Skip to main content

THE WEB IS GOING BAREFOOT!!! WEB 2.0, SOCIAL MEDIA AND DEVELOPMENT

Hello Team!


The Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is holding learning opportunities on Web 2.0 and Social Media for Development across ACP countries. They are just completing one in Zimbabwe at the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) and I have been privileged to be part of this one, the first in Zimbabwe and a really exciting opportunity. Probably two or more will run in Zimbabwe so keep watching this space for more information on Web 2.0 for development in your country!

From my participation in the course I have just learned that the web is gradually "Going Barefoot." Great News!!!

So closer are we to saying "bye-bye" to the technical jargon and complexities of "sailing in the digital sea of the internet." Through Web 2.0 and Social Media, not only the "webmasters" or "expert programmers" can publish content on the internet. Even a young black, barefoot boy sitting under tree can do so... as long as they have internet connection... And that's the magic word, "internet connection" and the reason why Afrikan governments and entrepreneurs need to start thinking really serious about ICT infrastructure. (Not taking away any of the great work being done in countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt. 

Through, blogs, vlogs, social media, netowrking, and mash-ups (a combination of various technologies on a single platform) the  ground to co-create knowledge is becoming bigger and the scope for collaboration is becoming much deeper, and the possibility of transformation more probable. Knowledge can grow to become a global public good unlike a "monopolistic product." The world is changing and let's face it. Information is power, but information SHARED is much powerful, that's why Web 2.0 presents the greatest possibility of achieving effectiveness in any area, #African #Agriculture #Development also included. 

As opposed to the one-way traffic of Web 1.0 kind of internet preceding Web 2.0; Web 2.0 allows paves way for the Web to "Go Barefoot" across four broad areas:
  1. connecting with other people via social networks like facebook, twitter or LinkedIn);
  2. collaborating and doing things with other people (even if they are in remote locations through applications like Google Drive and Wikis);
  3. creating and sharing content (e.g. blogging and vlogging); and
  4. finding, using, organizing and reusing content.
Through a more open Web 2.0, we can capture the power of people and communities we never imagined we could tap into. 

Nonetheless, there are challenges we need to look into and be able to overcome to get the best out of this technological evolution. This includes:
  1. The possibilities of overload and competition for attention
  2. Uneven distribution of resources, resulting in marked differences in challenges organizational and personal processes of sharing knowledge
  3. It is also difficult to change personal and organizational traditions and processes.

Anyway bloggers, I always say, "the only way to do a hard thing is to do it." The only way we can find solutions for all these challenges is to... FIND THEM!! Get thinking about the future, getting thinking about yourself, your organization, your country, the world... HOW WILL YOU CONTRIBUTE TO MAKING IT A BETTER PLACE? Get blogging we need your views...

Go Barefoot

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Africa I dream of everyday

I have just been thinking about Africa lately. Our continent is currently at a crossroads, we can either make it or break it. It is becoming apparent to the world that the future of food production and agribusiness is strongly linked to Africa. The continent still has potential to expand area under production and to intensify production through new technologies. The developed countries are well aware of this and seem to be ready to do business with Africa. But where is the deadlock? Why is the puzzle not fitting together?
In addition to the resources advantages of good land, climate and minerals, Africa has another advantage - a burgeoning and most youthful population. While the developed world has to deal with an ageing population, Africa is carrying a 'ticking time bomb' or a demographic dividend for the continent - the youth. If these young men and women do not get jobs or fail to become true value-creating entrepreneurs, the whole continent could just explode! But if they…
1 comment
Read more

Zimbabwe’s limited fiscal space is constraining agricultural growth and development

Defining fiscal space Fiscal space is defined by the balance between government revenue (i.e. tax), denoted by T and government expenditure, denoted by G, through time. For instance, if G < T, then there is a fiscal surplus, but if G > T, then there is a fiscal deficit. A sustained or perpetual deficit through time results in build-up of annual deficits, leading to an unsustainable high debt. With a high level of debt, the government cannot borrow on the international market, and its ability to finance future deficits, i.e. the fiscal space is limited. 
Zimbabwe currently endures very limited fiscal space since debt distress is undermining the capacity of the country to service its debt obligations. Accumulation of external payment arrears since 2000 (including interest charges) has resulted in public and publicly guaranteed debt reaching 51% of GDP and was projected to reach US$7.2 billion by December 2014 (Chinamasa, 2014).

Fiscal space is constraining agricultural growth The…
Post a Comment
Read more

Just to give you All a BIG THANK YOU!

"Lack of gratitude is as the sin of witchcraft" -  (My Translation of a common Shona Proverb)
Sometime back I asked for your support in the YoBloCo , Young Agriculture Blogger Competition. 

I would really like to thank all those who voted for this blog, and all those who found time just to look at my blog and read the posts. I know time is expensive for you all to make detailed comments on each posts, BUT I also know that you read my blog, because the number of views has kept on increasing to over a 1,500 views now!

I am very pleased to share with you that even though the Barefoot E-ssue did not make it into the top 12 Blogs, we sure did get a special mention from CTA! Check out the News item here! 

In the same regard, I would also like to extend my warm gratitude to the Technical Center for Agricultural  and Rural Cooperation (CTA) for organizing the Web 2.0 Training that introduced me to blogging and birthed the Barefoot E-ssue.

By the way, I started the Barefoot E-ssue as part …
Post a Comment
Read more