Permission Taken (3/26); The Web We Lost (4/2); Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Launch at BPL (4/18-10)

Permission Taken

Tuesday, March 26, 12:30pm ET, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, 2nd Floor. This event will be webcast live.

Once, personal technology and the Internet meant that we didn't need permission to compute, communicate and innovate. Now, governments and tech companies are systematically restricting our liberties, and creating an online surveillance state. In many cases, however, we're letting it happen, by trading freedom for convenience and (often the illusion of) security. Yes, we need better laws and regulations. But what steps can we take as individuals to be more secure and free -- to take back the permissions we're losing? Dan Gillmor teaches digital media entrepreneurship and is a founding director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The Center, originally funded by the Knight Foundation and Kauffman Foundation, is working to help create a culture of innovation and risk-taking in journalism education, and in the wider media world. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

The Web We Lost

Tuesday, April 2, 12:30pm ET, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, 2nd Floor. This event will be webcast live.

Anil Dash will present at the Berkman Center Luncheon Series. Topic TBA. Anil Dash is an entrepreneur, technologist and writer acknolwedged as a "blogging pioneer" by the New Yorker for having started his site Dashes.com in 1999 as one of the earliest and most influential blogs on the Internet. Today his work focuses on applying the techniques and technologies of the startup world to the transformation the major institutions of society and culture. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to launch at Boston Public Library

April 18-19, 2013, Boston, MA. This event will be webcast live.

On April 18-19, 2013, the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) will celebrate the groundbreaking work of hundreds of librarians, innovators, and other dedicated volunteers in our collective effort to build the first national digital library. The DPLA invites you to join them at the Boston Public Library for this historic event.

Convened by the DPLA Secretariat at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and co-hosted by the Boston Public Library, the two-day DPLA Launch will include a brief working day on Thursday, April 18th, followed by a formal reception featuring presentations and a series of interactive exhibits showcasing content from our many partners, including the Digital Hubs and Europeana. On Friday, April 19th, the DPLA will convene a focused half-day plenary meeting highlighting the DPLA’s progress and potential.

Registration for the DPLA Launch is required and is free and open to all. The DPLA invites all those interested from the general public, the educational community, public and research libraries, cultural organizations, state and local government, the creative community, publishers, and private industry to attend the launch.

For those unable to attend in-person, please note that the working meetings, public plenary, and portions of the reception will be livestreamed and/or recorded. The DPLA encourages participation via Twitter, Facebook, and other social tools (hashtag: #dpla).

Limited scholarships to support participation in the DPLA Launch are available for those who are traveling from rural and distant areas. Scholarship amounts will vary, but are intended to apply to travel and accommodation costs for out-of-town participants. Preference will be given to applicants who have not yet attended a DPLA event.

You are encouraged to share this announcement widely with your networks. Please don't hesitate to be in touch with the DPLA Secretariat (dpla@cyber.harvard.edu) if you have any questions.

About the Digital Public Library of America

The DPLA is taking the first concrete steps toward the realization of a large-scale digital public library that will make the cultural and scientific record available to all. This impact-oriented research effort unites leaders from all types of libraries, museums, and archives with educators, industry, and government to define the vision for a digital library in service of the American public. Registration Required. Register now or find more information on the DPLA website>

Eric Gordon on Transforming Local Civic Engagement Through an Online Game

The problem of civic engagement is often un­derstood as a lack of participation. People do not show up to meetings, they do not engage in their civic institutions or communicate with decision-makers. The Engagement Game Lab has developed an online game called Community PlanIt—which has been played in six distinct planning processes ranging from urban planning in Detroit and Philadelphia to education planning in Boston—to explore how game mechanics and social interaction can move local civic processes beyond transactive participation towards a sustained, reflective mode of civic interaction. In this talk, Eric Gordon—researcher, game designer, and Berkman Fellow—explores the unique affordances of Community PlanIt for building social trust, engaging youth in civic life, and developing shared local narratives. video/audio on our website>

Ruha Devanesan on Thoughts On The Fallout from Kony 2012

On March 5th, 2012, the American nonprofit, Invisible Children, published a video called "Kony 2012" on the social video-sharing network, Youtube. Within six days the video was dubbed the “most viral video in history,” beating out pop artists Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Beyonce’s music videos in how quickly it hit 100 million views. In this talk Ruha Devanesan — Executive Director of the Internet Bar Organization and Berkman Fellow — explores thoughts on the successes and failures of the initial Kony 2012 campaign, and the way in which Invisible Children has responded to criticism and adapted its messaging to ask what lessons can be learned by the human rights advocacy community from Kony 2012 and Invisible Children's subsequent actions. video/audio on our website>