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Mark Zuckerberg says connectivity is a basic human right – do you agree?

3 January 2014 theguardian.com

 

It's good to talk … Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg believes the world is better off connected.

 

Amid a year of online innovations, the Facebook founder says a better-connected world benefits local economies. Is he right?

Over the past year, several significant online innovations have emerged. It was predicted that mobile phones would outnumber people by 2014, with low-cost smartphones opening up opportunities for even more people to get connected. And the UN turned to the internet to canvass opinion on what should replace the millennium development goals.

In August, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that he aimed to get every person on the planet online. He then launched internet.org, along with a 10-page document entitled Connectivity is a Human Right that outlines his vision of the future.

This followed the 2010 launch of Facebook Zero, a text-only version of the site with no data charges. In the 18 months since its launch, Facebook users in Africa increased by 114%. The business benefits for the popular social-networking site are obvious, but Zuckerberg believes a better-connected world is better for local economies, too.

Next came Twitter, which in December signed a deal with a Swiss mobile company to enable cheap access to users of phones with basic features or on low-cost plans.

Wikipedia also got in on the act. Its foundation, Wikimedia, has a clear mission: to create a world "in which every single human being can freely share the sum of all knowledge''. Last year the company launched Wikipedia Zero, a flagship programme that partners with mobile phone providers to let people browse with no data charges. As with Facebook, the term "zero" signifies free data.

In October, Wikipedia joined forces with Airtel to provide Wikipedia Zero by SMS for the first time in Kenya. Users can text *515# to receive an invite to search Wikipedia; they are then sent the information requested a paragraph at a time. After a three-month trial they hope to expand the service. Wikimedia hopes to reach 1 billion people by 2015.

The most recent partnership announced by Wikipedia is in Burma, which has a 10% mobile phone penetration rate, one of the lowest in the world.

Meanwhile, Groundsource is testing a new platform to ensure that communities that are not online are able to get their voices heard. The platform, which works on feature phones, hopes to bring people together over shared concerns and connect them with journalists.

In India there are an estimated 200m internet users, but only 30% are women. Google hopes to change this by helping 50 million women go digital over the year. It's helping women get online website gives a step-by-step guide to the internet, from computer basics to language preferences. Mothers are targeted by "inspirational" quotes such as "internet moms connect well with their kids" and "internet moms make meals fun". The company has also set up a toll-free helpline and partnered with companies to raise awareness of the initiative offline.

There are also innovations such as BRCK, a low-cost modem, designed for Africa, that can switch between ethernet, Wi-Fi and 3G/4G connection. Its backup battery means it can last for eight hours off grid.

So are we going to see a dramatic increase in the number of people getting online in developing countries over the next few years? How can people overcome the barriers of high charges, low network coverage, a lack of reliable electricity and restrictions to information due to laws enforced by their governments?

Questions for comprehension

1. What is your understanding of the term “connectivity”?
    My understanding of the term connectivity is having a connection between someone and something. For example social media and the human race have big connection because when we want something the first we search on it through social media to see other people’s opinion which is connectivity because you are connecting through something.
2. What are Facebook Zero and Wikipedia Zero, and how do these work? Why are these thought to be good for developing countries?
   Facebook Zero is a text-only version of Facebook with no data. This is good for developing countries because developing countries do not have as much as others e.g. internet access so no data charge could be useful for them. Wikipedia Zero is similar to Facebook zero it is a flagship programme that partners with mobile phone providers to let people search with no data charges. This is a good idea for developing countries because it lets people with mobile devices search without any data chargers.
3. What other initiatives are taking place in developing countries, to encourage people to get online?
   Groundsource is testing a new platform in developing countries to get the community with mobile device to get their voice heard. It also brings people with the same kind of issues and share their experiences with one another.
4. Do you agree with Zuckerberg's view that connectivity is a human right?
    I agree with Zuckerberg’s view that connectivity is a human right because it brings people together in different ways. For example other apps similar to groundsource help people connect over things they have common and one thing leads to people connecting to others all around the earth which brings a connection to the human race. But on the other side social media should not be the only way people should connect to each other even though it has quite a big impact.
5. How does your internet behaviour differ from five years ago?
   Many people now turn to the web for information on key services – are you among them? I believe that I am not among others. My internet behaviour differ from five years ago because I am relay more on the internet. Five years ago I believe that I balanced out my research with books and the internet but today I use the internet more. This is because more things are being put on the internet so it is more reliable and the internet is more updated than older things likes’ book and newspaper.