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John MacFarlane is a writer, producer and editor from Montreal, Canada. He has an MA in media studies, a grad diploma in journalism and a B.Eng in electrical engineering. His MA thesis was about the Daily Show. He's interested in civic engagement and communications theory, the digital divide and alternative economic theories, and saving nature.

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Technology and Human Rights

posted by John MacFarlane at 18h28 GMT on Sep 29

Worldchanging.com's Emily Gertz discusses the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of blogs and mobile phones, referring to recent events in Burma and an activist project in Congo, among other things:

"In the world of online activism, expectations have not inflated to the level of a few years ago, when a wave of techno-utopian optimism swept the activist 'net that maybe a "technical intervention," that is blogging, could stop the mass killings in Darfur -- an effort which, on those terms, failed.

Still, could another such "failure," fueled by the dismay and anger about the Myanmar government's violent crackdown, undercut the momentum of mobile-enabled activism? It's a good moment to consider how networked communications don't -- and do -- help achieve human rights."

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Technology and Human Rights

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