This is a writeup of Hrishikesh Aradhye, Ph.D.'s talk at the Media Lab last month, with my own commentary sprinkled throughout.

Power to the people, at last! It's a new hour
Now we all ain't gon' be American Idols
But you can 'least grab a camera, shoot a viral

Kanye West, Power

An hour of video is uploaded to YouTube every second (or ten years' worth of video every single day). Think about that for a minute. That's a lot of content. And, as haters everywhere have pointed out already, a lot of it is crap.

The more interesting point, though, is that some of these videos are actually really good. If YouTube can get better at surfacing the good stuff, whether it's a funny comedian, a talented singer, or a hilarious FAIL clip, we all benefit (including Google). Identifying talent has traditionally been a very subjective art, and as a result, the quantification of talent hasn't really been discussed in published literature.

Congratulations to the team behind CRONICAS DE HEROES for the recent Honorary Mention in PRIX ARS ELECTRONICA, Digital Communities category. PRIX ARS is one of the most important annual awards in the field of electronic art, interactive, animation, digital culture, and music

http://prix2012.aec.at/prixwinner/5056/

CRONICAS DE HEROES is civic platform of positivism which through technology, art, education, direct insertion, and other media focuses and promotes social values. We are a team of volunteers, promoters and local representatives who work with the support of the community. Contact us to be part of this initiative, to support by donating talent or funds, with questions, etc at info@cronicasdeheroes.mx

Richard Gingras (@richardgingras), head of News Products at Google, spoke at the Nieman Foundation at Harvard today. I liveblogged it, so let me know where the errors are and I'll fix them.

I published a new essay over at HiLobrow on the evolution and symbolism of the Guy Fawkes mask in Anonymous and protest culture. If you're interested in how symbols work within protest movements, or Anonymous culture, please do check it out!

"Anonymous is one face of a broad anti-authoritarian, pro-freedom sentiment; its iconic mask symbolizes both that movement’s ends, its means (individuals collected as a single entity), and the right to anonymous public political participation. The use of the Guy Fawkes mask suggests a movement with an infinitely reproducible identity, a fractal movement via which individuals or small cells can operate and act — for better or worse, hopefully the former — with the power of the whole."

(or, The Six-handed Liveblog)

When Nathan and Matt joined the Center for Civic Media in the fall of 2011, each had significant blogging experience. But we were to serve under Ethan Zuckerman and Sasha Costanza-Chock. Zuckerman is co-author of Tips for Livebloggers with Bruno Giussani, and he fervently believes in liveblogging all events. Sasha Costanza-Chock, a long time media activist, is also passionate about live, collaborative note-taking.

The Center hosts several public events each week, from guest lunches to evening forums to special events, and Ethan and Sasha quickly established a strong norm of liveblogging these events. Which is to say, they made it clear that we weren't just expected to attend these events, but to blog them. (They help. Sometimes.)

Read a detailed run-down on our blog: civic.mit.edu/blog/mstem/jay-rosens-three-layer-journalism-cake

Co-sponsored by the Center for Civic Media; Comparative Media Studies; Science, Technology, and Society; and the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies

New communications technologies are revolutionizing our experience of news and information. The avalanche of news, gossip, and citizen reporting available on the web is immensely valuable but also often deeply unreliable. How can professional reporters and editors help to assure that quality journalism will be recognized and valued in our brave new digital world?

In my nearly four years here, I've seen the rise of some great solutions to communications challenges.

MailChimp and other email marketing platforms have made signing up and emailing friends and followers dead simple while avoiding the worst practices that lead to spamhood.

Twitter not only works as a broadcast medium but also makes rebroadcasting more respectable than it had been. (You think I'm kidding, but older professional communications folks still reflexively hesitate, wondering if featuring others' news weakens one's own brand or, worse, constitutes a copyright violation.)

Eventbrite helps manage ticketing and major event promotion without ever having to print out a spreadsheet, set up a cost object, or beg a former cop to help guard a cash box.

This is a writeup of our Civic Lunch event today. Come join us next week!

Our Civic Lunch this week featured Jake Shapiro, CEO of Public Radio International (PRX), as well as guest John Bracken from the Knight Foundation (which funds the Center for Civic Media).