Image from "This" Magazine
If this past summer’s controversial presidential election in Iran was any indication, Twitter has fast become a major platform for political discussion and grassroots organization on the global stage. Social media, particularly the micro-blogging service Twitter, flexed its muscles during the opposition protests of the Iranian election results, and, at least for a month or two, it seemed that a global on-line conversation about democracy in Iran might actually help change the political climate of that country. While it appears that the government of Iran eventually succeeded in squelching the unrest and cracking down on protests, it has become pretty clear that the nation of Iran will never be the same – and Twitter is partially to thank for that. Considering the case of Facebook use in Iran, once you’ve got a taste of that sort of social freedom, it’s difficult to turn back.
In light of the above, I took a recent interest in what impact Twitter might be having on developing nations in Africa, where political unrest, tribal warfare, and social upheaval is a way of life. It’s tough to surmise just how many people use Twitter in Africa (as Jason Wojciechowski at Future Media Change recently discovered via Wolfram Alpha), but if Twitter’s 2008 announcement that they would stop their international SMS*** service poses any revelation on the matter, it would be safe to deduce that the number of African Twitterers is not exceptionally high (please correct me if you find data to the contrary!). Of course, Siena Anstis recently reported on the effect of Twitter during the Kampala rioting in September 2009, so we know it’s becoming a viable platform in parts of the continent. Still, while Twitter is fully available to Africans via the Web and a few third-party applications (SARCASM ALERT: because you know everyone in Africa has a Blackberry and an iPhone – d’oh!), SMS messaging is certainly a vastly important gateway for Twitter. And this is not to mention texting’s big impact on global mobile communication as well. The NYT reports that over 2.5 trillion text messages were sent world-wide in 2008, a number that has surely gone up in ’09.
So, what gives? Well, in 2008 Twitter estimated that it would cost them about $1000 USD per user to continue their international SMS services, something of a money drain for a potentially multi-billion dollar business yet to announce their IPO. With a nearly constant stream of bad news about violence, warfare, and genocide flowing from many African nations (including today’s warnings about the major potential for violence during Rwanda’s upcoming elections in August 2010), one has to wonder what role Twitter could have played in many of Africa’s ongoing social and political struggles during the past few years. With status updating stymied by a lack of Twitter SMS, will the world ever feel the immediacy of the African situation when the next major African event unfolds, the way it did this past summer as Iran turned, at least for a moment, in to a focal point for the global social discussion on-line?
Luckily, as it stands, cell-phones are the primary portal to the Web for most Africans, so Twitter will continue to be available via the Web for millions of mobile users in Africa. But, considering how the Iranian government worked so hard to shut off Internet access during the summer’s unrest, surely SMS plays a vital role in Twitter use when the Web is down. By not enabling international Twitter SMS updates, Twitter is forceably creating a window of opportunity that other players will probably ultimately exploit. But, considering the increasing ubiquity of Twitter around the world, let’s hope that’s not the case.
For more on why Twitter is so important for Africa, please see this August 2008 blog post at the White African, who beautifully summarized the impact of Twitter in Africa. His post was partly what inspired this Flip the Media entry – we’ve got to revisit the Twitter question in Africa!
_____
*** – This does not affect users in Canada, India, or the United States.
Matthew Stringer is the blogger at Nerd Acumen, a current student of the MCDM, and a New Media Producer.
(5 votes, average: 2.60 out of 5)
Loading ...
Subscribe to Comments
Follow us on Twitter
Get email updates
7 Comments, Comment or Ping
James Taylor
I think your “sarcasm alert” pretty much hits the nail on the head in terms of the issue. While 2.5 trillion text messages were sent in 2008, you fail to say what number of text messages were sent from Africa specifically. Text messaging has been effective in combating HIV in South Africa (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/24/hiv-aids-text-message-project-masiluleke), but can the principles of this be implemented Content-wide? Can it be implemented for twitter – where there are similarly worded and composed messages sent to a wider audience? Your article says yes, and I agree. The $1,000 per head figure put out by twitter seems vague ($1,000 annually?) and is hard to gauge. Partially, I feel like “when” twitter is acquired by someone, they will find a way to cut the cost significantly in order to get a whole new user base “hooked” on the service. I guess the question becomes, is it in the best interest of developing nations to have twitter acquired? That’s a different post.
Nov 23rd, 2009
Andrea Sherrodd
After reading this blog, I read the post about this on the White African, as well as most of the comments on that blog. My feeling after reading everyone’s takes on this issue is that with Twitter stepping out of Africa (as well as much of the rest of the world), someone else is going to step in eventually and pick up where Twitter left off. Maybe Twitter is the new Myspace, and some unknown company is about to step forward and become the new Facebook…basically obliterating the memory of Twitter to all but the most dedicated users. (Sorry Myspace…but Facebook is so much better!)
One of the most interesting things about our rapid pace technology (and sometimes one of the more sad things) is the turnover rate of the hottest “new” technologies. While I completely understand Twitter’s reasons behind discontinuing their SMS service in most of the world (what use is it running a company that is perpetually losing massive amounts of money?), I think that in doing so they’ve opened the doors for a whole new slew of new and improved Twitter-like microbloggers who may be better positioned or more determined to service those less-profitable areas of the world.
