CommuniShare

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80104422196802100702011-04-21T12:12:47.417-07:00CommuniShareThe View from Here - from the CommuniShare TeamBob_Lemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10138538215340942545noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-47964894760827715042009-05-08T20:47:00.000-07:002009-05-08T20:50:28.187-07:00This blog (or at least Seth's part of it) has moved...

... to CommuniShare.org. Come check it out.

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-75680766304357479182009-03-10T14:06:00.000-07:002009-03-10T14:15:42.347-07:00Madly Multi-Arts Party to Back Documentary Filmmaker on Saturday, March 14

March 7, 2009, Philadelphia – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWhat unites a rapper, a singer/songwriter, three jewelry-makers, a documentary on women in the media, a raffle, a silent auction, and a music video? Stumped? They’re all coming together for an Arts Free-for-All Party to raise money for filmmaker Hannah ‘helyx’ Horwitz’s documentary about American teens in Nicaragua.All that and more will be

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-23799440256362108802009-02-21T20:27:00.000-08:002009-02-21T20:50:02.219-08:00Why nonprofits should promote social media in general

The NetSquared “think tank” topic this month is:What do you think the role of nonprofit organizations is in the changing world of social media?When I first read it, however, I mentally transposed “the changing” to “changing the” and read it as:What do you think the role of nonprofit organizations is in changing the world of social media? The two questions have different meanings. The first one

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-65024235408237146382009-02-17T19:02:00.000-08:002009-02-18T03:18:56.234-08:00The Strength of Weak Ties today

I really enjoyed an interesting Philadelphia Knowledge Management group web conference last week, led by Steve Ennen (Managing Director of the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative) on Measuring Knowledge Management in a Web 2.0 World. At one point in the session, Steve referred to a recent paper by some folks at the HP Social Computing Lab, entitled “Social Networks that Matter: Twitter under

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-6574976210804212322009-02-10T20:06:00.000-08:002009-02-10T20:18:11.315-08:00The Internet Threat

In The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, James Boyle devotes Chapter 4 to “the Internet Threat”, which is the way of thinking that “Big Media” (my term--not his--for publishers, music labels, movie studios...) use to justify continuing their grip on power. His explanation helped put things into context for me. The Internet Threat, he explains... is beguilingly simple. The

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-81266086268343443532009-02-04T18:59:00.000-08:002009-02-05T14:14:14.778-08:00Jeff Pulver and tag tags

I attended yesterday's Breakfast with Jeff Pulver, billed as "the only breakfast with real-time social tagging". This was an attempt to apply some of the practices of electronic social networking to the face-to-face world. It is in line with my own thoughts about "tag tags" expressed in a previous post.Jeff describes his process in a 4-minute video, and it works like this: Each person receives a

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-25276512809500108362009-01-24T07:11:00.000-08:002009-01-25T18:07:41.366-08:00Should schooling be compulsory?

My wife is attending a terrific conference, Educon 2.1, the 2nd annual, sponsored by the Science Leadership Academy here in Philly. It's a gathering of progressive educators, talking a lot about the future of education and they talk/act a lot about integrating Web 2.0 practices. (A number of them are live-blogging and live-Twittering the conference.)Last night, I joined my wife to attend the

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-66719038358574076062008-12-19T06:39:00.000-08:002008-12-19T13:39:43.321-08:00The Public Domain: What does it look like?

I’m reading The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind by James Boyle and just finished Chapter 2 (Thomas Jefferson Writes a Letter).It’s hard to mentally envision the “public domain” because, while we may think about intellectual property itself, we tend not to conceptualize its opposite, the “outside” of intellectual property. The public domain, Boyle says, is “not some gummy residue

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-5625693340340710552008-12-15T19:17:00.000-08:002008-12-19T06:43:19.307-08:00The Public Domain: Why Intellectual Property?

I’m reading The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind by James Boyle (pub. date: December, 2008!). I’ve long struggled with the basic dilemma of intellectual property. (I’ll focus on copyright, though similar arguments apply to patents and trademarks.) On one hand, it makes sense that an author, artist, musician, photographer, etc. ought to get credit and maybe make money from their

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-74166785403873417842008-12-15T19:06:00.000-08:002008-12-15T19:38:36.597-08:00Preface to the next (and hopefully future) post(s)

I’ve been wanting to blog more, but haven’t yet gotten into the habit (mindset, paradigm). Part of it is typical habituation, like getting started on eating differently or exercising. Part of it is focus. I have lots I want to say, but am unsure of what to grab onto and write about. And this disconnect feels poignant as I read some of the books (and articles, blog posts, etc.) that have been

