The relative cost of being connected to the internet underpins the global digital divide. This visualization illustrates the unevenness of the geographies of broadband affordability, the ramifications of which can be seen in some of the other visualizations created by our project, such as the cartogram of the world online and the archipelago of disconnection.… Read More »
I’m happy to report on a new co-authored paper that I have out. The piece asks what difference changing connectivity has made for East African firms. The piece emerges from a multi-year study on Development and Broadband Internet Access in East Africa that evolved into the current ‘Geonet‘ project. Foster, C., Graham, M., Mann, L., Waema, T., and… Read More »
We have a new publication out: Ojanperä, S., Graham, M., Straumann, R. K., De Sabbata, S., & Zook, M. (2017). Engagement in the knowledge economy: Regional patterns of content creation with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Information Technologies & International Development, 13, 33–51. It is open access, so please navigate to the journal site to download the… Read More »
The latest version of the Economist contains a boldly-titled piece: ‘Mobile phones are transforming Africa‘. The general sense in the piece is that, where connectivity exists, mobile phones and computers are an important contributor to economic growth. However, connectivity is uneven and Africa’s economic development is hampered by a lack of access. This is an… Read More »
My colleagues Nicolas Friederici, Sanna Ojanperä, and I have recently finished a paper in which we analyse ‘Grand Visions’ of how Internet connectivity affects development in Africa. In the paper, we contrast these visions with the actually available empirical evidence to support those claims. You will be able to read our full conclusions in the paper below: Friederici, N.… Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »