Archive for
October 30th, 2008
Stories
Ibero-America: Campus Party in El Salvador
This week in El Salvador, hundreds of technology fanatics have assembled in the capital of San Salvador to take part in the latest edition of Campus Party. The event gathers participants “with their computers with the goal of share their worries, exchange experiences and take part in all types of activities related to communication and new technologies. The human factor is the heart of Campus Party.” The latest events were held in Colombia, Brazil and in Spain, and for the first time in Central America, Campus Party Ibero-América is being held in conjunction with the XVIII Ibero-American Summit where heads of states have been participating.
Participants from El Salvador and the 22 member states are divided into one of a broad range of areas including: Astronomy, CampusBot (robotics), Innovation, Modding, Campus Create, Digital Leisure and Digital Inclusion, and includes the participation of bloggers. These bloggers have captured the feeling of being in a room with their fellow technology enthusiasts through their blog posts, photos and videos.
Photo by Patinet and used under a Creative Commons license.
David of the blog Dark Manfred [es] and a native of El Salvador writes about his first impressions about the amount of computers in the room, numbering in the hundreds.
With representatives from all 22 Ibero-american states, it is an opportunity to meet others, share ideas, and see what others are doing across the region. Blogchorno [es] from El Salvador had the opportunity to see the XO computers from the One Laptop Per Child project that attendees from Uruguay had brought to demonstrate. The traditional media is also presented, as La Prensa Grafica, one of San Salvador's most important newspaper is devoting a blog [es] to the event and published a note about theBlogs & Beers event for local and visiting bloggers. David Mejia is also promoting the event on Facebook [es].
Many bloggers are writing about their favorite areas of Campus Party Rafael Monge was thoroughly impressed with modding (modification) of computers from their original factory enclosures with “customized designs by their owners to make things truly surprising: personalized equipment which are more works of art.”
The robots have also been a notable attraction, with original designs built by representatives from across Ibero-América. Joster Ricardo took a video of a robot that stands up on its own.
As many of the participants are enthusiasts of Open and Free Software, many were excited about the recent release of the newest version of Ubuntu 8.10. To spread the word, there were signs everywhere, such on the computer towers and also on signs on people's backs to let everyone know for sharing purposes. Edwin of Sansivar Graphics [es] has photos.
However, not all bloggers arrived from around El Salvador, others travelled varying distances such as Gustavo Reyes of Guatemala [es], Hugo Miranda of Bolivia [es], Carolina Botero of Colombia [es], and Julio Juan Ortega of Nicaragua [es]. The gathering was also an opportunity for first-time visitors to El Salvador to try local cuisine. Joan Guerrero from the Dominican Republic [es] captured an outing to try the traditional pupusas.
The event continues through Saturday morning, and one can follow the rest of the agenda on Campus Party's official YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook page.
Argentina: Diego Maradona Named New Coach of National Team
Photo by JMRobledo and used under a Creative Commons license
For any Argentine that travels throughout the world, any conversation with a local resident usually includes mention of one surname: Maradona. Diego Maradona must be the most famous Argentine in the world, and anything that he does usually becomes news. It is even more newsworthy, when he is named the next Coach of the Argentine national football team. After the resignation of Alfio Basile due to less than stellar results, the Argentine Football Federation left many in suspense by taking its time in choosing between several candidates. Many Argentines are left wondering how the greatest footballer to play would fare as coach and ensure that the country qualifies for the World Cup 2010.
In the blog E-Blog [es], Leandro Zanoni defends the decision and says:
La Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) hizo justicia con la historia. Nadie hoy por hoy merece el puesto más que Diego…Grondona se dio cuenta de que hoy la selección necesita otra cosa, un golpe de timón, un motivador y un líder a quien respetar y no tanto título local acumulado.
The Argentine Football Federation (AFA for its initials in Spanish) made history in a just manner. There is no one today that deserves the spot more than Diego…Grondona (AFA president) realized that the national team needs something else, someone to take charge, a motivator, a leader who is respected and not so much one who has won a lot of local titles.
There is also a defense of Maradona in English at World Cup Blog.
