So I’ve just started replacing sugar and milk in my coffee. It’s been a few days now and I barely miss it; the secret was Silk and honey. I can’t stand Stevia or those other “healthy” sugar replacements — but this combo works beautifully. And what else is like silk and honey for us Canadians? Why the CBC of course.

I stumbled on a great five-part series on CBC radio this weekend called Spin Cycles. The series covers the history, and current state, of the PR industry. The host explores this industry in relation to US and Canadian politics, and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan — the result is a thorough investigation “how those in power can manipulate facts in order to make their case for the rest of us.”

I highly recommend a listen.

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.) read more »

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): read more »