Campaign: Bangladeshis microblog the elections to ensure transparency

Written by Kate Brodock on January 2, 2009 – 10:55 pm -

On 29 December 2008, Bangladesh held its 9th Parliamentary elections, but this time there was a new twist.

Global Voices reported that Software company Somewhere In would offer to the citizens of Bangladesh a set of internet and mobile tools that allowed for quick and easy dissemination of election news. Their motives were simple: offer a public forum where people can get real-time information and, more importantly, hold the government accountable.  In part of its open statement to the government, Somewhere In states:

“tomorrow, any update from any blogger has the potential to reach the whole world.

this time, for the first time in your political history, bloggers are watching you.”

On election day, people were urged to use either the internet or SMS message to report events of the day to the New Age website, which also provided direct synching with an interactive map.  The following tools were offered:

“bloggers share quick news to the election microblog
- just login and type from web or sms to 5455: ! your message

bloggers can sms directly to an interactive map
- send sms to 5455: ! your message @location regarding their district

bloggers can analyse and share political stories on the election blog

bloggers can share the latest microblogs through nearly any blog“

The results, continually updated, are displayed on the sites homepage, along with numerous blog posts with various information.

Importance: This joint business/citizen initiative is a big move towards increased transparency of a country that has, in recent years, topped the list of highest corruption rates in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (It was ranked most corrupt in 2005 and has slowly moved to number 147 in 2008) and has been under interim government (and military) rule for two years.

The full impact of the initiative is yet to be seen, however, its collaborative and public nature is sure to raise a few heads within the country and around the world.  We at Digiactive hope to see its effectiveness carried through and perhaps duplicated elsewhere.

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Campaign: Homeless Nation offers a place to tell stories and interact

Written by Kate Brodock on December 2, 2008 – 10:48 pm -

Description: Homeless Nation was started by Daniel Cross, a documentary filmmaker who has highlighted Canada’s homeless population in several of his films. While gathering thousands of stories given by the homeless, most of which wouldn’t fit into the films, Cross envisioned a space where these reports wouldn’t be lost.

He thus created a social network that not only brought many of these stories to the forefront, but offered continued opportunities for sharing and interaction between the homeless and those interested in listening.  Furthermore, part of their mission is “ensuring that digital tools for media, learning and communication are made available for homeless Canadians.”

Tools: Internet, podcasting, video

Application: Armed with donated computer and video equipment, Homeless Nation “outreach workers” go to various drop centers (shelters, day-centers, squatting areas, etc) located in several Canadian metropolitan centers and create audio, video or written testimonials from the homeless, while also providing them internet and computer training.  Additionally, they provide a place online to find resources that offer food, shelter, healthcare etc.

It allows the homeless, who would otherwise not have access to the sorts of web-based communities that many of us are used to, to join in conversation, make connections with people and have a voice they may not otherwise have.

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Book Review: Activists and Innovation

Written by Kate Brodock on November 22, 2008 – 7:01 pm -

Book Title
Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovation

[Hardcover Publish Date is 18 January 2009]

Author
Hayagreeva Rao

Subject
This book explores how innovations and new technologies are changing the way people mobilize  around a cause.  Rao offers several examples of how activists have gone against the mainstream and used various technologies and tools to their advantage.

He offers many examples of how this has occurred, but one of the most insightful conclusions he comes to is that some of the most successful examples are a combination of what Bob Sutton, who has worked closely with Rao, calls the “one-two punch of a “Hot Cause” and “Cool Solutions.”  He goes on to say:

A hot cause like deaths from tobacco or medical errors can be used as springboards to raise awareness, spark motivation, and ignite red-hot outrage.  And naming these as enemies is an important step in mobilizing a network or market. But creating the heat isn’t enough; the next step needs to be cool solutions.   This doesn’t just mean identifying technically feasible solutions, it also means finding ways to bind people together, to empower them to take steps that help solve the problem, and to create enduring commitment to implementing solutions.

Activists, or “market rebels,” are those who defy conventional communication channels and leverage existing digital technologies by introducing radical and innovative ways to use them.  Under this model, many of the examples highlighted on DigiActive indicate that the range of uses for these tools will broaden beyond what which they were originally “intended” for.