On the other hand, BlogBis [es] criticizes the hiring of Maradona and says that there were better candidates:
Sobran entrenadores capacitados y profesionales en el país. Pero no se opta por primar la profesionalidad ni la capacidad sino por conceptos tales como “pasión por la camiseta”, “dá ánimos a los jugadores”, etc”… Como jugador hizo historia pero como entrenador ha sido lamentable. Pero sus antecedentes no valen aquí. La adoración endiosada es lo que ha ganado
There are more than enough trained and professional coaches in the country. They don't opt to value neither professionalism nor ability, but for concepts like, “passion for the jersey,” “motivate the players, etc.” … As a player, he made history, but as a coach he was pitiful. However, his record does not count here. The god-like adoration is what has won.
Other opinion on this subject can be found at the blog of Marcelo Gantman [es]; Cuaderno Contable [es]; Selección Deportiva [es]; y Empresas Contables [es].
Cuba, U.S.A.: Voting on the Embargo
General Assembly, United Nations HQ (New York City) - Photo by Luke Redmond, used under a Creative Commons license. Visit Luke's flickr photostream.
The United Nations General Assembly yesterday approved a resolution condemning the U.S. embargo. For the seventeenth year running, the vote went in favor of the Cuba-sponsored resolution and bloggers - from the diaspora and from Cuba herself - have had a lot of say on the subject.
The Cuban Triangle got straight to the point:
There are lots of reasons, depending on your point of view, not to pay attention to this event. It’s a top priority of Cuban diplomacy. The debate will feature Cuban assertions about the embargo’s damages to the Cuban economy ($3.77 billion in 2007) that can’t be verified, and that ignore the cost to Cuba’s economy of Cuba’s own economic policies. The resolution has no teeth and the UN has no enforcement power. The resolution asserts that the embargo violates international law, as if the United States lacks the right to refrain from trade with another country. In the debate, Cuba will go one better and call U.S. policy “genocidal” not just rhetorically, but as a matter of international law.
Child of the Revolution agreed that the vote “is not binding and therefore does not mean much in practice”, but conceded that:
It represents yet another propaganda win for the Castro brothers.
Havana Times seemed hopeful about the possibility that the vote could make a difference, particularly in light of the fact that a new U.S. administration will be taking over the reins of government come 2009:
While the vote is non-binding, a new US administration in January will have the chance to heed world opinion or maintain its nearly half century of hostility against neighboring Cuba.
The Cuban Triangle was of the opinion that the vote served to remind people of a few things:
First, Cuba knows how to do multilateral diplomacy.
Second, while many governments agree with U.S. criticisms of Cuban human rights practices, virtually all agree, as the resolution says, that U.S. sanctions have “adverse effects” on the Cuban people. And virtually all are willing to vote to urge the United States to lift the embargo.
Third, if a new U.S. Administration decides that it wants to work more closely with allies and other countries on the Cuba issue, U.S. sanctions – from the embargo to direct action against third-country banks and companies – are an obstacle.
Meanwhile, El Cafe Cubano sought to draw attention to what he thinks is the real issue:
Isn't that special…”The U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly for the favor of lifting the 46-year-old US trade embargo on communist-ruled Cuba.”
Alrighty then…What about FREE ELECTIONS and DEMOCRACY?
Finally, Havana-based Generation Y added an interesting perspective:
Anticipating the outcome of the vote, I would like to refer to another siege in effect every day. This one prevents me from entering or leaving my country freely, from associating with a political group or creating a small family business. An internal blockade, constructed on a base of limitations, control and censorship, has cost Cubans countless material and spiritual losses. I decide to go out for the newspaper Granma—which requires a huge effort—and try to find the outcome of today’s debate in the United Nations. I go out into the street and what is most glaring are the continuing restrictions imposed on us by our leaders; the wall that no one in the UN will vote against today.
SketchPAN: World without Words
How do you express yourself online? Words, photos, clips, or paintings? It's been difficult for some of us to draw online, but now with SketchPAN, life will be easier. This website, originally in Korean, started in February 2008. English service is provided since August, and attracting users from the US, Japan, China, Vietnam, Brazil and many more. In the “world without words”, language is no longer a barrier for people around the globe. Users can not only create, respond and interact with others via drawings, but also learn how to draw with its recording function. We get a chance to talk to Bora Lee, Global Marketing Strategist of SketchPAN.
What is SketchPan?
