Date archives "April 2012"

Project of the Day: Open Web Device

Project site: http://www.openwebdevice.com/ ‘HTML5 is the ubiquitous platform for the web. Web developers can use the same set of technologies they know and love to build rich web applications that will also work across mobile devices. And now, it is also possible to access all native device capabilities directly in HTML5, enabling a kind of… Continue reading

Project of the Day: the Federated General Assembly

Nick Pinto on building a internet-based dialogue and decision infrastructure for the Occupy Movement : “Ed Knutson, a software developer from Milwaukee, became instantly engaged with Occupy Wall Street when the movement first started garnering national headlines early last fall. As the movement spread, Knutson traveled to several East Coast occupations and met with teams… Continue reading

P2P Political action: Reddit-created PAC to release anti Lamar Smith (SOPA proponent) TV Ad

The SOPA/PIPA episode, which escalated earlier this year into a showdown between entertainment industry lobby and large numbers of internet users, and led to a widespread online blackout protest, resulted in the creation of several new organizations concerned with the defense of online freedoms. One of these organisations is called TestPAC. It was created by… Continue reading

Book of the Day: Geert Lovink’s Networks Without a Cause

* Book: Networks Without a Cause, A Critique of Social Media. by Geert Lovink. Polity Press, 2012 Introduction: “With the vast majority of Facebook users caught in a frenzy of friending’, ‘liking’ and ‘commenting’, at what point do we pause to grasp the consequences of our info-saturated lives? What compels us to engage so diligently… Continue reading

Project of the Day: the Homegrown Minneapolis Commons-Based Food Policy Blueprint

On the Commons on ‘Homegrown City-Based Food Commons‘ initiatives such as in Minneapolis: “On the Commons co-director Julie Ristau co-chaired Homegrown Minneapolis, a local food program launched by the City of Minneapolis. In this role, she partnered with the city to create authentic partnerships with citizens and community groups. This innovative process drew on a… Continue reading

Video of the Day: Patrick Meier on Collaborative Mapping Platforms

Patrick Meier Discusses Crowdsourced Crisis Response: “Like many other humanitarian aid facilitators and organizations, the power of social media and its ability to connect thousands of volunteers was realized after the earthquake in Haiti. Patrick Meier describes the way in which the Ushahidi platform was applied to crisis information in the creation of a collaborative… Continue reading

Invitation to warm-up meeting for #GlobalSquare project at Berlin Biennale 2012

via Carolina TheGlobalSquare (TGS) is a project that aims at building an international platform for communication, collaboration, coordination and making-decisions at a global level. It is based on decentralized networking and social swarm, respecting privacy and transparency. Our aim is to develop a protocol and data exchange vocabulary in order to connect every free social… Continue reading

Book of the Day: Feasta’s Sharing for Survival

* Book: Sharing for Survival: Restoring the Climate, the Commons and Society. Feasta, 2012 A 200-page collection of essays by nine Feasta Climate Group members: ‘Sharing for Survival recognises that official climate policy is dominated by states in thrall to fossil fuel and financial lobbies. It offers a realistic radical way to rapidly reduce emissions… Continue reading

Project of the Day: The Unemployed Cooperative Relief Organization and Unemployed Exchange Association

Two projects from earlier times: 1. Jonathan Rowe on the Unemployed Cooperative Relief Organization: “In the spring of 1932, in Compton, California, an unemployed World War I veteran walked out to the farms that still ringed Los Angeles. He offered his labor in return for a sack of vegetables, and that evening he returned with… Continue reading

In the country of Tintin: David Bollier’s Encounter with the Commons in Belgium

Via David Bollier: (go to the original article for many interesting links) “Interest in the commons in Belgium is much stronger than I had imagined. At an environmental symposium in Brussels on Friday, the organizers of “The Commons: (Co)managing Commonly Owned Resources,” had to turn away people at the door. It was standing room only… Continue reading

Video of the Day: Thinking Cities

“The documentary ‘Thinking Cities’ deals with one of the most dramatic societal trends happening today: urbanization. The world population is expected to soar to more than 9 billion people by 2050, with roughly 70 percent living in cities. At the same time, Information Communications Technology (ICT) is extending its reach. These parallel trends are intersecting… Continue reading