Word: baghdad
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...Twitter, sees no reason why Iraqis cannot join the growing chorus of global "tweets" appearing on computers and cell phones worldwide every day. "We've always been focused on making sure that the lowest common denominator, the weakest technology, still has a voice," said Dorsey, who was in Baghdad this week with a delegation of high-tech executives at the invitation of the State Department. Cellphone-carrying Iraqis, Dorsey said, could utilize Twitter applications on their current mobiles for a range of things, even without broadband Internet connections, which are still in short supply in Iraq. "In our case that...
What Dorsey means is that 85% of people in Iraq carry mobile phones, usually more than one. This is a new reality in a country where roughly six years ago cellphone were virtually nonexistent. For Dorsey and other tech executives visiting Baghdad, the merging of cell technology and the Internet looks like a potential leapfrog move in telecommunications for the country, much in the way cellphone networks lessen the need for traditional landline infrastructure. "We feel that there are some real opportunities here," said Jason Liebman, CEO and founder of Howcast, a website that offers how-to videos...
However, the everyday problems of Baghdad were evident to even the most ardent of optimists in the delegation, which included executives from Google, YouTube, Meetup and other tech companies. For example, embassy officials had arranged a number of informational meetings in Baghdad, including a conference call with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih. "It got disconnected," said Jared Cohen, the State Department official who chaired the delegation. "We had to call back a number of times." (Read about celebrity twittering...
...unreliable mobile network is but one obstacle for would-be tech growth in Iraq, where outbreaks of violence persist in Baghdad and other parts of the country. Electricity outages still occur every day. A shortage of internet connections and affordable computers leaves many Iraqis outside the wired world. Also, a lack of websites in Arabic poses problems for many in Iraq and the broader Middle East. Ahmed Hamzawi, Google's head of engineering for the Middle East and north Africa, said less than 1% of content on the Internet is in Arabic, even though the language...
Still, the new media moguls were by and large upbeat about what they saw and heard in Iraq during their three-day tour, which began Sunday. Arriving in Baghdad, the group flew by helicopter from Baghdad International Airport to the embassy, allowing them a look over the city. They bunked at the huge new U.S. embassy complex by night and toured Baghdad by day in the heavily armored convoys diplomatic delegations use. The group of 10 executives met with government officials face-to-face, talked with students and faculty at Baghdad University and the University of Science and Technology...