A New World Order: Occupy Yourself First.

Lots of high profile people have kicked the bucket this year, haven't they? It's like the globes social polarities are in flux. Ghaddafi's death, thinking about Libya and governance and the challenges facing African countries in the coming decade or so has got me all twisted up in political theory again. Don't laugh, but I have been wandering around Wikipedia's political portal in a kind of shopping spree. Picking an ideology has been even harder than choosing a political party* : libertarian socialism, or anarcho-communism? Does egalitarianism make my behind look fat? Does Civil Rights come in summer colors? How does one combine the absolute freedom of choice of the individual with social justice and the welfare and functioning of the collective? Quandary.

There is only one thing I am sure of, and that is that African citizens need to go active and keep claiming their rogue governments. Coming to an East African near you:

"There is no Peer Review Mechanism, Treaty or African Leadership Prize that can address this level of social organization, let alone influence it. Those schemes, perhaps they are effective but from the bottom looking up they reek of technocratic impersonality, removed from the sugar and salt of daily life. Tanzania, for example, is hardly new to the idea of peaceful presidential transitions: we're on our fourth administration and counting down towards the fifth when we may or may not flirt with changing parties. But even in this relatively stable environment it, is clear that there is deep crisis of faith brewing. We are looking for someone or something to believe in, and clearly the Big Man model is severely compromized in an age of increasing transparency, affluence and access."

One good read I have enjoyed on the Ghaddafi story is this sideways glance from Charles Onyango-Obbo talking about how the revolution will be Tweeted. Watching journalism cope with new media has been absolutely riveting. Heh.

And then, there is the Occupy movement. We have a local activist trying to get it off the ground in Dar es Salaam- as of last Friday I believe. The resounding silence has been... instructive. I threw a comment up on there, let's see if the blogsite is dead or alive. To readers who have been saying the revolution is necessary and just around the corner etc... what do you make of this? After all, Occupy is a global movement now. Can it work in Bongo? I'd say we need to Occupy ourselves long before it makes sense to Occupy anything else, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"Watch This Space"

I wanted to write a post on the democratic phenomenon happening on Twitter and the segue into a musing on social media and politics. There is a group of tech-savvy politicians on Twitter who regularly engage in very candid conversation with civilian tweeps on a variety of topics... but then Rakesh got there first, and says it better :) Especially the part about technology serving people and not the other way around. This an obvious point, and I am always amazed by how it can get lost in the noise of techlove around social media.

I would probably raise one or two other issues, such as the fact that the political dialogue in question is an actual dialogue: ie. not too much PR/managed prepackaged messaging going on here. This fosters an environment of fragile trust in which any question can be asked and any topic raised within the limits of propriety. It makes for a special relationship with leaders and provides an excellent platform for extremely vigorous discussion. I would seriously encourage other TZ politicians to explore that method of connecting with their peeps.

Between us: it is the worst time- politically speaking- to say anything nice about Jay Kay. I just watched a fellow blogger get slaughtered on Jamii Forums and Michuzi for doing exactly that. And Lord knows I give the man grief on a regular basis. But I do it only because Jay Kay has encouraged, through his personal style of presidency, an unprecedented level of free expression. Is it a perfect situation? Not by a long shot. Will it survive his presidency? Who knows? Whatever failures of leadership he might suffer from, Jay Kay isn't a fake populist. The man genuinely appears to have some love for all 45+ million of his unpredictable, occasionally bad-tempered people. It is inexplicable, but admirable. As admirable as his taste in ankle boots.

Anywho, there might be an article lurking in there somewhere. ePolitics. Watch This Space ;)

Fresh Catch From the Webtrawler

I need to close some tabs on the browser again, so let me get this post done. And if you sent in a link, thank you. You know who you are. Anyways, here's the most recent catch of interest from the Intertubes:

From the world of development: I love that sometimes when you have a tiny idea and you can't quite articulate it... someone out there is more likely than not to have done a bit of thinking and writing on it that elucidates. Anyways, I have long ribbed economists for hogging more than their fair share of the development discourse and made the argument that we need more social scientists. Here is an excellent example of social science work with real ramifications. And here is a very nice piece about politics and development. This here is a more general discussion of interdisciplinary and culturally appropriate approaches to development.

In other news, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie had this to say about Nigerian politics and the lead up to their upcoming elections. I like her writing and I wish the article had been a bit longer.

From the wild and whacky world of social media: how has Twitter changed our political behavior? I would say that this article overstates things a bit, but it's got nice graphs. Speaking of pretty pictures: here is an effort from the Uwezo/Twaweza complex that certainly gives food for thought. It's a great site for playing around with info, but remember to keep an eye out as they do herd you towards some very obvious conclusions...

Another group of people seeking to influence your mind are... you guessed it! The US military is on a Facebook page near you! Lol. I love the way the science fiction of my youth and the realities of my adult life seem to be coming together nicely. Truth? Fiction? Can you tell anymore? Am I even alive? Maybe I'm a web-app. But do I dream of electric sheep?... I could do this all day :) And so the week starts...

The Twitter...

Some people, like My Lady of the Youthful Smiles, adapt to new communications technologies and formats with the ease of a fish taking to water. I am not one of those people. I can just about get around the interwebs unassisted, but some forms of social media/tech are not in the least bit intuitive for me. Like The Twitter and Smartphones.

I was recently asked about The Twitter phenomenon by a non-user and found myself in the bizarre position of trying to explain/sell it when I myself am at best a lukewarm convert and remedial user.

Yeah, yeah, I know. How can a social media user/blogger/whatever be so useless at this stuff? I don't mean to be, it's just that 140 characters of 'space' feels like being offered a small shot glass of lukewarm water when I have a raging thirst. Also, I have a low connectivity threshold. Still, it is one of the Big Three for social media practitioners (Blog, FB, Twitter) and cannot be avoided entirely.

Which is why I was delighted to see this. No matter what your problem is in life, someone else is going through it :) Anywho, was doing some research to help me navigate the hashtag-riddled world of twitterese and found this resource. Strange neologism and ridiculously indecipherable acronym I fear thee no longer, for I have The Google and The Wikiverse on my side. Mwahahahahahahaaaaa!

Report Pres Jakaya Kikwete for Spam :)

No, I didn't. But it was one tempting click away...

My Lady of the Concerned Smiles dropped by with a bag of hyper-tasty oranges from one of her friend's farms, plus news that Halima Mdee (Chadema) is going to run for the Kawe parliamentary seat.

Cough. cough. Huuuuurghgghgh! ptuh. Excuse me. All good, thanks for asking. The pneumonianthraxallergy is being contained. Where was I?

Oh yeah, so we spent a wonderful hour or so fantasizing about how we are going to vote this bright young woman in and she was going to slay all the female oppressing legislation single-handedly. Very exciting dream. I can't confirm this because at the moment I am living under a rock like a grumpy scorpion, and I can't find the damn article online. Just take my word for it with a hefty pinch of salt and I'll get back to you about The Kawe MP Question.

But while I was swirling around the intertubes looking for a link, I checked my email only to see that... Sweet matoke, the Kikwete Kampaign has found The Twitter? This is an interesting development. The kind in which a long and erudite essay lurks about eMedia, politics, cult of personality, emergent economies, democracy, electoral strategies and the role of 'me also!' in The New Tanzania. Do yourself a favor and check out Kikwete2010 on The Twitter so you can observe The Establishment's spin dexterity first hand.

Also, I found a new friend: love the way this guy's mind works.