How to Blog for Professional Success in International Development
“We need a website. Who wants to figure that out?” says my new boss in the very first staff meeting I attend on the very first day of my new job. “I will,” I answered, and so in 1995, I started blogging, before there was even a term for it. Blogging got me on 60 […]
Read More3 Surefire Steps to Securing a Kick-Ass ICT4D Job
The response to my recent offering to help you get an amazing ICT4D dream job in 2011 has been overwhelming – I can barely keep up with the individual requests for help. So to speed up the knowledge sharing, I present to you the 3 surefire steps to securing a kick-ass ICT4D job (or any […]
Read MoreApple iPhone Boarding Pass: United Airlines Innovation
Swipe your phone, board the plane
It’s not often that you can use the words “innovation” and “United Airlines” in the same sentence, without a “lack of” first – but with the new iPhone boarding pass, you can, and you will!
Last week, I was headed to Inveneo’s offices in San Francisco for my bi-monthly check-in with the team. Before I ran out the door, I skipped one step that we’re all familiar with – the boarding pass printing.
Read MoreHow to Get an Amazing ICT4D Dream Job in 2011
It’s damn hard to get a job in international development. And if you’re geeky and want to do ICT4D – use information and communication technologies for development, it’s even harder. Yet every year several hundred people graduate with international development degrees, many of them hoping to start a career in ICT4D. An equal number of […]
Read MoreOn the Inequity of Wealth in South Africa
A sign of fear
I am no stranger to wealth inequality. I’ve lived it personally when I was growing up poor, and I see it daily in Washington DC. Often wealth inequality is about class as much as race, yet in South Africa I found race to be the defining characteristic.
Class divide in cars
In every country I’ve visited in Africa, black Africans are the most populous people driving cars. Now there are some white people behind the wheel – be they natives and expats, but by in large, the driving population ethnicity mimics the overall population.
But not in South Africa. I was shocked to see only whites driving in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Black Africans were in shared minibus taxis or walking. Now I did see one or two black Africans driving, but they were in the extreme minority.
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