This past weekend over 2,500 people gathered in Boston to talk media reform, net neutrality, and the future of journalism at the National Conference for Media Reform, hosted by our friends (and clients) at Free Press.

Sessions ranged in subject from pop culture to internet law, and from hands-on how-to’s, like how to build your own wireless mesh network, to in-depth discussions of the implications of Wikileaks.  more

I am sitting in a conference room with a notepad and pen- a cardboard coffee filled box as the table’s centerpiece, getting ready to kick off a several hour-long meeting with my new clients. My project manager and I will spend the majority of the time reviewing the clients answers to a questionnaire they filled out previous to the meeting; walking them through their goals, dreams and any foreseeable speed bumps with their new site. We have all the things we need to have a productive and insightful Q&A style meeting. more

As social media develops, thankfully so does its application. Cue the next generation of Twitter - harnessing the platform’s speed and agility to connect aid workers and victims of disasters with life-saving resources and vital information. more

Sometimes, when I'm working on a project, I tend to read or say the name of the project so many times that it loses meaning. Community Matters, Community Matters, Community Matters.

But then, suddenly, the project comes to fruition. It's not just a project anymore, it's not code or strategy or even just an idea. Suddenly the work comes alive. more

Unveiled at the Why Design Now? Conference hosted by the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, visualizing.org is a place where you can share data visualizations for global issues. This is an absolutely brilliant solution for people to create and share information that will help us gain deeper understanding of these often times complex issues. more

The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) holds a national conference each year, aptly named the Nonprofit Technology Conference. The NTC hits DC next year, and EchoDitto will be there when it does. The conference represents a great opportunity to embrace and discuss new technologies and strategies for utilizing those technologies to further organizational goals. more

In the lead-up to the annual Web of Change event, starting tomorrow on a very remote Cortes Island, British Columbia, I co-authored this blog post with Jonathan Warnow as a part of a series of "thought bombs" by leaders of the Web of Change community.  more

Last night, Nicco and I attended the New Leaders Council's 40 Under 40 Leadership Award Ceremony here in Boston. more

Photo by Flickr user prometheusradio

Two weekends ago I was lucky enough to get to Detroit for the 2010 U.S. Social Forum. The USSF is a gathering place for more than ten thousand activists & organizers from all over the country to meet and learn from from each other - and attempt to chart a course forward for the many U.S. social movements represented there.

The USSF started as a result of the first World Social Forum in 2001, which was itself set up to be a counter-balance to the elite-centric World Economic Forum. 2010 was USSF's second incarnation (the first was in 2007 in Detroit).

Having been to both U.S. Social Forums, there are quite a few differences, though all pointing in a positive direction. Here are three: more