Itsumo - Progress through Pictures

Today has been a thoroughly productive day:

1. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: After my stern letter, my landlord finally came over with a ladder so I could mend my curtains. I sewed them up lickety split. EGAD, IT'S LARRY LESSIG: I got to hear CopyLeft giant Lawrence Lessig read from his new book, Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy.
2. KNIGHT NEWS CHALLENGE: I finally finished my entry for the Knight News Challenge. My project is a daily photo widget slideshow of construction-related projects. It is meant to save NGO's time and money by allowing orgs to compliment traditional grant and donor reporting with imagery. As well, the widget can be embedded on grant and donor sites as an indicator of sound investments. Essentially, I'm trying to help NGOs increase their direct services and decrease administrative grant reporting and online promotion requirements. Vote for my project or leave me a comment.

Fair Trade, Organizing & the WTO

Alright, I feel dirty for mentioning Dance Floor Dale in my last post. As the campy deejay at my now defunct roller rink used to say, "Let's take a little moment now and slow it down for the sweethearts.



So yesterday I wrote emails to some politicians on behalf of my sister-in-law(ish) in order to pit them against each other and create a sense of competitiveness around a good cause. Basically the point is to get folks to agree to purchase Fair Trade for 30-days. It made me miss working at nonprofit organizations. I don't miss the low pay or having people treat me like an idiot whenever I suggest social media campaigns. But I saw a 10-year anniversary poster for the 1999 WTO rally and am reminded of how much I've changed. I believe most of the same things, but my approach has changed dramatically. I'm trying to catch flies with honey, and trust me, when you're full of as much piss and vinegar as I am, it's actually pretty difficult. My old self would call my new self an "armchair activist." My new self realizes that I have always had a roof, support network and the voice to change the attitudes and perceptions of my peers. There is no big bad evil. There's only stupidity, apathy and life-saving flashes of brilliance.