Drew Cogbill | Thesis Blog

works in progress.

Archive for the ‘Context and Domains’ Category

NYTimes: One Internet Village, Divided

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The “One Internet Village, Divided” article in today’s NYTimes is about the problems that poplular internet sites (YouTube, Facebook, MySpace) are facing with creating revenue from traffic in emerging markets.

The video site Veho has gone so far as to block users from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe.  MySpace is creating a default low bandwidth profile for users in India, and Facebook is focusing on member acquisition before worrying about monetizing.  YouTube had been developing localized versions of its service in Brazil, India, and Poland but has now switched to trying to make money with reports that it may lose around $470 million this year.

This news confirms my instinct that I should be exploring a business model for Pigeon that is not ad supported.  How can Internet companies balance the obviously huge demand for content and a need to monetize?  How can web-like services tap into the demand for content and be sustainable?

Written by drewcogbill

April 27th, 2009 at 11:40 am

Google Voice (aka Google bought Grand Central)

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voice-logo

Google bought Grand Central, and now it’s Google Voice.  I think this is significant because it shows Google’s continuing interest in mobile voice communication.

Written by drewcogbill

March 12th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

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The new iPod shuffle talks

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The new iPod Shuffle has a feature called VoiceOver.  By pushing a button during a song, VoiceOver will tell you the name of the song and the artist without stopping playing the song.

Written by drewcogbill

March 11th, 2009 at 5:31 pm

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Measuring the Information Society

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The ICU (International Telecommunication Union) has released the newest version of Measuring the Information Society - The ICT Development Index.  It has all kinds of statistics about land line, mobile, and broadband penetration.  The new edition also pays specific attention to the digital divide.

via MobileActive.org

Written by drewcogbill

March 6th, 2009 at 11:46 am

Ideas Project

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Just found the really wonderful Ideas Project, which is a collection of short videos from experts on their thoughts related to the “future of connected communities.”  I think I’ll make my way through most of the content on the site, but these are the ones I’m enjoying today:

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March 6th, 2009 at 12:24 am

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It’s heavenly script to me?

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March 5th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Attending ECommConf via Twitter

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I’d love to be attending the Emerging Communications Conference right now, so I’m following their official Twitter backchannel.  I’ve already found out about some interesting sounding projects:

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March 4th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

ICT4D.at Interview with Blaine Cook

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March 3rd, 2009 at 11:51 am

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ICT4D.at interview with Evan ‘Rabble’ Henshaw-Plath

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March 3rd, 2009 at 11:45 am

Mobile Tech For Social Change - New York

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Ethan Zuckerman’s opening up the day with a talk via Skype.  His main ideas:

  • We’ve won: mobile phones are being taken seriously
  • Think about connecting mobiles to other media, such as how Ushahidi has done.  FM Radio is still the most powerful broadcast media in much of the world.
  • Think about the user: don’t assume people will use things like you use them.
  • Be willing to be critical of failed projects.
  • Effective projects have a local partner.

Written by drewcogbill

February 21st, 2009 at 12:15 pm