Gerry Gleason, everyday philanthropist, concerned citizen, and open source dreamer … interviewed at the SourceTree Commons gathering in Breckenridge, Colorado (July, 2007).
I interviewed Angela at the end of 2006 – at the CAIDA Commons workshop…. a little bit of history (unearthed from my backlog), but the issues are still valid. One of the biggest points is that we can’t just throw technology at people or problems. Part of the interview goes into the work she was doing while executive director of Grassroots.org.
One Web Day is here! I’ll be headed up to the Old Town School of Folk Music where the Future of Music Coalition has convened an education workshop. I’ll be speaking on a panel there. (What will I say?)
As part of the Chicago NetSquared/NetTuesday meetup group I’ve posted several interviews of participants as a small contribution to this global collaboration. Here they are:
And a story told by Melvin at the September 9 Net2Chi meetup:
You can find OWD video interviews of Chicagoans from prior years if you dig back a little.
Happy One Web Day Chicago! Happy One Web Day everyone!
One Web Day is almost upon us! (Monday, September 22) What are we doing in Chicago to celebrate? Among other things the Future of Music Coalition has organized a workshop at the Old Town School of Folk Music, and I’ll be speaking on the Policy Overview panel. Come say hello!
Here’s more info:
Today’s music landscape is filled with both excitement and foreboding. With so many new technologies and ways to promote and distribute music, how do performers, composers, songwriters and independent labels know how to participate, who to trust, and what is most effective?
Future of Music Coalition — a national non-profit that seeks a bright future for musicians and fans — is organizing a musician education workshop at the Old Town School of Folk Music on September 22, from noon to 7PM. The “What’s the Future for Musicians?” seminar will provide musicians, songwriters, independent label owners and music fans with practical advice about a range of internet-based promotion and distribution options, how to navigate the health insurance landscape, the importance of open internet structures and how copyright law and business models affect musician compensation. Breakout sessions will give attendees a chance to interact with the experts on the latest developments in music, technology and policy. The forum is a great opportunity to network with other musicians while getting informed on topical issues.
Admission is $25, though a limited number of musician scholarships are also available.
As part of Chicago’s NetTuesdays Meetups we’ve been recording interviews with people from the Chicago NPO & Tech Sector – hope to have some of those up by Monday!
Bloggers, Environmentalists, Techies – I invite you to help spread the word about Free Geek Chicago.
The Free Geek concept is widespread – Portland Oregon the flagship – and well regarded in the Open Source world.
Free Geek Chicago is perhaps unique among Chicago computer recyclers/refurbishers in their endeavor to maximize the life of discarded computer components. Watch the video, let them speak for themselves. Then think about what you can do to further the causes that align under the Free Geek Chicago mission.
Free Geek Chicago needs your support. They need reliable streams of discarded computer equipment. They need us to get the word out. Bring in your old equipment, yes … but perhaps there is more that can be done – for example, you can inquire as to where and how your company’s equipment is handled. If it is picked up for recycling or refurbishing … look into how hard they work to keep the materials out of the waste stream. You may be surprised. Not all recyclers or refurbishers are equal. There are hidden costs to everything … the best way to keep equipment out of landfills foreign or domestic is to increase their useful lives. Such utility has three aspectswe should keep in mind – the functioning of the equipment, the functional (digital) literacy of the person seeking to make use of that equipment (and the harmony of their purposes) and not least – the community or network of support that bridges the physicality of the hardware and the human. This is Free Geek’s talent and m.o.
There’s so much more that I’d love to say. For the moment I just want to spread the positive media meme with the Free Geek Chicago story. They’ve done a great job with their video. I’d love to see the model expand throughout Chicago – or perhaps a network of practitioners around the Chicago Region who are in alignment with the FG values. With a steady supply of equipment perhaps the product range can be expanded … nodes for a wireless mesh network truly owned and run by the community, and media servers for NPOs or community groups – infrastructure for local community information and communication services – think Community Intranet!
We need to spark our collective imagination and share the vision. This is a path towards digital excellence in Chicago.
These are the closing words of George, a hunter from the South who has just spent 30 Days with a group of Animal Rights activists. It’s a beautiful story. It’s what reality tv should be.
I’m really struck by the notion of immersion in a cultural setting – in the subcultures of our own society. The 30 Days series is great from that perspective and is doing us a “positive media” service.
This week has been odd for me. We still have so much polarization in our politics. Members of my extended family have views on the current election that are in stark contrast to my own and we haven’t been able to forge a sustained political dialogue that would be a basis for deliberation. That’s my higher ideal – dialogue that leads to deliberation. We need that first safe civil space however … a precondition to emergent deliberation where we really are working together to understand an issue… not debating in a winner take all modality where the end justifies the means.
Animal Rights is not the issue that wakes me up each day, but the questions of the cruelty of our factory farming system and vivisection are a burden to my soul. I’m just as concerned about our inhumanity to each other, but one thing is certain: this is not part of a beautiful society, this is beneath our human dignity, it debases all who are involved.
My bigger issue is how to be a better human being. I’ve got a long way to go. I’m ok with that, as long as I make progress, and others are with me.
I just caught this episode on Hulu. I don’t know how long Hulu keeps episodes available for those of us who will embed their video in a blog, but if it’s not here by the time you read this, blame them.
We’re making progress towards e-Democracy in Chicago. We’ve got a great steering committee in formation, and we’re eager to recruit participants to the Chicago Region Civic Forum. We’re relying on Twin Cities based e-democracy.org for hosting and for their local issues forum platform (based on groupserver). Our forum won’t go live until we reach a critical mass of subscribers.
We’re using their platform for several reasons … we’re committed to a civic discourse on an open source, neutral platform, so that no group or person in Chicago would feel “ownership” (or exclusion) except in the sense of a common, collective ownership and responsibility.
We also like the model, generally. The e-democracy project has been going strong for more than a decade, and continues to expand. It’s built on web technologies familiar to everyone: email and browser, yet also allows room for web 2.0 growth with RSS/XML feeds. The e-democracy forums pay a good deal of attention to the social dimensions of online communities, and have established sensible policies and practices for a healthy community. A clear and explicit policy is important.
The list/forum is open to the public, for the purposes of local civic discourse. Participants are expected to register under their real name, to conduct themselves with civility and generosity of spirit and to focus on issues of pertinence to the Chicago region. We’re all restricted to two posts per day so that no one person can dominate the discourse and so that participants don’t feel overwhelmed by excessive traffic. We’re all busy people, and we respect each other’s time and commitment to improving life in our city.
Feel free to register now… and let me know if you have any problems! We’re still testing some things.
This should take you to a registration page for the Chicago Region Civic Forum on the e-democracy site. Remember, we won’t be live right away, but you will be the first to know when we are!
