Last night I attended an excellent event put on by the Public Policy Forum called Social Media and Democracy: What Can Be Done? at which no less than 5 smart and highly informed guest speakers from journalism, government, academia, civil society and the tech sector discussed the state of the internet and the threat of 'surveillance... Continue Reading →
Last week I learned the awful news that my publisher and friend, Sheila Barry, recently passed away. Across Canada there are dozens if not hundreds of authors who share my sorrow at her passing, for she was a central figure in Canadian publishing, responsible for the publication of scores of extremely popular children's books, first... Continue Reading →
It took only 10 minutes for Sheila Barry of Groundwood Books to tell me she loved my story and wanted to publish it, but it has taken 4 years for the final product to arrive in bookstores! Happily Friend or Foe is now out and it has garnered some sweet reviews. "...a simple and utterly... Continue Reading →
If I have been away from this blog for a while (I have) it's only because I have been so totally focused on The Media League, my brand new digital business/digital culture venture, which has been exciting but all-consuming. Happily, here's a link to a new article about us featuring an interview with yours truly:... Continue Reading →
Hi. This post lists and links to my first 50 posts on this blog, indexing 50 brief critical essays on contemporary media culture. Topics include The Leveson Inquiry, Occupy Wall Street, Privacy, Music, Food, Economics and more. Try one. 1. Happy Birth Day! my blog is born 2. Gifts and Books, Books and Gifts books as... Continue Reading →
In New Zealand, electronic-bracelet-wearing Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has gone on the offensive again, launching a new dance video produced by Black Eyed Peas' musical director Printz Board that directly attacks John Banks, the NZ cabinet minister whom Dotcom claims asked for – and received – an anonymous and illegal $50,000 campaign donation from him.... Continue Reading →
I have been irregularly blogging about the extraordinary Leveson Inquiry into media ethics in the UK, that has to date resulted in the arrest of dozens of journalists and editors, the overnight shuttering of the UK's largest newspaper, the resignations and possible prosecution of the number 1 and 2 policemen in the nation, the resignation... Continue Reading →
EDIT to this post: as you'll see if you check the comments to this post, someone has informed me that in fact the Girl Scouts/Guides had nothing to do with the suing of Men at Work and in fact it was an Australian publishing company called Larrikin Music that pursued the suit. I apologize to... Continue Reading →
As regular readers of this blog will know, I believe we are living through a profound cultural crisis as digital culture (OS3) undermines and overthrows literate culture (OS2). My new book, You Are Your Media, tracks this conflict across many different social spheres, from food to architecture to business and beyond. Remarkably, we can see... Continue Reading →
Yesterday I introduced the idea that the greatest transformative potential for any social initiative lies in creating feedback loops between OS1 and OS3. By OS1 I mean oral culture and technologies and by OS3 I mean digital culture and technologies. I also said that in order to effectively implement such strategies, which I refer to... Continue Reading →
YOU ARE YOUR MEDIA 