Josue Sierra

This is my kind of news! The Washington Post has a story on how a community in China was able to use text-messaging and cell phones to get around government censors, and stand up against the construction of a giant chemical factory. This is what technology in communication does for the world — it enables individuals to connect, relate, and unite.

By promoting the construction of a giant chemical factory among the suburban palm trees, the local government was “setting off an atomic bomb in all of Xiamen,” the massive message sprays charged, predicting that the plant would cause “leukemia and deformed babies” among the 2 million-plus residents of this city on China’s southern rim, just opposite Taiwan.

The environmental activists behind the messages might have exaggerated the danger with their florid language, experts said. But their passionate opposition to the chemical plant generated an explosion of public anger that forced a halt in construction, pending further environmental impact studies by authorities in Beijing, and produced large demonstrations June 1 and 2, drawing national publicity.

The delay marked a rare instance of public opinion in China rising from the streets and compelling a change of policy by Communist Party bureaucrats. It was a dramatic illustration of the potential of technology — particularly cellphones and the Internet — to challenge the rigorous censorship and political controls through which the party maintains its monopoly on power over China’s 1.4 billion people.

I’ll be giving a presentation tomorrow at Leadership Institute titled “Blogging, Activism, and the Christian Worldview.” Basicly, I’m hoping to help the students put worldview into action through purpose-driven activism and blogging. Check out my first draft of the power point (thanks to SlideShare.net)

Paul Blumenthal and David All had an Op-Ed on why Congress needs modern websites on The Hill newspaper this last Tuesday in the Open House Project Op-Ed series. They cover “the reasons why member Web sites are often just polished brochures, accessories to the actual functions of the office.”

Technology and politics are rapidly intertwining in the new millennium as presidential candidates adopt sophisticated online operations to raise money, get out the vote and connect to new voters. Social networking, blogging and online video technologies have taken the political world by storm. But in Washington, members of Congress are forced to watch this race for online superiority from the sidelines.

It’s not their fault. While candidates for office can do as they please with their websites, members of Congress are heavily restricted in the kinds of activities they can partake in on their official websites, because they are governed by Franking Rules. These rules were created decades ago to restrict the use of mass mailings sent to congressional districts at taxpayer expense. Franking Rules, modified to apply to the Web in 1994 and last updated in 1996, state that members may not use non-congressionally provided services for their website, nor link to any site of a personal or political nature.

Paul Blumenthal commented on it on his Sunlight Foundation blog.

This sounds like good news — more competition. I’m hoping this will have an impact on cable television, opening up for more choices and options.

Right now, I would like to pick and choose the TV channels I receive in my home, and reject what I don’t need or want. Instead, I pay one price, and subsidize a lot of junk I don’t care for, or do not want in my home.

“Unlike Joost, which is a closed system with content from a limited number of sources, VeohTV supports open Internet standards, and has access to virtually all of the video content on the Internet, on demand.” said Dmitry Shapiro, CEO of Veoh Networks. “We asked Veoh.com users what they really want in their online video experience and VeohTV is the culmination of that feedback. We believe that it will be the dominant standard for online video consumption moving forward.”

Industry heavyweights who have seen early versions of VeohTV have had positive reaction. “It’s a great product” said Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of Interactive Corp.

“Veoh has leapfrogged the field with their dazzling new video application,” said Ross Levinsohn, former President, Fox Interactive Media. “The new Veoh will set the bar very high for others to shoot for, and will be a terrific experience for consumers worldwide.”

I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of the new email subscription form I have added to header of the blog, as well as the RSS subscription feed. I’m not 100% consistent with my blogging, as I try to provide time for my wife and other offline activities. So, the best way to make sure you don’t miss a post is to subscribe to the RSS or via email. The emails only go out once a day (digest format) on days when I write a post, so you don’t have to worry about spam.

Welcome to all new readers. Feel free to post questions or feedback.

Interesting article by Dave Morgan, Chairman of Tacoda, that intersects the world of politics, and the clash with rapidly changing technology–some with legitimate use, and some not.

As you might imagine, it’s not easy to draft highly detailed regulatory language that can clearly and effectively attack the bad uses of complex and fast-changing technologies without creating some collateral damage for other legitimate users of the same technologies. That is one of the reasons why nearly every sizeable business and every industry sector spends so much time in places like Washington, working hard so that their legitimate practices don’t get caught up and entangled with well-meaning legislative and regulatory efforts. As the online ad industry continues to grow and mature, it is clear that we will find ourselves having to manage these issues with greater and greater frequency.