July 2010
VIDEO: Sascha Meinrath and the Open Technology Initiative
I had the opportunity to sit down with Sascha Meinrath, director of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative, after he delivered his keynote address at the Alliance for Community Media 2010 conference in Pittsburgh. In this series of videos, Sascha discusses a number of topics:
1. On Digital Feudalism
What is digital feudalism? An explanation of enclosed private systems and the push for opening up critical infrastructures to a public commons.
2. Building Your Own Internet
The benefits of community-owned broadband infrastructures (such as ongoing fiber-optic initiatives by the Bay Area Video Coalition and in Lafayette, La.), and the obstacles to building out services posed by incumbent providers.
3. Four Action Items
An overview of the four action items presented during the ACM 2010 keynote address: e-rate reform, universal service fund reform, opening up of the low-frequency TV band for public use, and grassroots mobilization among PEG centers to counteract telecom lobbyists on Capitol Hill.
4. PEG and Community Media Centers
The role of PEG and community media centers in a functioning democratic society, and the critical need to fight the systematic de-funding of institutions for participatory media.
Live Coverage at the ACM 2010 Conference: Using Social Media to Serve PEG and Non-Profits
Session description: Many nonprofit organizations including city departments and agencies need access to social media and digital literacy training. Many PEG access centers are uniquely positioned to serve this vital community communication need. This workshop is designed to help you develop a social media workflow for your organization. Topics include: how to develop a communications strategy, how to generate followers and stimulate discussion, how to create a social media identity, how to manage your time, and how to measure success.
Live Coverage at the ACM 2010 Conference: Hyperlocal Journalism in Diverse Communities
Session description: As the digital divide persists within marginalized communities, many people continue to face challenges without access to computers and broadband technology at home. This session will discuss how can PEG centers, community technology centers, and citizen journalism projects are addressing this problem by providing public access to cable television and broadband media tools?
Live Coverage at the ACM 2010 Conference: Citizen Journalism Pre-Conference Panel
I'll be live-blogging some of the panels and discussions happening here at the Alliance for Community 2010 Conference in Pittsburgh this week.
Click the Replay button after the jump for coverage of the morning panel convened during the Citizen Journalism pre-conference. Facilitated by Jan Schaffer of J-Lab, the panel included Laurie Cirivello of The Rapidian, Ben Ilfeld of Sacramento Press, Steve Reinbrecht of Berks Community Television, and Jessica Durkin, Media Policy Initiative Fellow at the New America Foundation.
