community application of technology for public benefit
I just took a survey being done by some folks at UNC about blog archiving and preservation. Click here to take the survey, or here to learn more.
The purpose of this research is to survey bloggers’ own perceptions on digital preservation. It is hoped that the results of this study will inform development of recommendations for impacting stewardship of weblogs at the level of creation, and the development of strategies for capturing the content of blogs for perpetuity.
The ACLU has launched a new campaign styled after missing-persons ads: FindHabeas.com. You can friend Mr. Corpus on MySpace, download a buddy icon, make your own t-shirts and stickers, sign a petition to Congress, and send postcards from the past (a reminder of how long he’s been around).
Habeas corpus isn’t a fancy legal term, it’s the freedom from being thrown in prison illegally, with no help, no end in sight and with no due process. No president should ever be given the sole power to call someone an enemy, wave his hand, and lock them away indefinitely. The Founders made the president subject to the rule of law. They rejected dungeons and torture, and instead chose due process and fairness.
The concept of habeas corpus is a centuries-old legal procedure that is even older than the United States. The first recorded use of the phrase habeas corpus dates back to 1305, to the reign of England’s King Edward I.
So when the 109th Congress passed and the President signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and, in a specific context, effectively abolished the writ of habeas corpus for certain people, they were turning away from a centuries-old tradition that is a cornerstone of our Constitution, and our freedom.
– Find Habeas: About habeas corpus
Check out the site and spread the word. This may seem like just some legal wrangling but it’s actually fundamental to a functioning democracy!
I’ve posted the second in my techPresident series on voter-generated campaigns in Second Life. It’s about Edwards Campaign Central, and it’s not pretty. After getting griefed on the mainland, they moved to a PG-rated location at Laguna Beach. I find the tropical setting to be mighty incongruous with a serious, populist campaign.
All the photos I’ve taken are also being added to this Flickr Collection. Please go read the review at techPresident and let me know what you think.
The American Friends Service Committee (awesome Quakers) have this great campaign right now where people take pictures of themselves making a statement of their constituency for peace.
Here’s a picture they took of me at the Nonprofit Technology Conference:
And here’s one that Brian added to the collection:
You can browse them all at http://friendsforpeace.org/browse or http://flickr.com/photos/friendsforpeace. Unrelated – they also just sent me a big Friends for Peace sign in the mail and I also saw one on a car in Carrboro yesterday!
I was quoted on the CBS News web site talking about candidates in Second Life! The article does a decent job of focusing on the interesting story of how supporters are working for candidates independently of their campaigns, and avoids trite sensationalism around the obscenity that is just as common in SL as it is on the rest of the Internet. (Although the author strangely seems to have visited the old Edwards HQ which has since been moved to a quiet beach setting.)
So far, the default model for building a campaign in Second Life has been “build first, ask for endorsement later,” as Ruby Sinreich wrote in TechPresident. The default stance of campaigns toward their Second Life depiction is curious indifference.
– Democratic ’08 Hopefuls Go Virtual, Obama Dips Gucci-Clad Toe In Second Life Waters; Clinton, Edwards Hands Off Of Their Digital HQs – CBS News
I remember being quite pleased with myself when I came up with that phrase. I’m glad someone else noticed. This reminds me, I am overdue for posting some more reviews on techPresident. I have already taken pictures of John Edwards’ virtual bungalow, so I need to write that up, revisit the Barack Obama HQ, and apparently there are some Republicans I have to check out…
I’m getting ready to head to DC for the 2007 Nonprofit Technology Conference for the rest of this week. For many of us, this conference is a like an annual reunion of a wonderful group of socially-conscious geeks. We were there for each other back when the rest of the nonprofit sector thought we were crazy… and look – we're all grown up (and in demand) now! 😉
On Thursday I'll be leading a discussion on "The Future of Online Outreach" along with Carnet Williams, who has been at this even longer than I have. On Friday I will participate in panels about "The Community Driven Nonprofit: Web 2.0 Applied" and "User-centric web publishing: Using RSS, tags, and microformats to give your stakeholders the content they want." Somewhere in there is also a meeting at the office, lunch with clients, catching up with old coworkers, and a half a dozen parties around DC!
Let me know if you will be there as well. I'll be watching the backchannel, especially Twittter.
Here’s the first short video to be released from the second season of the ACLU‘s Freedom Files series. It’s about the Hutto Detention Facility in Texas where the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – the same jerks who detained Sima Fallahi – lock up entire families including small children.
I just blogged on techPresident about the Hillary Clinton campaign HQ that some folks have created in Second Life. Short version: it plays into the worst stereotypes of her as an iron maiden and looks like butt to boot. It amazes me that Hillary is portrayed as a clueless authority figure even by her supposed supporters.
Here are my two favorite parts: the stage that looks like it came straight out of the popular “Vote Different” (a.k.a. Hillary 1984) video, and the helipad complete with limousine motorcade and police HUMV for security!
(Click for larger versions.)
Please check it out and let me know what you think: http://techpresident.com/node/171
I plan to post pictures and reviews of all of the candidates in SL. Right now there’s only Edwards and Obama, so they will be next.
Another great online strategy from Amnesty International: to counter growing censorship and repression of Internet speech, they have created http://Irrepressible.info where you can sign a pledge for Internet freedom and get your own badge to dynamically display censored content on your own blog.
Por ejemplo:
They also have a public API! (They do lose points for having a typo in the code for the badge above. Good thing I know how to spell “fragments” and fixed it myself.)
http://Change.org is a wonderful new social networking site for activists and organizations. It allows you to write about what “changes” (or issues) you support and sign on to other people’s changes. It also connects those issues with the nonprofits that are working on them, and encourages users to rate the organizations, blog about changes, and make pledges of both money and action.
The site basically combines the best of web 2.0 technology with the best of your conscience. All it needs is a critical mass of users, and it’s well on the way, having only launched a month ago, and now branching out to international activists.
Their newest fun feature: widgets! Here’s mine:
I hope to see you there.