Last week at the world summit for information society, there was a panel about the cultural and social impacts of mobile technologies (documents available on the website): "A panel of experts and activists will discuss new social interactions, social groups, activities and communities emerging through the use of mobile technologies. The meeting will examine a) the social impact of new mobile technologies and services, and b) how various social factors, such as cultural tendency and behavior, different political and economic environments in and across the different regions of the globe are effecting mobile technology and business.
The first session will focus on the social impacts to individuals and groups brought by the use of SMS and other of mobile services. It will include discussion of new global trends such as mobile blogging, or "Moblog", the political use of SMS, cultural dimensions and innovation by youth, and news of the latest trends from Nordic countries and from Japan.
The second panel will pay particular attention to the potential of these new mobile technologies and services for social and human development in developing countries. The discussion will include, but not limited to, examples of deployment of wireless Internet in the rural Indonesia, and emerging mobile use in Africa. Each speaker will present their experiences and findings in 10-15 minutes, followed by interaction among the panel and with the audience."