With SketchPAN, we provide a platform and intuitive tools allowing users to create countless and unique contents distinctive from other texts, photos, and videos.
Our tools for drawing, animation and relay drawing help users to transcend the border of their imagination. Users will also meet new multi-playing drawing games soon.
Furthermore, our website enables people around the globe to share and communicate through their own visual creations with our unique social network service.
What's the motivation to start SketchPan at the beginning?
Yu Kim, the CEO and founder of SketchPAN felt empathy seeing great works of talented students becoming just one of school projects. He wanted to create a platform to help them express their creativity freely on the web, and share those works with friends around the world.
What are creative ways of using this service?
SketchPAN, “pan” meaning a board in Korean, provides following services: DrawingPAN, AnimationPAN, TogetherPAN, and ShopPAN. DrawingPAN records and replays drawing process. AnimationPAN lets users to create flipbook like animations easily. TogetherPAN allows collaboration artwork. ShopPAN provides pre-made background images. Finally, MyPAN is a personal page where users can keep track of friends’ works and image comments.
A demo or DrawingPAN
Did you have any unexpected experiences and applications from users?
Our initial target for the service was artists or people who were interested in art; however, during our testing, we saw kids and parents showing enormous interest in our service. Even now, a large percent of SketchPAN users are kids, who continuously create many unique and fun contents.
A demo of AnimationPAN
New and creative ways always exist. Educators, children, parents, students and many others are all expected to benefit from SketchPAN, but there are more possibilities. Welcome to move your mouse and start your private online drawing class today.
Kazakhstan: Blocked Bloggers Discuss Economics
Although LiveJournal, the major blog platform on the post-Soviet space, including Kazakhstan, is still not accessible through the national telecom monopolist Kazakhtelecom, Internet enthusiasts find their way to express their opinions online. The main topic – as, probably, elsewhere these days – is economics. (more…)
Argentina: We Media 2008 in Buenos Aires
The We Media conference was held for the first time in Latin America, when the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina played host on October 14-15, 2008. The media thinktank iFOCOS has been organizing annual conferences in Miami, and together with the newspaper Clarín, the conference was brought to Argentina. Media executives, web entrepreneurs,and bloggers, among others gathered at the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA for its initials in Spanish) to hear a wide range of speakers on topics such as “Media and Blogs”, “Internet, Marketing and Society” and “Communication, New Generations and Online Communities.”
Photo de Jorge Gobbi and used under a Creative Commons license.
With the quantity of bloggers who were present in the auditorium as presenters and attendees, there was a wide and diverse coverage of the event. The Buenos Aires newspaper Clarín published an article on their website called “Talking About We Media Buenos Aires [es],” which provided a good collection of blog and media links about the event. A blog post written by Martín of Botón de Inicio [es], who wrote “We Media from the Argentine twittosphere [es],” where he published many, and what he considers the best tweets from We Media.
Young people in the media was also a frequently mentioned topic, including the local photo-blogger (floggger) nicknamed La Cumbio [es], who was often referred to during the two-day event, as an example of attitude, ability and success. The conference organizers invited her to the event, along with three other young bloggers to share information on how they use the internet and other social software. José of E-true [es] in his post: Bonus We Media: Adolescents [es]wrote about the conclusions from the discussion:
-Son gente común con distintas características y que se identifican en un mundo virtual y en un mundo real a la vez. No es nada del otro mundo. Todos lo hacemos al ingresar en Internet.
-Los medios no los comprenden. Escriben cualquier cosa de sus formas de vivir. Y encima los categorizan mal. ¿Falta de interés o de información?
-No son fenónemos, no son “nosotros”, “ellos” o “personas comunes”, somos todos iguales, con distintas características.En un evento en donde la mayoría pertencía a prestigiosas empresas de medios, agencias de publicidad, son bloggers o están interesados en el tiempo, los adolescentes demostraron que no son un fenómeno al cual tenerle miedo. Para nada.
-They are ordinary people with distinct characteristics and who identify with the virtual and real world at the same time. It is nothing from another planet. We all do this when we go online.
-The media doesn't understand them. They write whatever whey want about their lifestyle. On top of it, they categorize them incorrectly. A lack of interest or a lack of information?
