Open-source urban design: let the games begin

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Tools No comments - Tags: , ,

Betaville is an open-source multiplayer environment that offers a new approach to the urban design review process. Betaville integrates design proposals for real city spaces into a Google map platform where it can be shared, reviewed, tagged, discussed and further developed. Models can be accepted from Google Sketchup, as well as from more intense 3D rendering programs such as Autodesk Maya. Currently focused on New York, the environment can be used for design competitions, consultation, community review, and as a teaching aid for the presentation of students’ work.  In fact, anyone with web access can contribute to Betaville, and every contribution is open for review.

Described by urban designer Giles Thomson as an “architectural conversation”, the dynamic interface of Betaville creates a far more interactive and collaborative environment for planners, designers, and the community at large. Design proposals are typically available for the community to review for a limited amount of time in government institutions, with feedback taking the form of letters to the city council. Thomson goes on to say that Betavillle provides a “democratization of the planning process, taking it out from the closed doors of the bureaucracy.”

The Betaville development team consists of the Brooklyn Experimental Media Center and the Media 2 Culture program of the Hochschule Bremen, Germany, and is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Cultural Innovation Fund.

With a goal to transform the working relationships between planners, designers and the communities they develop, Betaville’s use of open-source strategies provides the opportunity and incentive for public project participation from anyone with the interest, inclination and internet access.

Who’s up for a challenge?

February 4th, 2011 · admin · open government No comments - Tags:

Challenge.gov, created by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and ChallengePost, is an online platform that brings pressing federal challenges  to the public. Designed to source innovative solutions or improvements to existing ideas, products and processes, Challenge.gov is an easy means for federal agencies to launch challenges for public participation  and collaboration.

While only federal agencies can post a challenge, the site is free and open to the public who are encouraged to support, discuss, and propose a submission to a challenge. Participants are also able to vote on submissions, and share information about challenges online.

The GSA has defined a challenge as “any problem in search of a creative or innovative solution”. The types of Challenges submitted vary considerably, ranging from suggestions, logo creation, video, game and mobile application production to proof of concept, project design, or complete products. Often prizes, both monetary and non-monetary, will be given for the best submission. It is through this structure of challenges and prizes that the government is looking to engage the public for innovative and competitive solutions for the key problems of the 21st century.

Some of the many participating federal agencies include:

  • NASA
  • FEMA
  • U.S. Air force
  • U.S. Army
  • U.S. Department of Education
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Challenge.gov is another great example of the collaboration innovation in open government that the Obama Administration is pioneering. When Thomas Jefferson discussed a participatory democracy where governments and citizens collaborate to solve major problems, did he envision crowd sourcing and contests? Maybe not, but I think he would have approved.

Net Neutrality: If it aint broke, don’t fix it

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Democracy No comments - Tags:

Net Neutrality translates simply to no restrictions by ISPs or governments on content, sites, platforms, equipment, and modes of communication on the Internet. All sources of data should be treated equally, allowing the network to be open and scalable. This describes the current state of the Internet, and this status quo has enabled the greatest exchange of ideas in history. However, there is a raging debate over a potential ‘internet fast lane’, which would allow companies to give preferential treatment to content providers who pay for faster transmission or access to their content, and allow companies to block or impede competing content.

So why is this a problem?

For starters, there is discrimination. The Internet is as an open medium, where every feature and service is treated equally. For example, search engines provide you with sites that are the closest match to your request, not the highest paying content providers.

Next, there is double payment on a service. Currently, net users are charged for access. Opponents to Net Neutrality also want to have users pay for content, by charging the service providers who will then pass on these costs to users. Currently we pay for the pipes, not the type of content that comes through the pipes.

Most importantly is the oppression of innovation. The net as it stands allows start-ups and entrepreneurs to enter the marketplace competitively. A tiered Internet will be dictated by who can afford to dominate the content supply market through massive financing.

On December 21, 2010, the FCC will vote on a net neutrality proposal plan. Outlined by Chairman Julius Genachowski, the plan includes five key points: transparency; a ban blocking lawful apps and services; a ban on unreasonable network management; allowance some ISP network management; and rules governing wireless that calls for the above. Another notable feature is that the plan does not reclassify broadband as a telecom service, and holds it to the same rules and regulations.

Net Neutrality is absolutely necessary for the future of the Internet as we know it, and although many in the U.S. have an inherent mistrust for government regulation, it is the only way we will achieve equity for all users:

“In the end, network neutrality rules are not the only way government can try to lower the costs of market entry in the national economy. However, it is one of the simplest, and it has proven very effective over the last decade.”

