I went to a cool panel on “Democratization of the Networked Public Sphere” at the New School featuring Danah Boyd, Ethan Zuckerman and Trebor Scholz. So many thought provoking ideas flying all around the room, I was dizzy by the end. Ethan’s talk was closest to my heart, talking about the potential of networked, remixed…
Category: Information Society
Ok, Twitter is pretty neat
I think I am coming off the fence and deciding that I like Twitter. For those that don’t know, Twitter is a creative melding of instant message, mini-blogging, and SMS texting technologies into one ridiculously simple package. You basically set up a free account, associate your favorite instant message and/or cell phone SMS text service,…
Google Earth + Darfur: a powerful tech mash-up
The US Holocaust Museum has teamed up with Google Earth to offer a startling and powerful overlay of the region of Darfur onto Google’s interactive earth map. You can see where all the of the refugee camps are, which villages have been destroyed, view photos, and read testimony from people in the region. I have…
My first foray into online community: the BBS
I was feeling nostalgic reading through old diaries from the 90s, when I ran across this entry about my explorations of bulletin board systems (BBS) while I was living in Washington DC. For those too young to remember, we used to have to dialup with our 14.4 mbaud modems to connect to these somewhat clandestine…
I’m a Wii Pro – is that cool or sad?
I am disproportionately proud of myself for achieving "pro" status at Wii bowling. Perhaps because I have always thought I could be a really good bowler in real life if I applied myself and took a few lessons. Of course there is no where to go now but down so I have a disincentive to…
Vote for Your Favorite Net2 Innovation Fund Projects
Jennifer over at TechSoup sent me news about a cool initiative to fund non-profit tech projects. The NetSquared Year Two conference is set for May 29-30 in San Jose, and they are looking to fund 20 new tech projects for social good. 150 projects were submitted to their competition, competing for $100,000 cash from the…
Podcasters invade Manhattan!
I spent today at PodCamp NYC, which was quite an interesting event that I decided to attend at the very last minute last night. The "unconference" gathered around 400 podcasters and other interested folks to talk about issues facing podcast producers like intellectual property rights, monetizing their work, and increasing your listening audience. As a…
Off to Podcamp tomorrow
At the last second I got word about this cool podcaster gathering happening tomorrow at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan: Podcamp NYC. Looks like there will be hundreds of cool podcasters and other new media folks there, tons of interesting panels and discussions, and best of all, it’s absolutely FREE. Amazing. Compare that to…
The social impact of in-flight cell phone and wi-fi use
Yesterday the FCC closed its proposed rule making procedure pertaining to the use of cellular phones during air travel. The FCC decided to uphold the ban on in-flight cell phone use, citing a lack of technical evidence that in-flight cell phone use would not interfere with regular cell phone transmissions. There was no mention in…
My interview on Pacifica Radio Program “Deadline LA”
I did a short interview that was broadcast today on the KPFK Pacifica Radio program "Deadline LA" hosted by Barbara Osborn and Howard Blume. The whole program is very interesting, dealing with YouTube and human rights abuses. From the description: Is YouTube the new forum for human rights abuses? Could be. A Guantanamo detainee was…