Segregated Internet

On the CBC's most recent Search Engine show, an interesting concept about the Afrosphere, the African-American blogosphere. What is fascinating about the concept is that it almost feels like discovering a completely new world. Things happening in the Afrosphere seem not to garner attention from mainstream media in North America unless there is a widespread momentum (in this case, demonstrations for the Jena 6). Brought to Africa, this same phenomenon becomes even more sharply delineated. What happens in Africa is rarely discussed outside of the continent. Even online, we live in different realities and it's important to look further than our common experience.

Buying/Donating OLPC Laptop

Oops!
Turns out, I was wrong. The "buy one, donate one free" program for the OLPC Project's XO laptop is in fact not a rumour, as I had said in class today:
One Laptop Per Child -- XO Giving
Doh!

As geek blog Engadget says, and contrary to what some might think, this is not such a bargain. It's also not that dissimilar to what is done with medicine sent to Africa and other parts of the world. Just a bit more of a direct relationship between donour and receiver than most similar asymmetrical relationships between "us" and "them."