I recently took part in a stimulating panel discussion on crowdsourcing organised by Fresh Media. The event held in Vancouver on October 6 brought together media, art and technology, with Leigh Christie (executive director and co-founder of the eatART foundation), David Ascher (CEO of Mozilla Messaging) and myself on the panel. For those who couldn’t make it, here is the text of my opening remarks. I want to start by talking

This video is a stunning example of how crowdsourcing can produce something that would just not have been possible before the internet. It brings together 185 voices from 12 countries, each singing on their webcam the composition “Lux Arumque” by composer Eric Whitacre. Whitacre made the sheet music available and edited together the contributions to produce this amazing work of art. The internet enabled this collaboration between a bunch of

Interesting to see that the Vancouver-based participatory news site NowPublic.com is expanding its editorial team. It comes after the site received $10m in venture capital funding last year. It has post several job ads on its blog. NowPublic is looking for: Regional Editors – US, Australia, China, India, South Africa and the UK A sports editor A community relations and content specialist Applications are due by February 1, so please

The failed attempt by the Chinese government to stop the online distribution of video and photos of student demonstration in Rulan shows the power of a networked world. The blog Global Voices has a good write-up of the events surrounding the alleged suicide of a young teacher and the subsequent protests over the suspected police cover-up. Students filmed the protest and police reaction on their cellphones and posted clips to