TakingITMobile is a community-based research study conducted in partnership with the social network TakingITGlobal that examines how youth leaders across the globe use mobile communications to create social change within their local communities and internationally. As an e-PAR study, youth participants were encouraged to take the reigns as researchers through the online TakingITMobile Working Group, [...]

The TakingITMobile Survey is closed to new submissions. Thank you to everyone who contributed your information, as the results have been astounding. While the survey is closed that does not mean that our work is not done! There is lots of work ahead including data analysis, writing and consulting with both youth and experts from the field about the results.

Two burritos and many avocados later my time in San Francisco was inspiring to say the least. The Sex::Tech conference was very inspiring and I was able to attend many sessions around using new media technology for sexual health promotion, from feminism to working with LGBTQ youth, to mass media campaigns partnering with MTV.

Last week before I hit Sex::Tech I did a virtual seminar presenting my Latin American cohort data in Spanish for 50 Latin American youth mobile activists from across the Americas. It was a very intense session but I survived and my Spanish held up fairly well.

This project is a working group for TakingITGlobal members who are interested in mobile communications. The aim of this working group is to share innovation in the field of youth mobile innovation, and to brainstorm projects and solutions for the TakingITGlobal platform.

For those of us living in Canada there are a number of options for mobile fundraising. Please encourage others to give by posting these as your status update or mass texting your contacts. Please spread the word and give back through your phone! Text HAITI to 90999 on your cell phone to make an immediate [...]

As San Francisco braces itself to be the first major American city to not have a daily newspaper, the canary has sung as the death of print looks eminent. But what new frontiers do new media really offer? Can media democracy be maintained through new forms of citizen media that are more interactive featuring user-generated [...]

Recently I came across this ad for koodo mobile, a Canadian brand launched by Telus in 2008 around the time when Mobile Revolutions was born. koodo sports similar sans serif sexiness in it’s branding, targeting a gen y market craving a world free of contracts and unlimited text messaging packages (although the $5 one is [...]

Are you interested in mobile communications? Want to win an iPod Touch or Shuffle? The TakingITMobile survey is looking for your input! The aim of this research is to share innovation in the field of youth mobile communications and to brainstorm projects and solutions for the TakingITGlobal platform.

Through breakthroughs in Web 2.0 technology a new form of digital democracy has emerged where the divide between media producers and consumers dissolved and citizen media rules. While before citizens had to rally for mainstream media attention to catch the ears of politicians, now it is easier ever than before for citizens to launch awareness [...]

Tell The CRTC you want Internet Freedom! Share and Enjoy:

In a corner of his wife’s office in the Centre for Social Innovation, in an old red pile on Spadina, Mark Surman is trying to find a spot quiet enough for a phone interview. “Tonya, can I sit here or will I drive you guys nuts?” he asks above clattering keyboards. “You’ll drive us nuts, [...]

When looking at new media communication, it is clear that across class, race, and gender, there are inequalities in terms of access, influence and control. The digital divide is still apparent, yet everyday youth are working to bridge these gaps by seizing the means of communication and creating alternative networks for social change. TakingITGlobal is [...]

As a cultural worker I have worked in many community media projects where issues of copyright continuously emerge.  Those who are new to the practice of community media may be questioning exactly what it refers to.  Community Media is the practice of a group of non-media experts from a specific community create a collaborative media [...]

In this paper I outline the transformative power of new media technologies in Latin American contexts as tools for social change, comparing examples of youth digital activism from both Costa Rican and Panamanian contexts. Focusing on two types of Social Media, both Social Networks and Mobile Communication are examined as tools for Central American youth [...]

Social Networks have moved from being a buzzword, to an essential element of global pop culture. Social Networks are online platforms that provide users with spaces to upload and share information with others on the network. They can be accessed by a series of devices, such as computers, gaming systems, cell phones, and other mobile [...]

