Child receiving a vaccination. Photo by PV2 Andrew W. McGalliard [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsIt’s official because it’s in the Financial Times, in whose pages in November 2013 I take issue with both claims, bringing an anthropological lens to bear.For those without access behind the paywall, here’s the sequence by which a Financial Times journalist, Neil Collins, comes to the remarkable conclusions summed up in the title of my post, along with a flavour of my published reaction.Leaving aside the issue that Twitter is very vulnerable to competitors, a journalist wrote a piece that tried to justify Twitter’s share price on the basis that it fosters the kind of connectivity that is the main driver for increasing prosperity across the globe. Is it? He doesn’t offer any clues but a best guess is that the increase in consumer surplus created by all free internet services would add 0.23% to average annual GDP in the US–I expect it’s a lot lower in developing countries.But look! As evidence for connectivity changing everything for the better, he notes that African fishermen can check market prices and get a better deal. Do they? Anthropologist Jenna Burrell doesn’t think so, and argues against the idea in a rather definitive paper. Collins also states that connectivity means better education. Does it?[Read the rest of the article]: Twitter and malaria fight poverty: It’s officialAuthor informationNik PollingerOriginal article: Twitter and malaria fight poverty: It’s official©2013 PopAnth - Hot Buttered Humanity. All Rights Reserved.
↧