-They are not phenonmena, they are not “we', “they,” or “ordinary people,” we are all the same, with different characterisitcs.
In an event, where the majority of people belonged to prestigious media companies, publicity agencies, bloggers or are interested in the topic, the teenagers demonstrated that they are not a phenomenon to be feared. Not at all.
However, not all agree. Federico of Dotpod [es] writes:
es importante poner especial énfasis en algo concreto, ya que si bien el periodismo y los blogs son de alguna manera moneda corriente, algunos de los disertantes han llegado a menospreciar a la blogósfera y eso puede no ser tomado con buenos ojos. Tenembaum por ejemplo empezó hablando de los blogs y después los mezcó con la famosa flogger “Cumbio“, algo que a mí sinceramente me pareció degradante, amén de que ya parece un cliché hablar de esta mina xD.
It is important to put special emphasis on something concrete, as journalism and blog are something common, some of the speakers undervalued the blogosphere and that cannot be seen well. Tenembaum, for example, started to talk about the blogs and then later mixed them with the famous flogger “Cumbio,” which to me, honestly, seemed a little degrading, and it appears to be cliché to talk about this girl xD.
Andrés from Unblogged [es] writes about the participation of Global Voices' author from Argentina, Jorge Gobbi:
“Comunidades conectadas y multitudes organizadas” con Jorge Gobbi de Global Voices, Juan Cruz Mones Cazón de Idealistas.org y Paulien Osse de Wage Indicator Foundation. Cada uno de ellos estuvo contando sobre el proyecto en el que participan y sin duda Global Voices fue el que se llevó los premios, ya que la ronda de preguntas estuvo principalmente dedicada a Gobbi. Global Voices básicamente es una red de colaboradores de todo el mundo que toma información de blogs en cada país y la misma es publicada en distintos idiomas, también traducida por un grupo de traductores colaboradores de los distintos idiomas. En Argentina, Jorge es el único colaborador en la parte de escritura.
“Connected communities and organized crowds,” with Jorge Gobbi of Global Voices, Juan Cruz Mones Cazón of Idealistas.org and Paulien Osse of Wage Indicator Foundation. Each one spoke about the projects in which they participate, and without a doubt, Global Voices took home the prizes, as the round of questions were primarily directed to Gobbi. Global Voices is basically a network of collaborators around the world that takes information from blogs of each country that is published in different languages, and it is also translated by a group of collaborators from various languages. In Argentina, Jorge is the only volunteer that writes articles.
For those interested, please see the article from Clarín, read comments on blogs, and see the photos from the event at the Flickr pool.
Links for Thu, 2008-10
Guillermo from Quimeras Seductoras [es] summarizes the encounter of Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, and the Peruvian congresswoman Hilaria Supa, who met outside of the Congress buildings. She confronted the King and asked him to return all of the wealth taken by Spain during the Conquest.
Ventana Azul [es] provides the latest details on BarCamp Lima to be held Saturday, November 8.
Maila Baje at Nepali Notebook discusses on the internal rifts between the purists and the pragmatists within the Maoist government.
India's troubled north-eastern Assam state was rocked by a series of coordinated blasts today. Praful reports that 60 people were killed and more than 200 injured. “Although ULFA’s involvement in the serial blasts in Assam is suspected, the intelligence sources believe that Bangladesh-based HuJI could be behind the blasts,” opines the blogger.
Both HaitiAnalysis.com and The Haitian Blogger report that a New York court has sentenced former Haitian death squad leader Emmanuel ‘Toto' Constant to 12 to 37 years in prison for mortgage fraud.
“Let’s compare politics with sports. You’re in the home stretch. A smart athlete - a well-trained one - would keep his eyes on the prize and concentrate on running his own race. But what is McCain doing? Looking over at the other lane, more concerned about the competition than he is about raising the level of his own performance. Such a tactic loses races - athletic and presidential”: Blogging from Trinidad, Francomenz takes issue with McCain’s questioning of whether Barack Obama has what it takes to protect America.
Maximilian Forte, writing at Review of the Indigenous Caribbean Center, posts a video of Trinidadian calypsonian King Austin's song Progress, which he calls “a critique of the ideology and practice of progress, from the vantage points of environmental unsustainability, exploitation, inequality, and the resultant social strife.”
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