A Surprise

I just came back from a 4-week adventure in Central America where I had a fantastic time. During my time there I visited Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Al these countries are unique and truly marvelous in their own special way. The picture on your right shows me sitting next to lava on the summit of the Pacaya Volcano, one of many great experiences.

However, apart from having a wonderful time I also learnt a few lessons. Firstly, I was really surprised about the way the Internet has been adapted in Central America. My naïve assumption was that it would be almost impossible to connect whilst I was away. However, on my first day I was surprised to find free Wi-Fi available at my rather tiny hotel. And interestingly enough, free Wi-Fi is standard in most places in Central America including hotels, parks, pubs, restaurants and other public areas. As I got back to the UK I was surprised to see that McDonald’s decision to make Wi-Fi available for free in their restaurants made the headlines and is the main theme on their website. In Central America, I am sure you would make the headlines if you were not providing free Wi-Fi.

In addition I was surprised about the way people in this region of the world use the Internet. They all use social media, most of them connect on their phones as well. Even in remote villages there is still Internet connection and most people have mobile phones.

The mobile networks are also brilliant, I hardly have reception in my flat whereas in Guetemala I had full reception everywhere, including on the top of the volcano. I think the governments of these countries deserve a lot of credit for making connectivity affordable and accessible at all times.

But somehow I assumed that they had none of this, I expected that they would be miles behind us. But the way they use the internet and other technologies are not very different from the way it’s used in the west. I don't know why I thought the opposite, maybe it was arrogance? Ignorance? Or simply lack of knowledge.

Coming back from this region I have learnt that it’s not only us in the west that are technologically advanced when it comes to the Internet. I just didn't realize that the rest of the world is developing at such a fast pace. These guys also Tweet, use Facebook and carry lots of apps on their iphone.

The Virtual Revolution

BBC: The Virtual Revolution

I’ve been following the creation of this documentary for a few months now. What makes this TV series so special is that they democratised all of their material, interviews, documents and other resources free of charge. The series has theoretically been made by ‘the people’ for ‘the people’.

It starts next Saturday on BBC2, and should be a thoroughly reinvigorating watch.

Check out www.bbc.com/digitalrevolution for the unedited rushes interviews.

Tweeting for Haiti – social media proves its worth in response to the devastating humanitarian crisis.

A few weeks ago I blogged here, describing the power of social media to influence and change the world around us for the better. At the time citing the trivial example of the fight for the UK Christmas number one, I suggested that the same principles applied elsewhere could make a real difference. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti we saw, on a truly humbling scale, the real power of online social communication.

On the morning on Wednesday 13th, The Red Cross tweeted to its 50,000 followers asking for funds to be donated via a simple text message. By Friday morning the message had been ‘re-tweeted’ to the extent that the appeal had raised over $35 million in donations, with $8 million coming directly from texts. Aided by celebrities and businesses also using the service, the crisis has been the most talked about subject on most social networks throughout the week.

As governments and non-government organisations around the globe scramble to the aid of the impoverished Caribbean island, it has been the online community that have responded with the speed and generosity not even matched in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or the Asian tsunami. The ability for people to express their compassion in the digital age is both exciting and proving to be more effective than anything seen before. Aid agencies are largely ignoring the slow and ineffective mediums of TV and radio advertising, turning to services like Twitter for fast and efficient communication.

The world now looks on as a combined military and aid agency response of unprecedented scale roles into action. We all hope that the people of Haiti get the help they need as soon as possible; aid that online communities across the globe are significantly responsible for. The first humanitarian crisis of the new decade has shown many doubters that the power of social media cannot and should not be ignored.