Last Friday I went to ROFLCon, the “rolling on the floor laughing” convention. It was a two-day event organized by an enterprising group of Harvard undergrads (and sponsored by the Berkman Center) to celebrate and explore internet memes and culture.

Why is this an appropriate topic for blog on digital activism, you might ask. Although the conference was ostensibly about funny Internet memes it was really about how Internet is fueling the growth of user-generated culture - cultural democracy, if you will. Internet fame, which Berkman fellow David Weinberger discussed in his keynote address, is a perfect example of

In addition to my master's program and DigiActive, I am also a research assistant for the Internet and Democracy Project at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. For much of this year, John Kelly of Morningside Analytics and Columbia University, and his team, has been studying the Iranian blogosphere for the Internet and Democracy Project. He's used both a network analytics program and human reserch to create the map above.

A little bit of explanation: A dot represents a blog.

He begins with a quote from Ronald Reagan: "A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can exist only until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy."

classroom at the school

The purpose of the program is to disseminate the skills of journalism more widely among Koreans, a in keeping with OhmyNews' founder Oh Yeon Ho's mantra that "every citizen is a reporter." While some classes

This is how Istanbul looked last week - cold and overcast.

I was pretty busy with event logistics (not enough wireless internet connections, room only reserved for one of the three days we needed it). Nevertheless I found time to

I first became interested in digital activism in 2004-2005 while living in Morocco. It was the fall after my graduation from Vassar College and I was working as a Programs Assistant at the National Democratic Institute in

1. by disseminating information (increase in accessibility of information, increased accountability, more informed citizens)
2. as a tool for democratic processes (online voting, activist mobilization)
3. as a means of educating people about democratic values (respect for human rights, freedom

Yesterday I met with Yochai Benkler, Co-Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, where I work as a research assistant. What a spectacular and inspiring meeting! Prof. Benkler is one of the top intellectuals thinking about the effect of the Internet on society. He literally wrote the book on the topic (The Wealth of Networks, pictured above).

My fellow RA, Josh Goldstein, set up the meeting to learn more about Prof. Benkler's current research on cooperation and possibly lay a groundwork for future collaboration with the