Archive for June, 2008
PACNOG Talk
Monday, June 30th, 2008One of the items in yesterday’s brain dump was a talk I presented to the Pacific Network Operators Group (PACNOG) at the Sebel Hotel. It’s titled ‘Network Effects: Social Significance of Mobile Communications in Vanuatu‘. It explains Network Effects and how they manifest themselves in village life, then looks at some obvious and not-so-obvious implications [...]
Hodge Podge
Sunday, June 29th, 2008Here’s a quick and dirty list of geeky things that I’ve been stewing over recently:
Greg Ross’ delightfully intelligent Futility Closet features a very interesting map. Memorising it should be a pre-requisite for any technology discussion. Understanding it should be a criterion for sainthood.
Jan Chipchase is exploring that map. He’s a poster boy for the the [...]
Painting the Country Red
Friday, June 27th, 2008I’m writing this neither to praise Digicel, nor to bury them. What follows are anecdotal observations of the first few days after the birth of nation-wide communications in Vanuatu.
Protecting the Family
Saturday, June 21st, 2008On Thursday, Parliament at last ended more than a decade of indecision and passed the Family Protection Act. For the first time in Vanuatu history, victims of domestic violence have comprehensive protection under the law. The bill was passed by a divided house, with members of the opposition storming out before the vote, ostensibly over a lack of due process.
The Case for Openness
Friday, June 20th, 2008I’ve been an interested observer and sometime participant in the development of communications in Vanuatu for coming on five years now. In all that time, probably the most interesting phenomenon that I’ve witnessed has been the effect of openness, both within the IT community and among users of this new technology.
The Thermocline of Truth
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008I’m going to let someone else do the writing for this one. I like the metaphor a lot. It helps that it’s true, too.
I’ll integrate this into an upcoming column sometime soon.
Walking The Beat
Sunday, June 15th, 2008[Originally published in the Vanuatu Daily Post’s Weekender Edition.]
On Tuesday the Daily Post published a Pacific News Service article about the Project Wickenby debacle, in which Vanuatu-based members of the Australian Federal Police raided four local financial institutions for evidence of misdeeds by Vanuatu citizen Robert Agius.
The raids raised a storm of controversy concerning the [...]
Strange Bedfellows
Saturday, June 7th, 2008[Originally published in the Vanuatu Daily Post's Weekender Edition.]
Modern Vanuatu society expresses its values three ways: through kastom, the law and the church. If we reflect honestly on each of them, we have to admit that not one is ideally implemented. Nonetheless, each is inextricably woven into our identity, and thus bound to the other [...]
Whose Success?
Friday, June 6th, 2008[This week's Communications column for the Vanuatu Independent.]
I don’t often talk about my motives. Newspapers, in my opinion, make lousy confessionals. I’ll make an exception today, because it helps make a point.
I recently experienced a curious moment. I’d spent a sunny Port Vila Saturday at the office catching up on email, news and whatnot. There [...]