News and Notes Roundup - July 20, 2015

Happy Monday and welcome back to another roundup! Keeping up with the rest of the news might take you on a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, but you can always count on good, clean technology to stay zen, right?

Wrong. Theoretical mathematics might be pure, but technology is inseparable from the people who develop and use it. We don't shy away from the issues here at the News and Notes Roundup, and we hope you enjoy this week's updates!

First up in this week's social media highlights, we have #RaceonTech, launched by NPR’s new series highlighting diversity in science and technology. In addition to interviewing students, professionals, and entrepreneurs in the field, NPR encouraged listeners to tweet their thoughts. Common themes emerged, including identity bias, the need for role models, and the wealth gap. I encourage everyone to browse through the interviews and see how people have overcome challenges and identified ways that young people today can be encouraged to succeed. Some salient thoughts from one participant: “Learning to code is great but learning how to run a company is a convo where diversity in tech convos are severely lacking #RaceOnTech”

In a moment of surprise Track 3 diplomacy, New Jersey resident Chris “St. Chris” Rowland had his Twitter inbox “exploding with Arabic and unhappy emoji.” The hashtag “The revolution against STC is a demand of the people” trended in Saudi Arabia, with angry customers citing Saudi Telecom Company’s slow internet speeds and high prices. In addition to organizing boycotts and displays of dissatisfaction, many took to expressing their outrage towards @StC… rather than @STC_KSA, the telecom’s actual handle. St. Chris seemed to take it all in stride, even enjoying his moment of celebrity and sharing tidbits of his life, the Sopranos, and answering questions about New Jersey with his ever-expanding 9,000+ followers. In fact, this is the second time Chris has had his Twitter mobbed because of this mixup. Asked about his views of Saudi Arabia in a previous interview, Chris replied, “My stereotype of Saudis? They love Twitter, that's for sure.”

Tech News:

• The Iran I Saw: Far from the nuclear negotiations, a new tech-savvy Iranian generation takes shape.

• The Web We Have to Save: “The rich, diverse, free web that I loved — and spent years in an Iranian jail for — is dying. Why is nobody stopping it?”

• Iranian Startups Embrace Landmark Agreement With U.S

• How people are using technology against ISIS

• Silicon Valley struggles to hack its diversity problem: Many tech firms say there aren't enough qualified minority job candidates. Graduation data says otherwise.

• ‘We Are Not Afraid’: Inside an Uzbek Internet rebellion

• Ethiopians React to Bloggers’ Release With Compassion, Criticism

• Has China silenced its bloggers?

ICT4D:

• Beware the echo chamber: digital media and disaster recovery: Communication technologies can give victims of disaster a voice. But those who are most in need are not heard because they lack access to these technologies and the skills to use them.

• How ‘designing with the end user’ can undermine ICT4D best practice

• Radio, SMS most effective for governance in East Africa

• It's not the size of the data, it's what you do with it that counts: Enough of the big data versus small data argument, we need to utilise it all for development

• Is ICT4D dooming poor people to greater income inequality?

• How can ICTs support sustainable financial development?

• The Digital India push for education: We need to measure the success of ICT in schools and facilitate the scaling up of innovations that have a demonstrated impact on student learning.

Mobiles:

• SMS Loans Let People Skip Banks in the Developing World

• Why Mobile Technology Matters for the World’s Nomadic Peoples

• Mobile Money for the Unbanked: Opportunities and challenges for mobile money in the Middle East and North Africa: What the data is telling us

• Migrant workers' remittances rise, creating demand for easier, cheaper money transfer services: For emigrant workers around the globe, cellphones and Internet technology can help reduce the cost and effort associated with sending money back home

• 4 Low-Tech Solutions for Communications in Emergencies

• Mobile internet usage challenges in Asia — awareness, literacy and local content

• Top mobile apps made in Africa