Howard

• networks, emergent self organization,

Paul Saffo (real time anthropologists)

• we invent our technology and then ourselves

What's next

• howard: emergence of unpredictable disruptive blogosphere
• katrina peoplefinder site (zack story)
• immigration - LA immigration protestsorganized via myspace
• open source - bengler's new book takes it beyond software
• wikipedia
• omidyar re-inventing philanthropy
• SARS - 150 million SMS in 3 days to the way scientists self organized
• Toyata building lateral networks among suppliers
• paul: take info and IT out of vocabulary
• info revolution moving into other areas
• a moment where info is morphing into new kinds of media
• parallels a moment just over 50 years ago when tv triggered mass media
• this time personal media, much different from what happened in the 90s
• personal media - required to answer back or you don't have experience
• dark side: big companies have figured this out
• crowds may fast but the establishment may move faster
• howard: if i was an organizer, take advantage of youth who now are active and have a connection through participatory media, develop public voice to connect with the world
• it's fine to be online
• but really we all need to be policy wonks
• need to educate our constituencies including youth that myspace, youtube, im maybe threatened
• we need something else
• we need elites to help the social movements
• charismatic people to help hold people's attention
• personal media, people's voice, policy, thought leaders
• still waiting for first cyber-genic president, somebody always comes along to grasp potency as a medium for technology
• where are the surprises? what are the unexpected consequences?
• howard:linus torvalds and jimmy wales - hierarchical in a small sense
• the ability to identify a community and take advantage of these platforms
• e.g. wiki platforms
• saffo: challenge is to listen to the emergent new media, blogs are the scratchpad of history, ask yourself what you want it to be, fdr microphone example, more powerful to whisper than to shout
• jimmy wales has learned how to whisper meaningfully
• paul:"airminded" - high view from Airplanes would make us all get along - concept from Wright brothers time
• danger is that like TV the personal media might become a vast wasteland
• howard: hopeful not optimistic, it'a choice that young people ought to be given, it got to be in the kids hands
• literacy - set of skills but really the entrance into a community, for better or worse the community we are building now will influence our society in the next century, be hopeful, mobilize hope before it's too late
• paul: constant vigilance, short term pessimist, long term optimist
• paul: when america is at war it does unbelievably stupid things, can slow surveillance until we are out of war
• howard: mobile phone is the real means of access to the internet and each other, e.g. SMS can liberate subsistence farms through direct communications to find work and feed kids
• howard: need leaders who can turn away from polarization
• local discussions across ideological lines with spirit of mutual inquiry
• paul: the most important job in china is mayor not head of state
• amnesty - what everybody should know about state oppression (1919)
• activist june 14th - universal healthcare access in San Francisco
• paul: wildaid.org - people working to stop poatchers, need to have conversations that drive action
• howard: an important role of artists is to see the world in a new way
• paul: most technologies take 20 years to become an overnight success (e.g. TV 1951, internet 20 years old in 1987, $100 computer started in the 80s, 2nd life first graphical MUG in 1985, practical advice: watchers and enablers things that have the most impact will be the things that have failed in the past 15 (they'll never work!)
• howard: catalyzing and cooperation across disciplines (cooperationcommons.org), public resource for people mobilizing youth around participatory media (launch in 6 months)