It sounds like a book that should be top on the reading list of anyone with a cause they feel strongly about who wants to utilize the technologies out there.


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Using social networking tools in to combat drug abuse in South Africa

Written by Kate Brodock on October 25, 2008 – 5:32 pm -

Description: A group of former drug users and gangsters have teamed up with Mr Marlon Parker, a PhD candidate and lecturer on IT at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, to offer an online platform for people to combat their own drug use and find support on their road to wellness.

The network is a response to the increased violence and drug abuse that has occurred in Cape Town in the past several years, a trend that is causing much restlessness in society.  By providing young members of the society who may be caught up in drug use or gang activity a place where they feel comfortable, they can begin opening up and receiving help from counselors.

Tools: Mxit

How they use the tools: Mxit is a mobile service that is used by 8.6 million people in Africa, and offers an easy way to send and receive text messages via mobile phone or internet.  Parker partners with school districts to offer a counseling service through Mxit to students, who can text in or use the platform’s chat capabilities via General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) as opposed to SMS.

For his PhD thesis, Mr Parker has been researching how technology can be used for community change.

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Campaign: Ali Ardekani videoblogs about the everyday life of a Muslim

Written by Kate Brodock on October 2, 2008 – 12:43 am -

A few weeks ago, Talia wrote about the Ramadan blog that had been started by three Muslims giving their perspectives on the Holy Month.  This week, I wanted to highlight another activism campaign along the same vein.

Description: Ali Ardekani, Co-Founder of Ummah Films, has launched a series of videoblogs that highlight issues concerning both the identity and image of Muslims around the world.  Under the alias “Baba Ali” and using Bill Cosby as a role model, Ali attempts to paint Muslims, especially American Muslims, as ordinary.  Using his comedic talents, he directly addresses some of the views that people may have of  extremism in “all Muslims.” He does not deny the fundamentalist views that there are held by some Muslims, but clearly does not condone them.

As a response to finding little to no positive or “regular” depictions of Muslims after conducting a video search online, it is his attempt to encourage discussion without accusations, mass-labels or defensiveness by talking about “everyday situations” that Muslims find themselves in as part of American society and that everyone “can relate to.”  He upholds some Muslims customs or beliefs but often ridicules others in a light-hearted way.  He is part of a larger movement of younger-generation American Muslims who feel they lack a voice in mainstream media, and want to change the current image they see as given to them by the wider public.

Tools Used: YouTube, various other video-sharing sites, videoblogging

How it’s Worked: As of now, Ali’s films and other films have a very large following of American Muslims on YouTube.  This confirms the desire for this group to support movements that have the potential of positively changing their image in the eyes of the public in general.  Of the responses by people outside of this community, there are both positive responses and negative responses.  Some individuals or groups have responded with their own videoblogs.  Several of his and other’s videos have found their way to mainstream media, notably on the Islam Channel in the UK, New York Times and USA Today, and he is frequently asked to speak at various conferences.

A few of Ali’s videos are below.

Muslim While Flying

$25,000 Muslim Weddings

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Effective use of Twitter and hashtags during Hurricane Gustav

Written by Kate Brodock on September 4, 2008 – 3:40 pm -

Hurricane GustavDescription:

As Hurricane Gustav threatened the New Orleans area last week, citizens found new ways to update the public on how things were developing on the ground.  In an attempt to decrease some of the chaos that occurred during Hurricane Katrina, Twitter users from the region mobilized themselves to offer a way not only of quickly disseminating the information via tweets, but also to centralize the information via the use of hashtags.

CNN reporter Rick Sanchez even referred to Twitter during his airtime and mentioned that he had used it to gather information for his report.

Tools: Twitter, Hashtags

How these tools are being used:

Beyond the great benefits of using just Twitter to inform people of real-time events happening in New Orleans, the use of hashtags proved even more effective.  Hashtags are a way to send your Twitter updates to a centralized location on the web so people can go online to get comprehensive and immediate updates during an event.

Hashtags were first used heavily on Twitter during the 2007 San Diego forest fires, and have subsequently been introduced into various industries as a way of grouping Twitter messages.  Uses include crisis information, event updates, and conference notes.

