A device for Twitter for the developing world...

Re:A device for Twitter for the developing world... by bmelton on Friday July 02, 2010 @12:38PM (#1481550)

So, perhaps I'm way off base here, and there is some actual need, but I just having a hard time seeing Twitter as something more than a luxury. I can't help but wonder how much it would be used in developing nations, honestly, but my gut feeling is 'close to none'.

Can you enlighten me as to how you feel this would benefit people?

More to the point though, I worry that something so single-purposed is far less useful than something like OLPC program, or in somehow making a greener, solar/hand-crank powered general computing device, as they would then have not only twitter, but lots of other tools.

The required time and materials to build something JUST for twitter seems excessive when that same device should easily work for Facebook, Gmail, etc?

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Re:A device for Twitter for the developing world... by karpj on Friday July 02, 2010 @05:35PM (#1482445)

bmelton,

Thanks for your comment!

Five billion people on earth have no internet access. Many are living in complete poverty, without any infrastructure, and/or under an oppressive government.

The benefit is to give these people a way to communicate with, learn from, and contribute to, the rest of the world - we hope to give a voice to the voiceless.

I picked Twitter b/c messages can be moved efficiently via satellite, and there is an existing global network of contributors to answer questions and to help.

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Re:A device for Twitter for the developing world... by omarchowdhury on Saturday July 03, 2010 @07:52PM (#1484787)

"The benefit is to give these people a way to communicate with, learn from, and contribute to, the rest of the world - we hope to give a voice to the voiceless."

All this with 140 characters?

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