Nicholas Kristof Poynter Interview: 4 questions on technology & the developing world

April 20th, 2010 | People

Steve Myers (@myersnews) interviews New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof). The interview covers crisis in the developing world and how social media plays it’s part, does web and cell phones allow better coverage for incidents such as Tiananmen square, Can we use the Web to offer substantial, meaningful help for those who are suffering? and how technology affects poor and marginalized people:

Myers : We saw some technological solutions to help Haitians after the earthquake, such as the Haiti People Finder. What role do you see for such technological offers of help in catastrophes like this? Can we use the Web to offer substantial, meaningful help for those who are suffering?

Kristof: The most important reason we don’t help people in need is that they seem far away, and so we can tune them out. But technologies can help bridge that distance, bringing foreign humanitarian needs into our living rooms and into our hearts — and making it impossible to turn away.

Sheryl [WuDunn, his wife and book co-author] and I are experimenting with online games, for example, as a way to spread the message in our book, "Half the Sky." The idea is that a free online game has zero barriers to entry and can go viral, so it’s typically a better medium to reach a new audience than a $27 book.

kristof Nicholas D. Kristof is a columnist for The Times since 2001 and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who writes op-ed columns on NYT.

He has co-authored of "China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power" and "Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia." His latest book, "Half the Sky: From Oppression to Opportunity for Women Worldwide," which shows that Women can become great change agents in their societies and the best way to fight poverty and extremism is to educate and empower women and girls.

Here’s the YouTube Video on Nicholas Kristof on how to cover global crisis.