After a few weeks of silence, veteran blogger, Digital Divide activist, and cool dude Andy Carvin just announced that he has accepted a position with National Public Radio as "senior product manager for online communities." Andy writes that NPR is basically hiring him to be their Web2.0 strategist, which is a position he is perfect…
Category: Information Society
Smithsonian photo archive goes Web 2.0-ish
Yesterday, the Smithsonian Photography Initiative released 2,000 rare photos to the public on their website. Okay, 2,000 photographs is not that big a deal. But much more interesting is how they released them. The Smithsonian built into their site several cool ways to search, tag, and group the photos — and share those tags and…
Google Flight Sim: Hey, I can see your house from up here!
This is just silly and cool. Clever flash programmer Mark Caswell-Daniels has taken the Google Maps API and added a very simple flight simulator to it he calls Goggles. You can scroll through the listing of major cities to flyover, which is fun if you happen to live there. Or you can do a slight…
The Virtual Lounge : Where all the cool kids log-in
Yesterday I was reading a Clickable Culture blog entry about a pop music-oriented virtual environment called "The Lounge," developed by "adverworld" creators Doppelganger. I decided to go check it out.
The Metaverse as Civic Space
Reflecting on last week’s Metaverse event at Eyebeam, it seems to me that one aspect that was barely touched upon was the idea of the metaverse as a new form of civic space. The virtual agora, if you will. Prokofy Neva got closest, talking about the need for gathering places and a common rule of…
Send in those machinima flicks to the 2006 Festival in Queens!
My buddy Paul Marino, president of the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences, sends out the news that the 2006 Machinima Festival has opened up for submissions. The Machinima Festival is the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences’ annual event showcasing Machinima works, producers and technologies. It takes place this year from November 4-6 in…
Harold Rheingold talks about web culture, smart mobs and community
Harold Rheingold, internet guru and author of Smart Mobs, gave a wide-ranging and fascinating talk on the linkages between "real" community and online community, the democratization of media production, the reaction from the traditional media giants, and his IM relationship with his wife. Thanks to The Infinite Mind for making this stimulating event happen. More…
Commerce-driven search in Second Life
I recently read John Battelle’s account of the rise of Google in his book Search. Battelle tells the story of how the confluence of search technology and commerce have led to a restructuring of how we conceive and navigate through the web and increasingly physical space. If we have a question, we assume the answer…
Vega vs. Vega: Is is live or is it Second Life?
Last night’s virtual concert by folk artist Suzanne Vega has made me think more deeply about the potential of internet-mediated and virtual music performance. I have been to my share of live concerts and attended a number of in-world Second Life concerts and open mics. The last time I saw Suzanne Vega live was in…
Internet Celebrities united to defend Net Neutrality
We Are the Web is a delightfully wacky site that brings together a number of "internet celebrities" united to defend the principle of Net Neutrality. Starring "the Tron Guy" (my personal favorite), the somewhat alarming Peter Pan, and trashy diva Leslie Hall of Gemsweater.com, the site features a surprisingly slick and silly music video promoting…