NY Times by Claire Cain Miller

The blog discusses Verve Wireless, and how it offers newspaper publishers to make their paper accessible on cell phones. Since May - 728 newspapers have joined.“Mobile is actually a better way to reach people than print or even Web. It’s versatile, immediate, travels and is just as compelling–if it’s done right–as a Web site or a printed page.”Of the 95 million mobile Internet subscribers, 40 million actively use their phones to go online, double the number two years ago.

Seth Godin's Blog

Contains a link to a website for a web design company that is only one page. Seth states that having boundaries can sharpen the mind, while the designers behind the site state that their work is refined, simple, and works.

Design Observer, John Thackara

The blog discusses that although it is a good thing to reach out and help poverty ridden countries, often times, we can learn from them, more than they can help us. An example he gives is in a small town in India, where he witnessed farmers feeding chickens what appeared to be grain. It turns out the chickens were eating the maggots around the grain, so the grain could be cleaned and sold. When the author looked online about cleaning grain, he found the first link was to a high tech grain cleaner, that was clunky and less practical than using chickens.

A huge development industry measures progress in terms of economic growth and increased consumption. This industry often assumes without question that urbanization and transport intensity are signs of progress. But, as another example, the author describes a hotel project lead by Giorgi Armani that would displace 500,000 fisherman natives."millions of people are expelled to the margins of fruitful existence in the name of someone else's progress."

The author states that designing a poster about an issue, or launching a media campaign about it, is not the same as helping real people, in real places, change a material aspect of their everyday reality. The follow through, the distribution of a a product meant to help, along with training and maintenance are even more important. 

The author reinforces that we can learn from those in poverty stricken areas, and the best solution is to combine aspects from both sides. 

Core 77 - Mark Vanderbeeken

What change are designers making? 

Core 77 - Mark Vanderbeeken

Does reading on the Internet promote or hinder literacy?