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Social Games and Facebook in Brazil and Latin America
A recent post from Inside Facebook has shown that Facebook is growing fast in Latin America, and a large part of this growth is happening in Brazil (33 percent each month, according to the same set of data). Interestingly, other news pieces about research from institutes such as Ibope (link is in Portuguese) have also shown that social games are increasingly popular in the country, especially among young adults. One hypothesis researchers here have is that Facebook growth has spiked partially because of the burgeoning popularity of the social network’s apps, especially the games.… more
Reinterpreting the Digital Divide
digital divide: the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all.
The digital divide is understood to be the gap between those who use and are familiar with computers and technology and those who aren't. I'm 17, African-American, live in a considerably urban neighborhood in Chicago, and would seemingly contradict many of the statistics about race and ethnicity and their relationship to the digital divide. I have broadband internet, I use it frequently, I know my way around the computer, and I like using it. These are just basic things, but some statistics suggests that many people of my demographic aren't fluent in even these simple tasks. Based on what I’ve seen, I have to wonder whether the digital divide isn’t more complicated than it is sometimes described.… more
On Gaming, Politics, and Reform
As the new year rolls around, like many political science professors, Kareem Crayton is thinking about the possible repercussions of next year’s 2010 census and what he calls the “opening skirmishes” of the partisan fight over “who’s going to be counted” and where the boundaries of congressional districts should be drawn for the next decade. However, since working on the civic education website, The Redistricting Game, with a team of interactive media designers at the University of Southern California, Crayton’s attitudes about collaboration within the academy and participation in broader political conversations probably differ somewhat from those of his more traditional peers who still communicate their ideas about systems of representative democracy only through scholarly publication in print media. Crayton suggests that The Redistricting Game could also inspire average voters to play a more creative role in legislative problem-solving. “All the ideas about transforming our political system don’t need to emanate from the state house or the university.”… more