Is there are space for Google+ Hangouts in global development?
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
To be honest with you, I am still at a bit of loss when it comes to Google+ - especially in the context of international development communication, teaching etc. I am not an active member of Google+ so there may be a chance that I am missing out on a bunch of interesting discussions. But what I found quite interesting is that I have not come across any posts and videos that engage with Google+ Hangouts in the context of development (if there are examples, please send me links or comment below to put me out of my ignorance). The official Hangout videos on Google's YouTube channel have only received modest hits so far, e.g. this short introduction:
I do realise that cupcake baking looks more fun and is more active and interactive than, say, talking about land grabbing in Africa, but Google+ also promotes a more 'chatty' use of hangouts, e.g. during the upcoming Olympic Games:
Googles Hangout feature is once again giving Google+ users a chance to get closer to the stars, this time with a Olympic twist.
The New York Times-sponsored series started on Wednesday with
basketball stars Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, and Chris Paul
of the Los Angeles Clippers. Both are members of the 2012 USA Basketball
team. The hangouts will run through next Tuesday.
Google Hangouts have been a favorite stop of politicians, celebrities, and friends. President Obama used the feature to connect with voters
back in January, and musical artists the Black Eyed Peas participated
in a hangout last October to chat with fans shortly before they took the
stage at a concert in New York City.
But with the Olympics coming up in short order, it makes sense for these hangouts to feature some of Americas top athletes, doesnt it?
So maybe there is an opportunity to create a Hangout with 'development celebrities' (no, I am not going to name names here and leave it to your imagination ;)...), academics or other personalities? I am also wondering whether there is a potential for teaching and training, e.g. creating a Hangout for an interactive workshop to introduce a technique, project, software etc?
Besides the fact that Google+ is not that widespread (yet?), what may be some of the issues why Hangouts have not been adopted by the development communication universe?
First, there are issues about accessibility, Internet connection speed and the challenge that global development takes place in different time-zones-so arranging a common Hangout time may be difficult. Second, not everything in development is as active as a Hans Rosling presentation...when it comes to spoken words, less interactive formats can still be very interesting, e.g. Owen Bader's Development Drums podcast or the Australia-based AidWorks radio programme. Third, linked to my first and second point, you often need time to digest interesting talks and critical new ideas and do so in your spare time, after work or 'later' when you can listen to your music player, read a transcript and stop a video whenever necessary.
But besides these caveats: Isn't there a space for Hangouts for conferences, presentations, work meetings and cost-effective training sessions? This is really an open-ended question and I am looking forward to your insights, examples and critical views before we can set up the first ever development 'Hangout-up' ;)!
Update 19 July:
Denise Brown, WFP Country Director in Niger, discusses the hunger crisis
unfolding across the Sahel region of Africa with a group of journalists
and bloggers from around the world. Participants include CNN Anchor Jim
Clancy, food security expert Roger Thurow, Reuters Alertnet George
Fominyen, UNHCR Spokesperson Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, ONE Campaign
agriculture specialist Kelly Hauser, advocate and blogger Jennifer
James, DSM Corporate Sustainability Director Fokko Wientjes, and WFP
Deputy Director of Communication Gregory Barrow.
Interesting example of using a Hang-Out: 'Come Hang Out and Talk Water Transparency' (http://www.aviewfromthecave.com/2012/08/come-hang-out-and-talk-water.html). Includes some technical comments by Tom Murphy and your truly.
Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024. This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 19 - Humanitarianism and disability - contributed by Dale Buscher and Emma Pearce. From the introduction Humanitarian practice has been guided and shaped by the humanitarian imperative, as outlined in the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) movement ( ICRC, 1994 ), which is framed on the right to receive and provide humanitarian assistance. The Code of Conduct is founded on the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence – emphasising that assistance is based on need alone. Recent global humanitarian and development commitments all reference the importance of ‘leaving no one behind’, reaching the most vulnerable with assistance, including persons with disabilities who have historically been marginalised and excluded ( UN General Assemb...
Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024. This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 15 – Race, racialisation, and coloniality in the humanitarian aid sector - contributed by Lata Narayanaswamy. From the introduction In this chapter I will elaborate on two key observations inspired by my own positionality both as a former development practitioner and a person of colour (PoC) academic/activist based in the UK/Global North, and both are inflected through the lenses of ‘impartiality and neutrality’. The first is that a manufactured distinction tends to be made in both discourse and practice between the delivery of humanitarian aid, which is about the immediacy of perceived need as a result of acute crisis, and longer-term (political) change processes that we might link to broader ‘development’ goals (see also Chapter 5 by Singh and Banerjee on Humanitarianism, development, and pe...
Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024. This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 18 - Class matters in humanitarianism - contributed by Patricia Ward and Junru Bian. From the introduction Our approach to class and class inequalities in the humanitarian aid sector reflects and relates to our own social positions as academics trained in North American and European institutions in the disciplines of International Relations (Bian) and Sociology (Ward). Our perspectives, and the literature we cite in this chapter, are largely informed by works that are written in (or have been translated into) and for English language readers. Like humanitarian aid, English as the dominant lingua franca has shaped not only the scope of our discussion on this topic, but also our ability and position of power to contribute to this important conversation ( Roth, 2019 ). We also write from particula...
Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook onHumanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024. This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 17 - Sexuality and humanitarianism: colonial ‘hauntings’ contributed by Shweta M. Adur. From the introduction This chapter examines the discursive inter-connections between humanitarianism, sexuality, and the colonial experience to reveal enduring influences of colonial ideals of sex and sexuality on contemporary humanitarianism. In the first section, I begin by describing how ‘sexualities’ emerged as a mode of ‘modern’ governance in Europe. I trace its gendered and racialised contours to describe the ways in which it was deployed to establish the superiority of white, cis-gendered, and heterosexual masculinity. The second section, builds on the discussion to demonstrate the deeply sexualised, gendered, and racialised processes of conquest and colonialism. The colonial administration served as ...
Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024. This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 16 - Humanitarian organisations as gendered organisations - contributed by Rianka Roy. From the introduction Humanitarian organisations are aid agencies and advocacy groups working internationally, nationally, and locally to support distressed populations. They bring together a range of activities and coalitions ( Möller et al., 2020 ) among United Nations agencies, international and national non-government organisations, communities, and other bilateral groups. Humanitarian organisations can be ‘multi-mandated’, combining development work, emergency relief during natural disasters and conflicts, peacebuilding, and human rights work ( Mosse, 2011 ; Harcourt, 2016 ). Although they provide aid to populations in crisis, quite paradoxically, humanitarian organisations themselves perpetuate structu...
Interesting example of using a Hang-Out:
ReplyDelete'Come Hang Out and Talk Water Transparency' (http://www.aviewfromthecave.com/2012/08/come-hang-out-and-talk-water.html). Includes some technical comments by Tom Murphy and your truly.