boiling minds by Diana Assennato

I am a Brazilian journalist and after 6 years of brain hibernation and a frustrating list of jobs I decided to get a master degree in Digital Media to find what is my real passion in life. That means I am back to the university; a place where ideas flow and creativity blossoms each day in a dangerous rhythm. I say dangerous because creativity can be a threaten when not used, and it becomes a burden when its existence is only proved by imagined and never-put-in-practice amazing projects that can change the world. But sometimes (and in my case there were very few in my life) opportunities knock on your door and shakes your world like a wake-up call. Since I heard about the project, Powerful Voices have been being my "move-your-ass" call (pardon my french) and it has already changed me in many ways.

At this point it's redundant to say I didn't know what to expect from this project. I think we all came with different ideas and not many certainties about what could happen during and after our meetings, and I think I speak for all. I got involved because the premise was very interesting, although a bit generic. Social change through social media? Well yes, but... hmmm, let's see what they are REALLY talking about. To be very honest I never really thought about the subject before, although I was always interested in the social power of change. I just kept complaining about how hard it is to get involved in social projects when you are one and alone. 

But since our first meeting I realized this is how many people of my generation feel nowadays. It's hard to put things in practice and convince other people to be part of projects when there's no monetary feed back involved. The easiest way to fight this disappointment is to get used to it and leave that frustration asleep in a dark drawer inside the conscience. But, hey! Why? Under that frustration there is a gigantic world of dangerously creative minds that are just waiting for a chance to get involved in something bigger, and Powerful Voices brought this chance to many of us.

Since the beginning of the workshops I've been involved in three of the projects and I can't really tell which one excites me the most. Specially after our third meeting, last saturday, my mind is boiling with ideas and I keep thinking that there are so many opportunities to change peoples life, even in the smallest aspects. 

Social media, for example, is a subject of interest that is growing in my life. Not only because it is constantly brought to the debate about digital media and media theory during my classes, but also because I find myself trying to understand the logic of the passion it keeps raising in all generations. It is big and will get even bigger, and I can't really imagine what it will became in the world my children will live in. I keep asking myself if it's a bad sign of the digital evolution, that will take all our spare time and make ourselves more and more alienated, or if will be a powerful tool of connection between people. How can we educate future generations to understand the power of it if we are still incapable of dealing with it in a healthy way? How can we teach time management, ethical issues and privacy notions on the internet if we still don't know what this concepts really mean this days? 

In this sense I believe Powerful Voices showed me a way. A concrete example of how we can move beyond the shallow use of social media and interact to take the most out of it. Social changes are closer than we think. And this is only the beginning.

Can't wait for the future :)

All. Together. Now

by David Harding

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The inspiration for this blog article came mostly from another article, by Clay Shirky - see my Tumblr account here (reason being the link is not direct, is that you have to log in and I wanted to save you the drama). It's a long article (his not mine), but phenomenally good - I hope you enjoy it.

You may also enjoy this short and engaging documentary Us Now -A (UK) film project about the power of mass collaboration, government and the internet

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There is a real danger when talking about the internet that you over-blow it's potential, it's a phenomenal resource - a resource being exactly what it is - a supply that can be used when needed. Hyperbole about it's potential? That depends on what you want to use it for.

Let's stop and think about what it is for one minute; the common assumption is that the internet is 'virtual', something that exists in the ether. I would argue this is wrong, it's very real, tangible, and the chances are your touching it right now. The internet is quite simply, like society itself, the sum of its parts - it's the keyboards, the screens, the wires, the people... the world over.

The internet is a network; the etymology of the word internet is a shortened version of "inter" + "network", inter meaning "reciprocal, between, amongst" and network meaning "a collection of systems or people". It is the latter term in the definition of network that will be the focus of this blog - people.

My thoughts this week have been orientating around two things - firstly, collaborative consumption and secondly, micro-volunteering and micro-donations - both with a view to achieving some measure of social change.

There are many examples of both - collaborative consumption can be illustrated by sites such as ecomodo, micro-volunteering by sites like wikipedia and micro-donations by sites like pennies.

All of these are examples of collective action.

Together, we can achieve more - the internet as a network (or technology if you prefer) - is two things. It combines the mass media element of radio and television with the interactive element of the telephone, which itself creates a whole new mass medium of interaction. The internet, and more specifically social media, represent a historical zenith in the communicative power of individuals.

Take your mobile phone as an example - hold it in your hand for a minute and think of all the ways you can contact people, your network - assuming you have a smart phone it could be any number of the following ways, probably more: Facebook, Twitter, SMS, Skype, Email... or an actual phone call (how about that?)

Now, imagine that same conversation ten years ago... get your phone out of your pocket (if you have one) you could call someone, maybe even text them? New vehicles of communication have emerged as the internet has accelerated in its capacity, speed and availability (or access) - and in turn, has increased the potential of people to communicate and collaborate.

With those last three attributes in mind (increased capacity, speed and availability - access) this is where the local has the capacity -and potential - to become the global. The personal the public.

The way the internet is developing it is essential to understand that communication is paramount to unlocking its collaborative power. The emerging political economy of cyberspace (the medium through which online communication takes place) is one deeply rooted in sharing - with an adherent belief in transparency. The internet makes conversation, causes and lives visible.

It is here therefore, that the potential of social media lies, in making conversation, causes and lives visible and its resultant potential for supporting civil society and the public sphere. Ultimately, it is in the public sphere that social change occurs.

This is not to say that the use of social media has a predetermined outcome, but it is to say that it can be used to coordinate and mobilize ideas and people. It is not simply access to social media that changes lives, governments and association - it is access to the conversations that they create - a shared awareness. Public secrets become open truths.

Social media is not a replacement for real life action, it is a means of coordinating it. The access, the speed and the increasingly ubiquitous nature of the technology that facilitate sharing via social networking mediums has had an egalitarian effect, unparalleled in human history. Something happening 10,000 miles away can be beamed, literally, into your living room, as it happens. This might sound like a dystopian nightmare but it's driving the (increasingly global) desire for transparency and accountability. 

The internet has made it possible for people to tell others about anything and everything - instantly! The consequences are unfolding all around us. And therein lies the story - we should harness this potential to share ideas and make things visible to develop responsible and appropriate social changes; to communicate and collaborate towards any number of selective ends.

Sounds obvious, right?

Well, sometimes you need to be told... sometimes you need to tell other people.