Communicopia

I was buying a few items at my corner grocer this evening when a radio ad came on that made me think I was living in the US during the Bush years. It was referring to the recent gang slayings that have hit Vancouver, that are indeed a big deal, however this ad seemed designed to clearly stir up a personal fear. 

Called "Community in Crisis", it basically said the wave of recent gang slayings were coming to your door, and you should all be concerned for your personal safety, unless something is done. I found it incredibly incendiary, and wondered who was behind such a fear-creating campaign.

Linda Solomon is a friend and fellow social change leader in BC, and it's been fun watching her start-up online magazine, The Vancouver Observer.com, build momentum. A few weeks ago I sat with her to do an interview for one of her famous profiles of local folk. Linda, an award winning journalist from New York, has a vision for a vibrant "deep local" online news site, and she's built a decent and growing following by investing in "real journalism": well researched articles, colums, reviews, and thoughtful opinions, written mostly by accomplished writers. No brain farts here folks. In fact, she tells me that she's one of the only outfits in town that hires journalism students on praticums. Behold the rise of nimble, independent new media while the newspapers flail!

Many members of my extended Toronto community were profiled in a Globe and Mail article today, "Open Source Politics Breathe Fresh Life into the Big Smoke ". The extensive story covered three movements we're also at the focal point of: "open", "unconferences", and web activism.

Long time friends Mark Surman and Tonya Surman opened the story. Mark has been a leading non-profits and technology thinker for a decade, and now runs the Mozilla Foundation, creators of Firefox. Tonya, among other things, founded the hotbed of connection and community in Toronto, the Centre for Social Innovation (where we still maintain a virtual office...OK they're a client too we built their website, too many interconections to list).