Sun, 13/04/2008 - 11:50 - permalink
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) organised a blockade of the Aldermaston base - where nuclear weapons are designed and built in contravention of international treaties.
Dozens of coaches brought in protestors from all around the UK. CND's map made it easy to find out where your nearest coach was leaving from, and how to get in contact with your local organisers.
Mon, 07/04/2008 - 17:20 - permalink
I've had the privilege to co-organise and be involved in two Reclaim The Web unconferences. I say privilege because through the events I've got to know some really nice, knowledgeable and inspiring people. And I'm really excited about the next one.
The focus is on using 'web 2.0' technologies for campaigning and activism. Blogs, wikis, RSS and mobile phones were big topics at the last two events. They look set to be joined by Twitter, vlogging (video blogging) and geomapping this time round.
Mon, 31/03/2008 - 13:51 - permalink
Traditional websites work on the broadcast model. A few people are the 'webmasters', and what they write is read by their 'audience'. Wikis are different: they use a conversation model instead. Anyone can edit, and communication between participants is encouraged. Groups without hierarchies can find their own structure mirrored in the way that wikis function, making them an effective organisational tool.
Fri, 28/03/2008 - 14:51 - permalink
The online ripples of the Tibetan uprising are beginning to sound like something out of a cyberpunk novel. Last week, I talked about the use of camera phones to report police brutality against the protestors. Now a series of custom viruses have been emailed to Students for a Free Tibet.
The viruses appeared to be normal programs, word documents and powerpoint presentations. It is unclear what malicious code they then contained, but it's thought they took private information from the target's computers and sent this to the viruses' author.