digital inclusion

Thanks to .ORG, the Public Interest Registry, I attended the Webby's June 9 and 10. They were a sponsor of this year's Webby's and I am an Advisory Council Member for .ORG. It was, of course, very inspiring to see all the amazing videos and websites. The hosts were fabulous (Judah Friedlander and Seth Meyes). The June 9 After Party was interactive. It included Rhoda Grossman drawing digitally (yep, that's my digital caricature on the left) and Adobe's Digital PhotoBooth (pic on the right). I got to get all dressed up two days in a row and hang out with people I like and admire. Not a bad gig.

There was a definite feel to the event of young, hip, creative, nontraditional. I wouldn't go so far as to say anti-corporate because some of the winners were coprorations. It was more a vibe of "we do things our way". No shortage of creativity as evidenced by the pix that came out of the Digital PhotoBooth. What struck me as a bit disturbing was the apparant need to be "elite". On one hand the attendees want to show that anyone with a computer, creativity and some luck can make a huge splash online. At the same time, there appeared to be a 'cool kids only hang out with cool kids' kind of syndrome being developed.

The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks ended with a passionate speech from Harold Feld of the Media Access Project. Harold believes now is the time for real systemic global change. The right people at the right time. First time Harold spoke at an International Summit on Community Wifi, he focused on why the conference attendees should care about what happens in DC. The second time Harold spoke he focused on reclaiming the idea that public policy is about bringing the best in human nature forward. The term Policy Hacker was coined by one of the attendees last year, a superb term for those working toward community focused tech policy.

Harold got us started thinking about the strength of the community with the statement: The difference between a movement and a mob is coordination and intent. Individuals come together to learn from each other, to make their own projects better. They quickly determine that what they do is part of a larger movement.