Social Media Connects Rural Women in Australia

In this brief but telling article from Australia the new head of Australian Women in Agriculture uses the ease of connection with social media to stay in touch with other members. These new connections are hoped to foster more conversations across expansive geographies to provide support for women in rural areas.

RuralTube

Poor connectivity and population decline in rural Ontario present challenges to those who reside there as well as governments and other stakeholders. Before we can consider using social network technologies and mobile phone technologies to bridge the rural/urban or rural/global divide it would be prudent to discuss what it is that makes rural Ontario rural? Is it a lifestyle that is idealized or is it opportunity for economic growth? As reported on the Canadian Rural Research Network’s blog current affairs show, The Agenda, looked at these themes through interviews and a Google+ Hangout. 

Read the article and watch the videos here.

Investing in High-Speed Broadband in Rural Ontario

Social media and social networks require investment in infrastructure to accommodate growth in communication and education. In rural Ontario having access to high speed broadband networks will boost social connectivity between the small towns that populate rural areas and the global population beyond. At the moment, as Serge Lavoie writes on the Rural Ontario Institute’s blog, Ontario is lacking in investment in broadband networks that would potentially reverse the population drain currently happening in rural communities. 

Read the full article here.

Finland and Vodacom Tanzania Partner to Help Farmers

Allowing farmers to be able to access information through mobile phone use has become more important in a globalized economy. In Tanzinia the Finnish government, Finnish company Sibesonke, and mobile service provider Vodacom Tanzania have come together to help farmers access information through the use of their mobile phones. The Head of Brand and Communication at Vodacom Tanzania, Kelvin Twissa, explained that his company is always trying to find new ways to benefit its customers while Sibesonke CEO Uwe Schwarz described the partnership as a major step towards implementing their life-improving technology using social media and mobile phones in developing countries.Sibesonke is a spin-off of Nokia and created technology that allows interactive social networks to be used with inexpensive phones.

Read the full article here.