Monthly Archives: November 2009

David Weinberger: what information was

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Ethan

There are many things I admire about my friend and colleague, David Weinberger: his intellectual curiosity, his generosity with his time and guidance, his sense of humor… One facet of David I most admire is his willingness to think in … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkman, ideas | 11 Comments

Why we fall for fast news

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Ethan

Friend and colleague Dan Gillmor came up with a powerful idea at a Berkman retreat this past week – the need for a “slow news movement” in journalism, a focus on reporting that’s about careful, reasoned analysis, not about speed. … Continue reading →

Posted in ideas, Media | 17 Comments

CFCM: Crossing Borders

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Ethan

This post covers presentations at MIT’s Center for Future Civic Media at MIT’s communications forum. Josh Levinger leads off the final session at CFCM’s show and tell, titled “Crossing Borders”. His project, Virtual Gaza, aggregates the stories of civilians who … Continue reading →

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CFCM: Subjective Mapping

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Ethan

This post covers presentations at MIT’s Center for Future Civic Media at MIT’s communications forum. Rick Borovoy’s project Lost in Boston focuses on what might well be my pet peeve with Boston – lack of signage. (Seriously. It’s a big … Continue reading →

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CFCM: Rethinking News

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Ethan

This post covers presentations at MIT’s Center for Future Civic Media at MIT’s communications forum. Cristina Xu leads off a segment focused on the future of news. She introduces her project, the News Positioning System, by digging into American history … Continue reading →

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CFCM show and tell: Making Change

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Ethan

This post covers presentations at MIT’s Center for Future Civic Media at MIT’s communications forum. Ryan Toole is designing a platform called Red Ink, a tool designed to enable secure, collective financial action. He points out that there are existing … Continue reading →

Posted in CFCM | 1 Comment

Show and tell at Center for Future Civic Media

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Ethan

It’s very easy to experience whiplash if you hang out at the academic institutions of Cambridge, MA. I spent the day in the basement of Harvard’s wood-panelled faculty club, in a discussion about the future(s) of the Berkman Center, then … Continue reading →

Posted in CFCM | 6 Comments

Fiji: Reality, brand, mirage

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Ethan

What do you know about Fiji? Before getting involved with Global Voices, I knew that it was an island paradise somewhere in the South Pacific much beloved by vacationers and honeymooners and that, despite being an island nation surrounded by … Continue reading →

Posted in Developing world, Global Voices, Human Rights | 7 Comments

Threatened Voices

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Ethan

My friend and colleage Sami Ben Gharbia just launched a fascinating and useful new site: Threatened Voices. It’s an interactive map of bloggers under arrest and under threat around the world, with an accompanying timeline that makes it possible to … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Voices, Human Rights | 1 Comment

Hossein Derakhshan, now detained for over a year

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Ethan

Hossein Derakhshan (“Hoder”) has now been in prison in Iran for more than a year. My friend Cyrus Farivar has followed his case closely, and has been in touch with Hoder’s family, who confirm that he’s beeing held in Tehran’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights | 9 Comments