In the immediate aftermath of the Asian tsunami, blogs were a major source of news and assistance. The disaster also highlighted a new form of blogging, called vlogging. Matthew Buckland explains.
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/ 26 January 2005
There is an audible buzz among online publishers and agencies about the renewed interest in the medium these days. And, to back it up, the figures appear to be looking healthy. Matthew Buckland explains why the local and international online sectors have good reason to be upbeat.
IRIN, a news wire set up in response to the information vacuum surrounding the Rwanda genocide, is a classic example of the power of the internet in Africa. Matthew Buckland expands.
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/ 30 December 2004
Tsunami survivors slammed government officials and singled out the South African ambassador in Thailand on radio and the press for their handling of the tsunami crisis. A Pretoria newspaper quoted survivors accusing South African officials in Thailand of incompetence.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=177242">SA rallies to aid of Tsunami victims</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=177241">Tsunami toll nears 120 000</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=177234">SA relief workers to fly out</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=177235">30 000 Somalis in need of Aid</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=177229">SA tsunami survivors return</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-National&ao=177200">South Africans still missing</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=177227">Aid arrives in tsunami disaster zones</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=177203">Calls for UN to lead relief effort</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=177202">The true horror emerges</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/content/l3_fl2.asp?cg=tsunami%20disaster&o=194303">Tsunami disaster special report</a>
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/ 15 December 2004
Radio "streaming" may draw in a surprising amount of listeners, but the business prospects have yet to evolve. Matthew Buckland considers the current landscape and future prospects of the net’s audio capabilities.
Something pretty revolutionary is going down in a dusty patch of Limpopo province. It involves billionaire and Africa’s first astronaut Mark Shuttleworth, a multi-national technology company and the government. Shuttleworth is so passionate about it, he says it could rocket South Africa into the future.
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As the African National Congress passed the 10-million vote mark on Friday, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said that the turnout for the third democratic elections had been an impressive 76,9%. At present the ANC has 69,6% of the votes counted so far.
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The Independent Democrats said on Thursday it went after South Africa’s youth vote by using innovations in technology to campaign to its voters, such as use of SMSes and the web. Speaking to the Mail & Guardian Online, ID leader Patricia de Lille claimed the party has a database of more than 90Â 000 cellphone numbers of its constituents.
DA ‘elated’ at turnout
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The election in KwaZulu-Natal was a neck-and-neck race between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress on Thursday. The counting of the votes has been slow in the province due to rigorous auditing of the electronic capturing of votes.
Special Report: Elections 2004
The Independent Democrats, contesting its first election on Wednesday, surpassed the long-established New National Party in early poll counts on Thursday morning. By mid-morning, the ID had garnered 123 292 votes or 2,24% of the votes counted, putting them in fourth place. The NNP was in fifth place with 121 928 votes, or 2,21%.