it's abysmal that in the 21 century Americans still face police brutality. this past week, the LAPD got into the mix and demonstrated their lack of respect for freedom of speech and the press. regardless that this is a FOX news team, i hope you are equality enraged.

to bask in the glory of like mindedness is one thing... to bask in the glory of an unconference is similar to making a space voyage. you never know what's going to be on the other side, but without a doubt, the relationships you build are life altering. for the past two years, the Drupal / Civicspace community have gathered around the Personal Democracy Forum to build these relationships.

after two years of bragging and ragging on the closed structure of PdF, last fall the editors of PdF agreed to do an unconference! on Saturday, May 19 at Pace, participants of PdF will gather to talk about how politics and technology are changing each other. as we are smack dab in the middle of a presidential campaign, i can promise you some very interesting conversations.

PdF unConference
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Pace University, Student Union, New York, NY
Start Time: 10:00 AM

pdf conference page
pdf unconference wiki

i'm sure some of you may wonder why this is not a *camp (barcamp or drupalcamp)... why didn't we call it PDFcamp. for one thing we are charging a nominal fee $35, which includes morning mimosas and rental of pace. there is a long standing community rule, that *camps are free or next to free.

second, i'm sure you're wondering why we didn't find sponsors to cover the additional cost. to be honest, we tried... or shall i say, i push for that to be the case. in the end, the editors of PdF felt that having people pay a little bit provides a control variable that entices people to attend. throughout all of my attempts, i've only seen an attrition rate of 1/3.

in this exploration of the unknown, i'm ecstatic to see what cross party relationships are forged.

also, after spending the past two years of advocating a non-profit / campaign staffer rate. Google and PdF are sponsoring free registration! Deadline is May 7th, but don't delay these are COVETED SPOTS!!!

Technorati Tags: barcamp, drupal, open government, personal democracy forum

excuse me for not being as prolific in writing on this half of my existence. as i'm a few months away from leaving NYC, i'm spending more time on the luck of seven.

as my world turns one more rotation, i've been contemplating the world though the basic lens of cause and effect.

the past few months have seen unprecedented announcements promoting corporate environmentalism or the popularization of environmentalism capitalism. sadly, these all come with a cost. just like the (red) campaign seem to bring AIDS activism into the act of consumerism. on earth day, PC World featured another disturbing statement of reality.

"Most large enterprise companies have strict rules for IT procurement and deployment, but only vague guidelines for hardware retirement and disposal, [Bob Houghton] said. Many of those companies are glad to make grand statements about upholding their environmental responsibility.... Generating revenue from the process can change the whole equation."

WELL thank goodness things are profitable for hardware recyclers. my good friends at greenpeace have been articulating a similar statement within their ToxicTech campaign.

extrapolating this argument a few steps out... what would happen to profitability when governments forced recycling? would the recyclers become the new barons of the world or worse? would we this be part of a more regimented, regulated society?

tomorrow, my good friends at the change you want to see will host author / filmmaker Heather Rogers and Freegan activist Adam Weissman for a feast of a conversation. we will masticate on the the history and politics of household garbage, and yes, it will be a catered event!

Wednesday, April 25, 7:30pm
84 Havemeyer Street, store front
at Metropolitan Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn 11211
917-202-5479 or 646-221-7845
http://www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org

Technorati Tags: (red) campaign, freegan, greenpeace, heather rogers, not an alternative

my friends and i have slapped together a little podcamp nyc panel. tomorrow, we'll be in the village from 3 - 3:45. be prepared, the room only holds 35 people!!!

Hail to the YouMyWikiTube Chief - Political Participation within the context of Social Media

"Some where between YouTube and the future president of the free-world lies the dynamic political personalites of Nancy Scola (MyDD & Hearing Progressive Voices), Matt Browner Hamlin (Huffington Post & The Right's Field), Phillip Anderson (The Albany Project & Film maker), Fred Gooltz (Advomatic.com & Drinking Liberally) & Noel Hidalgo (Personal Democracy Forum & Noneck.org). The five will speak briefly on the impact of social media in the modern political debate and then debate the future of engagement, empowerment and emedia."

Technorati Tags: barcamp, democrats, future of cities, new york city, personal demoracy forum, podcamp nyc, podcamp

i've wrangled a few friends (nancy, mbh and philip) and together we're going to host a little session on politics and social media at podcamp nyc. i promise you my friends will delight the ears, tickle the mind and empower your inner podcast. join us this saturday at the new yorker hotel for a crash course on all things in the social media sphere. too boot, podcamp nyc is free, and runs from 8:45 am to 6:00 pm. there should be over 500 people in attendance, register and find your 10 reasons to attend podcamp nyc!

Technorati Tags: barcamp, matt browner hamlin, nancy scola, podcamp, Social Media Club

early this week, i reposted a gothamist video from a greenpeace street action against kleenex. today, the boys and girls have a more detailed video...

Technorati Tags: greenpeace, kleenex, kleercut, times square, vlog, youtube

THIS IS HUGE... After spending a week discussing with the global south about the digital divide, I find my self back in NYC, amazed at Council Member Brewer's staff bridging our own digital divide. To reach out to its constituents more effectively, The Council Member's office is not using a multi-million dollar communications platform developed by a government contractor, but by a simple blogspot blog. Tomorrow is the first meeting of the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee, a committee to hear the problems ALL New Yorkers face bridging the digital divide.

New York City Broadband Advisory Committee will hold its first public hearing on Friday, March 30, from 10 am to Noon, in the Gould Memorial Library Auditorium, Bronx Community College, University Avenue at W. 181st Street. (Directions).

Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. and Bronx Community College President Carolyn Williams will all make opening remarks. The Committee will then hear testimony from members of the general public, including concerned citizens and senior citizens from Bronx senior centers. After the official testimony period, anyone from the audience is invited -- and encouraged -- to speak.

If you cannot make it to the hearing on March 30, we still want to hear from you! You can comment about the issue of broadband in New York City by going to the Advisory Committee's blog (http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com/). Comments will then be posted on the Committee's blog for public consumption. Or you can mail any questions or comments to Colleen Pagter, Policy Analyst for the Committee on Technology in Government, New York City Council, 250 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10007.

As a former NY State Senate Staffer to Senate Minority Leader Paterson, now Lt. Governor, I feel the pain of the most populous city in America. Even though New York is the third populous state in America and New York City is larger than Los Angeles and Chicago combined, our municipal and state governments still don't have the tools to communicate WITH it's constituents. If you can't make it to the Bronx, post a comment and by all means pay attention to the Albany Project.

Note - This article is cross posted on Personal Democracy Forum, who's founder, Andrew Rasiej is a member of this Advisory Committee.

Technorati Tags: Council Member Brewer, freedom of speach, freelancers union, future of cities, new york city, online advocacy, open government, transparency, web 2.0