Feature photo: Gamma-Ray Productions; Above: Screenshot of Free Rice

I don’t really understand Farmville or Second Life, and since work keeps me online all day, I don’t really want to spend my leisure time in front of the screen, too. But if you like online games, why not take a few minutes to play FreeRice, a game sponsored by the United Nations designed for you to show off your smarts in order to earn free rice for hungry people.

Yes, the UN is now into gaming.

Here’s the premise: The UN asks you questions– English vocabulary, chemistry, visual art, language learning, geography, and math–and for every answer you get right, the UN’s World Food Program donates 10 grains of rice to someone in the developing world. The rice is given away by sponsors of the game.

The game is great for nerds, especially those of us who love to travel, and contrary to what you might expect, the questions actually get pretty challenging. Do you know the meaning of the word “mucronate”?

I didn’t, and that’s why I kept playing while I wrote this article… all the way up to 1,000 grains of rice.

At least I’m procrastinating for a good cause.

Community Connection:

Everything you could possibly need or want to know about life online is collected on our Social Media Focus Page.

Photo: kjunstorm

WildlifeNearYou wasn’t designed to save animal species.

Instead, the purpose of this newish website is to create a dynamic, crowdsourced clearinghouse that can point animal lovers to places where they can see certain types of animals.

The developers of the website specifically state that WildlifeNearYou was “born out of a passion for zoos, nature reserves, and wonder and awe at the vast amount of amazing creatures that inhabit our beloved planet.”

To that end, they invite users of the site to upload photos of animals they’ve seen on their travels and to document where those animals were seen.

Though they specifically indicate that “We’re interested in places where wildlife can be seen reliably,” noting that “A badger spotted in your back garden or an eagle hovering over the M4 aren’t of interest because other people can’t go and see them later,” it seems to me that WildlifeNearYou has the potential to serve as a forum where animal lovers can document sightings of species that may be endangered or even thought to be extinct.

WildlifeNearYou also has the potential to raise awareness about animal species around the world that may be unfamiliar to people outside their local territory. Travelers, in particular, could use WildlifeNearYou to let other users of the site know about the buffy hummingbird (Leucippus fallax) in Colombia’s Tayrona National Park or the elusive (extinct?) ivory-billed woodpecker in Cuba.

Are you a birder or animal lover? What animals have you seen in your travels, and would you use a site like WildlifeNearYou to either document your trip or help you plan places to visit?

Community Connection:

Love the outdoors? Check out 10 Birding Hotspots for our favorite places to spot the world’s most beautiful birds.

Photo: Peter Gene

Nobody will grant you a degree for checking out these podcasts and video lectures, but you’ll be a bit smarter about the world after listening to them.

And bonus? They’re free.

1. Chomsky on Gaza

A lecture from America’s most and least favored intellectual (especially since the death of Howard Zinn), Chomsky’s lecture on Gaza, available as both a video lecture and a podcast, will take up about two hours of your day. That may seem like a lot of time, but breaking down the Gaza situation has taken plenty of other people years to understand and summarize.

Chomsky does a pretty good job of distilling the high (and low) points of the conflict, and though plenty of listeners will take issue with Chomsky’s political leanings and sympathies, it’s important–particularly in this conflict–to get a handle on all sides’ arguments.

2. Design as Activism

This nine part video lecture series presented by the University of California, Davis, may seem highly specialized for urban planners, but it appeals to my frustrated inner architect. Each video lecture ranges in length from 37 to 52 minutes, touching on topics like “Architecture and Social Change” and “Designing with Humanity: Using Design to Advocate for Change.”

The relevance of the series seems obvious, what with reconstruction efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti following the January 12 earthquake.

3. CSIS: Center for Strategic and International Studies’ podcasts

I was curious about the innocuous sounding CSIS and so I clicked through to their website to learn it’s a bipartisan policy group that’s a who’s who of older American white men receiving at least 43% of its funding from corporations.

