–+ ROAM DIGITAL +–

The below is from The Cluetrain Manifesto … We are so far behind…

The connectedness of the Web is transforming what’s inside and outside your business — your market and your employees.

Through the Internet, the people in your markets are discovering and inventing new ways to converse. They’re talking about your business. They’re telling one another the truth, in very human voices.

Intranets are enabling your best people to hyperlink themselves together, outside the org chart. They’re incredibly productive and innovative. They’re telling one another the truth, in very human voices.

You have two choices. You can continue to lock yourself behind facile corporate words and happytalk brochures. Or you can join the conversation.

Repost: http://www.cis-india.org/research/dn/dnrep

The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore and Hivos have assessed the state of knowledge on the potential impact of youth for social transformation and political engagement in the South. This report ‘Digital Natives with a Cause?’ charts the scholarship and practice of youth and technology and informs further research and intervention within diverse contexts and cultures.

The report displays that digital natives have a potential impact as agents of change. It concludes that multidisciplinary theoretical approaches venturing beyond the cause-and-effect model and providing the necessary vocabulary and sensitivity are crucial to understanding Digital Natives. The lament that youths are apolitical is a result of insufficient attention to activities that do not conform to existing notions of political and civil society formation. Digital Natives are sensitive and thoughtful. It is time to listen to them and their ideas, and to focus on their development as responsible and active citizens rather than on their digital exploits or technologised interests.

The report specifically focuses on youth as e-agents of change within emerging information societies to explore questions of technology mediated identities, embedded conditions of social transformation and political participation, as well as potentials for sustained livelihood and education. It identifies the knowledge gaps and networks and further areas of intervention in the field of Digital Natives.

As a first step in working towards enabling Digital Natives for social transformation and political engagement, Hivos and CIS will organize a Multistakeholder Conference Fall 2010.

Digital Natives with a Cause? – Report Summary    Download Pdf document  Here

Digital Natives with a Cause? – Report                    Download Pdf document Here

Karen doesn’t need to tell Gen Y to shut up and shop … Where is Karen?

Read more at The Age – Get Y @ 30 … Here’s what their sample looks like:

It’d be interesting to read about India’s Gen Y or China’s Gen Y.

At this moment, 61,199 members have joined the group – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=219739857206&ref=mf

This group was formed to condemn the behaviour of a lone numbskull who has just dragged Nigeria’s already sodden image more into the mud. Folks, this is not a group to speak about religion…we are talking about someone who is either mad, or a moron….and has put a BIG QUESTION MARK on d sanity or sincerity of purpose of 150 million pple who are already sick of other name-callings. Period!

The lyrics of popular FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI hit: Sorrow Tears and Blood aptly sums up the real Nigerian’s Attitude to life:
”i no want die
i no want quench
mama dey for house
papa dey for house
i want enjoy….’

This song, done in Nigerian pidgin english sums up thus: Our people (regardless of religion, geography or culture) DO NOT WANT TO DIE, THEY WANT TO ENJOY.Even our petty miscreants run away from the crime scene and prefer to enjoy their loot in (at least) hideaways.

For 50 long years of independence, this action has been unheard of, unseen in Nigeria or even outside Nigeria by a TYPICAL NIGERIAN even if he/she was brought up outside its shores.

That VALUE FOR LIFE IS OUR TRADEMARK. Every parent instils it in their wards as can be seen by the REPORT MADE BY HIS VERY RESONSIBLE FATHER to the US Consulate in Nigeria.

This is not about a north, south,east or west thing. This is not about religion. It is about a long held traditional attribute of Nigerians: perseverance and love of life, broken by this unfortunate incident. We are chagrined by such misbehaviour DURING a long-sought RE-BRANDING PROCESS.

We therefore use this medium to let the world know: the REAL NIGERIAN LOVES LIFE!

Watch out Does this mean more suicide bombers and machete wielding tall black men? Or a new generation equipped with a deep understanding of what it means to be on the outside and know how to win the hearts and minds of a scared minority and introduce the ideas and knowledge needed to re-shape how the world works…

“The great bulk of today’s 1.2 billion youth—nearly 90 percent—are in developing countries,” said Carl Haub, PRB senior demographer and co-author of the data sheet. Eight in 10 of those youth live in Africa and Asia. “During the next few decades, these young people will most likely continue the current trend of moving from rural areas to cities in search of education and training opportunities, gainful employment, and adequate health care.” One of the major social questions of the next few decades is whether their expectations will be met.

http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2009/2009wpds.aspx

I haven’t read much critiques of internet activism/protest – and here’s a good article to consider.

Yet even if the internet doesn’t always bring people out onto the streets, its adherents have another, subtler argument. For democracy to succeed, they say, you need civil movements to help make protests more intense, frequent and well-attended. A vibrant civil society can challenge those in power by documenting corruption or uncovering activities like the murder of political enemies. In democracies, this function is mostly performed by the media, NGOs or opposition parties. In authoritarian states—or so the story goes—it is largely up to lone individuals, who often get locked up as a result. Yet if citizens can form ad-hoc groups, gain access to unbiased information and connect with each other, challenges to the state become more likely. And social theorists like Robert Putnam argue that the emergence of such groups increases social capital and trust among citizens.

Also, worth keeping track of a story by Victoria Police sharing information with corporations about protestors.