Tim Wu, Professor of Law, Columbia University.

Apple verses Adobe, what’s the dealio?

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Tools No comments

In a letter titled ‘Thoughts on Flash’, dated April 2010, Steve Jobs eloquently explains the riff between Apple’s latest products and Adobe Flash, essentially, why the iPhone, iPod and the iPad don’t support Flash.  Jobs’ key points are summarized as follows:

  1. Apple supports open standards for the web and has adopted HTML5 which is open and controlled by a standards committee. Adobe’s Flash is 100% proprietary, with Adobe having sole authority over its development, and thus if is a “closed system”.
  2. The majority of web video is now encoded in the H.264 format, which is viewable on all Apple devices.
  3. Flash compromises security, performs poorly on mobile devices and “is the number one reason Macs crash”.
  4. The older video encoding used by the majority of Flash websites requires software rather than hardware decoding, and halves battery life.
  5. Flash was not designed for touch screens, and relies on mice and rollovers, which have no place on the iPad, iPhone or iPod.
  6. Flash is a cross platform development tool, with a bad track record in adoption times of enhancements to Apple’s platform. Enhancements will only be adopted when they are available on all supported platforms (PCs, Andriod phones, etc.). This results in developers having access to a low level set of features.

While this letter puts a grim light on Adobe’s app development future, on September 9, 2010 Apple announced they would be “relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps”. This means that developers can now use Adobe’s Flash CS5 to create iPhone apps.

Google was happy about this too, as  developers can now use Google’s advertising solutions in Apple apps.

So, what can we take away from this? When Apple relaxes, many breathe a sigh of relief.

What is action without Purpose?

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Tools No comments - Tags: ,

Purpose is in the business of mobilization, and their metrics are measured in action. Their mission: Create powerful movements that impact the political process, and solve global problems.

Purpose believes that solutions to crises of the 21st century require global policy shifts and tremendous consumer change. By mobilizing movements of people, online and off, Purpose is helping the green and social economy, as well as major brands, impact global problems.

The creators of Purpose, Jeremy Heimans and David Madden, have already experienced success in the ‘movement entrepreneurship’ world, founding the global movement Avaaz.org and the Australian political movement GetUp.org.

Avaaz, which means voice in many languages, was launched in 2007 with a mission to organize international citizens to take action on critical global issues. Whether the battle is against corruption, poverty, conflict or climate change, Avaaz’s internet model allows thousands of individuals to be forged into a collective and powerful force. Campaigning in 14 languages, with core teams on 4 continents and thousands of volunteers, Avaaz sets out to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform policy decisions. Currently Avvaz.org has over 5.5 million members.

Based in Australia, GetUp.org is an independent, community advocacy organization that facilitates Australians to get involved in key political issues and take strategic, coordinated action. With international recognition and praise, GetUp has more members than all of Australia’s political parties put together.

Purpose, based in New York, is creating “21st century movements”. Working with some of the leading players of the green and social economy, Purpose is helping movements to scale and mobilize around progressive causes.

An example of such a movement is ‘Global Zero: A World Without Nuclear Weapons’. Led by Queen Noor, Richard Branson, over 100 world leaders, and endorsed by President Obama, Global Zero’s goal is to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide. Working with Purpose, Global Zero is pushing the issue of nuclear disarmament to the top of international agendas.

I spoke with James Slezak, who leads Purpose’s work on the sustainable economy. James is motivated by the belief that for the green movement to be successful major sectors of the economy must be rebuilt:

“In the green space the goal is to shift the ways we do things, the economy. This means making less, as well as changing what we make. What is also crucial is shifting demand away from unsustainable products to sustainable ones.”

James’ key projects include building a global movement to support the deployment of electric vehicles, as well as renewable power.

James and his team launched helloelectric.org, a strategic movement to get electric cars on roads faster. This movement demonstrates to society at large that viable alternatives to fossil fuel cars are now available, and also channels enthusiasm for the necessary transition. James is concerned that if electric cars are not trusted from their initial launch they will fail, and there will be no other realistic way for countries like America to lose their oil addiction.

Purpose is dedicated to creating a consumer movement to lay the groundwork for the transition to electric cars. The initial goal is to give populations the opportunity to demonstrate their need for electric cars, so that car companies can target sales in these communities, and increase confidence of investors in the technology.

To achieve this, Purpose is having conversations with government municipalities, electric car industry groups, and working closely with Project Get Ready.  Project Get Ready, a non-profit initiative of the Rocky Mountain Institute, is working with numerous partners and technical advisers to help cities develop plug-in vehicle infrastructure and introduce electric cars.

