I've been in San Francisco since Saturday participating in the awesome Producers Institute, organized by the Bay Area Video Coalition. The Producers Institute is an intense week bringing together documentary filmmakers, technologists, activists and educators to brainstorm new forms of participatory media for social change. I feel very lucky to be here as a "Mentor"…
Category: Information Society
Twitter as an Event Organizer’s Tool: Our Experience with the Frankie 95 Birthday Festival
About a month ago my friend David sent me an email asking about how we could use the micro-blogging service Twitter to help spread the word and coordinate a swing dance festival that we were helping organize. We started brainstorming and decided to try it out. As it turns out, Twitter is a pretty effective…
The Global Shim Sham compilation video: a labor of lindy love involving 5,000+ dancers from around the world
This video is the result of several months of effort involving an estimated 5,000 dancers in over 22 countries: the Global Shim Sham. This was produced by a dedicated team of volunteers for the Frankie Manning 95th Birthday Festival, and shown to an appreciative audience of about 2,000 people on Saturday, May 23. Read on…
Off to Producers Institute for New Media Technologies in SF next week!
Video about project to create social media supporting global justice, around documentary "The Reckoning." I got a last minute invite to participate in the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies all of next week in San Francisco, run by those amazing folks at the Bay Area Video Coalition. Running from May 27 to June 7,…
The promise, tool and bargain of Yehoodi as a community website
I just finished today Clay Shirky's awesome book Here Comes Everybody, a cogent description of the sea-change in social organization that we are witnessing due to the advent of online social networking tools. Shirky's book has me thinking about what lessons I can take away from it for Yehoodi, the swing dance community site I…
Why you should see “Star Trek” in the theater
Last night Swifty, Arfer and I saw the new "Star Trek" movie at the beautiful Ziegfeld Theater in midtown Manhattan. It was just about the perfect blockbuster movie experience. Here's some reasons why you should spend $12.50 see it in an actual movie theater (instead of waiting for DVD/Blue-ray, watching it on your iPhone, etc.):…
Helping “digital immigrants” see Web 2.0 as an asset for youth
Technology Trends: a Look at the Future View more presentations from Global Kids. Last month, my colleague Amira and I had the opportunity to speak to several coordinators of Neighborhood Network sites around the country. Neighborhood Networks are onsite, multiservice technology centers aimed at promoting self-sufficiency for residents of assisted housing. Giving this talk was…
An odd morning: Tom Hanks in a weinermobile, Diane Sawyer on a trampoline
Early this morning, my mom, sister and I got VIP passes to see "Good Morning, America" being taped live at Times Square. Apparently every weekday morning, ABC staff let in a small group of about 30 folks to watch the live taping from 7 to 9am. The VIP pass was nice, allowing us to get…
Virtual tributes to swing dance legend Frankie Manning on Twitter, FaceBook, Yehoodi, etc
As news about Frankie Manning's passing spreads around the world today, I witnessed an explosion of surprise, grief, and tearful remembrance live on the internet. It was like being surrounded by the voices of hundreds and hundreds of Frankie's friends and fans from around the globe in a collective, ever-changing memorial. It's a fitting tribute…
Watching the “This American Life” simulcast: collective storytelling in the Digital Age
Tonight Christina and I went to see a live simulcast of the public radio show "This American Life" being shown at the Union Square Regal theater, along with 143 other movie theaters around the country. It was rather strange knowing that the show was being taped live just a few blocks south at the NYU…