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Action Alert: Blog Action Day 2008

Written by Kate Brodock on August 19, 2008 – 9:37 pm -

What? Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty
When? October 15, 2008
Where? on your blog
Why? To raise awareness and trigger a global discussion on poverty.

Vimeo has announced it’s 2008 challenge to bloggers, called Blog Action Day.  It’s meant to encourage and empower bloggers around the world to focus on one pertinent issue to write about on 15 October 2008.  Their aim every year is to “raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.”

This year’s topic is focused on global poverty.  Vimeo has even provided bloggers with a video (below) to post beforehand to spread the word, which I’ve gone and posted on my blog, and have seen several times this week on other blogs!  Please join in this effort, and follow the links below to learn more.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.


Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.


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Tool: Twitter being used by the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce

Written by Kate Brodock on August 16, 2008 – 9:35 pm -

Recently, companies and organizations have been hopping onto Twitter to use as a tool to communicate to customers, followers, interested parties etc.  Some use the tool as a newsreel, some use it for promotions or customer service.  But what would the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce get out of the situation?

Ask Guy Tessler, who works in Atlanta for the organization’s Southeast Region.  Interviewed by Toby of Diva Marketing, Guy mentioned the importance of being able to put a human face to his organization, and feels that Twitter, by virtue of its brief, direct and personal forum for conversation, provides an effective way of doing so.

With an organizational mission as follows,

“to boost the Israeli and Southeastern economies by helping their companies develop business relationships with each other and explore new market opportunities”

Guy hopes to use Twitter as a networking tool that he hopes can him reach specifically the local markets.  Please read here for the full interview.


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Tool: Using Squidoo to raise money for your cause

Written by Kate Brodock on August 5, 2008 – 1:54 pm -

What it is: Created by marketing professaional Seth Godin, Squidoo is an online forum that allows members create lenses (i.e. pages) based on their most fundamental passions. Additionally, users can gain earn ad money through the site. According to the website:

Squidoo is a hand-built collection of half a million pages built by people just like you.

Squidoo is about finding people when you care what they know instead of who they know.

And Squidoo raises big money for charity every single day by donating money from the ads and links you see on every page.

How can it help activists? There are multiple benefits from using this tool: users are not only spreading awareness of their “passions” to other users (and creating passion from that), but they also have the above ability to raise money and interact in a forum that allows for a high level of collaboration. These are the ingredients for getting things done.

While many people make lenses to earn themselves a little more, there are an increasing number of lenses being used to raise money for charity. Some examples include Water Can Save the World, a Knitting Coop in Rwanda to spread world peace, and a philanthropic neurosurgeon who has saved thousands of lives. In fact, Squidoo initiated a Charity Challenge in April of this year, run by the Squidoo Activists.

I would expect similar tools to pop up in the near future, and it looks as though Squidoo still has several charitable ideas coming in the future…

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From Blogs to Facebook: A shift in Kurdish online activity

Written by Kate Brodock on July 27, 2008 – 8:24 pm -

Description: Last year at this time, one could have counted a few hundred active and decently-read blogs coming from the Kurdish population, primarily in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey (see the Global Voices report from 2005). But now, their activity level has greatly diminished, with some not having posted in several months. A look at the comments sections of many of the blogs reveals often harsh and nationalistic responses by those not in support of Kurdish culture or society, which may have been a deterrent to keeping up the posting.

Did the bloggers disappear? Were they discouraged enough with the results of their efforts to decrease internet activity altogether? No, they found a new place to focus those efforts, one they find more conducive to their cause.

Tool: Facebook

How this tool is being used: With groups such as Sign a Petition Against Killings and Stoning of Women in Kurdistan (3 533 members as of this posting) and Free Kurdistan (1 556 members as of this posting) having become much more trafficked and updated in the past year, Kurdish activists are finding that their efforts are not only gaining more traffic, but also avoiding a reasonable amount of outside harassment.

Many of these pages encourage bloggers to continue voicing their opinions through their blogs, stating the importance of a broader presence. While there is yet to be a resurgence in activity in the blogsphere, it is clear the population is adapting to the changing dynamics of internet spaces in a way that can better support their cause.


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