Globally 1.5 billion people have access to televisions, and 1 billion to the Internet; yet overall the most actively used electronic gadget is the mobile phone, with over 3 billion users worldwide. Reaching the 4 billion mark before the end of 2008, that equals to approximately one cell phone for every two human beings. Under 30-years in existence, cell phones are one of the most rapid developing technology the world has ever known. According to Touré, Secretary General of the ITU, “The fact that 4 billion subscribers have been registered worldwide indicates that it is technically feasible to connect the world to the benefits of ICT and that it is a viable business opportunity.” According to Touré, “Clearly, ICTs have the potential to act as catalysts to achieve the 2015 targets of the MDGs.”

When looking at new media communication, it is clear that across class, race, and gender, the digital divide is still apparent. Yet everyday youth are working to bridge these gaps by seizing the means of communication, and creating alternative networks, brainstorming new functions that CEOs had never dreamed possible. Yet as innovations in Citizen Media [...]

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Today the Globe and Mail came out with an article iQUAKE, going over some basic wireless statistics; 10.1 billion text messages sent in Canada in 2007, 81% of worldwide mobile phones will be equipped with cameras by 2010, and 1.15 billion phones sold worldwide last year, up 16% from the previous year. There is no [...]

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I am really excited for the International AIDS Conference! I was at the conference when it was in Toronto in 2006 and it was such an amazing experience to hear everyone’s struggles in battling HIV/AIDS. I look forward to checking out the resources on the youth site, and getting to know the stories of those [...]

  Looks like the iPhone hasn’t come far. Faster internet, more contracts, a few new applications that don’t really rival the ones that us Jailbreakers already have. Many of the applications did blow me away I have to admit. The blogging app was very impressive, as well as Loopt, an app that networks friends through [...]

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So, I must admit, this is the second post I’ve made from a mobile device. It is definately a challenging and doable feet. More and more frequently activists and NGOs are harnessing these technological devices in order to coordinate everything from large scale mobilizations to healthcare revolutions. Mobile phones are now even being equiped with [...]

  David Gray from XPLANE blows our minds once again. With a world now approaching more cell phone users than literate people, it is vitally important that we begin to explore new ways of communicating in the digital age. Interesting fuel for your mind! Share and Enjoy:

  Social Networks have moved from being a buz word, to an essential element of global pop culture. From India to Brazil, youth, artists, musicians, businesses, politicians, and not for profits are embracing these new technologies in order to spread their influence and reach new audiences. Yet as Social Networking becomes more popular, the array [...]

Instead of taking time to broker a deal with Apple to secure the new iPhone for the Fall, Rogers has taken a horrible turn by contracting a new service with MySpace, bringing the social networking site into the cellular world. I cannot imagine what this would look like. Words that come to mind are watered-down, [...]

There is a new workshop in the mix. I have been tossing out some emails as of late, brainstorming for a possible workshop for Youth Action Network‘s Anti-Racist Summer Series training. I proposed doing a workshop with a similar theme to the my call out for the King Kong Remix Project. The idea is to [...]

  Mr. Jobs just put out a whole new range of products, unveiling Leopard, a whole new range of collaborations, applications, and let us not forget the iPhone coming out late this month. I’m watching the Keynote right now, and he’s going on and on about how great Apple computer is…. what he’s not saying, [...]

  This blew my mind! A poca madre. Share and Enjoy:

  I created this post for the TakingITGlobal’s Net Generation Video Contest.  I submitted late, so I didn’t end up getting a prize, but I did get a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.  I made the video on my experiences as a Netcorps Intern for Defensa de Niñas y Niños Internacional Costa Rica.  My friend [...]

  Have you ever thought about what Facebook does with your personal information? Well, they sell it to marketing corporations. The knowledge databases that are building up online are relatively rich, and web communities and social networking sites are taking advantage of the relative lack of laws around this subject. Web 2.0 users are known [...]

Today has been one of those spring cleaning days. In my spring cleaning, I am picking up pieces of technology and playing with them again. I got to play with my iSight a couple of days ago, and now it’s time to tackle the iPod. Problem is my nano was kidnapped by my little sister! [...]

so i have to admit, i’ve been sucked in. online communities have existed since the advent of the internet, starting with dial-up bbs forums, moving on to irc, forums, webrings, etc. when we look back at the short history of the internet, we can see that it’s always been and always will be a social [...]