One of the issues I am encountering lately is how do I interact with some of the sites which offer me personal blog space? Over at the Digital Divide network I can pull from the blog I maintain with most frequency and not have to craft seperate entries into that system. That seem like a winning approach because, as it is, time is somewhat precious and it's hard enough to create the content I need to create as part of my work life.

http://treadwell.cce.cornell.edu/elearn/

 Is my main blog, the one I maintain to document current work and thoughts.

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Technology and seniors is topic of the newest blog at the White House Conference on Aging portal. The author, SeniorNet's director Kristin Fabos, recounts her experiences last week in Seoul speaking at the 2005 International Conference for Bridging the Digital Divide. She also paints a picture that's closer to home:

<blockquote>According to the 2004 PEW Internet and American Life Project research, only 25% of adults 65+ have Internet access… Medicare Part D, which goes into effect on January 1, 2006, requires online registration. For something as important as Medicare benefits, to require online registration for a population where only 25% is online…What about the other 75%?</blockquote> READ MORE

Good visualizations of data probably light up entirely different synapses in the brain than almost anything else.  I have long wondered just how truly useful they are, though.  Over the past few weeks, I've been convinced that online maps in particular are a very important development.

GoogleMaps is a powerful new tool that people all around the world are utilizing for a wide variety of projects.  The system is highly functional, integrates data and imagery beautifully and is very nice to look at at the same time.  It is also very welcoming for people who want to manipulate maps to visualize their data.  READ MORE

Net² has a particular, personal resonance for me.

I started CompuMentor in 1987 after spending time on the Well, one of the first online communities. I met Howard Rheingold and John Coate there, and a bunch of other really smart people. Most importantly, at least from my standpoint, was that the Well seemed to me an inflection point, a new game in town, a "moment".  

It wasn't about the technology. For me, it's never about the technology. It was about social relations. You could talk to people in a different way; there was a different resonance to the conversation and because of that, different resources could be 'liberated' for social change. CompuMentor--which was based on the simple idea that we could create a viable structure for high level, in person technology volunteering at nonprofit sites--was an attempt to act on that idea. READ MORE

We'd like to invite you all to join us for our second Net Tuesday event in San Francisco! It will be held on Tuesday, December 13 at Balazo Gallery (2183 Mission Street @ 18th St. Doors open at 6 pm.

Ed Batista, Executive Director of Attention Trust, will show you how to stand up for your attention rights, while Seth Sternberg will demo web-based IM app Meebo.

Come and mingle with Bay Area web innovators and social change agents for demos,
discussions and drinks! Email net2@techsoup.org for more details on how to join the movement to remix the web for social change.

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