AudiencScapes

The latest political news from Russia has President Dimitry Medvedev
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin swapping jobs again next year with the
aim of sustaining Putin's personal power structure for perhaps another
dozen years. In principle, Russians could reject this arrangement when
they go to the polls in March 2012 to elect a new president, but it
appears that Putin is still popular enough to get what he wants. As
Russia's political opposition blows in the wind, some social change
advocates look to the internet as a potent grassroots conduit for
movements against monolithic government control.

By Joseph Were29 March 2010 Kampala, Uganda –There are plenty of blogs and microblogs focusing on Uganda. They are written by journalists and others here, by Ugandan expatriates abroad, by staff of international organizations and foreigners with a stake in Uganda. The sites cover a wide range of issues, from development to politics, social life to entertainment. But how many Ugandans actually read them? Probably not too many, given that access to the internet is extremely limited by a lack of telecommunications infrastructure and cost factors. Over 45 percent of the Ugandan population live on less than US$2 per day, and about 30 percent of those aged 15 years and above cannot read or write.