Purpose is also talking to car rental companies and taxi services looking to transfer some of their fleet to electric cars.

This dynamic dialogue of governments, private companies, and non-profits is geared towards sharing ideas and best practices to help cities make the transition to electric cars:

“The benefit of having so many people and like minded groups working together is that you can cross pollinate ideas, to see what works and what doesn’t. Having so much experience is one place also enables you to create benchmarks.”

James explained that to combat the major environmental and economic problems the world currently faces we must rebuild the energy sector and eradicate carbon emitting power sources. Turning the roads of the world electric will be a key strategy to achieving this, and Purpose will continue to drive this movement.

As international citizens looking for a brighter future, let’s help them get the pedal to the metal.

SMS frameworks: Complex challenges, elegant solutions

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Tools No comments - Tags:

Tackling corruption and preventing the spread of tuberculosis in Africa are both pretty major challenges. When considering that vast numbers of the African population live without regular access to water, electricity, and health services, and where unemployment is higher than 25% in parts, these tasks are even more daunting.

However, the growth of mobile phone use Africa is leading the world.  A recent study commissioned by Vodafone showed that 97% of people surveyed in Tanzania could access a mobile phone, while only 28% could access a land line.

This is where RapidSMS and FrontlineSMS come into play, and major social challenges are tackled head on.

RapidSMS is a SMS-based framework that manages data collection, complex workflows, and group coordination using basic mobile phones, and is able to present information gathered, in real time, on the internet. The Tuberculosis (TB) Initiative of the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) is using RapidSMS in several African sites to develop a robust TB detection, monitoring, and treatment management system.

The primary objective of the TB MVP is to assist local teams of health workers   reduce the impact of TB. By improving case detection and increasing treatment success rates the initiative is decreasing TB transmission and fatalities.

Using RapidSMS, community health care workers quickly report patient information via their mobile phones and interact with the TB system using simple SMS messages. The system is then able to monitor and track treatment of patients, sending automated SMS alerts to the patient and their assigned community health care worker. Further, if a patient fails treatment and is suspected of having multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), a specimen is collected for drug susceptibility testing by liquid culture. The specimen is shipped, via regular mail, to the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for further testing.

Yanis Ben Amor of the Earth Institute, has played an active role in instigating the use of RapidSMS in the TB initiative:

“Traditionally these patients are tested and processed via a paper trail. By replacing some of these steps by SMS, we see no loss of information. Further, when we are dealing with live specimen for liquid culture of TB, time is key. If the shipment doesn’t reach the NRL within a set timeframe, or if the turnaround time for the results is too long, an alert will be sent to health workers to take another specimen. Similarly, other delays will send an alert reporting failures in the work flow, for example if a specimen goes missing.”

The data collected is displayed in a web dashboard, and provides real time monitoring of all specimens collected, their shipment status and their drug susceptibility profile. RapidSMS also generates reports that are fed into the National Healthcare Information Systems to inform local and national policy makers, as well as international groups such as the WHO.

FrontlineSMS is free award-winning, open source program that also turns a laptop and a mobile phone into a communications hub.  Through their mobile phones users can send and receive group text messages, with no internet connection required. All information exchanged is stored on the user’s central computer, with developers able to access the source code to add their own tailored features. Also freely available is FrontlineSMS credit, for SMS based microfinance, and FrontlineSMS Medic, which is used to implement healthcare.

Marco Puccia, founder of International Transparency Solutions, has coordinated the use of FrontlineSMS to combat corruption in international micro-financing projects. The battlefield in the fight against corruption looks different in every country, Puccia explains:

“What we consider corruption is considered gift giving in some countries. Corruption is somewhat cultural, and there is some corruption that is driven by need and not greed.”

Puccia was tasked to eradicate corruption in an undisclosed international microfinance group, which we will refer to as MG. MG works with partner organizations in India, Africa and Mexico to distribute small loans to local recipients. Although the financial books were balancing, there had been several media exposes revealing corruption in MG funds distribution system.

To eradicate corrupt communication from partner organizations when relaying the success of fund distribution to recipients, Puccia worked with MG to modify the recipients’ booking keeping process to include FrontlineSMS. All received funds and expenditure is reported by SMS directly to MG, and when numbers don’t balance an SMS alert is sent to a key MG task member. This eradicates the reliance on partner organizations for financial reporting, and gives MG a direct communication channel with the loan recipients.

