The document summarizes a talk given by Dr. Mark Graham on the potential of the internet for development and issues of digital divides. It discusses uneven geographies of knowledge on Wikipedia with some regions having many more articles than others. It also notes that local authors in the Middle East, North Africa and East Africa comprise a disproportionately small number of contributors to articles about those regions. The talk explores these topics through several research questions and examples.

1. The Potential of the Internet for Development:
Digital Divides and Uneven Geographies of Knowledge
A talk to DFID
March 29, 2012
Mark Graham, PhD
Oxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford
web: www.geospace.co.uk
email: mark.graham@oii.ox.ac.uk
twitter: @geoplace

2. Image: Copyright Roger Bamber

3. www.ihub.co.ke/blog/

4. 4
http://www.fglorente.org/mapas/bajares/Pisana.gif

5. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

6. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

7. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

19. 19
http://www.fglorente.org/mapas/bajares/Pisana.gif

20. Image: Copyright Roger Bamber

21. www.thekilgorisproject.com/?p=189

24. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

25. 2009
www.telegeography.com/telecom-resources/map-gallery/
manypossibilities.net

26. 2009

27. 2012

28. http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

30. Map by Mark Graham, Monica Stephens, Matthew Zook

33. Spain: Spanish (Castilian) and Catalan

34. Belgium: Flemish and French

36. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

37. total number of Wikipedia articles in all languages
www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

38. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

40. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

41. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

42. www.oii.ox.ac.uk/vis

43. 15th century
43

44. 16th century
44

45. 17th century
45

46. 18th century
46

47. 19th century
47

48. 20th century
48

49. “The sum of all human knowledge”
49

50. Wikipedia research:
(1a) what is the geography of articles in MENA
compared to the rest of the world?
(1b) what is the geography of articles in East
Africa compared to the rest of the world?

51. Wikipedia research:
(2) do local authors in the Middle East/North
Africa/East Africa comprise disproportionately
fewer of the contributors to articles about
that region?

52. Wikipedia research:
(3) are the contributions of local contributors
undervalued?

61. More info about this story in Ford, H. (2011). The Missing Wikipedians. In Lovink, G., and Tkacz, N. Critical Point of View: A Wikipedia Reader.

62. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feodor_Vassilyev

64. Gado Cartoons, Nairobi Daily Nation

65. Image: Copyright Roger Bamber

66. thank you
Dr Mark Graham
Oxford Internet Institute
w: geospace.co.uk
w: zerogeography.net
e: mark@geospace.co.uk
t: @geoplace