Civilian Surge  

I've blogged and spoken before about how new technologies are empowering citizens around the world to put pressure on their governments, from demonstrators in Iran to blogging Burmese monks – what I call the ‘civilian surge'. But these technologies are also powerful tools for lifting people out of poverty. A recent quiz on Foreign Policy's blog  revealed that 75% of the world's mobile phone subscriptions were held in developing countries at the start of 2009, compared to just 25% in 2000 – an impressive statistic, particularly when an additional 10 cell phones per 100 people in a developing country raises per capita GDP 0.8 percentage points. This Economist article  highlights how new technologies empower the poorest: text services telling farmers the market price of the commodity they are selling on any given day ensure they can ask a fair price,...