François Bar is Professor of Communication and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California. He serves on the Annenberg Innovation Lab research council and is a steering committee member of the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication. His research and teaching explore the social and economic impacts of information technologies, with a specific focus on telecommunication policy, user-driven innovation and technology appropriation. His most recent work examines the potential of information technology for economic, social and cultural development, in places ranging from East Africa to Latin America and South Los Angeles. He is co-Editor in Chief of Information Technologies and International Development (ITID).