New media such as social media, the internet and blogs are increasingly important forms of interaction and platforms for sharing ideas and views. The document discusses how Saudi women use blogging as a public voice and outlet for personal expression, despite censorship, and how Chinese citizens promote online politics through social networks and passionate expression of support or dissent. It also examines how new media has been used regarding migrant workers' rights in the UAE and post-election violence in Kenya and Myanmar. The document advocates for greater use of new media in Myanmar to empower civic engagement, freedom of expression and social change.

1. NEW MEDIA AND
DEVELOPMENT
Thet Aung

2. What is New Media?
 New media  Web 2.0
(social media, Internet, blog) CD-
Rom
 New media  Social media
Example
Blogs now exist on a vast array of topics, from
the latest electronic gadgets to books and
movies to sex and politics.1* Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010
1*."blog." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago:

3. Why?
 importance of interaction, the consumer and
the community. 2*
 The term emphasizes the idea that as a
collective it can have as much impact as any
traditional media platform.2*
2* Wave 3 Universal McCann http://www.goviral.com/articles/wave_3_20080403093750.pdf

4. Example
Quiz
Match topic and country flag and answer
WHY?
Women Blog
Online Politics
4* Flags from Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010

5. Saudi Women Blog
 6,200,000 Internet users in Saudi Arabia
(2008)5*
"Women are blogging like never before. However, a common perception
is that female bloggers tend to blog more about personal matters while
male bloggers write about 'serious' issues like politics and economic."
~Saudi Gazette
"Female bloggers in the Kingdom mostly blog about family matters,
about how being a woman affects their living in Saudi Arabia, and about
the issues that frustrate them."
~Tara Umm Omar, Saudi blogger interviewed by the Saudi Gazette
5* Data from http://www.internetworldstats.com/me/sa.htm

6. Saudi Women Blog
Saudi women view blogging as a:
 Daily journal
 Outlet for personal expression and venting
 Venue for serious discussion of troubling issues
They blog on topics including:
 Literature
 Arts
 Social Issues
 Personal Stories
 Politics
public voice for women who do not often have one in
3*New Media and Development Communication website, Fall 2008, Columbia SIPA, Professor Anne Nelson
society.
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/nelson/newmediadev/home.html

7. Expression and Idea Sharing
 The increase of the female blogosphere in
Saudi Arabia has created a new culture of
women active in expressing their viewpoints
and sharing ideas.
 express their views in
society(Political/homosexuals)
 felt safe talking about their views
 blog as a mixture of personal story and
political views
3*

8. Censorship
Saudi Eve‟s blog
 posts on love and religion
 written in both Arabic and English
 The Saudi government has blocked access to
her blog in 2008
http://www.internet.gov.sa/learn-the-web/guides/content-filtering-in-saudi-
arabia
3*

9. Blogging in English
 I blog in English because I can't type in Arabic
and
I am too lazy to learn
 I feel like talking about it, in English, so it can
be read in the furthest reaches of the planet.
 Bloggers in English have more freedom since
these blogs are less likely to fall under intense
scrutiny by the monitoring agencies
3*

10. Online Politics in China
 Environment: the Internet users
above chart of the Internet usage in China by CNNIC
(China Internet Network Information Center)
above chart of estimated user in China by "China to
overtake US in number of Internet users in 2009" by
Jeremy Reimer

11. Techonology
 Development of online social networks
3*

12. Passion
 Willingness to promote online politics
In a day, more than 2 million Chinese people put a red heart in front of their MSN
nicknames to show their support for Olympics.
3*

13. Passion
 Anti-CNN.com was established by Jin Rao, a 23-year-
old Chinese student
 The lies and distortions of facts from the Western
media
 concerning the 2008 Tibetan unrest
 “collect, classify, and exhibit the misbehaviors of
Western media.”
http://www.anti-cnn.com/forum/en/

14. Passion
 The Facebook Page of the Prime Minister of
PRC
3*

15. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
 The Official Blog - Tehran, Islamic Republic of
Iran
http://www.ahmadinejad.ir
4* Flags from Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010

16. Migrant Workers in UAE
Internet Projects Concerning Migrant Workers in the
UAE
 Mafiwasta is an important blog concerning workers'
rights in the UAE. Mafiwasta.com
Migrant Rights is another blog drawing attention to the
issue of migrants in the region.
This is the Facebook page highlighting concern for the
plight of migrant workers, particularly in the
construction sector, Dubai's Dirty Little Secret
Another Facebook page calling for Minimum Wage for
Construction Workers in the UAE.
3*

17. New Media and Violence
 Jarret M. Brachman. High-Tech Terror: Al-Qaeda‟s Use of New Technology:
a review by the Director of Research at the Combating Terrorism Center at
the United States Military Academy.
 Josh Goldstein and Juliana Rotich. Digitally Networked Technologies in
Kenya's Post-Election Crisis: a summary of the positive and negative uses
of new media in post-election Kenya.
 Marc Lacey. “Exploiting Real Fears With „Virtual Kidnappings.‟” New York
Times, 29 April 2008: an explanation of Mexico's mobile phone-based
kidnapping trend.
 Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, “Text Messages Used To Incite Violence in Kenya,”
NPR News: first-hand accounts of violent SMS messaging in post-election
Kenya.
 Ushahidi: Ushahidi is a platform for crowdsourcing crisis information by
allowing anyone to submit reports via mobile phone, email or web form. It
has been used in Kenya to report post-election violence and to collect
stories of peace heroes during the same period. It has also been
implemented in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

18. Myanmar?
 Development and New media

19. Noticeable for Myanmar
 Protest
 Nargis
 2010?
 Various LNGO, CBO

20. Trends
 Local content revolution
 Growing power of the mobile
 Rapidly growing number of Internet users
 PC penetration rate
 Decrease Internet cost per hour
 Governments react
Social Media and a New Model of Civic Engagement, Thet Aung, BarCamp Yangon

21. Why you should do?
 More space for people voices
 Young people practice Freedom of expression
and debate about politics, health and anything
 Social change in Myanmar could bring by ICT
mean of new media
The role of new media in social change of Myanmar, 2009, Thet Aung,

22. What can you do?
The role of new media in social change of Myanmar, 2009, Thet Aung,

23. Where should we start?
Assessing Existing Resources
 Human Resources
 Electrical Requirements
 Telephony
 Housing and Hardware
 Internet Technologies 3*
3* New Media and Development Communication website, Fall 2008, Columbia SIPA, Professor Anne Nelson
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/nelson/newmediadev/home.html

24. What can you do?
 Personal life
 Your community
 Your Country
 Regional
 Global issues

25. Thanks
 Q&A
Thet Aung
Managing Director
Kant Kaw Education Centre
thetaung@kantkaw.com
www.kantkaw.com