Last weekend, thousands of people around the country took part in rallies aimed to convince Congress to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Created with the guidance of a new online organization called Step It Up, these do-it-yourself campaigns reflect a trend in activism–one in which the rallies […]
Blog
1605 posts
The blog which we launched for the new Center for Future Civic Media has started to generate some real momentum. The site was created not simply to announce or report events hosted by the center but also as a space where the students and faculty of the two affiliated programs […]
Here is an example of an organized community that has adapted technology and business to meet its concerns. In Israel, ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities have used combined purchasing power to alter the pricing system and functions of “kosher” phones. Their incentive for turning cell phones off during their Sabbath is paying […]
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has a long history of innovation in civic media. One of the more intriguing instances of this tradition is the BBC Action Network, a grassroots online civic engagement initiative. It launched in 2003 under the name iCan, and quickly succeeded as a medium of choice […]
Here at the Center for Future Civic Media, we try to be careful not to be technological determinists when brainstorming ideas for new technologies that can foster civic engagement. Most students remain wary of thinking that a well-designed device will promote participation, no matter what. Instead, our discussions emphasize the […]