That icky disclosure being made, I still find tremendous value in their podcasts, of which there are hundreds on topics as diverse as global energy, drug trafficking, the international economy, human rights, and health. Even if CSIS is the “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” as a friend said, it’s good to know what the wolf’s wearing, right?

4. Brown University’s “The Challenge of Nuclear Weapons”

With this week’s news that Iran is stepping up its nuclear program, now seems like a pretty good time to learn more about nuclear issues. There are 28 mini-lectures in this series, each of which maxes out at about two minutes in length.

The program includes both historical perspectives (“What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?”) and contemporary concerns (“What would happen in the Middle East if Iran had a nuclear weapon?”), as well as information that was obscure to me, like “Why did Brazil end its nuclear weapons program?”.

5. Open University’s International Development Series

Available as video lectures and podcasts, the Open University’s series on international development touches on poverty, education, health, environmental sustainability, and human rights, tackling these macro issues from a micro, hyper-local perspective, as in “London’s Greek Community.”

6. Yale University

I could spend hours listening to lectures on topics as specialized as “Issues in Jamaican Legal Reform,” “Censorship and Speech in Bangladesh,” and “Iraqi Women’s Ordeal Under Occupation.” Several hundred lectures offered completely free will keep you busy for a while.

Community Connection:

Looking for more learning resources? Check out our Focus Pages, where we’ve collected thousands of resources on topics like Language Learning, Study Abroad, and Travel Reading.

Photo: Radio Nederland Wereldomroep

All of the people on this #FollowFriday list have played an important role in informing their followers about Haiti. Some approach their tweets from an historical perspective, others with an urgency informed by their on-the-ground experiences in Port-au-Prince and other Haitian cities.

Some share their stories visually, others mobilize people with their passionate, energetic words. All of them are worth following, though, because of their ongoing commitment to help the rest of the world understand and care about Haiti, and compel followers to take action.

Folks Who Provide Backstory and Insight

@Anita5446:
In her doctoral studies, Anne explores popular thought and the connections between Dominicans and Haitians in the 1800s, overwriting what has been too often an anti-Haitian story in the east. Somehow, she manages to distill all her knowledge into digestible 140 character bites that make sense even for a Haitian history novice.

She’s also an excellent source of information about news and cultural events related to the Caribbean and the diaspora.

@RAMHaiti:
If Richard Morse doesn’t follow you back, don’t take it personally. He’s too busy dropping knowledge on Twitter directly from Haiti.

Richard Morse is an anthropologist AND a new wave/punk musician. Though born in the US, his mother was Haitian, and he moved there more than 20 years ago.

If you could go back to three and a half weeks and read all of @RAMHaiti’s tweets, you’d have a crash course in Haitian history and a pretty damn good sense of what the challenges are on the ground right now.

Photographers

@jeffantebi

and

@jeremycowart:

Both of these photographers have been on the ground in Haiti since the quake and their photos serve as crucial visual documentation of disaster and recovery. Antebi had also worked in Haiti before the quake, and his photo essay, “Port-au-Prince Before the Quake,” was published on Matador a couple weeks ago. Cowart just returned from Haiti this week and may be sharing photos with Matador in the coming weeks.

Both photographers, while on the ground in Haiti, updated followers on what they were seeing through their lenses. Antebi has been releasing limited editions of his photos, with proceeds going to Haiti relief efforts.

Connectors and People Who Get Things Done

@MelyMello:
Toronto-based Melissa Elliott exemplifies the positive power of social media. Her day job with Blackbox Communications has her focused on messaging, and she’s brought all of her professional skills to bear on getting out the word about relief efforts and serving as a powerful connector of people with information, resources, and the ability and energy to help.

@ShaunKing:
Featured earlier this week on MatadorChange, Shaun King continues to give his all to cutting through red tape and getting aid to Haiti. He’s currently focused on helping get temporary shelters to Port-au-Prince.

