Tom Atlee: #Occupy Weekly Sparks = We Can Do It All

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Augmented Reality, Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Hacking, InfoOps (IO), IO Deeds of Peace, Methods & Process, Policies, Policy, Reform, Strategy, Threats

Random Communications from an Evolutionary Edge

#Occupy Weekly Sparks = We Can Do It All

Much has been said about the Occupy movement's lack of demands and vision. Some say it will have no impact unless it makes demands and organizes to make sure those demands are met.

Others respond that the People should just take charge of their democracy rather than petitioning official powers-that-be to do this and that. Still others say that any list of demands – any effort to focus OWS more narrowly and explicitly – could weaken the movement because Occupy Together is a broadly inclusive initiative that's about (a) changing whole systems and/or (b) creating microcosms of a better society in the occupation zones and/or (c) stimulating transformational conversations out in society at large and/or (d) passionately building and forcefully demonstrating the Power of the People to resist illegitimate, corrupt authority.

Others note that the disturbing lack of demands spreads OWS' surprising impact through a “blank slate effect” – OWS becomes a mystery or a mirror into which diverse individuals and groups project their various desires, hopes, frustrations, and agendas. Furthermore, that mystery helps by enhancing the movement's uncommon anarchic power that makes it so hard for authorities and others to figure out how to control, undermine or use it. Others insist that a shared vision – articulating what the 99% actually want – would be much more powerful than focusing on a laundry list of demands that many 99%ers might well disagree with. Simultaneously, many Occupiers are chronically frustrated with all this talk and want Action!! Their more thoughtful colleagues reply that pulling so many diverse people together in consensus requires taking the time to hear each other and generate collective wisdom.

Read balance of very deep and provocative commentary.

2011/10/31

Patrick Meier: Net Impact Conference Report

Advanced Cyber/IO, Blog Wisdom, Geospatial

Democratizing ICT for Development with DIY Innovation and Open Data

The recent Net Impact conference in Portland proved to be an ideal space to take a few steps back and reflect on the bigger picture. There was much talk of new and alternative approaches to traditional development. The word “participatory” in particular was a trending topic among both presenters and participants. But exactly how “participatory” are these “participatory” approaches to develop-ment? Do they fundamentally democratize the development process? And do these “novel” participatory approaches really let go of control? Should they? The following thoughts and ideas were co-developed in follow-up conversations with my colleague Chrissy Martin who also attended Net Impact. She blogs at Innovate.Inclusively.

I haven’t had the space recently to think through some of these questions or reflect about how the work I’ve been doing with Ushahidi fits (or doesn’t) within the traditional development paradigm—a paradigm which many at the confer-ence characterized as #fail. Some think that perhaps technology can help change this paradigm, hence the burst of energy around the ICT for Development (ICT4D) field. That said, it is worth remembering that the motivations driving this shift are more important than any one technology. For example, recall the principles behind the genesis of the Ushahidi platform: Democratizing information flows and access; promoting Open Data and Do it Yourself (DIY) Innovation with free, highly hackable (i.e., open source) technology; letting go of control.

Read long report, more links.

2011/10/282011/12/28

Electoral Reform Statement of Demand 3.4

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Advanced Cyber/IO, Blog Wisdom, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, Mobile, Officers Call

MOVED to BigBatUSA [http://bigbatusa.org] / Electoral Reform

2011/10/27

John Robb: Occupy Global Data Hackathon

Advanced Cyber/IO, Autonomous Internet

OccupyData Hackathon.

R-SHIEF SHARES ITS #OCCUPY TWEETS IN A COLLECTIVE 3-DAY EFFORT TO #OCCUPYDATA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LOS ANGELES, October 26, 2011- 3 Days, 30 Twitter hashtags, and countless ways to understand the occupy movement. From 09 December 2011 to 11 December 2011, R-Shief, a lab that collects and analyzes Middle East content from the Internet, will hold its first hackathon with satellite locations throughout the world. The aim of this event is to give activists data collected from Twitter, as well as R-Shief’s machine learning analytics, in a collective effort to offer a public and shared repository for data and visualizations about the Occupy Movements.

occupydata-flier — Click on Image to Enlarge

In solidarity with protestors around the world, #OccupyData is meant to serve as an intervention by offering experts and activists means to work together and think critically about the movement, its messages, and goals. Register and receive open access to export four CSV files for each hashtag — (1) stats by day, (2) stats by hour (3) stats by minute and the (4) raw data itself. (These files are automatically updated hourly). We encourage all participants to post links or images of the work that comes out of this to R-Shief’s blog رشيف | Blog or Visualize It section رشيف | Data Visualizations. Reports from this event will also be featured in Jadaliyya.

Live graphs @ R-Shief Twitterminer

Phi Beta Iota: The Occupy movement is very rapidly developing alternative forms of command, control, communication, computing, and intelligence (C4I), and the Autonomous Internet as well as real-time data sharing and sense-making are high on the priority list. Occupy is a new Republic emergent – a new form of direct democracy that will evolve by creating its own tools, its own culture, its own forms of money and social business. US Occupy is in alignment with international Occupy, and cross-fertilization is occuring with astonishing clarity, diversity, and integrity. This is a sustainable revolution that will be global in nature. It will define the 21st Century. That is a good thing.

2011/10/272011/10/27

Patrick Meier: Microtasking Open Intelligence Needs

Advanced Cyber/IO

Microtasking Advocacy and Humanitarian Response in Somalia

I’ve been working on bridging the gap between the technology innovation sector and the humanitarian & human rights communities for years now. One area that holds great promise is the use of microtasking for advocacy and humanitarian response. So I’d like to share two projects I’m spearheading with the support of several key colleagues. I hope these pilot projects will further demonstrate the value of mainstreaming microtasking. Both initiatives are focused on Somalia.

Read full post with additional links.

Phi Beta Iota: This scholar-practitioner is doing today what we wanted CIA to start doing in 1992 with the Open Source Intelligence Center that was killed when CIA accepted the MITRE lies about the Open Source Information System (OSIS) — all six sources — being “the answer.” Security idiocy and information technology idiocy continue to repress to the point of extinction any intellectual integrity that might rear its ugly head in the US secret world. From 1992 to date: just under 20 years of fraud, waste, and abuse across the modern Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) domain.

See Also:

History of Opposition (14)

2011/10/242011/10/24