Participolis

"[Iran’s “Soft war”] The Revolutionary Guards plan to start a news agency called..."

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:01:52 -0500

“[Iran’s “Soft war”] The Revolutionary Guards plan to start a news agency called Atlas in the spring, modeled on services like the BBC and The Associated Press, according to semiofficial Iranian news sites. The Revolutionary Guards already largely control the Fars news agency, which reflects views of Iran’s hard-line camp. Two weeks ago Iran formed a 12-person unit to monitor the Internet for “insults and the spreading of lies,” a phrase used to describe opposition activities, the semiofficial media reported.”

- Iran Expanding Effort to Stifle the Opposition - NYTimes.com

"[Camapign against hunger…] The Billion for a Billion campaign, the first ever global..."

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:05:36 -0500

“[Camapign against hunger…] The Billion for a Billion campaign, the first ever global citizens’ campaign to end hunger, is aimed especially at the billion internet users in the world. It is based on the idea that many people doing a little can shift mountains — or, in this case, help eradicate hunger. Read news release
[…]
Billion for a Billion is built around online participation. And it’s not just about individuals. The private sector, with its potential to reach thousands of clients and employees, also has an important role. 10 Ways Companies Can Help As well as donating, supporters can also help fight hunger by spreading the word, using the multiple tools available to web users today. It could be as simple as posting the Billion for a Billion video on your Facebook page or tweeting to a friend the fact that a child dies every 6 seconds of hunger-related causes. Or you could join the Bloggers Against Hunger alliance. Or create your-own Fight Hunger T-shirt. Or enter our Hungerbytes contest to create the raciest short video about hunger. Whatever you do, it will help. If you want to know more, visit our campaign page: http://www.wfp.org/1billion”

- Harnessing The Internet: Online Billion Helps Hungry Billion | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide

"[eGovernment Today] Back in 2001, a report called “e-government: The Next American..."

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:56:14 -0500

“[eGovernment Today] Back in 2001, a report called “e-government: The Next American Revolution,” based on findings of a survey conducted by Hart-Teeter for the Council for Excellence in Government, found: “Americans have an agenda for e-government that is more ambitious than just cutting paperwork or time spent waiting in line. They see its potential for giving citizens more information, which gives people the power to hold their government more accountable.” Eight years later, that agenda is a lot closer to reality than to dream.”

- Transparency vs. Responsibility - Digital Citizen Pulse

"[Governments attack bloggers] Yoani Sánchez, an author and blogger who has forged a reputation as a..."

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:22:16 -0500

“[Governments attack bloggers] Yoani Sánchez, an author and blogger who has forged a reputation as a critical voice against the Castro government, said over the weekend that she and other bloggers had been attacked in Havana in what she called a “gangland style kidnapping”. The incident caused outrage online, but according to advocacy campaign Threatened Voices - which launched last week to highlight cases of internet suppression worldwide - such a move was “only a matter of time” as regimes around the world lash out at web-based critics.
[…]
According to Threatened Voices, the five governments that rank as the worst offenders against freedom of speech online are China, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia and Syria, while bloggers in the US, Canada and Europe have also faced arrest and potential imprisonment for breaking the law. Last month eight Vietnamese bloggers were given sentences ranging from two to six years for posting criticisms of the government online, while three internet users in Thailand were arrested last week for writing that the king was in poor health, which they suggested would have an impact on the country’s stock market.”

- Cuban crackdown part of worldwide attack on internet dissidents | Technology | guardian.co.uk

…My heart’s in Accra » Xiao Qiang and Evgeny Morozov with dueling views of digital activism

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:56:07 -0500

…My heart’s in Accra » Xiao Qiang and Evgeny Morozov with dueling views of digital activism

Defense Department Releases Open Source Memo - O'Reilly Radar

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:26:49 -0400

Defense Department Releases Open Source Memo - O'Reilly Radar

"[Clay SHirky] “Every URL is a latent community. …This is a revolution; it can not be..."

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:17:26 -0400

“[Clay SHirky] “Every URL is a latent community. …This is a revolution; it can not be contained by the institutions. …People can now talk directly to each other without asking for permission. …We now have a medium in which we can have tiny global movements.””

