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new article: “Innovation and Aggregation: Why News Needs A Bigger—and More Beneficial—Tapeworm”

From the Community Media Workshop’s “The NEW news: The Journalism We Want and Need” report:

While the lines continue to blur among the quality and types of content produced by traditional media and their Web-based counterparts — including amateurs, hobbyists and start-ups — the battle over distribution is just heating up.

Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson recently wrote of Web sites, like Google, that aggregate content without paying fees to the content creators, “There is no doubt that certain Web sites are best described as parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the Internet.”

This criticism of aggregation without payment has merit but misses the broader point. Once traditional media operations opened themselves up to search engines and began sharing their stories in RSS feeds, the cat was out of the bag. Disconnecting their online presence from the rest of the Internet simply isn’t an option, and nearly all experiments with Internet-only subscription fees have been unsustainable.

This article is part of a larger report on the state of journalism and local information in Chicago, commissioned by the Chicago Community Trust as part of the Knight Information Needs effort. The full report is available online here.

 

new article: “Equity 2.0: The Missing Pieces”

From Shelterforce magazine:

Under President Obama, data transparency, private-sector innovation, and a renewed commitment to expanding opportunity could revolutionize housing and urban planning. But just as proponents of equity, open government data, and social entrepreneurship are being appointed to key positions, and while the administration is still young, the new HUD/DOT sustainable communities initiative illustrates why the devil is in the details.

Click here to read the full article.

 

N2Y4 Mobile Challenge and Conference

Save Your Seat: N2Y4 Mobile Challenge Conference is almost here!

The organizers of this year’s N2Y4 Mobile Challenge & Conference tell us there are still a few seats left for the 2-day event convening the best and brightest from an inter-disciplinary field of hackers, entrepreneurs, activists and philanthropists.  Be sure to get your seat today if you want to be part of this unique conference!

This year’s event convenes world-class speakers and (15) “Featured Projects” focused on innovations happening  in mobile field competing for $50k in cash-prizes.  Winners will be crowd-sourced from conference participants and receive cash-awards on day 2 of the event.

REGISTER here!

Still unsure? Here’s 3 ways participants dive into the mix with the N2Y4 Conference structure:

1. Tinkerers.  Are you challenged by lecture-formats?  No worries, share your expertise, or get involved in a hands-on session happening in the NetSquared Garage.

2. Kick the tires.  Do you need real-world case studies to help inform the way you think and develop your mobile projects?  Learn more about the technology, business plans and social-impact of (15) Projects who will be engaging with Funders and Entrepreneurs to defend their work’s potential and compete for ~$100k in cash-prizes.

3. Blow your mind.  +2billion people are carrying mobile phones every day.  The “State of Mobile” topical sessions will be facilitated by leaders in both the NGO and private-sector-sphere.  Sessions promise to cover leading theories and practices.
Hear from session-leaders share  use studies of mobile-technologies and projects that are solving real-world problems, and discuss the possibilities of what an increasingly ubiquitous mobile network means to the future of business and 21st century activism.

Conference Details:

Date:  Tuesday, May 26 & Wednesday, May 27
Location: Cisco Systems, San Jose, CA
Hotel: Visit N2Y4 for more info
Registration: REGISTER here!

See you in San Jose!

 

How to Violate a Federal Civil Rights Law and Get Away With It

I’ve written before about the absurdities of “government speak” before, but a new memo from HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity takes things to a whole new level.

Since its passage in 1968, the Federal Fair Housing Act has prohibited landlords from making discriminatory statements in housing advertisements. (Note: It also applies liability to everyone involved in the process of publishing the ad, but that’s another post for another time.) Just as classified ads have moved from the printed newspaper to the online classified website, so too have landlords’ discriminatory statements. This prohibition is unique in federal law, one of the only limitations on speech rooted in civil rights’ protections.

And HUD has now published clear instructions on how to violate it and avoid prosecution.