One of the things we at MIT are very quietly considering — quietly in the same sense that I first considered getting a creative writing degree, as in, seduced by the prospect while overawed by the reality — is holding a large, public civic media conference as part of, or in addition to, our invitation-only Civic Media Conference with the Knight Foundation.
We last discussed it as videos from this year’s Civic Media Conference came online, and I’d like to share those videos, not just for their own sake, but for you to ask yourself: Would you travel to Boston to be a part of these kinds of talks if we had 2,000 people rather than 250? Hearing your thoughts might just push us in the big-conference direction.
Crowdsourcing Crisis: How Civic Media Informs Breaking News
The first half of 2011 has seen dramatic events — some tragic, others encouraging — take place across the globe. From revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia to an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan, breaking news has been reported by individual citizens as well as professional journalists. And explaining the complex nuances of unfolding events has shown the power of civic media in informing local communities and the wider world.
In this session, we talked with two individuals who’ve been part of efforts to share perspectives from civic media with a global audience. Mohamed Nanabhay, head of New Media at the AlJazeera Network, helped unpack the North African revolutions using video from Facebook and other online sources. And Joi Ito, the new head of MIT’s Media Lab, has worked with a group of civic reporters and citizen scientists in Japan to document the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The two discuss the emerging media environment, where professional and civic media interact to produce a richer and more inclusive picture of global events.
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Download Crowdsourcing Crisis (.mp4)
Civic Media Mobilization
Successful civic media tools — especially ones designed by this conference’s attendees — re-engineer how mass-mobilization happens. But does that mean we should turn the page on old lessons?
Originally envisioned as a way to connect like-minded people across borders, civic media is proving just as powerful at mobilizing neighbors, in their towns, where they vote. So even for national issues, is all civic media really local? From the Wisconsin protests to presidential campaigns, civic media is playing a larger role in organizing communities and defining political arenas. This conversation between an organizer and activist explores how online activism differs from face-to-face.
Chris Faulkner, a member of the Tea Party, spends much of his time organizing online. Yesenia Sanchez, from P.A.S.O.-West Suburban Action Project 52, works street-level to drive community participation. Together with moderator Damian Thorman, the two discussed ways organizers can use online and offline strategies to their advantage and debate situations in which one is more effective than the other.
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Download Civic Media Mobilization (.mp4)
Mobile Storytelling in Real Time
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- Andy Carvin, National Public Radio
- Liz Henry, BlogHer
- Dan Sinker, Columbia College Chicago, @mayoremanuel
Download Mobile Storytelling in Real Time (.mp4)
The Future of Civic Media
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- Sasha Costanza-Chock, MIT Comparative Media Studies
- Chris Csikszentmihályi, MIT Center for Civic Media
- Ethan Zuckerman, Berkman Center/MIT Center for Civic Media
Download The Future of Civic Media (.mp4)
So after checking out these videos, what do you think? Should we should take the Civic Media Conference to the next level?