Technology comes in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes the simplest solutions are the most elegant. By taking advantage of mobile phone use in Africa, the daunting tasks of eradicating corrupt systems and fighting disease can be successfully tackled. By working with a technology that the people already have and have enthusiastically adopted, these solutions are readily engaged with, and become part of the social and political landscape.

Internet censorship in China: Who says ‘dictatorship’ is a dirty word?

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Democracy No comments - Tags: ,

With more than 380 million of its citizens online, the internet firewall of China is working day and night to keep sensitive words such as “democracy”, “human rights”, “genocide”, “oppression”, “overthrow” and “dictatorship” out of public circulation – oh, and let’s not forget “evil”.

In order to operate in China both Google and Yahoo! have filtered searches, although Google did withdraw from China between March and July in 2010 as a reaction to their servers being hacked and its users’ email accounts compromised.

In mid-December 2009, Google detected an extremely sophisticated attack on their infrastructure, as well as on more than twenty other large companies. Originating from China, the primary goal of the attacks was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. In March, Google shut down its China-based search engine, and redirected all queries to its uncensored Hong Kong-based site. Xiao Qiang of the China Internet project, University of California, Berkeley, has said:

“The Internet was seen as a catalyst for China being more integrated into the world. The fact that Google cannot exist in China clearly indicates that China’s path as a rising power is going in a direction different from what the world expected and what many Chinese were hoping for.”

Google is not the only internet giant to experience grief from the Chinese censors. In July 2009, Facebook reported access problems and today remains inaccessible from China.

In June 2009, coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the bloody military suppression of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, China blocked Twitter, Flickr and Hotmail:

“In order to improve the internet content and provide a healthy environment for our netizens, we have designated 3 to 6 June as the national server maintenance day. This move is widely supported by the public.”

–Chinese censors, South China Morning Post

YouTube has also been effected, and in March 2009 was blocked after the Chinese government denounced footage of security forces beating Tibetans in Lhasa as “a lie”.

The most recent censorship outrage in China has come as a result of this year’s Nobel peace prize recipient, Liu Xiaobo. Xiaobo is a Chinese intellectual, writer, human rights activist and a political prisoner in China. On 8 October 2010, the Nobel Committee awarded Liu the Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China”.

Previously, upon hearing of Liu’s nomination, the Chinese foreign ministry warned the Nobel committee not to give Liu the prize, saying it would be against Nobel principles. Liu was a leader of the Tiananmen Square protests.

In China today, “Liu Xiaobo” has been added to the list of no-go phrases, and searching for his name will result in the oh too familiar message “The connection has been reset”.

Americas Society: taking digital bulls by the horns

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Tools No comments - Tags:

While many NGOs, non-profits, and news organizations are still baffled and skeptical of the impact new media tools can have,  Americas Society is embracing  the web and social media to broadcast news  and augment their readership. By engaging with twitter, facebook, and web2.0 platforms, Americas Society is an example of cultural institutes and policy think tanks coming into the digital realm.

On September 23, hours after news broke that a Colombian military attack had resulted in the death of a Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia (FARC) leader,  Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos spoke at an Americas Society event in New York. Live tweeting of Santos’ remarks entered the international  news stream, and it was announced to the world that not only had the FARC leader, Mono Jojoy, been killed, but 14 computers and 60 USB drives of information about the FARC had also been seized by Colombian authorities.

Santos: “What happened back home in #Colombia with this military success we had 24 hrs ago is going to change our history.”
(http://twitter.com/ascoa)

Santos went on to compare the significance of Jojoy’s death to the Colombian authorities with an announcement to New Yorker’s that “Osama bin Laden had been struck down”

The live tweeting of these monumental updates turned a speech at an annual conference into a dynamic source of real time news.  This is an example of one of many ways that Americas Society is utilizing digital media to engage audiences, while making their work more accessible. Recognizing that its conferences are key sources of news, Americas Society is not shying away from the social media tools at their disposal to get  timely information to their audiences.

Americas Society is a world leading non-profit dedicated to fostering an understanding of the contemporary political, social, and economic issues confronting the Americas. Providing analysis on Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, Americas Society engages in  dialogue on the inter-American culture and relationship. Broadly speaking, Americas Society’s audience are those interested in analysis and a cultural understanding of the Americas.

David Gacs, New Media Manager at Americas Society (AS), is currently working, as part of a team, to develop the AS website to broaden readership and create a more social space through improved functionality, increased use of multimedia, and an embracing of social media tools. Along with a thriving twitter following, Americas Society also produces podcasts (available in itunes), live video streams, and RSS feeds. Currently, all major AS events and conferences are captured via webcasts, along with live tweeting and blogging. Gacs explains that as part of a team, he is continually “investigating ways to provide the media with better access to events, while offering channels of engagement to those who can’t attend.”

