Last month I attended Case Camp, a social media “unconference” in Toronto. A meet up of social media professionals who heard talks from internet experts and enthusiasts speaking about the internet today and a bit about tomorrow. I’m bringing this up on Blog Action Day on Climate Change because I had a discussion with Trevor from EarthRangers about this blog and I mentioned that neither Kate or I feel that we are experts on environmental issues and so it hasn’t been a focus in a lot of our blog posts. …

Okay, so its a big publicity stunt, but this week Hugh Jackman (of Wolverine fame) has pledged to donate $100,000 to charity through twitter.  Whichever 140 character tweet describing a charity is the most convincing wins the donation.  Checking out twitter this morning, I saw more discussion than charity pitches, though there were some for Tasmanian Devils with mouth cancer and inner city schools in Chicago.
Having recently joined twitter, the organization that I support, CAPAIDS, is going to try its had at selling itself in 140 characters or less.  I’m …

What if you could give money to an organization and actually choose who received that money. Imagine, an online database of people in need. You could go to a profile, see what their need was and choose them based on your personal preference. Kiva, an online database of entrepreneurs seeking microcredit loans does just that. I came across this unique fundraising tool and its innovative person to person lending program allows people to track the person’s progress online. Through Kiva’s partners the lender can transfer money online that goes directly …

There are many different ways to document development projects going on around the world. By using film, the Internet and print media sources an organization can promote what they do, shed light on the issues they aim to confront and can make creative uses of those mediums to further their agendas. Mixing those genres can prove to be even more effective. Reality television, webisodes and interactive media are starting to replace the more traditional documentary as a way to display “reality” to an average television viewer.
Reality television gives you an …

This week’s a busy week with lots of diverse events, including some dealing with technology and volunteerism, media for social change, art and AIDS, just to name a few.
Volunteer Toronto is hosting a film evening on Thursday with a new British film that asks questions about how Web 2.0 technology can change democracy and civic participation.  Us Now is about “the power of mass collaboration, government and the internet.”   I’ll see you there.

Film: Us Now (internet and volunteerism)
Thursday, February 26 - 7:00pm
Bloor Cinema - 506 Bloor Street West at Bathurst
On …

Still recovering from TwestivalTO last night.  For those of you who didn’t partake, the Twitter event brought together people in 200 cities around the world for a cause, with people attending parties from LA to Bangalore, as well as right here at Toronto’s CIRCA nightclub.
All proceeds went to Charity:Water.  It’s a glossy charity, started in 2006 by Scott Harrison, a New York club promoter who was inspired to start an NGO after traveling to West Africa with Mercy Ships (check out Alanna’s take on hospital ships over at Change.org).  Charity:Water …

My top picks for Toronto’s charity events this week are targeting two specific demographics: geeks and singles. On Thursday, a world-wide Twestival for Charity: Water will take place at Toronto’s Circa nightclub. The party will be facilitated by Twitter, a micro-blogging site that allows you to post status updates like you would on Facebook. According to TwestivalTO,
“Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but working from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact. …

Here are some really interesting recent links on how people are tracking and tackling health issues through computer and cell-phone based technologies.  Some of them are better ideas than in practice, but I appreciate the potential!
Project Masiluleke
“Project Masiluleke is a path-breaking effort that harnesses the power of mobile technology to address one of the world’s gravest public health crises. This ambitious initiative will leverage the ubiquity of mobile devices in South Africa to help fight the country’s crippling HIV/AIDS and TB epidemics.” (Also featured in a BBC article here).

Morbus on …

Just found out about this network of bloggers and wiki.  Pretty exciting to find all these great sites all in one spot: changebloggers.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

First day of Medicine 2.0 today.  In general, the conference hasn’t focused on my global health and tech interests but is looking at practical solutions for Western health issues.  It was probably naive of me, but I didn’t expect such an academic focus: the presenters keep reminding us that they’re not tech people, but rather sociologists, anthropologists and epidemiologists.  In my head, technology is this explosive, creative, exciting thing that constantly surprises and challenges me.  The approaches highlighted here are pragmatic rather than mindblowing.  So I’m missing the global health …