- NeuroCooking: “This is a revolution; it can not be contained by the institutions.”

"[Catalist microtargeting during ‘08 campaign] On the whole, progressives completed over 127..."

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:31:07 -0400

“[Catalist microtargeting during ‘08 campaign] On the whole, progressives completed over 127 million contacts to more than 49 million unique individuals[1]. Of these, 28 million voted on Election Day, representing over 20% of all votes cast. Furthermore, and of greater significance, is that 82% of this work occurred in 16 swing states, accounting for 37%[2] of all votes cast in these states[3]. The results described in this report strongly indicate that progressive activities had positive effects, and in some places were essential to progressive victories.”

- The Catalist After Action Report - The Atlantic Politics Channel

"[Data backed microtargeting] According to the analysis, those registered voters contacted by..."

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:21:23 -0400

“[Data backed microtargeting] According to the analysis, those registered voters contacted by Catalist member groups turned out at a rate of 74.6%; the voters who weren’t turned out in proportions roughly equivalent to the national average — about 60.4%. In four states, the number of new votes cast by liberals exceeded Obama’s victory margin: in Ohio, Florida, Indiana in North Carolina. If you assume that only 60% of these voters chose Obama, the margin was still greater than Obama’s in North Carolina and Indiana, both essential to his victory. With the caveat that correlation does not equal causation, the report provides convincing, if not absolute, evidence that the progressive/Democratic data-mining and targeting operation measurably helped elect Barack Obama.”

- Exclusive: How Democrats Won The Data War In 2008 - The Atlantic Politics Channel

"[Lessig against transparency] How could anyone be against transparency? Its virtues and its..."

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:33:04 -0400

“[Lessig against transparency] How could anyone be against transparency? Its virtues and its utilities seem so crushingly obvious. But I have increasingly come to worry that there is an error at the core of this unquestioned goodness. We are not thinking critically enough about where and when transparency works, and where and when it may lead to confusion, or to worse. And I fear that the inevitable success of this movement—if pursued alone, without any sensitivity to the full complexity of the idea of perfect openness—will inspire not reform, but disgust. The “naked transparency movement,” as I will call it here, is not going to inspire change. It will simply push any faith in our political system over the cliff.”

- Against Transparency | The New Republic

"[To spend less governments go digital] That a giant technology company underwrote the gathering..."

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:21:14 -0400

“[To spend less governments go digital] That a giant technology company underwrote the gathering suggests that there is money to be made in helping governments tackle thorny problems in traffic management, energy use, public health, education and social services — and that technology has an important role to play. Local governments, like many businesses, are struggling with a data glut. Agencies collect huge amounts of information about topics as diverse as building permits, potholes, Medicaid cases and foster-child placements. Technology, according to computer experts and government officials, can be a powerful tool to mine vast troves of government data for insights to streamline services and guide policy. “The mistake people make is to think that collecting the data is the endgame,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, the mayor of New York. The real payoff, he said, takes another step. “We actually use the data,” he noted.”

- Unboxed - I.B.M Tries to Help Cities Work Smarter - NYTimes.com

"Today we are rolling out FedThread, a new way of interacting with the Federal Register. It’s..."

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:21:22 -0400

“Today we are rolling out FedThread, a new way of interacting with the Federal Register. It’s the latest civic technology project from our team at Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy. The Federal Register is “[t]he official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.” It’s published by the U.S. government, five days a week. The Federal Register tells citizens what their government is doing, in a lot more detail than the news media do. FedThread makes the Federal Register more open and accessible.”

- Introducing FedThread: Opening the Federal Register | Freedom to Tinker

"[from e-government to e-governance] Leading governments are moving beyond traditional e-government..."

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:59:59 -0400

“[from e-government to e-governance] Leading governments are moving beyond traditional e-government initiatives to strengthen their relationships with citizens by using new technologies and modifying conventional models of service delivery in innovative new ways, according to a new Accenture report. Entitled “From e-Government to e-Governance: Using new technologies to strengthen relationships with citizens,” the report explores the strategic intent driving many governments to leverage new technologies and identifies 10 e-governance strategies governments are adopting to strengthen the governance relationship.”

