The Cute Cat Theory
Excellent talk about "The Cute Cat Theory" discussing Cute Cats, Porn, and Activism.
The Cute Cat Theory Talk at E-Tech
Excerpt: "Based on my Tripod experience, I’d offer the hypothesis that any sufficiently advanced read/write technology will get used for two purposes: pornography and activism. Porn is a weak test for the success of participatory media - it’s like tapping a mike and asking, “Is it on?” If you’re not getting porn in your system, it doesn’t work. Activism is a stronger test - if activists are using your tools, it’s a pretty good indication that your tools are useful and usable."
Also, it makes mention of Ushadihi in the article at one point. If you haven't heard of Ushadihi before you really should. I heard of them in a PBS story a month or two back in which it was describing how the website started up after the violence in Kenya following the election in 2008. It was a site that was geared to be a visualization map of all the reports of violence, where they happened, when, etc. via reports from people in the area. Phones were given out to people to keep in touch and volunteers from all over acted as translators for this project. Now, the project is expanding to worldwide. It displays crisis events in near real time, based on information from people at the event.
Check it out, it's pretty awesome.
The Cute Cat Theory Talk at E-Tech
Excerpt: "Based on my Tripod experience, I’d offer the hypothesis that any sufficiently advanced read/write technology will get used for two purposes: pornography and activism. Porn is a weak test for the success of participatory media - it’s like tapping a mike and asking, “Is it on?” If you’re not getting porn in your system, it doesn’t work. Activism is a stronger test - if activists are using your tools, it’s a pretty good indication that your tools are useful and usable."
Also, it makes mention of Ushadihi in the article at one point. If you haven't heard of Ushadihi before you really should. I heard of them in a PBS story a month or two back in which it was describing how the website started up after the violence in Kenya following the election in 2008. It was a site that was geared to be a visualization map of all the reports of violence, where they happened, when, etc. via reports from people in the area. Phones were given out to people to keep in touch and volunteers from all over acted as translators for this project. Now, the project is expanding to worldwide. It displays crisis events in near real time, based on information from people at the event.
Check it out, it's pretty awesome.