C MOON » new media

digital OEF

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:33:52 +0000

Through my recent consulting work with the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, I discovered a couple of blogs and websites by members of the military from their time in Afghanistan in the past few years. I am impressed by their new media savvy but also appreciate the chance to learn more about the day-to-day experiences of our men and women in uniform. The highlights:

www.afghanidan.blogspot.com – Major Dan was blogging back in 2006 from Afghanistan. Some killer pics of training exercises and a light-hearted tone throughout. The fact that this blog is 3 years old just reminds me of how long this war has been going on – count ‘em! – 8 years.

www.effectscell.com – Spc Adam Bryant was blogging in 2008 about his unit in Kabul, which focused on civil society building and humanitarian aid. Some great pics from Bryant (one shown here) and good articles, too. The one video – looks like he had intended for there to be more, which there aren’t, sadly – is pretty good.

A Good Word

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:27:05 +0000

My dear friend Andy Kim has launched a new website, a news aggregator powered by you and me rather than a roomful of editors concerned with readership and revenue. I like it! So, you know… find your favorite news and put in a good word.

http://putinagoodword.com/

new book on MySpace

admin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:54:26 +0000

I was interested to see this article in the New York Times about a new book (by a fella UChicago alumna) about the dodgy history of social networking website MySpace. I’ve never ever been a fan of MySpace – I was turned off from the outset by exactly those “shady business practices” and “trailer-park aesthetics” described in the article.

I’m not surprised to learn of MySpace’s roller-coaster ride of a history as a business, or the dramatic tendencies of its founders – it was MySpace and not one of those other social networking sites that attracted Ruper Murdoch, after all. Murdoch is no stranger to drama – knowing that like attracts like, I think it’s a safe bet to guess that where you find Rupert, you will find a litter of broken promises, hearts, egos (and maybe even some knocked-out teeth) underfoot.

Despite the recent ruckus over Facebook’s Terms of Use, I’ve enjoyed that platform much more for connecting with old friends and staying in touch with new ones met in odd places around the world. Facebook could be a bit more amenable to the necessary expansion of social networking on the interweb, though – for example, for the purposes of Faceboook organizing. But anyway, it’s still better than Friendster. And MySpace.

CMoon #1

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:39:16 +0000

I am mildly gleeful to know now that I come up on the first page of a google search for “Cristina Moon”. There are others out there, I know – one is a spanish professor at UCLA, according to my online sleuthing. But who cares? Because as far as the interweb is concerned, I’m C Moon #1! I am celebrating by downing a glass of horchata as big as my head (jk – that picture was taken in LA a while back).

Google “C Moon” and you come up with this terrible 70s song by Paul McCartney and Wings.

Sometime this weekend, I’ll write about my current project: organizing a remote site in New York City for “The Soul in the New Machine”, a technology and human rights conference being organized by the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center. Very exciting!

2 amazing conferences I will not be attending

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:42:55 +0000

I will be unable to make it to two great conferences coming up – one soon, one not so soon – which is a darned shame. Especially so because many of my friends I never get to see outside of a work context will be there, including Social Markets and Digital Democracy.

February 21: Mobile Tech 4 Social Change, put together by MobileActive, this barcamp will be taking place at Hunter College in NYC. Registration is full, but I’ll link to commentary on how it goes.

May 4-5: The Soul of the New Machine, a conference on the expanding role of technology in human rights documentation and advocacy, complete with a cash-prize contest for a mobile activism project.

Top 25 from NonProfit Tech Blog

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:48:51 +0000

Allan Benamer over at NonProfit Tech Blog had produced his second Top 25 list of nonprofits with the highest web traffic. Not necessarily an indicator of best practices in new media, but an interesting visual aid nonetheless.

And I wouldn’t want to forget to highlight Allan’s previous post, How to Buy a Small Nonprofit IT System, which cannot but mention Google Apps, free for organizations with 501c3 IRS status. Did you know you can send text messages via Google Chat now? I want even begin to talk about how Google’s new video chat is vastly superior to Skype. I (heart) Google.