June 2, 2010
My video-game forum fosters real political discussion. No, really.
Online communities bring together people who would never talk in real life. Illustration by Matt Daley. Though you can count the joys of graduate school on one hand—without even using all of your fingers—spending an evening with like-minded friends just chatting is definitely one of them. As the drinks flow and discussions stretch late into the night, it’s easy to feel the glow of both comfort... [More >>]
April 7, 2010
Postcard from Honduras: Birth of the coup
Honduran citizens cast their votes in defiance of a military coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and cancelled planned elections. Photo by Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters. Sunday morning was dark and my alarm didn’t go off, so I slept in. I was awakened late in the morning to a fellow gringo, my friend Luke, shouting through my window. “Ashley!” he yelled, “wake up, did you hear what happened?”... [More >>]
March 22, 2010
From a Toronto basement, Citizen Lab fights tyranny online
As the internet becomes a global battlefield, a clutch of Canadian programmers are subverting oppressive regimes, aiding online dissidents, and mapping the murky new world of digital geopolitics The Dalai Lama is charged with watching over Buddhist tradition, but on March 29, 2009 The New York Times revealed a shadowy presence was secretly watching him, invisibly sending information about the religious... [More >>]
February 22, 2010
Postcard from London: tech geeks are hacking African development
Participants in London's Africa Gathering event. Photo courtesy TMS Ruge (TMSruge.com) The Hub King’s Cross café in London is buzzing today with a new breed of tech geek: consumed not by robots or video games, but African development. This group, about 100-strong, are meeting at the tri-annual Africa Gathering event. And together, through what they call Information and Communication Technologies... [More >>]
February 1, 2010
How having the web on your phone is changing urban living
In ways large and small, having the internet in your pocket changes the urban experience. Illustration by Matt Daley. I stood there on the street, squinting into my phone, needing to double check. Could the nondescript restaurant before me really have, as the anonymous web commenter put it, “the. best. hot sauce. ever.”? It didn’t seem likely. But sure enough, after popping inside, the fiery,... [More >>]
January 29, 2010
Print media woes claim another victim: the obituary page
With the rise of paid death notices, the old-fashioned obit's days may be numbered. Photo by Graham F. Scott. Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs’ conspicuously detailed death announcement, accidentally published by Bloomberg news service in 2008, revealed a little-known fact about the craft of writing obituaries: the blood doesn’t have to have gone cold before someone writes the first draft of... [More >>]
January 7, 2010
Which party leader uses social media better?
Separating the hax0rs from the n00bs in Canada’s parliament Part of Barack Obama’s victory came on the back of a grassroots campaign that effectively used the internet to collect supporters and funds. Among social-media-savvy politicians, the president is The Man. While Obama might be down with the kids today, have any Canadian leaders managed to cash in on the social-media cachet? Or is Twitter... [More >>]
January 5, 2010
Web-based activism feels good, but sometimes clicking isn’t enough
Does web-based charity really click? Illustration by Matt Daley. Recently, I’ve been inundated with inspiring messages and touching stories of online charitable endeavours every time I sit at the computer. Whether the bike ride to cure cancer or the drive to raise money for kids in sub-Saharan Africa, it’s been incredible to see such widespread empathy and concern. So I, like so many others, have... [More >>]
November 26, 2009
The new face of porn
A new generation of feminists are reclaiming porn, both as consumers and producers. A (very) intimate journey Erika Lust on the set of "Barcelona Sex Project," her "erotic experimental film" that exemplifies the style of the new crop of feminist-identified pornographers. Photo courtesy Lust Films. The first time I remember thinking critically about pornography, I was 15. It was... [More >>]
November 10, 2009
Pay indie artists and break the music monopoly — Legalize Music Piracy
Music is a dead industry walking. A radical all-you-can-eat plan promises unlimited tunes and puts artists — not record companies — first Politically speaking, it was a pretty good haul of booty. On June 7, an organization of self-described “pirates” took what was a fairly small step toward gaining real political clout, but a gigantic leap for everyone in the world who has ever downloaded... [More >>]
