Who could possibly be against free internet access? This is the question that Mark Zuckerberg asks in a piece for the Times of India in which he claims Facebook’s Free Basics service “protects net neutrality”. Free Basics is the rebranded Internet.org, a Facebook operation where by partnering with local telecoms firms in the developing world… Read More: Facebook is no charity, and the ‘free’ in Free Basics… »
With tech entrepreneurship on the rise across Africa, efforts to support the agenda are evolving and diversifying. There has been quite a bit of debate—sometimes of the heated kind—about whether incubators, hubs, labs, and other support organizations work. In my view, what’s often missing from such discussions is a deeper understanding of what a hub… Read More: Hubs vs. Incubators: What Are the Pain Points for Impact… »
Ralph Straumann and I have a new short publication out: Straumann, R. K., Graham, M. 2016. Who isn’t online? Mapping the ‘Archipelago of Disconnection.’ Regional Studies, Regional Science. 3(1) 96-98. It is open access, so please head over to the journal to take a look at the full piece. Related work: Growing Digital Divides? Measuring Regional… Read More: New publication: Who isn’t online? Mapping the ‘Archipelago of Disconnection’ »
I recently had the opportunity to give a Kapuścinski public lecture titled “Uneven Geographies of Power and Participation in the Internet Era.” You can watch the whole lecture at the link above. For anyone interested in more about the topic, the following pieces could be of interest: Graham, M., Straumann, R., Hogan, B. 2016. Digital Divisions of… Read More: Kapuścinski Public Lecture – “Uneven Geographies of Power and Participation… »
I’m delighted to be giving a Kapuściński Development Lecture on Nov 9. The talk will be titled ‘E-society and E-citizens: from Technology Transfer to Human Empowerment and Development’ You can sign up here, or follow it at #KAPTalks, or watch a recording at kapuscinskilectures.eu
I recently had the opportunity to give a plenary talk at the Global Conference on Economic Geography. The talk was part of a broader session on digital economies that Matthew Zook and I put together with Rebecca Enonchong, Robin Teigland, and Jack Qiu. My talk (that you can watch below) covered our research on information geographies, as… Read More: Digital Economies: Video of Keynote at the Global Conference on… »
I wrote a short piece for The Conversation about the potentials of ubiquitous connectivity. In it, I argue that neither cheaper internet nor the supposed altruism of corporations (through initiatives like Internet.org) will get us there. You can read the full thing here: Graham, M. 2015. Internet for all Remains an Impossible Dream, No Matter what Jimmy Wales… Read More: Internet for all remains an impossible dream, no matter what… »
Two of us just put out a last-minute CfP for next year’s AAG. This ties especially into Innovation Hubs pillar. Please share widely and submit by Oct 19 if you have suitable work in progress. — CfP AAG 2016: The productive power of connectivity and entrepreneurship discourses at economic margins AAG Annual Meeting, San Francisco,… Read More: Connectivity & entrepreneurship discourse: new CfP for AAG 2016 in… »
The latest issue of New Geographies is now out, and contains an exciting collection of papers: My contribution to the issue is titled ‘Information Geographies and Geographies of Information.’ It is an earlier (and abridged) version of a longer paper that I have in Geo (‘Towards a Study of Information Geographies‘). You can download a version of it below,… Read More: New Paper: Information Geographies and Geographies of Information »
The last few months have seen a wealth of stories about visions to connect the world. Facebook, Google, large international organisations, states, and even Bono, dream of a world in the near future in which we are all hooked into the network. In the midst of all of this, I found a comment made by… Read More: Here’s why visions of ubiquitous connectivity aren’t going to be… »