Just over the horizon: Pakistan becomes foreign policy issue #1

I’m going to get right into this:  Pakistan is a growing problem, both for America and for the global issue of nuclear proliferation, and now represents the single most important foreign policy issue for America (and NATO).  A bold statement?  Yes.  But recent developments in the region, combined with some troublesome history, is leading me to believe that [...]

What are they saying in Congress?

(Originally written and posted at www.wikinomics.com) Wordles can be a great way to visualize political discourse, especially when you use them in comparative form. After Inauguration Day in January, Naumi wrote an excellent post , using IBM’s ManyEyes analysis to compare Obama’s inaugural speech to those of his predecessors. These three tag clouds were all [...]

“Futurism”, or “How to Talk like ‘That Guy’ at a Dinner Party”

Futurism is a movement that first started back in the 1930′s. As Wikipedia tells us, it was an “artistic, literary, and political movement that sought to reject the past and rather uncritically embraced speed, technology, and violent change.” Since I’ve spent the last couple months at a Web 2.0 company, I’m all about the rejection [...]

Crowdsourcing on Mobiles: Reporting the Crisis from Madagascar

(Originally written and posted at www.wikinomics.com) As I write this blog, a potentially violent crisis is emerging in Madagascar, as the military ceded control of the African country to opposition leader Andry Rajoelina today.  Just two hour ago, the US Department of State ordered all non-emergency workers out of the country amidst fears that previous protests from January, where [...]

Bringing transparency to your browser: Knowmore.org

(Originally written and posted at www.wikinomics.com) To hold major corporations accountable for their actions, citizens need to vote with their dollars.  Rewarding companies for corporate social responsibility and punishing those who partake in unethical practices is crucial in shaping corporate behaviour.  Yet this is difficult to do.  For social activists who gather the information, broadcasting [...]

The best web developments as I remember them

I thought I’d shoot out a post about the best online discoveries I’ve ever made in my life. Mostly, to prove a point about Twitter. Also, I thought it would be fun to hear other people make/debate over their own lifetime internet top tens. Counting down, here goes: #10: My first email account: Around grade [...]

Strip of Yonge Street to become a “digital destination”

(Originally written and posted at www.wikinomics.com) Reading the Toronto Star today, I came across this article that shows some much-needed forward thought from the Canadian university community.  In short, Ryerson University, the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo have agreed to a joint initiative to create a “Canadian Silicon Valley” over the next [...]

Skittles moves their homepage to Twitter: Crazy? Genius? Both?

(2pm note:  see update at the bottom of this blog) Just the other day, Skittles made a bold experiment:  they moved their Skittles.com homepage to a Twitter search page (see it here).  The new homepage is the same Twitter page you would view if your were to search for “Skittles” under Twitter search.  The only [...]

Profiling the powers that be on the un-facebook

(Originally written and posted at www.wikinomics.com) While doing some research on government transparency, I came across a new website called LittleSis. LittleSis (currently in Beta version) is a new initiative from the Sunlight Foundation (est. 2006), online catalyst for political transparency and accountability in government (Anthony Williams wrote about them last month).  Sunlight’s previous platforms include OpenCongress.org and [...]