The impact is real and I think we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

I have been thinking in how this transformation in the way we use the Internet can also make an important impact in the daily lives of common people in the developing world, particularly in Latin America.

For example, after reading this article about the rise of women in Latin American countries, I thought that it would be cool to figure out a way to use social media to empower women in remote places by providing them with tools to communicate, collaborate and learn from each other.

Many women across Latin America are doing interesting local projects that have great potential to benefit not only their communities but similar communities around the region. Imagine the power of sharing these ideas and collaborating in a social network to make these projects successful.

Add to this idea the participation in the network of women in leadership positions around the continent and I think you a have a winner.

These women leaders would provide an enormous source of expertise, guidance and business savvy which would complement the work being done locally and improve the chances of bringing projects to fruition.

The tools for setting up a network like the one I propose are already available. Sites like Change.org and Ning allow people to create their own social networks and provide many tools for efficient communication and collaboration. In addition, Change.org was created specifically for non-profits to develop their social networks.

Some limiting factors would be the low technology literacy and minimal penetration of Internet access that exist in many countries in Latin America.

However with the introduction of newer devices such as the XO computer developed for the One Laptop Per Child project, the growing availability of mobile smartphones, and the improving network infrastructure in many countries, I think that these limitations will be gradually becoming less of an obstacle.

A network of women conducting local community projects (hyperlocal sites) linked to the growing community of rising women leaders in Latin America seems to me would be an interesting social media experiment with great potential for empowering women.

Anybody ready to work on something like this?

Technorati Tags: Latin America, OLPC, social network

Nate and Viss are using the hashtag #sandiegofire. Twitter users can enter “track sandiegofire” in SMS or IM and receive notifications whenever a tweet goes out with that tag in it.
Viss is also uploading photos to Flickr.

This is another excellent example of Web 2.0 tools being used effectively by citizen journalists to report breaking news in a disaster situation, similar to what we recently saw during the earthquake in Peru.

Technorati Tags: California fires, Flickr, twitter

According to Newsvine CEO Mike Davidson the citizen journalism site will continue operating independently, just as it has been since launching in March of 2006.

Newsvine gets about 1.2 million unique visitors, 80,000 comments and 250,000 votes per month.

In explaining why Newsvine sold to MSNBC Davidson said:

Why would a young, efficient independent news startup become part of a large organization? For us, the answer is simple: it’s all about growing the community and spreading the idea of participatory news as far and wide as possible. Although going from zero to over a million users a month in less than two years is heartening, msnbc.com operates on another scale entirely. While Newsvine may be well known in early adopter circles, we want every college student, every farmer, every weekend journalist, and every household to have their own branch on the ‘Vine. In order to spread this idea further, we could have gone out and raised a lot of money, quadrupled our staff, and gone it alone, but when one of the finest news organizations in the world is headquartered right across Lake Washington, the potential of partnering with such a great team is dramatic. We feel strongly that we can learn from the successes of their experienced team, in a way that will empower Newsvine to become the worldwide mouthpiece of the citizen journalist.

The blog is named “The Citizen President Rafael Correa” and it features a video by Correa where he defines Web 2.0 as a key element in his political strategy.

Correa also invites the citizens to participate actively in social networks so that everyone can contribute in building the new Constitution online.

It looks like a very interesting and challenging experiment in participatory democracy. It will be interesting to follow it and see where it leads.

The protests led by Buddhist monks are being disseminated worldwide by Web Video.

Myanmar Protests Part 1

Myanmar Protests Part 2

The strong impact of the use of this new media in disseminating information about the protests to the rest of the world has become evident as the military, in the violent crackdown begun yesterday, decided also to cut off cell phone service so protesters can no longer send video out of the country.