@amadril:
Quite simply, a one-woman tweeter rounding up information and news that serves as a daily digest of what’s happening right now in Haiti.

@LouisOxfam:
Louis Belanger, Oxfam’s humanitarian media officer in New York, was on the ground in Haiti immediately following the quake. His tweets continue to inform about relief efforts, and not just those headed up by Oxfam. Belanger also maintains an excellent, informative Posterous blog with entries from aid workers and journalists in Haiti.

Other Recommendations:

In addition to my recommendations, Matador member AyeGotPassport has organized a list of Haiti tweeters worth following. She also mentions @lindsaybranham, @EstherHavens @ijeanson @jonathanolinger, all of whom she follows because “of their courage to do what they do and to provide support/encouragement in the process.”

Community Connection:

Who would you add to our list? Please let us know by leaving a Twitter handle and your reason for the pick in the comments.

Photo by: midorisyu

Recently, supreme research brains at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science discovered a way to genetically modify a a type of bacterium to consume CO2 and produce isobutanol, a liquid fuel that can be used as a gas alternative.

And the process only requires sunlight to get going, meaning this achievement carries with it all sorts of cleaner, greener, cheaper energy implications.

Revolutionary? You betcha.

The modified bacterium potentially serves as not only a fuel substitute, but also an environmental cleanup agent through its consumption of carbon dioxide, the villain in our global warming story. Researchers say the ideal place for this bacteria is next to power plants emitting carbon dioxide so the plants’ greenhouse gases can be swallowed up and recycled into liquid fuel.

Unfortunately, the research is only in its initial stages, making it still too early to tell whether or not this will be the bacteria that saves the world.

Until then, we should continue doing our part to try and reduce emissions as we watch the infamous emissions clock climb to unfathomable numbers.

You can read more about the research here on the online edition of the science journal Nature Biotechnology.

Perpetually with one foot in the future, Japan recently brought on board a team of companies and researchers for what has got to be the most astro-ambitious project of the 21st century: the Space Solar Power System (SSPS).

The SSPS project, which Japan hopes to become fully realized as soon as 2030, will put into orbit giant solar panels just outside Earth’s atmosphere to gather the sun’s energy and beam it down to us in the form of lasers or microwaves. In the absence of clouds or that pesky ozone layer, solar energy can be over five times stronger in space than on Earth and according to the report from PhysOrg, Japan has been dead serious about this project since 1998.

Just a svelte island floating in the eastern Pacific, Japan depends on oil imports to run much of its machinery. If SSPS becomes a reality, Japan estimates the electricity produced will be six times cheaper than current in-country costs. “We’re aiming to produce stable, cheap power and hydrogen at a target price of 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour,” research scientist Hiroaki Suzuki was quoted saying in the Scientific American.

But powerful lasers beaming down from space don’t exactly inspire confidence in the court of public opinion and the very twilight zone nature of the SSPS project has got all the science and technology blogs aflutter. Tonic admits that the plan “sounds so very far-flung and fanciful,” while Tech.Blorge refers to it as “as a nod to science fiction.”

And while Matador is committed to greener living (hey, we sent one of our MatadorU students to take on the No Impact Week Challenge), we’re reserving opinion until the 2020 test launch.

Around this time last year, Matador published this article about US commitment to renewable energy, though it is clear that, much like as with cell phones and robot girlfriends, the Japanese have outpaced all others once again.

What do you think about a giant laser beaming super concentrated solar energy down from outer space? Share your thoughts with us!

Photo: (nutmeg)

“‘Most NGOs are still quite web 1.0 – we want to apply the web 2.0 technology that Obama used so effectively to the whole helping world.’” -Phil Noble, Founder, PoliticsOnline

Anticipation is building up around the UN Climate Change Conference scheduled for December 7-18 in Copenhagen, with environmental advocates expressing increasing concern that certain world powers–including the United States–won’t take a strong enough stand to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

But whatever comes of the Climate Change Conference with respect to international environmental accords, there’s one piece of exciting news we can expect to see coming out of Copenhagen: the launch of “Hope Plus,” a new online platform that’s been dubbed the world’s “online Peace Corps” by founder Phil Noble, also founder of PoliticsOnline and technology adviser to President Obama during his campaign.

