobile telephony and the internet, have in facilitating democratic processes. However the prevention of professional journalists from covering the political uprising in Iran following alleged stolen votes, and the subsequent near total reliance of the world’s major media houses on citizen media reports, has raised serious questions about the operations of the New Media.
The following links demonstrate how the consumers of these citizen media reports are finding it difficult to authenticate, and trust them, given the fact that government agents are known to have deliberately used the same communication tools to file false reports to mislead the world. Another important question raised is what one website has described as “Iranians spying on themselves”. The fear is that since the Iranian supreme leader has warned the opposition of a possible crack down in the face of continued violence, citizen reporters could easily be identified by security agents through the published video clips, their mobile phones, and the social networking sites they are using to publish their reports.
| http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/weekinreview/21cohenweb.html?_r=1&hp |
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-06-20/marked-for-death-by-twitter/?cid=bs:archive12
UK TO REALISE UNIVERSAL BROADBAND BY 2012
June 19, 2009 by sbkamanziBy Sam Byamugisha Kamanzi
The Londonpaper has reported that the British government has finalised plans to implement a policy that will enable the country to realise universal broadband access “termed Digital Britain” by the year 2012. Currently,about 90 percent of the British have access to the internet. Please follow the link: http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/news/london/news/brown-wants-every-home-connected-to-the-internet-in-digital-britain
BRITISH COURT RULES AGAINST BLOGGERS
June 17, 2009 by sbkamanziThe British High Court has passed a ruling that blogging is a public activity that should not be protected by he law. Please follow the link: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/16/20090617/ttc-bloggers-have-no-right-to-privacy-sa-6315470.html