- Leading Governments Shifting Focus from e-Government to e-Governance Using New Technologies and Modified Service Delivery Models, According to Accenture Report

Tories launch campaigning website based on Obama model

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:57:18 -0400

Tories launch campaigning website based on Obama model

UK Union Adopts the Obama Model

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:56:33 -0400

UK Union Adopts the Obama Model

South African Children Push for Better Schools - NYTimes.com

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:07:42 -0400

South African Children Push for Better Schools - NYTimes.com

"[Transparency at the White House] the Obama administration is taking a major step into the sunlight..."

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:30:11 -0400

“[Transparency at the White House] the Obama administration is taking a major step into the sunlight with the presidential order to post online the thousands of White House visitors who come and go each month.
[…]
The policy requires the routine posting of the Secret Service’s logs three to four months after White House visitations. Disclosure will name the visitor, who set up the meeting, where it was held and how long it lasted. There are exceptions for national security and sensitive visitors, such as someone quietly under consideration for a Supreme Court nomination.”

- Editorial - Hustle and Bustle at the White House - NYTimes.com

"[Respective role of Twitter and of Iranians] Here’s the myth – some Western journalists shifted..."

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:00:04 -0400

“[Respective role of Twitter and of Iranians] Here’s the myth – some Western journalists shifted their focus from the role of Iranian people to the role of technology. Tehrani considers it amazing – and shameful – to suggest that there should be a nobel peace prize for Twitter, rather than for the Iranian protesters. “Twitter does not organize demonstrations.” The Iranian government can read tweets, so this is a lousy place to organize. Twitter can spread misinformation. One tweet claimed 700,000 people protesting at a mosque in Tehran – this “fact” got spread around Twitter… but it seems that fewer than 5,000 people actually showed up in real life. We can misunderstand who’s actually speaking on Twitter – people represent themselves as being on the ground, while they’re actually in the diaspora… or in some cases, might not actually be Iranian activists. Finally, he warns that citizen media may be becoming “militant media” in an Iranian context.”

- …My heart’s in Accra » Hamid Tehrani and a nuanced view of social media in Iran

"[Consumers fight for their privacy] The principles, which can be found here, include an opt-in..."

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:23:48 -0400

“[Consumers fight for their privacy] The principles, which can be found here, include an opt-in clause whereby a web site must get the consumer’s permission to share his data if the site wants to use it beyond a 24-hour period. They also require that consumer information is purged after 90 days, and include a Do Not Track List, by which consumers could opt out of data collection entirely. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, believes that list would be more granular, allowing a consumer to select categories by which he would like to filter his ads in a manner similar to one proposed earlier this year by Google. According to the consumer groups’ recommendations, people also should have the right to know what data is collected about them and have the ability to fix incorrect information attributed to them. Plus that data shouldn’t be available to just anyone — it should be kept secure and shouldn’t be accessible for non-advertising purposes except via subpoena. Those suggestions leave today’s recommendations and those by various online advertisers we wrote about in July pretty far apart.”

- Consumer Groups Petition Congress for Privacy Regs

"[Obama prepares healthcare speach] Let’s hope someone among these Ivy League oracles will convince..."

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:47:59 -0400

“[Obama prepares healthcare speach] Let’s hope someone among these Ivy League oracles will convince the president to come down from his cloud and speak to the Costco constituency. As we witnessed during his presidential campaign, he can have a hard time speaking to everyday people in everyday language. His opponents don’t have that problem. Death panels. Death books. Taxpayer dollars for abortion. Kill Grandma. Take away choice. Is some of this rhetoric blatantly silly? Yes. But, also brilliantly simple. Conservatives speak in bumper stickers. Obama speaks in thesis statements. In fact, he sometimes seems constitutionally incapable of concision.
[…]
In American debates, and particularly in this debate, facts are not sufficient, no matter how eloquently spoken. We want to be moved by passion and conviction and determination and faith. We coalesce around simple ideas like right and wrong, and for many, yes, good and evil.”

- Op-Ed Columnist - The Prince of Dispassion - NYTimes.com