“Most NGOs are still quite web 1.0 – we want to apply the web 2.0 technology that Obama used so effectively to the whole helping world,” said Noble in a pre-launch announcement about Hope Plus. The idea of the program–to be backed by President Obama and Bill Gates–is to provide a global, multilingual platform where people interested in social change projects can meet online, share ideas and resources, and start planning projects.

We’ll be interested to see how Hope Plus develops and how it is adopted by changemakers around the world.

Thanks to our Twitter friend, @lrakoto, for the tip on this article.

Community Connection:

Other technology articles from our archive include:

Open Debate: Can the Internet Really Solve the World’s Problems?

Digital Divide Getting Smaller?

United Nations Launches Global University

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Photo: gailjadehamilton

Some folks lament that the time we spend online is making us less connected. Other folks know better.

What if new media could be the powerful engine for true, meaningful action in the areas of health care, the environment, global development, cultural diplomacy, and opportunities for youth? And what if young social entrepreneurs were the catalysts of such change?

These are the key questions motivating the New Media & Youth Action Conference, scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2009 from 10 AM til 3 PM in New York City.

The event, which is free, will feature keynote speakers, breakout sessions for brainstorming, and a networking “power hour,” where you can meet other like-minded activists and share ideas about issues of mutual interest.

For more information or to register, click here.

Community Connection:

To learn more about how Matador members are using technology to support youth development and cultural awareness projects, be sure to read about the Roads Scholars program, founded by Matador member, Digital Vagabond.

]]> http://matadorchange.com/new-media-youth-action-conference-planned-for-new-york-city/feed 0 http://matadorchange.com/digital-divide-getting-smaller http://matadorchange.com/digital-divide-getting-smaller#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:13:52 +0000 Julie Schwietert http://matadorchange.com/?p=933

A house in Appalachia, where lack of electricity is common. Photo: BillRhodesPhoto

The digital divide isn’t just between “developed” and “developing” countries.

A few years back, my brother, a computer programmer and web designer, told me that the university where he works wanted to donate some computers to members of a rural community. The plan was abandoned, though, when the university realized the community straddled the border between two counties.

“Neither county wants to accept responsibility for these people,” my brother told me. “Their roads don’t get repaired–some of them aren’t even paved. And an Internet connection? Please. These people are still waiting on phone lines.”

Forget computers… these folks didn’t even have basic utilities.

My brother’s story isn’t an isolated anecdote. The New York Times regularly runs stories and posts on its Bits Blog about the digital divide that exists in the U.S. between urban and rural areas.

Quite simply, plenty of people live in rural areas where getting Internet access is a secondary priority, priority one being tapping into a reliable, consistent grid that ensures they’re receiving basic utilities.

But maybe some of the technology being developed for poorer countries will also have an application in the U.S.

Krishna Palem, a computer science professor at Rice University and a fellow of the IEEE (formerly the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), leads a group of researchers developing a tablet PC-like device that will “be inexpensive, easy to use, and able to operate [in a] creaky (and sometimes nonexistent) electric power grid.”

The so-called i-Slate is about the size of a piece of paper and it’s almost as lightweight. The power source is a solar cell and the projected cost is just $40 USD.

While the i-Slate doesn’t function as a computer, the device does seem to offer benefits in educational contexts and the technology itself may be adapted for other functions in the future. Learn more about Palem and his team’s project here.

Community Connection:

Not all cities are created equal when it comes to technology. Check out Hal Amen’s round-up of the Techiest Cities in the World to learn which ones make the cut.

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