all blogsBurma Protests and the Benefit of Usability
Can the Internet really be a catalyst for bringing freedom to Burma?
From a BBC article
Images of saffron-robed monks leading throngs of people along the streets of Rangoon have been seeping out of a country famed for its totalitarian regime and repressive control of information.
The pictures are sometimes grainy and the video footage shaky - captured at great personal risk on mobile phones - but each represents a powerful statement of political dissent.
[...]
The use of the internet as a political tool is one of the most marked differences between the latest protests and the 1988 uprising, which was brutally repressed.
And from another BBC article:
Aung Naing Oo, a former student leader who was involved in the 1988 uprising and who now lives in exile in the UK, believes the junta cannot stop the protesters.
"There was only very little information about the killings. Now with the internet and the whole world watching I think it's a totally different story... monks are highly revered in the country."
Technology brings power to the people. But note how important the ease of use is here. The blog which is the focus of the article is on Blogger, a free service that is hosted by Google and is therefore really simple to set up and has the resources to scale. Making it easy and cost free means it becomes available to a much wider demographic.
Uses like this are why I think creating easy to use tools for the masses is so incredibly important. Remove as many barriers as possible, and we can give more people a voice. Usability really is life or death important.
Of course, the importance is nothing compared with the bravery of these protesters. Makes one feel incredibly humble.
Let us hope these peaceful protests work.
Ko Htike's blog which is cited in this BBC article