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-20409855377362139042008-11-19T17:40:00.000-08:002008-11-19T19:03:30.283-08:00The Tools, they are a-changing

I’ve been reading The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls and David Weinberger. I’d heard of it before, but decided to take a closer look when it was recommended by Alex Hillman of IndyHall. It’s an outgrowth of the website of the same name, with its 95 Theses of the new paradigm heralded by the web. Although it’s focused on the

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-78915729718559704712008-11-17T19:55:00.000-08:002008-11-17T20:15:22.858-08:00Using Social Networks for Social Change: a Slideshow by Ivan Boothe

Ivan Boothe has put together a very nicely done slideshow (with voiceover) on using social networks for social change. In this very young field, Ivan is a veteran. He co-founded the Genocide Intervention Network, which has used social networks very successfully to engage members. He is currently the Creative Director of Rootwork, as well as a co-organizer (with yours truly) of Philly

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-83696650698457562942008-11-09T19:22:00.000-08:002008-11-09T20:32:57.897-08:00About "Civic Capital"

I've been interested in social capital for many years (though I didn't have a name for it before reading Robert Putnam's groundbreaking book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.)But I'd never heard the phrase civic capital before hearing it used to describe the effect of Barack Obama's successful "netroots" campaign. The On the Media interview below with Marshall Ganz

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-63542267560325434092008-11-06T20:03:00.000-08:002008-11-06T20:49:35.323-08:00Obama's plans for information and communication technology

If you haven’t seen it already, Barack Obama describes specific plans for change on his slick website, change.gov. I find the Technology Agenda page particularly interesting and exciting.Of course, just saying these things doesn’t make them happen. But I’ve never seen a politician articulate so clearly, unambiguously and (seemingly) sincerely information and communication policy intentions

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-32856538159953634382008-09-20T19:41:00.000-07:002008-10-01T06:56:00.288-07:00Here come the Changebloggers

I met with Kathrin Ivanovic today at Remedy Tea Bar (nice place, first time there). She's one of a growing number of self-identified changebloggers. A new label, though not a new practice, changebloggers are "bloggers, podcasters and vloggers who are using their platform to make the world a better place", according to the Changeblogger Network on Ning. Lots of folks are creating audio or video

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-92020696226264490712008-09-14T19:40:00.000-07:002008-09-14T19:59:59.366-07:00Inspiration from decades past

Sorting through old papers, I rediscovered the 82-page Honors Thesis I wrote in 1979 as an undergraduate at Penn State. I re-read it for the first time in decades, and was astounded by how fresh and relevant it felt to me today. It focused on a radical analysis of the institution of education, and was predicated primarily on three books which blew my mind:Deschooling Society, by Ivan

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-49967281662620623732008-09-01T22:23:00.000-07:002008-09-09T07:07:57.651-07:00Libraries facilitating patron EXPRESSION

I'm frustrated by the seeming lack of commitment of libraries (especially community-anchored public libraries) to their role in facilitating patrons' ability to speak. Librarians entusiastically rally 'round the flag of "Intellectual Freedom", but they think of it almost entirely in terms of defending patrons' right to read stuff written by others. All very well and good, but it misses a giant (

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-64596306142981726652008-06-23T20:22:00.000-07:002008-06-23T20:33:35.211-07:00The EPA asks how would you ...

... use blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other Web 2.0 tools to protect the environment? You can weigh in, or just follow the conversation at:The EPA 2.0Lem

Bob_Lemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10138538215340942545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-43427154118615106552008-06-05T03:32:00.000-07:002008-06-05T04:34:38.108-07:00Origami conference tag tags

Here's another cool tag tag application given to me by a friend who regularly attends the OrigamiUSA Annual Convention.So, as origamists(?) walk around and encounter one another in physical space, they display this structured metadata about themselves re: an origami project they would like to learn or teach. This sort of tag tag seems ideally suited for a physical gathering at which attendees

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-81334417566030844492008-05-30T08:13:00.000-07:002008-05-30T08:16:22.334-07:00"Where do people find the time for all this participative media stuff?"

