As 2006 ends & 2007 begins the Grassroots Channel offers up some shorts. Six pithy episodes which simply outline the different passions of people involved with the Birmingham Community Empowerment Network.
Birmingham Passions three: Varleen McFarlanne Banf, Valentine Sakala Jubilee Debt Campaign, Jean Glenn Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum.
As 2006 ends & 2007 begins the Grassroots Channel offers up some shorts. Six pithy episodes which simply outline the different passions of people involved with the Birmingham Community Empowerment Network.
Birmingham Passions 2: Dave Tyler, of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust PPI Forum, Dawn Manning of Ladywood Aston Nechels Soho network rep for b:cen, Aisha Mohammed of the Saheli Women’s Group.
As 2006 ends and 2007 begins the Grassroots Channel offers up some shorts. Six pithy episodes which simply outline the different passions of people involved with the Birmingham Community Empowerment Network.
Birmingham Passions 1: Hemp, citizens and headscarves. Contributors are Colin Preece Chestnuts Neighbourhood Forum, Adrian Addis, Birmingham City Council Neighbourhood Involvement Unit. Nowrah Abdul Balsall Heath Forum.
Writing at www.edge.com Jaron Lanier warns us of the dangers of mass online anonymity.
In the last few years, though, a new twist has appeared. Along with all the sites that encourage individual expression, we are seeing a flood of schemes that celebrate collective action by huge numbers of bland, anonymous people. A lot of folks love this stuff. My worry is that we’re playing with fire.
There are a lot of recent examples of collectivity online. There’s the Wikipedia, which has absorbed a lot of the energy that used to go into individual, expressive websites, into one bland, master description of reality. Another example is the automatic mass-content collecting schemes like DIGG. Yet another, which deserves special attention, is the unfortunate design feature in most blog software that practically encourages spontaneous pseudonym creation. That has led to the global flood of anonymous mob-like commentary.
On the face of it he has a point. Crowds can be stirred, or manipulated, to act in ways which later may appal or shock the individuals involved. If we believe that collective action online is possible – and that it can make a ‘real world’ difference – then we have to worry about online mob action. In my opinion Crazy Frog is one proof of how mass psychology and technology blight our lives.