Comments for Social media is rural development’s best friend! at http://www.web2fordev.net , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.web2fordev.net Thu, 23 May 2013 17:58:27 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.web2fordev.net/home/1-latest-news/107-social-media-rd-best-friend#comment-305 so good .Thanks for the information you post. - iPhone Cases Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:30:40 +0100 http://www.web2fordev.net/home/1-latest-news/107-social-media-rd-best-friend#comment-212 Great to see the article and bring more awareness to the development community about the trans formative power of social media in the ICT4D context. Your comments about the democratizing effects of social media and other web 2.0 tools are absolutely correct. I would go further with the above comments along with Dr. Neil Pakenham-Walsh--social media has changed the very nature of what knowledge is and how power is leveraged. As a force from the Bottom of the Pyramid the opportunities for lateral wealth creation, access to knowledge and reduction of isolation are unprecedented. This is as true for the developing world as it is for the so-called developed world. - Jan Herder Sat, 29 May 2010 06:29:26 +0100 http://www.web2fordev.net/home/1-latest-news/107-social-media-rd-best-friend#comment-171 Excellent article. I agree that the potential of social media is huge. I would like to add a few comments: Roxanna said: "The advent of social media and Web 2.0 has democratized how citizens interact with people in power, be it members of parliament, donor organizations, international bodies, civil society and the media. Social media tools have paved the way for citizens to build a 'personal' relationship with their rulers and their peers." Social media do indeed create a channel of commuication between citizens and those in positions of power and influence. I am convinced that the power of these connections will go even further than suggested above. Social media have the potential to flatten hierarchies so that we - citizens, policymakers, whoever - will come to see ourselves on an increasingly level playing field with common goals. This, I believe, is already starting to happen in some communities of purpose (communities of practice where all stakeholders come together around shared goals and challenges in international development). Roxanna said: "These tools allow everyone - those in power and the normal citizens - to create and share content and add value to the political, social and economic debate... If yesterday, we only needed to engage with governments and with grass-root communities, today, we have to engage with all those who wish to engage with us and have something to say." Again, I would go further. We not only have to listen because people wish to engage with us and have something to say. We have to listen because development is all about understanding and meeting the needs of our fellow human beings. If we fail to listen, we fail to understand. "... today more than ever, development is a joint effort and there is an extended development community which includes all actors and most importantly the people who we serve and need to reach." I agree. Communities of purpose and other social media bring exciting possibilites for inclusive communication, understanding and advocacy. These changes will bring new and exciting challenges for international development. One of these is to develop better ways to harness the experience, expertise and perspectives of individual human beings in a way that will contribute meaningfully to policy and practice. We (HIFA2015) are currently exploring different ways to do this in relation to one complex challenge - understanding and meeting the information needs of healthcare providers in developing countries. For further information, see www.hifa2015.org With thanks, Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh MB,BS Coordinator, HIFA2015 Co-director, Global Healthcare Information Network 16 Woodfield Drive Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3SE, UK Tel: +44 (0)1608 811338 Email: neil.pakenham-walsh@ghi-net.org HIFA2015: http://www.hifa2015.org Join HIFA2015 and CHILD2015 - send your name, organisation and brief description of your professional interests to hifa2015-admin@dgroups.org and child2015-admin@dgroups.org (or direct to Neil PW at neil.pakenham-walsh@ghi-net.org ) "Healthcare Information For All by 2015: By 2015, every person worldwide will have access to an informed healthcare provider" With thanks to our 2010 sponsors: British Medical Association, International Child Health Group, Network for Information and Digital Access, TRIP Database - Neil Pakenham-Walsh Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:48:04 +0100