Podcast of todays presentation is up

The podcast of the session Dave (LifeKludger) Wallace and I did for CISA's Connnecting UP 2006 Conference is now online.  I think it went a treat!  Check it out for yourself at:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/cu06podcast

And check this link out for the slide deck, demo script and other resources used in the talk.

cu06images.jpg

Oh, by the way - Dave and I just 'gave birth' to a PodCast - check THIS out.

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

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May 1, 2006 in connections | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Presenting on Blogs and PodCasts on May 1st

This post by Beth Kanter reminds me that I need to finish my preparation for a talk on 'Connecting and Speaking to Communities using blogs and podcasts'.  The talk is part of CISA's 'Conecting Up' conference and will be held at 11:40am on Monday 1st May, 2006 in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency, Adelaide.

The slide deck is done but the demo piece needs to be rehearsed, screen captured and scripted.  I think I will show how my blogs (and podcasts) got me to speak at the conference and connected to the fabulous NetSquared community.

I also need to hassle Doug and Steve about the podcast feed for this (and hopefully other) talks from the conference.  Stay tuned for an update on the feed location.

UPDATE: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cu06podcast

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

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April 19, 2006 in connections | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Does Seth think LearnDog is clueless?

According to this somewhat provocative post on netsquared:
http://netsquared.org/blog/celeste-w/we-the-clueless
Seth Godin (aka Mr Squidoo) might think LearnDog is clueless!

Just because we are not yet at the fundraising stage doesnt mean we don't value our squidoo lens!

And I'm sure that Seth values the effort Dave (LifeKludger) Wallace and LearnDog put into beta testing squidoo for him.

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

March 30, 2006 in connections | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Historic day for LifeKludger

UPDATE2: Jake drops a comment to verify his genuine contact with Dave.  Phew - not spam!  Thanks Luke for taking the time to set me straight on this.  (Turns out that it all went ballistic via Popular Mechanics - cwool)

UPDATE: Damn! I fear Dave may have been a victim of comment spam.  (Which will make us both look like shameless link whores).  Check http://www.technorati.com/search/%22bottle%20cap%20tripod%22 . Honestly, we didn't know.

Dave (LifeKludger) Wallace has a lofty vision for a world in which 'makers' are connected with 'the disabled' and empowered to use their hardware hacking skills for good as well as fun.

Dave has made significant progress toward creating a platform where people with disabilities can find a voice (through Web2.0 tools like blogs, podcasts and the like). He has demonstrated by example ways that 'unforseen custom uses of general purpose stuff' can help him get through each day - in a way that is truly inspiring to people who struggle.

The most difficult step in the LifeKludger journey will be to get the attention, and harness the collective talent of the 'maker' community. The dream is to create an ecosystem where people who struggle can voice their desires for modified devices - creating a demand which can be met by the supply of hardware hackers and philanthropists.

Yesterday, a small but significant thing happened. Out of the blue, a 'maker' contacted Dave about his DIY Bottle Cap Tripod!

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

March 22, 2006 in connections, successStories | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Podcast - Community Building in the LongTail

The latest LearnDog REMIXED podcast is the first in an important series of conversaton about building community in the LongTail.  So please have a listen and join in the conversation through your own blog or podcast.

(If you haven't subscribed to our podcasts yet - its time you did, paste the following url into your favourite podcatcher)

http://feeds.feedburner.com/LDR

If you don't know what a podcatcher is start with iTunes or iPodder.  At a pinch you could subscribe through your RSS Aggregator.

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

L

March 10, 2006 in connections | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

LearnDog's contribution to Doug's question

Doug asks for some input to four questions in his post entitled "Does an online ballet dancer wear a Web 2 tu?".  Dave the LifeKludger shares his thoughts on his blog, Vince and others have posted comments to Doug's post.

1. What's *really* new on the Web, as opposed to buzzwords and sound bites?

There are significant changes in what people can PUBLISH and how they can SUBSCRIBE to pretty much anything.

PUBLISH: Tools like weblogs, flickr, del.icio.us, audacity and their friends mean people can publish mundane things like 'a thought or idea', 'a picture', 'a link to something cool', 'some audio' without knowing how to maintain a website.

