University of California: Protest 101

UC Irvine hosted a budget write-in this week and I can’t imagine why we’re still putting pen to paper.

While delivering letters in bulk to our state legislators is much more civil and respectful than the protests and disobedience that have been observed around UC campuses this past month, aren’t there more innovative, collaborative and effective ways in which to communicate our dismay with the state of the State and University?

After all, isn’t the University of California the top public institution in the world?  Don’t we produce Nobel Prize winners and Fulbright Scholars, life-saving research and game-changing technology?

Advice to UC students.  Take what you know best — Facebook, YouTube, Twitter — and turn it into a campaign that legislators can’t ignore, toss aside, or hand to an aide to craft a scripted response.

The write-in would have been a good opportunity for student leaders to flip out their mobile phones and interview each other about the personal impact the fee hike will have on them come the new academic year.  It was a chance for students to plead their hardships, share their personal stories, and talk about their needs… and to tell their stories through a new medium to legislators and public citizens alike.

If just a 1,000 students from each campus joined a Facebook fan page or custom website that integrates Facebook Connect (or the like) and allow students to voice their concerns online – that would be a collective power of 10,000 voices telling their story to the public. The public and media can then help pay it forward and tell tens of thousands of other people how devastating the fee hikes are.

A letter only goes to one person, and your voice may or may not ever be heard.  But new media content can be shared, redistributed, repackaged, emailed, linked, tweeted…  The same effort put into a letter can be put into a message that has the potential to be heard across the world.

And all it takes it the one story that becomes viral.  The one story that tugs at the hearts of the voters of California, the philanthropist across the globe, and the legislator who votes on the UC budget.

How about a video profile of how much it costs to be a bio major:  How much are your textbooks?  What additional lab fees do you pay?  And how are you able to afford the expensive rent around Westwood, Irvine, Santa Barbara?

Letter-writing campaigns didn’t even work in my time as a UCSA Legislative Affairs member or ASUCD External Affairs Chair.  What worked were the face-to-face meetings with the educational committee members, staffers for the legislators or better yet the legislators themselves.

Today, students have the best tools at their fingertips: new media and social networks.  Whether it’s a student, parent, professor or staff member speaking, why aren’t we using these innovative communication mediums, which are either no-cost or low-cost, to effectively lobby the State and its citizens?

A collective voice is a powerful thing when used the right way.

Protesting and rioting may have worked in the 1970s.  But times are different. Technology is different.

The UC’s budget is an obvious mess, and I have strong personal opinions about it.  What it boils down to though, is there’s plenty of blame to spread.  But I don’t think it’s too late to make a new media move — the right move — to influence change from the ground up.

Picket signs, the wood sticks and magic markers to poster board is so last millennium, and so un-ecofriendly.  If you want to be heard, to be green, to be innovative with your message, take a lesson from the 2008 Presidential elections.  That wasn’t that long ago…

CC0 = Almost Public Domain

Creative Commons has announced CC0 – pronounced CC “Zero”.  CC0 benefits those creators who aren’t concerned about copyright protections, or who later want to waive those rights altogether.

According to the Creative Commons, the law makes it virtually impossible to waive the copyright automatically bestowed on creators.  CC0 is a universal waiver that may be used by anyone wishing to permanently surrender the copyright and database rights they may have in a work.

Personal Genome Project, is one of the first adopters of CCo. Read more about CC0 at the CC blogpost “Expanding the Public Domain: Part Zero“.

So, that begs the question – what are the terms of any Creative Commons license? Is it life + 75 years like copyright?

UPDATE from @plagiarismtoday: CC Licenses, if they aren’t changed, last as long as copyright as it is a copyright license, not a change to copyright law.

Think Before You Post

Saw this Public Service Announcements on TV this weekend. An important message – for all ages. I’m surprised this hasn’t been done before.

But then again, I’m not in the targeted age-group, nor do I watch much TV. And with TiVo, even less commercials…

CC-License Your Tweets with @TweetCC

Exciting news! From the folks at Creative Commons comes an announcement that you can now CC-license your tweets via TweetCC!

It’s simple, just send one of the following tweets to @tweetcc, depending on which CC license you’d like to use (click on the link for an instant tweet):

CC Zero Waiver: @tweetcc: I dedicate my tweets to The Commons by waiving all copyrights under CC Zero Waiver http://icnhz.com/cc-0

Attribution: @tweetcc: I license tweets under CC Attribution http://icnhz.com/cc-by

Attribution Share Alike: @tweetcc: I license tweets under CC Attribution Share Alike http://icnhz.com/cc-by-sa

Attribution, No Derivatives: @tweetcc: I license tweets under CC Attribution No Derivatives http://icnhz.com/cc-by-nd

Attribution Non-Commercial: @tweetcc: I license tweets under CC Attribution Non-Commercial http://icnhz.com/cc-by-nc

Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike: @tweetcc: I license tweets under CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike http://icnhz.com/cc-by-nc-sa

Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives: @tweetcc: I license tweets under CC Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives http://icnhz.com/cc-by-nc-nd

Even cooler is they don’t ask for your password:

We don’t ask for your Twitter login or password as this password anti-pattern practice teaches people how to be phished. Don’t scatter your passwords around like chicken feed.

Join the founders of TweetCC – @malarkey and @briansuda – and some 1,300 other tweeters who have already licensed their tweets!

New Zealand Internet #Blackout

Some protests are taken to the streets, others through petition or boycotts.  Today, an issue a half a world away is gaining momentum online through social networks and new media platforms.

The New Zealand Internet Blackout – which I first read about on Read Write Web (@rww) – is an online social media movement that asks Kiwi’s and non-Kiwi’s alike to protest against the Guilt Upon Accusation law ‘Section 92A‘ :

…that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

Find out how exactly to update your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Web site profiles at the Creative Freedom Blackout page.

Here are some images you can use for your profiles. Just right-click to save to your desktop and upload to your profile pictures:

I’ve blacked out Twitter, Facebook and this blog.