JosefScarantino.com » Uncategorized

Currently available for Skype chats/calls/etc

Josef Scarantino — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:06:05 +0000

I put down Skype about a year ago because it was distracting me too much from my work, but the time has come to start utilizing it more for calls, chats, and everything else it has to offer. It is an invaluable tool for international calls and I use it frequently for calling to Africa. Are you on Skype? Add me as a contact by using my handle jscarantino and I will be happy to accept.

Don’t have Skype? Well, you need to get it.

What will you be remembered for?

Josef Scarantino — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:17:27 +0000

Somewhere in my vast collection of RSS feeds, I read this statement today: “What will you be remembered for?”

Now, I know this has been uttered many times before, but on the Internet we all seem to be obsessed with Twitter followers, RSS subscribers, blog readers, Facebook friends, etc. But will you actually be remembered for any of those things after you’re gone? Nope.

I thought about this statement and how carried away we have become with these numbers in today’s age of information over-saturation. The reality is that these things won’t matter when we’re gone. Only the tangible things we’ve done will be remembered. In a sense, we’ve become disconnected from human interaction in the most important ways that influence life. We need to get back to that connection. We need to get back into that emotion. We need to get back into that inspiration.

This comes at a good time, when I am building a nonprofit whose sole aim is to assist African technologists in the challenges they face. When all is said and done, it won’t matter how many “followers” or “fans” we have, but how we have reached out to these technologists in tangible, realistic ways.

If those fans and followers translate into supporters who contribute to the progress of webstartAfrica, then all the better. But for now, my sights are set on these ‘tangibles’ that we need to be delivering to African technologists.

What are your tangibles?

NEED Magazine, the photography publication for humanitarians, needs your help

Josef Scarantino — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:15:13 +0000

NEED Magazine, whose slogan is “We are not out to save the world but to tell the stories of those who are,” has a need of its own. The beautiful Minneapolis-based magazine, which features stunning humanitarian photography alongside profiled NGO’s, has been in publication since 2006 and is working hard to stay afloat amidst the struggling economy.

As noted in the Star-Tribune less than three weeks ago, the magazine is in need of support if it is going to survive the turmoil the magazine industry is going through. The founders, Kelly and Stephanie Kinnunen, have given up nearly everything of their own from day one to make this publication a possibility and the next issue of NEED is at stake.

I have been a subscriber to NEED Magazine for about one year and can testify to the beauty in the photography and stories of what NGO’s are doing throughout the world. I encourage you to show your support by subscribing to NEED Magazine and connecting to them on one of the social networks below.

If you are going to subscribe to one magazine this year for you or someone as a gift, make it NEED Magazine.

Find NEED Magazine on:

Link Roundup: Farm Radio to Eric Reeves

Josef Scarantino — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:00:33 +0000

Farm Radio International Launches 3rd Radio Scriptwriting Competition
Google Steps Up Its Darfur Genocide Coverage In Google Earth (via TechCrunch)
When Society Expects Us to Fail, We Usually Do (from Nathaniel Whittemore via Change.org Social Entrepreneurship blog)
Ten reasons why Chinese are despised in Africa (via African Politics Portal)
Navigating Africa With OpenStreetMap (via 27 months blog)
US Sudan Envoy Scott Gration and Darfur’s Stubborn Realities (via Eric Reeves as published in the Boston Globe)
Africa’s newest silent killer: obesity (via FP Passport)

Link Roundup: From Social Media to Emmanuel Jal

Josef Scarantino — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:26:57 +0000

How Social Media Is Like Sharecropping (via Conversation Agent blog)
Why You Need Empathy to Be an Innovator (via Guy Kawasaki’s “How to Change the World” blog)
Conferences that Matter Fall Edition 2009.2.1 (via Philanthropy 2173 blog)
Emmanuel Jal: The music of a war child (via TEDTalks)–From Sudan, this musician is going places. Check out the video.
Quickie on Google Grants (via onPhilanthropy)–Get the skinny on the new Google Grants.
Do governments spend too much on foreign aid? (via The Road to the Horizon blog)–The answer might surprise you in this video.
The Curious Case of Africa Blindness (via WhiteAfrican)–Erik Hersman muses over the possibility of African blindness in tech. As expected, a great read.

The Wisdom of Travelers

Josef Scarantino — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:31:45 +0000

I thoroughly enjoy the blog of Erik Hersman, aka White African, and his wonderful Twitter feed. They have both inspired me tremendously and opened my eyes to the generous network of technical people in this world who have dedicated their lives over to making this world a better place. Erik is truly a trooper and his writing leaves you wanting more.

One of Erik’s latest blog posts that I particularly enjoyed was 15 Travel Tips for Africa and the accompanying comments where some excellent travel advice was shared by other tech veterans who are very active internationally.

As I was reading this list, I thought to myself, “If I had only known these things before I went to Africa in 2005!” I thought the list was even helpful while I’ve been planning my trip to Peru, Cuzco and Machu Picchu next week.

Even if you’re not planning on going to a developing country any time soon, I still recommend reading through the list if not for the shear enjoyment of it then for the eye-opening view it gives you to what it might be like. I can testify it is some very sound advice.

Read 15 Travel Tips for Africa here.