Posts from — March 2008

Bill Thompson of the BBC writes of Twitter:

Like many fast-growing services Twitter is far from perfect. The site sometimes creaks and falls over under the load, the interface can be confusing and sometime tweets don’t get through.

It is also a dangerous distraction from work, encouraging micro-conversations and followups and witty rejoinders when articles have to be edited, code checked and projects planned.

But as I sit here writing this I feel connected to a community of people, feel that we share a space that none of the social network sites can conjure up, a space that is both here and not here, somewhere between offline and online.

[Via : BBC NEWS | Technology | How Twitter makes it real.]

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I have no experience with FrontlineSMS, but it is designed for community organisations:

FrontlineSMS is the first text messaging system to be conceived, designed and written firmly with the needs of the non-profit sector in mind.

Are you a locally- or internationally-based NGO looking at the potential to use mobile phone text messages to reach specific groups of individuals within a target community? Or to run an awareness raising campaign? Or to run a competition, or carry out a text-based survey? Or to simply keep in touch with your fieldworkers?

Do you want to provide text-based information services such as bus times, prices, goods availability etc?

[Via : The Cute Cat Theory Talk at ETech.]

If you’ve used FrontlineSMS, please leave a comment with your opinions about it.

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I have no experience with the Martus software tool, but it may be of use to community organisations:

Martus is a secure information management tool that allows you to create a searchable and encrypted database and back this data up remotely to your choice of publicly available servers. The Martus software is used by organizations around the world to protect sensitive information and shield the identity of victims or witnesses who provide testimony on human rights abuses. Martus is the Greek word for witness.

An open source software tool, Martus is used by human rights workers, attorneys, journalists and others who need to secure their information from eavesdropping, theft or equipment failure.

[Via : The Cute Cat Theory Talk at ETech.]

If you’ve used Martus, please leave a comment with your opinions about it.

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Summary: set aside half an hour to read Ethan Zuckerman’s article, watch the videos he includes and follow the links he offers. It’s important.

Via Camden Kiwi: Virtual Beachcombing:

…, a serious, if light-hearted, take on the use of web 2.0 technologies by political activists, and why it may not be such a bad thing that so many people use so much technology just to swap pictures of cute cats.

… I was led to Ethan Zuckerman’s notes on his Cat Theory Talk at ETech.

Web 1.0 was invented to allow physicists to share research papers.

Web 2.0 was created to allow people to share pictures of cute cats.

In brief, he explains why the technologies that start out enabling us to share cute photos of our cats are actually the ones that eventually may lead to social change, thanks to activists:

… With web 2.0, we’ve embarced the idea that people are going to share pictures of their cats, and now we build sophisticated tools to make that easier to do. as a result, we’re creating a wealth of tech that’s extremely helpful for activists. There are twin revolutions going on - the ease of creating content and the ease of sharing it with local and global audiences.

[The image here is from Zuckerman's article.]

Read his article to find out why repressive regimes that block the tools activists use eventually have to give way to people who want pictures of cute cats.

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Mike Riversdale pointed out that Wellington’s Downstage theatre is engaging its audience more with Flickr:

Ever wondered what a theatre show looks like behind the scenes? Or you want to have a look at some images from a show before you buy your tickets? Or simply drift away in memories when watching shots from a production you’ve recently seen? Have a look at our newly established photo gallery at Flickr.

[Via : Downstage using Flickr for backstage photos | the wellingtonista.]

Downstage joins the National Library and other New Zealand institutions on Flickr.

Have you explored Flickr for your organisation? Share your link in the Comments.

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