The Diffusion of the Internet and Rural Development

This was a very interesting article in a sense of what technology such as the internet can do for poor rural communities, in this case rural China communities. As the technology, was introduced to the communities it was introduced into a city wide center in which the farmers or rural members could go. Once their they could surf the internet, but in this case it was demonstrated closely of how the internet can be a bridge for most users. For example, one user was able to learn more about different types of cotton seeds and which types would be most suitable for the land in which he is planting on. The result, is he had a much higher yeild crop than the rest of surrounding communities, which gave him an economic advantage. In other cases, the use of internet helped the farmers find more trustworthy buyers and eliminated middlemen who sometimes neglected to pay the farmers, which in turn gave the farmers more money.

Besides farming, it was also mentioned that with help of the computer center helpers, could help these undereducated, poor people recognize what the upper level society was doing to them, in some cases taking advantage of them. In one case, a family was able to learn how to file a lawsuit against a former doctor who gave a faulty procedure which left the child crippled. With help they were able to sue the doctor and gain a settlement, which was then used for other procedures to help the child get better.

The article simply shows how technology can connect people to the virtual world and eliminate some of the disadvantages they have for not having that connectivity. However, these trials were defiantly not natural to the villages and without institutionalized help they would not have happened. With that in mind, awareness of this technological dived between villagers and rest of the world must be spread more amongst the greater population. The farmers have no money to single handedly purchase these systems, nor do they have the will sense none of the farmers have an idea of how these new technologies can actually help them. In time technology will become so cheap these poor, rural villagers may be able to afford it, but will the time it takes for the technology to get that cheap be too long? Just something to ponder

The diffusion of Gramen Bank in Bangladesh

This article was very interesting review of micro financing at its best! The Article goes into talking about this so called "Grameen Bank" and how it is so much different than other banks within the world. This Grameen bank (rural bank), extends credit to third world entrepreneurs who would other wise not be able to obtain a loan. The bank amazingly provides collateral-free loans, but also recovers 98% of that money, which is then redistributed to other third world entrepreneurs. Part of the research in the article addressed how the innovative features of the bank were to be distributed towards the poor entrepreneurs. Well it was determined that mass media may be a good idea for 1st world donors, but since illiteracy rates are so high in third world countries word of mouth practices would have to be used in order to communicate features that the bank offers. The banks employees almost entirely came from interpersonal networks that were developed by the banks employees. Thus, many channels and social levels of communication were formed, which demonstrated the importance of interpersonal messages within this third world country. In turn, the Grameen bank has shown that collateral-free loans can help curb poverty in Bangladesh and other countries. Through, developing innovative principles different from traditional banks, to developing highly trusted, multi-level interpersonal networks in which the bowers consist of. Look for more articles on how communication plays a role in the diffusion of micro financing.