Make A Father's Day Declaration
I invite you to join me in making the following declaration:
I declare here and now I believe in respect. I am a person ready to take a stand against relationship violence and abuse. I want all to know this symbolizes my commitment to solve problems through conversation, not confrontation. Together we can teach others to lift their hands in embrace, not in anger. We can show compassion equals strength, and by doing so, help shape a world free of relationship violence.
To declare it, go here.
After you declare it, share it.
The Family Violence Prevention Fund is on a mission to create a future of healthy relationships. And as such, they are asking people to Give RESPECT!, and make a declaration.
So far, mostly women have signed. Women should sign, and I'm asking the men to step up. Relationship violence is a problem that lives in the shadows. To end it, we must bring it into the light and talk about it. You can help by making the declaration, and sending it on.
And to the women reading this, please sign the declaration too and send it to the men you know, and ask them to make a stand.
After all, what is it to be a man?
It's not measured by the size of your wallet, but by the size of your heart. It's not determined by the strength of your muscles, but by the strength of your courage. It's not judged by how tall you stand, but by what you stand up for.
And this Father's Day, it's time to man up.
We're Headed to Detroit!
Media Make Change is going to Detroit
We're pleased to announce that Media Make Change will be presenting for the first time at the 2010 Allied Media Conference in Detroit, Michigan! The conference kicks of this Friday, June 18 and wraps up on Sunday, June 20, just one day before the U.S. Social Forum. We'll be presenting on Social Media for Social Justice 101, sharing tips and suggestions on how to effectively create social media campaigns for social change worldwide.
About Allied Media Conference
12th Allied Media Conference
"We Are Ready New: Media and creativity to transform our selves and our world"
June 18-20, 2010 • Detroit, Michigan - Wayne State University
www.alliedmediaconference.org The Allied Media Conference advances our visions for a just and creative world. It is a laboratory for media-based solutions to the matrix of life-threatening problems we face. Since our founding in 1999, we have evolved our definition of media, and the role it can play in our lives – from zines to video-blogging to breakdancing, to communicating solidarity and creating justice. Each conference builds off the previous one and plants the seeds for the next. Ideas and relationships evolve year-round, incorporating new networks of media-makers, technologists and social justice organizers. We draw strength from our converging movements to face the challenges and opportunities of our current moment. We are ready to create, connect and transform.
Join us! From Wherever!
We'll be live streaming our presentation via Ustream directly on the Media Make Change website on Saturday morning, June 19th. You can participate from the privacy of your home, office, or local coffee shop on the public chat forum and through the Ustream live feed that we will embed on our website. Simply connect as a guest or through your Ustream, Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace account and you'll automatically be linked in to the conversation.
We hope you can join us this weekend. If you're unable to participate, don't worry, we'll have updates, video, and photos from Detroit on Twitter, Facebook, and Media Speaks.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about the conference or about how to participate virtually, email us directly at mediamakechange@gmail.com.
See you in Detroit!
Tara L. Conley
Founder, President
Want to blog for us at Media Speaks? We're looking for contributors with fresh perspectives on how social and new media can make communities stronger. Email us at mediamakechange@gmail.com.
We want to hear from you!
Follow us!
Our Vision: To help support and build coalitions of Media Justice Advocates, that is, future social leaders, informants, activists, and entrepreneurs committed to making a positive impact around the world and using digital media technology as innovative and creative tools for civic engagement and community building.
Become a Blogger for Media Speaks!
Media Make Change is growing and we're looking for more inspiring and fresh voices on Media Speaks!
If you're interested in how social and new media can make communities stronger, and you want to blog about it, drop us a note at mediamakechange@gmail.com for more information.
We want to hear from you!
Blogger positions are currently unpaid, although we are diligently working on opportunities to provide funds for our contributors. College credit is available!
