Despite (or because of) the 2-4 million Americans expected, I am planning on being in Washington DC to catch what I can of the Presidential Inauguration festivities from January 19-20. My somewhat sketchy plan is to head up on the bus on Sunday, crash at a friend's place, catch some pre-inaugural events on Martin Luther…
Category: Politics
Virtual worlds and civic engagement: Obama’s health care policy discussed in Second Life
Draxtor Despres's latest dispatch from the virtual world examines how people are using Second Life to speak this country's health care policy, as part of Obama's online policy dialogues. Here's organizer Siri Vita (sp?) describing why a Second Life consultation works: One of the most amazing things was how people were willing to open up…
Rafi on differing social media strategies of the Israeli Government
My buddy Rafi posts on his new blog Empathetics a very insightful commentary on how different branches of the Israeli government are using social media during this latest Gaza conflagration. In short, the Israeli military is employing the old "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" approach versus the Israeli diplomatic corps more…
“When the Levees Broke”: the harrowing, inspiring stories of Katrina’s victims
I finally got around to seeing "When the Levees Broke" Spike Lee's epic four-hour documentary about Hurricane Katrina and the incredible stories of ordinary New Orleanians who lived through the flood. It's perhaps Lee's finest piece of work, because for most of the film he simply turns on the camera, zooms in tight, and let's…
“Yes you can… own a piece of history”: Barack Obama Commemorative Plate
I can not believe that my boss Barry ordered this super cheesy Barack Obama commemorative plate from http://www.victoryplate.com. The video on the website just cracks me up, particularly because it has no people of color in it and looks like just some canned footage that they inserted Barack's name in later when it was clear…
Speaking about the UN, civic engagement, new media, and virtual worlds
I had the pleasure of speaking to my friend Josephine Dorado's class on "Collaboration in Networked Environments" that she is teaching at the New School this semester. The course apparently this week is exploring virtual worlds and MMOs, after delving into a range of other social media, from social networks to micro-blogging to mashup technologies. …
The Fake New York Times and Visions of Change
Whatever your political views, you have to admit that the Fake New York Times that was released in the wild this week was pretty brilliant transmedia political commentary. For me, the fake paper and website — while also very entertaining — is the perfect example of how a holistic political activist agenda can be made…
“America’s Diplomat” the MMO? Fer real?
Joseph DeLappe is most well known for his "Dead-in-Iraq" activism in the MMO "America’s Army." He’s been pissing off gamers for awhile now by going into the first-person-shooter and typing into open chat the names of all the service people killed in the line of duty in Iraq. Now’s he’s on to bigger and better…
Draxtor Despres getting Internews prize for Virtual Gitmo machinima story!
Just got this exciting news from my friend Second Life journalist Draxtor Despres: he has been awarded the "Every Human Has Rights" media award for his report on the "Virtual Gitmo" build in Second Life. Drax is heading to Paris, France, courtesy of news agency Internews to take part in a ceremony with 30 other…
Brilliant Fake New York Times from the Future: Iraq War Ends!
Big time congratulations to the team behind the fake New York Times from the future that hit the streets and the web today! The combination of great writing, design, and transmedia marketing is totally impressive. I’ve got a physical copy of the paper on my desk, courtesy of my co-worker Jay who brought in a…