I passionately believe in Open, but I need your help to sell my case to the rest of the New Internationalist co-operative. You see, each year the co-op determines the subject of the next ten issues of the magazine at an annual general meeting, and they do it in a very co-op-y way, with lots of discussion, and consensus-building, and then -- when that all fails -- by direct democracy. Its a beautiful thing to watch.

Cross-posted from the New Internationalist Tech blog

Internet freedom has become a critical component of functional democracies. Global events like the election in Iran highlight the important role that both Internet freedom and press freedom play in maintaining the balance of power between people and politics. 

Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in his book Globalization and its discontents :

“We have come to take it for granted the important role that an informed and free press has in reining in even our democratically elected governments: any mischief, any minor indiscretion, any favoritism, is subject to scrutiny, and public pressure works powerfully.”

And, should that book be published today, no doubt Stiglitz would note that “an informed and free press” is threatened in all countries, not just Iran, when Internet freedom is undermined. 

Cross-posted from Two bulls in a china shop.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a week and a day since Melanie and I fixed our resolve, swallowed our timidity, and jumped right in to Twestival Buenos Aires. Our joint objective: To not embarrass ourselves or our respective nations at this international solidarity event.

Twestival, if this is the first you’ve heard of it, is a grassroots, locally organized, globally-simultaneous event. Along the lines of self-organized knowledge gatherings like BarCamp, the Twestival organizers simply established the framework and let the Internet do the rest. And following in the footsteps of more recent events like #HoHoTo in Toronto, the event was equal parts social and social conscience: all proceeds from Twestival were donated to a charity working to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Globally, Twestival raised a stunning $250,000 USD, which (according to the Twestival site) pays for 55 water projects in places like Ethiopia, Uganda and India — clean water for just over 17,000 people.

So who were these people?

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Have you ever seen one of those pyramids that describes food choices? Well, if you’re a “good vegetarian” like me, then you’ve probably seen your share, or have mentally created a few of your own. You might have even caught yourself thinking “Is a conventional vegetable within walking distance better than an organic one that I have to take public transportation to get?” — before realizing how circular those questions can be. That said, over the last couple of years, I’ve been thinking how helpful a software pyramid would be… as the saying goes: a picture is worth a thousand words.

Over the last couple of weeks, I was thinking a lot about “network leadership,” and the role of innovative technology, and how it all becomes part of a movement here in Canada that could change the field of innovation. The last burning question for me is: How can Canadian grant makers play a bigger role in catalyzing the necessary networks, and helping innovators build the necessary relationships?

Lots has already been said about the opportunities for a more holistic approach to financing non-profit technology initiatives. So, when it comes time to explore new ways of financing social innovation, I hope that foundations and grant makers will invest some time to integrate the “old” ideas too. But, when I return to the question “how can Canadian grant makers play a bigger role in ensuring that technology projects are successful and sustainable,” I always come back to the same conclusion: the funding model needs to be innovative too.

One of the questions that I’ve struggled with over the last couple of years is: What systemic changes are necessary to help catalyze innovation around social technology? I came back to this question the other week as the conversation swayed toward the opportunity for progressive organizations — and social innovators — to integrate social software, social networks, and the ideas of Web 2.0 into their work. I think for most of us who work in the non-profit technology space, the sparkle is off the Web 2.0 starburst, as we see organizations struggle to fully “get” what this new technology movement is all about.

What I do think is cool about Web 2.0 — especially when it comes to non-profit organizations and social innovators — is the operational style (business model if you must). Having a usable, interactive, data-exposing, read/write Web site is, in my opinion, more a function of a new approach to problem solving than a tectonic shift in the way the underlying technology works.

Photo of Kirsten Jordan (Taking IT Global) and Andres Dussan (Askoka) by Michael Lewkowitz

How often have you sought to answer questions like “how can new technologies support social change that has impact, durability and scale?” or “is it possible to foster collaboration, sharing, and even co-development of technology solutions rather than everyone building their own or working in isolation?” Well, last week, I was surprised to find myself in a room with some of Canada’s brightest minds when it comes to social innovation and social technology (that is: technology in support of social innovation). We gathered early in the morning on July 26th at MaRS to do some brainstorming on how best to support innovative organizations to leverage appropriate technology, execute technology projects successfully, and how to build capacity for ongoing innovation and sustainable technology operations.

Today is the last day to have your voice heard on the CRTC’s “Diversity of Voices Proceeding.” Please take a moment today to send in your own comments — the future of Canadian media depends on it.

Looking south of our borders, we can see the impact of the concentration of media ownership; the Telecommunications Act of 1996 lead the way by allowing a company to own multiple media properties (including multiple properties in the same market). However, thanks to the work of the Prometheus Project, a further loosening by the FTC was stopped in 2004. The compelling argument for not loosening the regulations further: concentration of ownership means less ownership diversity. Put in plain words, it means that people like you and I will not have access to the public airwaves. (And, if you’re part of a traditionally “under-represented” community — forget about it.)

If what Tim O’Reilly says is right — that “Data is the next Intel Inside” — then civil society better get moving or they’ll be left running last year’s technology.

Online advocacy options in the US are plentiful; Democracy in Action, ActionStudio, GetActive — the list goes on-and-on. However, in Canada, NGOs have always struggled to integrate even the most basic functionality — like sending e-mails to an elected official — into their campaigns.

Why is that? Well, as discussed before, Statistics Canada and other similar groups hold the “crown copyright” on the basic data needed to make online advocacy effective. Want to look up your Federal Electoral District via your Postal Code? Nuh-ah: can’t do that unless you’ve licensed an expensive data set and signed a restrictive contract about how you can (or, in this case, can’t) use it.

Well, I’m happy to announce that — thanks to the efforts of Mike Gifford and Russell McOrmond — a solution is not far away!

Last week Mike, Russell, and I sent out an invitation to a number of our clients, colleagues, and NGOs and unions across the country asking them to join Canada’s first “Electoral Data Consortium.” Over the next few weeks, as members sign-on, I’ll post updates on the progress toward a new Web service that will deliver civic data to member organizations, and manage all the work of keeping it online, updated, and evolving to meet the needs of the consortium members. (Interested in joining? Just pop me a note via the contact form or comments.)

This comes right on the heels of a similar announcement that benefits organizations in the US from the fine folks at CiviCRM and The Sunlight Foundation (read their announcement past the jump):