SUBSCRIBE: Through the magic of RSS it is possible to subscribe to many sources of content that we care about.  Things like 'RSS Aggregators' and 'PodCatchers' are just a very geeky beginning.  Watch how RSS Subscription tools evolve over the next few years - and pay attention to the ones that allow clever 'ReMixing' of 'Free Content'.  Clever web based services like Technorati, PubSub, FeedBurner are important but hard to explain here.

2. Which tools best embody the new opportunities from your point of view and why?

The first generation tools for the stuff mentioned above were important, but to put the power in the hands of non-geeks things need to be simplified.  In my opinion, Apple have done two special things here:

iTunes 4.9 - Made the whole 'PodCatching' thing a lot easier for mere mortals (while introducing a few nasties for geeks).

iLife06 - a significant step forward in giving the power of RSS PUBLISH/SUBSCRIBE to people who don't know about the first generation tools I refer to above.

3. Who's doing the best work with the new tools (technically or in terms of social benefit or both)?

Me - LearnDog ;-)  Seriously, I'm running out of time and energy but areas I know a bit about are 'Podcasting', 'Online Conferences' and 'Platforms'.  For more detail on who is doing cool stuff in these areas follow these links:

Podcasting - three podcasters have influenced me strongly by showing how to lead cultural change through audio voice.  They are: Dave Slusher, EvilGeniusChronicles who shows how deep connections with a small group of subscribers can drive an agenda forward.  Cameron Reilly, ThePodcastNetwork who is building a profitable business and creating a platform for people who want to change the world.  Adam Curry and Ron Bloom from PodShow who have used audio to recruit a small army to create an alternative marketplace for musicians and other audio entertainers.

'Online Conferences' (or UnConferences) - point to my post(s)

'Platforms' - point to the netsquared site

4. What's the bad news? What are the greatest barriers preventing web-based technology from producing social change?

People, greed.  For specific examples think about what DRM does to the 'Free Flow' of information to be 'ReMixed', what happens when people won't allow free online access to conferences, and the walls people build to try and hoard stuff or keep bad guys out.

Fang - Mike Seyfang - LearnDog

January 24, 2006 in connections | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

ConnectingUp the dots to Nten via NetSquared

OK,
I'm beginning to see some patterns emerge as I start preparing my Blogging and Podcasting work for the ConnectingUp2006 conference here in Adelaide in May. Now that we have Doug and Steve from CISA starting to blog, I can see some of the connections between TechSoup, NetSquared and the Nten conference in Seattle in March.

It seems that Beth Kanter is a session designer for the nten conference and HER POST (that I found in a NetSquared RSS feed) suggests that we should hook up and compare notes.

Note: I am going to put this post in both my work and personal blogs because I am having trouble with Technorati tags.

UPDATE: This post from typepad appeared on http://www.technorati.com/tag/cu06 within 15minutes. Nothing from MSN Spaces, I'm going to try a manual ping via: http://www.technorati.com/ping/

Fang - Mike Seyfang - Learndog

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January 21, 2006 in connections | Permalink

LearnDog wants Moral Compass(es)

The conversation between Dave Slusher and Cam on G'Day World episode 52 has really inspired me! Cam is a 'clued in' kind of guy who is trying to build a business in the brave new Web2.0 world. Rather than just surround himself with 'yes men' Cam is actively seeking to engage in conversations with people who think differently to himself. I hope I can figure out how to do that with LearnDog.

Dave's reflective post about his appearance on G'Day World includes this observation:

I forgot to blog this, but I’m on the most recent episode of G’Day World. It was stand up of Cam to invite me on to, basically, criticize his network. He in turn criticized my efforts at speaking the titular phrase, but all in all it is fun. It was kind of an uncomfortable premise for a show (I asked him, are you booking me in the “Barnako chair”) but it came out alright I think. Interestingly at least one of their buddies found the conversation useful.

I’m not trying to put myself on a pedestal as if I’m somehow the moral compass for this medium, but I do think it is important to understand your own values and act according to them.

It is the 'moral compass' idea that really appeals to me. While no single individual should be THE 'moral compass', I really want people like Dave, Stephen, James and many others to let me know if I try to take LearnDog in stupid or evil directions. First I have to figure out to engage people like these in this conversation.

http://www.evilgeniuschronicles.org/wordpress/2005/10/14/me-on-gday-world/

October 18, 2005 in connections, plans | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack