This Week in Global Mobile | December 17, 2010

At times it's difficult to keep pace with the latest global mobile developments. I hope this selection of news stories from the past week will help you navigate the growing global network of connectivity:

  • On Tuesday the F.C.C. held a forum at a Washington D.C. high school to discuss the risks of heavy Internet usage among teens.
  • Kenya sits at the “tipping point” of a tremendous surge of economic growth driven by the telecoms industry, reports the World Bank.
  • China launched a state-run Twitter-esque service called Red Microblog in an attempt to harness new media to help spread the government’s political message.
  • Facebook churned out a beautiful visualization of what the world looks like according to social networks, showing significant connections linking people across the globe.
  • Secretary of State Clinton released the first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, a report filled with references to 21st-century statecraft.
  • In Korea a service similar to Skype that allows free Internet phone calls via smart phones is drawing fire from leading telecommunication companies. 
  • The average U.S. consumer now spends as much time online as watching television, reports Forrestor Research.
  • A team of Twitter researchers analyzed the more than 25 billion tweets posted in 2010, giving us a unique glance at the most important topics of the year. Also check out Twitter 2010: Year In Review for more statistics.
  • Monday was the biggest global mobile shopping day of all time on eBay, with an increase of 165% worldwide on purchases made from mobile devices.
  • Personal Democracy Forum held a symposium on Internet Freedom surrounding the WikiLeaks buzz. Visit the event archive to follow the conversation. 
  • Andy Rubin, Google’s mobile expert, said that Asian countries are going “berserk” for Android phones, particularly in South Korea with 300,000 new Android phones are activated each day.
  • TIME magazine hired its first-ever chief digital officer to oversee the incorporation of mobile devices like the iPad into its business model. Later in the week, the editors named Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as TIME’s Person of the Year.
  • On Tuesday all Air Force personnel were banned from accessing the websites of the Times, the Guardian, and 22 other news outlets that publish Wikileaks’ stolen cables.
  • 1 in 4 Spanish teenagers falls victim to cyber bullying, although the E.U. reports cyber bullying averages at a much lower 5 percent.
  • Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society announced a major “Digital Public Library of America” initiative to ensure that “the cultural heritage of our country is available at your fingertips.”
  • The U.S. Army wants to issue every soldier an iPhone or Android device (and pay for the monthly bills) to help with everything from checking e-mail to receiving real-time intelligence in the battlefield.
  • Finally, check out the video below of incredible mobile statistics from 2010 (courtesy of MobileFuture) and Nielsen’s white paper on mobile youth around the world.