In a surprise announcement at the ICANN Board Meeting in Sao Paolo, Brazil, Vint Cerf, chair of the ICANN Board, declared that the US-based agency responsible for the web’s domain system was now taking charge of assigned names and locations in the virtual world. Mr. Cerf is expected to be holding a virtual press briefing…
Category: Information Society
Kofi Annan giving last major address today (webcast)
Just got this notice from the Better World Campaign: Today, at 11:30 a.m. EST, Secretary-General Kofi Annan will deliver his last major speech as leader of the United Nations. The speech will explore issues of global governance and the role of the United States in international affairs. Click here to watch the webcast from the…
The problematic of constituencies of color and Net Neutrality
Matt Stoller over at myDD.com posts a terrific commentary on the difficult political trade-offs for communities of color and the network neutrality debate. In a nutshell, Matt notes that while two major associations of black and hispanic journalists came out recently in support of net neutrality, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and…
The “Gadgets for Good” Gift Guide (G4)
Perhaps you have been asking yourself, what do I get my activist-geek boyfriend / girlfriend / life partner for Christmas / Kwanzaa/Hannukah? Well, just in time for the holidays, here is rikomatic’s Gadgets for Good Gift Guide (or G4, if you like). Enjoy all the eco-friendly, social justice-y goodness after the jump… UPDATE 2PM 11/30/06:…
Fantasy Congress : “gaming” the legislative process
My pal Tony just invited me to join his "Fantasy Congress" league. I was a bit dubious about this effort to make the US legislative process into a game, but it seems actually quite well thought out. From the FAQ: Fantasy Congress™ offers you the power to "play politics." As in other fantasy sports, you…
iCommons lists CC-licensed free music sites
iCommons posts a great list of CC-licensed music from around the world, including Mexico, Finland and Portugal. (Hmmm, wonder where Brazil is?) Can’t wait to explore the free music goodness. Oh, and Torley’s free techno still kicks ass.
Every Time You Vote against Net Neutrality, Your ISP Kills a Night Elf
Hilariously titled "Every Time You Vote against Net Neutrality, Your ISP Kills a Night Elf" an article by Tony Greenberg and Alex Veytsel of Ramprate argues that online massively-multiplayer online games will be the first to get the knife if Net Neutrality provisions go out the window. They contend that online video will survive in…
My post on “Our Common Humanity” blog
I was invited to contribute to a new blog associated with a UN-affiliated meeting on "Our Common Humanity" taking place from November 28-29 in New York. I decided to do a general "best practices" post pointing to innovative uses of ICTs to promote positive social change, including some of my favorites like WITNESS, Global Voices…
Joi Ito talks to CNET (transcript)
The always interesting and cool venture capitalist / gamer Joi Ito gave an interview to Daniel Terdiman of CNET at their in-world headquarters yesterday. Joi touched on such subjects as copyright and IP in Second Life, Creative Commons, the game industry, and work and World of Warcraft. Daniel will be posting a fuller interview shortly. …
Joi Ito to be interviewed at CNET HQ in Second Life tomorrow
I just heard word that CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman will be interviewing well-known entrepreneur, lEEt g@mr, virtual worlds innovator, and overall cool dude Joi Ito tomorrow (Friday), at 4PM EST/1PM SLT. Joi will talk about his experience using virtual worlds as a tool to manage co-workers, his World of Warcraft guild, and his investments. To…