Here's a very interesting 16 minute video (and transcript) by Clay Shirky, given at the recent Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. It's a fascinating and inspiring reply to the question, "Where do people find the time [to engage in all this participative media stuff]"?(I've been a big fan of Clay Shirky since reading his brand new book about the hows and whys of Web 2.0, called Here Comes

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-75063885450275200892008-04-28T04:35:00.000-07:002008-04-28T04:54:26.396-07:00Idealism and Pragmatism can be friends

Here's another insight I gained from Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations.I (Seth) regard myself as an idealist. When I first encountered Wikipedia, I was excited by what I perceived to be an idealistic tool which fully and equally validated every participant and contribution. So I found it difficult at first to reconcile that idealistic perspective

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-75049441253541973752008-04-26T19:34:00.000-07:002008-04-26T20:33:52.187-07:00About social tools and activism

Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations has lots of terrific insights. Here’s one about activism.He describes a couple examples of citizen activism facilitated by new social tools. One is about angry airline passengers organizing to create an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights by using newspaper interactivity and an online petition and blog. Another is

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-67108830260424263892008-04-22T18:52:00.000-07:002008-09-09T07:07:00.189-07:00Tag Tags

(Note: this is a little long, but I've been thinking about it for a while...)At many meetings or conferences, participants wear name tags. At a minimum the tag contains a self-written first name (perhaps preceded by “Hello. My name is...”). Or meetings with registered users may have name tags with pre-printed names, organizational affiliations, location or other standardized information. In all

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-14980515998943238492008-03-23T22:22:00.000-07:002008-03-23T23:16:13.723-07:00Who Comes to NTEN: Ciaran Hayden and Eamon Stack from Enclude, Ireland

This is the first in a series of posts back from NTEN's Non-Profit Technology Conference NTC08.I first met Ciaran Hayden in DC during NTC 07. It was end of day and we both had drifted into an Irish Pub for a pint to end the day. Ciaran's (Kee-ron) story was spell binding. Development work in Cameroon, including the equivalent of micro-loans. A home in Cameroon and being treated like a king by

Bob_Lemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10138538215340942545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-57167070784411723382008-03-19T06:31:00.000-07:002008-03-19T06:58:43.822-07:00Ward Cunningham's new AboutUs venture

I just listened to an interesting podcasted interview with Ward Cunningham, the inventor of the wiki. He's currently working with a new start-up called AboutUs with a very intriguing premise. AboutUs takes the text from various domains' "About Us" pages, along with WhoIs information and probably other stuff, and puts it all into a publicly changeable wiki about domains. It automatically creates

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-43337307395254414762008-03-13T15:39:00.000-07:002008-03-13T15:42:31.990-07:00NEIT Solutions: Bad

Being new to this blogging game, I’m still trying to get a feel for what to write. At the moment, I feel like screaming to the world my frustration with my hosting provider, NEIT Solutions, that hosts my communishare.org site. They’ve been pretty good for years, but a couple weeks ago, they changed servers, and most of my domain’s contents were lost (where before, I was getting a warning because

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-63037127623477141782008-03-13T07:23:00.000-07:002008-03-13T09:47:23.010-07:00Here Comes Everybody

I've just begun reading a terrific brand new book (publication date February 2008!), Here Comes Everybody : The Power of Organizing without Organizations by Clay Shirky. It's about how people are spontaneously and organically forming all sorts of groups and achieving all sorts of tasks via new electronic media.He offers, for me, the clearest explanation of economic theory for how this works, and

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-90069420374677094102008-03-12T08:28:00.000-07:002008-03-12T08:56:15.348-07:00Interview with Valdis Krebs

I just listened to a great podcasted interview with Valdis Krebs. I was introduced to the work of Valdis Krebs by Stan Pokras way back when we were publishing the Other Networks newsletter in the early '80's. Valdis is a pioneer in the realm of social network analysis (SNA), a disciplined, statistical practice which long predates anything people think of today when you mention "social network". I

Sethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05820593254816687760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-25544487361745042072008-03-11T07:58:00.000-07:002008-03-11T08:10:33.216-07:00Nominations for non-profit excellence in the use of Web 2.0 tools

This just crossed my desk: Web2Expo seeking non-profit Web 2.0 initiatives to showcaseSeth & I are part of the organizing committee planning to launch NetSquared Tuesday's, Philly. That group will be dedicated to finding and fostering local initiatives that should be showcased at next years web2expo.Give us a shout out if you know of any candidatesLem---The wind and the waves favor the skilled

Bob_Lemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10138538215340942545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010442219680210070.post-63716411348004633022008-03-04T05:32:00.000-08:002008-03-11T07:38:55.799-07:00CommuniShare Consulting: The Launch

Seth Horwitz and I are setting out on an adventure together - we are calling it CommuniShare Consulting in honor of Seth's pioneering community site.Seth and I are encouraged by the work we are doing with and for Bob Goodman on his Star Cafe project at the American Friends Service Committee, and are off to share the marked benefits of this work with the larger "better world" community.Building

Bob_Lemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10138538215340942545noreply@blogger.com0