I just left a comment on the podcast shownotes for the 'Citizen Journalism' talk that I wish to remix and republish to help spread the word. 

http://netsquared.libsyn.org/index.php?post_id=150783

I am very surprised to find that there isnt an open (e.g. CC:BY) license so that I can do this without having to ask for (and somehow magically track) permission.  For more info on which Creative Commons terms are most open, check these conversations that Beth Kanter and I are involved in:

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2006/11/mike_remixes_my.html

 

We saw a bunch of cool new tools at the conference.  It seemed like blogging was a very big deal for attendees thinking in new ways about communicating their mission-based work.  I was inspired to become hyper-alert to identifying accessible, equivalent tools and communication methods.  In that spirit, I offer EasyJournal as a tool that meets accessibility standards, but more importantly that opens up the blogging experience for millions.  The most well-known blogging tools may create accessible pages - usually mostly text, after all. The problem comes when someone - the student at the school for the blind, perhaps or the personnel administrator with quadriplegia - who can't use a mouse tries to post a blog.  It doesn’t work well.  It is difficult, perhaps impossible for the person with a disability to have the blogging experience using well-known tools because thecontent creation interface is not accessible.  The interface for EasyJournal was designed with accessibility in mind, however and you might consider trying it.  It’s free, it’s accessible, and it requires no additional software.

At ForaTv, more video now available online: Ethan Zuckerman’s segment from the  NetSquared Conference Session: A Voice in the Wilderness to the Wisdom of Crowds: Citizen Journalism, Nonprofit Organizations and Social Change (coverage provided by Link TV). Last week we posted Dan Gillmor’s segment, also from this session. If you go to ForaTv and type in “netsquared” next to the Search function in the top menu bar, you’ll find this session and the others listed here in the archive:

This is an invitation I received from the Center for International Media Action (CIMA).  Can't think of a better group to share this with, especially as CIMA is seeking input from media activists all over the world.  Please check it out!   Dear Friends and Allies- For several years media activists have been discussing the need for ongoing opportunities for skill-building, collective learning, and long-range visioning and reflection. One strategy to meet these needs is a new Communication Rights and Media Justice Organizing Institute. The Organizing Institute is envisioned as an initiative to build political organizing and advocacy skills and strategies to transform media and communications systems to serve democracy, human rights and social justice.
Development of the Organizing Institute is being guided by a planning committee (click here for list) and coordinated by CIMA: Center for International Media Action and the Community Media & Technology Program at the College of Public and Community Service at the University of Massachusetts (Boston)
The Organizing Institute will be shaped by and for media activists and advocates. With this in mind, we invite you to take an on-line survey designed for members of the planning committee and any activists, organizers, advocates working on media and communications issues who might be interested in the Organizing Institute. The purpose of the survey is to gather input on the kinds of resources and training offered through the Institute and to develop program components that are uniquely tailored to different groups working on these issues. Please send the survey to anyone you think might be interested.
The survey will take about 30-40 minutes to complete, and you can save it on any page and return to it as long as you are accessing the survey from the same computer. To exit and return to the survey at a later time, be sure to first save your responses by clicking "Next" at the bottom of the page, and then click “Exit” at the top right hand corner of the screen. To read more about the survey or take the survey, please click here or paste this link into your browser - surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=53312241171

 

 .....a live, uncut and subjective take on the session

participants: Dan Gillmor, Hong Eun-tael, Ethan Zuckerman

immoderator: Michael Rogers

Points that stand out from the morning plenary sessions. Both Rheingold and Saffo noted the importance of encouraging, supporting and guiding young people to use social media tools for concrete political action. Gillmor, Hong and Zuckerman demo-ed samples of good netizen-driven journalism and activism. Our abecedarian effort at Youth Voices has got a lot to learn and reconsider. That's obvious. But leaving aside for the moment the question of completely open vs. password-protected can learn these two things: 1. Yes, use editors! We knew that, but didn't have time to factor it in from the beginning.

Ethan Zuckerman,  Global Voices Project
Told us about Hao Wu, who was disappeared by the Chinese government for his blog.  He did not know Hao, he had 8 emails from him.  When Hao was detained, they were hesitant about advocating for his release, because of the family’s fears. But that changed, and they mounted a full court press, including getting and posting photos of his life.  

Don’t speak. Point.  It is getting easier for people around the world to speak on behalf of themselves.  Advocate’s best strategy is often just to point to those who are speaking on the web, and get out of the way.

On advocacy and citizen journalism on his blog:
http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=816

From A Voice in the Wilderness To The Wisdom of Crowds:  Citizen Journalism, Nonprofit Organizations, and Social Change.  Session description

These powerful should not be ceded to the mass media and have more power to the people in the room.  Let's take citizen journalism to the next level, putting the tools in the hands of people to tell their stories.

Dan Gilmor:  Overview of Citizen Journalism

Michael Rogers

Mass media will try to coopt citizen journalism. Most will botch, a few will get it right.

Introduced Dan Gillmor, Eun-taek Hong, Ethan Zuckerman

Dan Gillmor

The best reporting being done on Guantanamo is by the ACLU. this is stuff the MSM used to do well. These tools are perfect for what you're doing.The mass media will try to adopt, co-opt, but can't control it. The barrier to entry is zero.

(someone's personal video of tsunami) Democratized media: not ability to vote, but to participate -- tools are in the hands of everyone who wants to use them, at least in the developed world