CRUSH: Facebook Unfiltered
CRUSH Roadtrip 2010 has been officially underway and this week we break down Facebook like you've never seen it before - giving you not only the latest from the news desk, but also what people on the street have to say. While a handful of Senators spoke out against Facebook's new automatic opt-in privacy policy, this week the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a formal Federal Trade Commission complaint against the social media network - requesting that the FTC "investigate Facebook, enjoin its unfair and deceptive business practices, and require Facebook to protect the privacy of Facebook users."
However, Facebook was preoccupied attending to a more pressing privacy issue. The chat feature suffered a major technology glitch, causing some users private chats and friend requests to be exposed to the entirety of their friends list.
Which brings us to our prediction that Facebook will be upgrading this chat feature in the coming months. Especially since Russian investor DST, who bought the instant messaging relic ICQ from AOL, has increased its stake in Facebook from 2% to 10%. Giving DST more power in the decision making process and the chance to put its newest purchase into something useful.
Sadly, the future doesn't look bright for all of social media. Digg is the most recent social media company to announce layoffs, sending an email to employees informing them that 10% of the workforce would be let go. And this comes on the heels of Ning announcing it would be cutting its workforce by 40% and removing all free services.
And what do the people have to say about all of this? Well, we take a stop at Denver, Colorado and get some interesting opinions from three individuals who actually don't have a Facebook account, a very rare breed in this day and age.
We almost had the chance to ask Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, what his thoughts were on the subject when we spotted him in the car next to us...unfortunately he drove away too soon.
But the best part of our Roadtrip so far has got to be this week's CRUSH of the Week, where we got to meet up with the creator of Captain Planet. This was only stop one, so be sure to stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to find out if we're coming to a city near you!
CRUSH: Road Trip 2010
CRUSH - Your one and only source for juicy social media news in four minutes or less. Don't forget to join us on Facebook and Twitter, and get your daily crush at www.commonsensenms.com As promised, we've got the latest on the debate heating up over Facebook privacy. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is adding fuel to the fire, asking the FCC to provide privacy guidelines for social networks. Schumer believes "The default policy should be one of privacy, and users should be in control of how they choose to share their information, not the other way around." This "opt-out" to "opt-in" transition sounds smart to us, but check out the Senator's Facebook page to find out what everyone else is saying and to put in your own two cents.
Taking a more active approach, a group in Germany expressed their concern over "privacy invasions" by sabotaging a Google "Street View" car. The Google employee returned to find the tires let down and the camera cables slashed. However, the protestors were kind enough to leave behind the informative note, "Please do not drive away, you have a puncture".
And perhaps these privacy issues are the source of anxiety and worry bringing an influx of users to the site "Blah Therapy". This new website pairs random strangers together as "venters" and "listeners", however, when we tried to unload our feelings the site was down due to an overload of users.
But our epic privacy FAIL comes courtesy of Blippy, a social media site that lets users share with friends what they purchase. Several credit card transactions were visible via a simple Google search, exposing detailed information including amount spent, specific location, and full credit card number. While we hate to say it, we predicted this case of "TMI" from the beginning.
In Twitter news, a new report by Edison Research and Arbitron reveals that while the awareness of Twitter among Americans has increased from 5% to 87% in the past two years, the population is still struggling to find a reason to use it as only 7% of Americans are active users.
However, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has now joined the 140-character brigade in hopes of spreading Bolvarian Revolution. And if Chavez, who had recently declared Twitter "a tool for terror", can be converted to the dark side, maybe Twitter still has a chance.
In an attempt to aggregate all the "Like's" around the world, Facebook has created the new website likebutton.me. The site operates as a directory of "likes", showing what your friends and the rest of the world have deemed most important from popular web sites, such as YouTube, New York Times and Pandora.
And that brings us to our CRUSH OF THE WEEK - we are taking on the serious epidemic sweeping the globe, "Internet Valleygirlification". With Facebook only allowing a "like option" our freedom of expression is confined into a simplistic, 4-letter, click of affirmation. So that's why we are hitting the pavement for the CRUSH Road Trip 2010. Don't worry, we will find out what American's really have to say and of course share all the juicy with you.