Tuesday, February 07, 2006

NGO In A Box. Non-governmental organizations, especially those operating outside of the industrialized world, are rarely in a position to have a sophisticated technology infrastructure. Unless the NGOs in question focus on information technology, chances are the computers and networks they use combine donated hardware, a mix of off-the-shelf commercial software (which may or may not be legally acquired), and far too little time deal with technology hassles. We've pointed, in the past, to the Non-Profit Open Source Initiative -- NOSI -- and its primer on "Choosing and Using Open Source Software" (PDF), but some organizations need more than a list of URLs. That's where the "NGO in a Box" program from the Tactical Technology Collective comes in. NGO-in-a-Box is a set of specially-selected, high-quality free/open source applications, chosen to meet the needs of NGOs: Its aim is to increase the accessibility of F/OSS to non-profits in developing and transition countries. The box is targeted at implementers working with small and medium scale NGOs, IT intermediaries (eRiders, consultants, trainers, technical supporters), system administrators of non-profits, and self-taught specialists helping civil society organizations on a voluntary basis.  . . . One initially surprising aspect of the NGO-in-a-Box kits is that they do not include Linux; instead, all of the applications on the CDs are for Microsoft Windows. This seems like a philosophical contradiction at first -- after all, if you're promoting F/OSS applications, why not a F/OSS operating system? -- but an aside in the NGO-in-a-Box concept paper (PDF) helps to explain the situation.  . . . The infrastructure for supporting Windows largely consists of consultants and books, the latter (at least) being arguably more accessible in remote environments than online support. It's a practical decision, not a philosophical one, and while it's unfortunate -- we've argued repeatedly that the long-term developmental advantages of free/open source software, including operating systems, outweigh any initial inconvenience -- it's understandable. (Via OpenDepth) [WorldChanging: Another World Is Here] 10:21:24 PM    comment []

Biopiracy? No such thing.. Traditional knowledge doesn't deserve IP protection, but cutting edge research does. Huh? [Salon - How the World Works] 6:01:51 AM    comment []

Can you fake "word of mouth"? Introducing CON-versational marketing:. Can you fake "word of mouth"? Introducing CON-versational marketing: I'm scratching my head on this item on the Consumerist weblog. Maybe some of you "word-of-mouth-marketing" folks can explain what wire got crossed at the graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia that would cause someone there to consider hiring an agency to provide faux-customers to post messages on forums. (The company providing the faux-customers calls that kind of activity: “Message board monitoring and response” and “Strategic seeding viral assets to ensure they are spread far and wide.”) I think it's okay to hire consultants and agencies (heck, or Hammock Publishing) to assist in the development and implementation of corporate or institutional conversational marketing and media strategies. But "transparency" and "authenticity" are the foundations of the success of such programs. You'd be much better off staying out of the conversation than trying to hire people to pretend to be your customers. That's like, what? Hiring a date? We know what that's called. Play along at home: To measure how effective the agency involved is in word of mouth marketing, monitor their response to the conversation taking place about this topic. Technorati Tags: advertising [rexblog: Rex Hammock's Weblog] 6:01:27 AM    comment []

Iran to run Holocaust cartoons. Iran's best-selling newspaper plans to satirise the Holocaust. [Guardian Unlimited] 6:01:04 AM    comment []

Interested in Being a Science Teacher?. I was contacted this afternoon by Scott Hechinger, a recruiter for the New York City Teaching Fellows program. New York City has a chronic shortage of math and science teachers and they developed this program to help alleviate that shortage. In the last five years, this program has helped 7500 people go through a subsidized Master's Degree program and become math and science teachers, but they need many more. If any of you out there have a bachelor's degree in a math or science related subject and are interested in becoming a teacher, they are taking applications for the June 2006 class right now. You can get grad school almost entirely paid for and have a job guaranteed when you finish. Not a bad deal. So if anyone is interested, click on over and contact them for more information. [Dispatches from the Culture Wars] 6:00:58 AM    comment []

A Convergence: Complex Systems Theory, Open Space Technology, Frames, Freakonomics, and the Wisdom of Crowds. In some recent work I have been doing, it occurred to me that Open Space Technology might provide a framework for capturing the Wisdom of Crowds to resolve complex problems. This draws together three very timely business concepts, and I thought it might be worth exploring this further on these pages. Here's what I've come up with. [How to Save the World] 5:54:06 AM    comment []

UMichigan Prez to American Publishers: Save Google Book Search!. Mary Sue Coleman, the President of the University of Michigan, gave an unbelievably wonderful speech about Google Book Search to the American Association of Publishers, who are suing Google for making card-catalogs of all the books in several major libraries available. The speech ranges from the university's mission, the place of libraries in society, the impact that Book Search will have on book sales, and there's an incredible piece on scholarship in the developing world and Google Book Search that gave me goosebumps. This is must-read stuff. Just as powerful as the preservation aspect of Google Book Search is the fact our venture will result in a magnitude of discovery that seems almost incomprehensible. I could not have imagined that in my lifetime so much diffuse information literally would be at my fingertips. It is an educator’s dream, knowing that the vast body of information held in the libraries of Michigan, Stanford, Harvard, Oxford and the New York Public Library will be universally searchable and, in the case of public domain works, accessible. My parents were both teachers. My mother would take me and my two sisters to the public library in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and I remember it was like opening the doors to a different world with each trip we made. I was forever discovering entire new veins of titles, books that were simply enchanting to impressionable young girls. Later on, as an undergraduate in college, I all but lived in the library. If I wasn’t holed up and reading in a carrel, I was simply roaming the stacks and uncovering new subjects and ideas. I cannot tell you how exhilarating – and how humbling – it is to know that this digital enterprise, with our university’s books, will provide that same joy of discovery for people everywhere, from Iowa to Indonesia. Link (Thanks, Kevin!) [Boing Boing] 5:52:34 AM    comment []