Gacs has worked on Americas Society resource guides covering major news events which include analysis, links to materials and multimedia, as well as a breakdown of key twitter hash tags, facebook pages, and mobile update services. The most recent of these resource guides was prepared for the crisis in Ecuador. On September 30, 2010, Ecuador declared a state of emergency after its president was sent to hospital as a result of  a tear gas attack by protesting police officers. The Americas Society’s resource guide gathered a selection of materials and coverage about the crisis, including the Ecuadoran government’s statement regarding the unrest, the U.S. State Department comments from Secretary Hillary Clinton, international news and analysis, and key social media links.

Digital innovation is also utilized by Americas Society’s sister publication, Americas Quarterly. The magazine is dedicated to policy analysis and debate of economics, finance, social development, and politics in the Western Hemisphere. The Americas Quarterly website encourages user generated communities, the sharing of articles, subscription to RSS feeds, commenting and discussions. The winter 2009  issue explored the digital divide, and addressed whether the IT economy deepens the division between those with  and without digital technology, and what governments, civil society and the private sector should to address this.

Americas Society engages with digital technology both on a practical and conceptual basis. Timely communication and consolidated communities are constantly being enhanced, while the international concerns of the the digital divide are explored through analysis and expert insights. It is through such thought leaders and their enthusiastic use of digital tools that new opportunities will become evident to the NGO and non-profit environment, and new fast and formidable communication channels will be opened.

“Digital drug dealing”: Brazil’s use of open source strategies are taking the power back

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Democracy No comments

Brazil has become a leader in the international resistance to intellectual property regimes. This can be seen in their actions that advocated exceptions to pharmaceutical patents in public health emergencies and their efforts to adopt open source technologies in public agencies.

The Brazillian constitution of 1988 declared health “a right of all and the responsibility of the state”. When the National Health Ministry broke the drug patents of multinational firms by distributing antiretroviral medication free of charge to HIV/AIDS sufferers they simultaneously affirmed their right to protect national health, decreased infection rates, and ultimately won a major case in the WTO tribunal against drug companies.

The Brazilian IT sector soon followed suit. In 1999 Mario Teza convinced the local governor of Porto Alegre to promote open source technologies throughout state bureaucracy, while Sergio Amadeu built a network of public computing facilities in Sao Paulo that used only open source software.
These were to become national projects, with their goals to grow the domestic IT industry while generating low-cost human development.
Although Amadeu has infamously accused Microsoft of “digital drug dealing”, the Brazilian government’s open source initiatives have attracted investment by firms that have backed other non propriety technologies such as IBM and Redhat.

Brazil’s WTO victory has created a international precedence for policymakers of developing countries to strengthen their arguments for increased access to health, educational, and software resources. Working with the Brazilian delegates and G20 negotiators, international property scholars and activists are leading the knowledge-based development agenda, and helping low income countries push back against opposing multinational industry lobbyists.

Source: ‘Innovation & Equality in the Information Age: The United States and Brazil’, Aaron Shaw, 2009

Access: Mobilizing for Global Digital Freedom

February 4th, 2011 · admin · Digital Democracy No comments - Tags:

The Access movement strives to keep the internet an accessible and open space for all. Their activities include real-time support for people behind fire-walls, helping to bypass censors and aid citizen journalism. This support may take the form of anonymous twitter relays, automatically web based proxies and low bandwidth projects.

Access uses technology to aid human rights camapigns, with a focus on civil society and political freedom movements, their campaigns include:

Brett Solomon,  co-founder and Executive Director of Accessnow.org, spoke at TEDxSydney 2010, Saturday 22 May 2010. At this time compulsory internet censorship in Australia was a proposed policy by the Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, with 87% of Australians opposed.

Discussing issues of firewalls and government oppression, Solomon presented the work digital of activists in Iran, Macedonia and China, as well as the United States.

“This is not a disconnected internet, this is one internet, and if Australia chops off a pinkie, and Iran chops off a hand, and if China chops off a leg and if American corporates chop off an arm, what do we have left? We are living in a democracy, we should be standing up for the rights of internet freedom, digital freedom, for political participation and to end the digital divide.”

Thankfully, as of June 2010, legislation to enact a policy of internet censorship in Australia still has not been drafted.

Watch TEDxSydney video:Brett Solomon – Citizen Journalism and the Democratisation of News Coverage