Dec 6th, 2009
Elizabeth Noagi
Where as I agree with Matthew, James and Andrea — Twitter will be replaced by another web tool in Africa, I’d like to point out that similar to Napster, who change the music industry, Twitter has changed the political landscape. Looking at Napster as an example, before it was created we would have to buy an entire CD in order to get one or two songs that we really wanted. After Napster we have access to iTunes, Zune, etc., to access the one or two songs that we want and not the entire CD. Did you know that a program could change the music business in such a big way that they would have to redevelop themselves in order to make a profit? I think Twitter and even Facebook is causing the same kind of revolution in how we communicate, build bridges between people and acquire information. Iran is perfect example and they are only the beginning. It’s disappointing that Twitter won’t provide Africa with the same tool…but I’m excited that we all know that Africa will find an alternative to express their social and political conversation to the world —even if it’s not via Twitter.
Dec 6th, 2009
Madeline Moy
“With status updating stymied by a lack of Twitter SMS, will the world ever feel the immediacy of the African situation when the next major African event unfolds, the way it did this past summer as Iran turned, at least for a moment, in to a focal point for the global social discussion on-line?”
Matthew: you seem to suggest that Africa needs Twitter because it will make the West finally care about what’s going on there.
For decades, Africans have been expressing “their social and political conversation to the world,” and although there could be more, there has been significant media coverage of Africa’s many ups and downs.
Technology does have a role to play in political discussion and grassroots organization in Africa, but I’m not sure Twitter (or another service like Twitter) would really be a game changer.
Regarding the use of social media to organize protests in Iran, today I was listening to an NPR reporter talk about how the Iranian government was slowing down the Internet and cutting off text messages to clamp down on protesters. What did the protesters do? They chanted across Tehran rooftops to get the message out. Everyone in the city knew there was going to be a protest the next day. Social change and political organizing can happen without technology.
Dec 7th, 2009
Sophia Agtarap
As always, telecom/internet/mobile conversations and comparisons among developing nations and the west, continue to be a hot topic. For years, nations have organized revolutions and mass protests via text messaging and word of mouth without applications like Twitter (i.e. the Edsa Revolution in the Philippines). The people will organize if they want to organize, with whatever tools they have–including shouting form the rooftops, as Madeline points out.
Though I love Twitter’s capabilities, I love it because it works for me. Because it works for me, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work for someone else. As a western nation, we like to think others want what we want. Most of the time, it isn’t true.
Dec 9th, 2009
Border Jumpers
FYI…on this article today from the Worldwatch Instiute’s Nourishing the Planet Blog
Filling a Need for African-Based Reporting on Agriculture
http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/filling-a-need-for-african-based-reporting-on-agriculture/
I’ve been trying to read as many African newspapers as I can while traveling. In Ethiopia I read the The Herald, in Kenya, the Daily Nation, in Tanzania, The Guardian, and here in Uganda, I’m reading the Uganda Record. One thing that I’ve noticed in all these papers are the large number of articles on agriculture, hunger, climate change, poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and water and sanitation. It’s not surprising—all of these issues impact sub-Saharan Africa in a big way.
What is surprising, however, is the lack of African journalists writing these articles. Most are pulled from newswires, like Reuters and AP, or from the International Herald Tribune and UK-based papers. That means there’s not only very little on-the-ground reporting from the continent, but also that the people who know best about what’s really happening here aren’t the ones writing about the issues.
But there are efforts underway to increase reporting about Africa from Africans. The International Center for Journalists received a $2 million grant, three-year grant in 2008 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve coverage of agriculture and health. They’re placing journalists from the U.S. in four key African countries—Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, and Senegal— where they will lead projects with African journalists, helping them improve not only coverage, but the quality of the articles they’re writing. The project will also help train “citizen journalist” stringers who can relay information from the village level via cellphones.
And earlier this year, the Gates Foundation also awarded a two-year grant to the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism to develop an intensive training program for African journalists to promote high-quality coverage of agricultural issues.
These projects could be at least partly inspired by grants the Soros Foundation and the Open Society Institute have been giving for training journalists in the former Soviet Republics and in Eastern Europe. The Independent Journalism Institute provides similar programs for journalists in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
These types of grants—and hopefully future funding from other donors—are an important way of not only generating news stories, but informing African people about what’s taking place on a daily basis in their own country.
–Been traveling across Africa and my personal travel blog is called BorderJumpers or http://www.borderjumpers.org. – Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack
Dec 11th, 2009
Mike Blyth
“Luckily, as it stands, cell-phones are the primary portal to the Web for most Africans, so Twitter will continue to be available via the Web for millions of mobile users in Africa.”
In Nigeria, I doubt that cell phones outnumber net-cafes as a way to access the Internet, but I don’t have the data. Virtually *everyone* has direct or indirect access to SMS, but very few can afford the monthly service fees required for Internet access. Furthermore, high-speed access is only gradually spreading across the country. I think there is still a great need for Twitter or something like it.
Apr 22nd, 2010
Reply to “Revisiting Twitter in Africa”