U of T leading centre for study of global Christianity
A century ago, 80 per cent of the world’s Christians lived in Europe and North America; today, nearly 70 per cent live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, making Christianity a predominantly non-Western religion.
A critical mass of scholars who are looking into the implications of this shift has made the University of Toronto a leading centre for the study of global Christianity.
Christianity today has more than 2.2 billion adherents worldwide. The majority are overwhelmingly poor, displaced from rural villages into overcrowded cities in search of work, and adhere strictly to the word of Scripture, which can command their loyalty far more than state or society. (more…)
*New music website offers Latinos exclusive programming with a mix of music, blogs and video content*
MIAMI & AUBURN HILLS, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)-– Yahoo! en Español, the premier digital media company, and the Ram Truck brand today announced the launch of La Banda Ram, the first dedicated Mexican regional music channel. Accessed from on Yahoo! en Español’s omg! site, La Banda Ram offers fans exclusive programming, music news, and lifestyle-relevant Ram Truck brand integration. The site debuts today and can be found at: es-us.omg.yahoo.com/la-banda-ram/
Focused on engaging the U.S. Latino audience with premium content, La Banda Ram connects consumers to an entertaining mix of music, blogs, exclusive photo content, originally produced video programming, and the latest news and updates from established and up-and-coming artists of the Norteño, Banda, Duranguense and Grupero regional music genres. (more…)
*Increase in Time Spent on Facebook Accounts for 90 Percent of Increase in Total Time Spent Online in Latin America*
comScore Releases Report, “The Rise of Social Networking in Latin America”
Santiago, Chile, September 20, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the report The Rise of Social Networking in Latin America. The report examines the state of Latin America’s dynamic social networking landscape, providing insights into trends at a global, regional and individual market level. The 35-page analysis also reveals how social media has shaped the larger digital environment through its influence on other social web activities and its role in the dissemination of marketing messages.
“Social networking has become an essential part of consumers’ digital lives over the past several years,” said Alejandro Fosk, comScore senior vice president for Latin America. “As it has become more widely adopted throughout the region and across demographic segments, it has redefined the way consumers interact with content and with each other. Social media is also changing the way marketing messages are disseminated and offers a new channel to engage with current and potential customers, which presents a variety of attractive opportunities for brands to effectively integrate social into their digital strategies.” (more…)
*Despegar-Decolar Sites Ranks as Top Online Travel Destination*
Bogotá, Colombia, August 11, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the latest results from a study on the online travel market in Colombia. The study found that in the past year visitation to the Travel category increased 25 percent to reach 3.2 million unique visitors in Colombia, as more online users utilized the web to research and purchase travel. Despegar-Decolar Sites led as the top travel destination in Colombia reaching 453,000 unique visitors in June, followed by Expedia Inc. and Avianca.com.
“Nearly 1 in 4 online users in Colombia visited a travel site in June,” said Alejandro Fosk, comScore senior vice president for Latin America. “Travel sites have witnessed rapid visitor growth in the past year as more consumers embrace the online channel for their travel needs while brands continue to improve the user experience by upgrading site features. Given that more mature online markets around the globe see upwards of half of their online population frequenting travel sites, there is much potential for continued growth in Colombia’s online travel sector.” (more…)
India became the world’s largest importer of arms during 2006-2010, a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said. The share of India’s world arms shipments made up nine percent. China’s share was evaluated at six percent. The list of other active arms importers includes South Korea (6%) and Pakistan (5%). The largest exporters of arms in the world are the USA, Russia and Germany.
According to SIPRI experts, Russia remains the primary supplier of arms and military hardware to India. Russia’s share in arms transfers to India during the recent five years was evaluated at 82 percent. (more…)
*Venezuela and Colombia Web Populations Experience Highest Growth, Brazil Home to Most Engaged Users*
*comScore Presents Complimentary Webinar “The 2010 Digital Year in Review: Latin America”*
Santiago, Chile, March 18, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the latest results from a study of the growth in the Internet audience in Latin America based on data from its comScore Media Metrix service. The study found that in the past year the Internet population in Latin America has increased 15 percent to 112.7 million visitors as the region’s digital ecosystem continued to grow and develop. The results of the study will be presented along with other key online trends via a complimentary, live webinar 2010 Digital Year in Review Latin America on Tuesday, March 22. For more information and to register, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/255678857 Note: Webinar will be presented in Spanish.(more…)
Russia has finally decided to purchase two Mistral helicopter carriers from France in the total amount of 1.37 billion euros. It is not the first time when Russia concludes defense deals with France. However, the Mistral deal is the largest one in Russia’s recent history when Russia purchased military hardware from a foreign state. (more…)
*YouTube.com Makes Google Sites the Top Ranking Video Property across Latin America and Spain*
Santiago, Chile, November 30, 2010 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the launch of comScore Video Metrix in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Spain as comScore continues to expand its video measurement footprint across the globe. comScore’s industry-leading video measurement product is now available for 16 individual markets, with additional countries becoming available in the near future. comScore will be hosting a complimentary webinar How Latin America is Shaping Online Video’s Global Growth on December 1. For more details and to register, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/653852337(more…)
