Ivan Pankararú and Leandro Pataxó representing the Pankararú and Pataxó indigenous peoples of Brazil traveled to the Pacific Northwest to join with the Puyallup on this year’s annual Tribal Canoe Journey. The two traveled to this corner of the globe in order to seek knowledge, build relationships and connect with the theme of this year’s journey:  “Loving, Caring, and Sharing Together.” They started their canoe journey at Owen Beach and carried on through Alki Beach, Suquamish, and Tulalip with the final landing ceremony at the host site in Swinomish.

Read more…

Last year, in an effort to suss out how to evolve and sustain the good work heretofore put into the Flip the Media blog, we initiated an Independent Study: Flip the Media: Building an Outlet. The call was to be part of team to experiment in the planning, creation and deployment of a transformative media outlet.  Topics included, writing for the web, news room design, SEO, multimedia, web analytics, content management, and monetization models. Alex Stonehill and Sarah Stuteville provided the guidance and a group of MCDM students took on the task.   One of the many recommendations (more to be published soon) was to have more formal student leadership and oversight.  To that end, we’d like to introduce our new FTM editors.

Congratulations to Cohort 10’s Dan Thornton and incoming student Jonathan Cunningham, who will be sharing student editor duties for Flip the Media for the coming year.

Jonathan is a successful music blogger who has worked with the Seattle Weekly and Publicola, and as a trainer with youth media literacy programs. He will formally become an MCDM student in the Fall, but has been volunteering with Flip the Media for the last year, writing popular posts on topics ranging from viral videos to cloud music services.

Dan has extensive experience in film and design and teaches at Bellevue College. He worked with the Flip the Media independent study during Winter and Spring quarter, authoring and editing dozens of posts.

“I am keenly dedicated to enhancing the relationship between Flip the Media and the larger MCDM community,” Thornton said in his application letter, adding “…the goal is to establish Flip the Media as a ‘go-to’ destination for readers interested in the cross section of technology, media and culture.”

Jonathan will be recruiting contributors to the blog from the broader community, and writing a bi-weekly column. Dan will be managing and scheduling posts as they go out and building relationships inside MCDM.

Corey Christiansen will continue as Technical Coordinator, and Alex Stonehill will stay on as Faculty Advisor to the blog.

A shoutout is also due to the rest of the team who helped run Flip the Media this year: Sophia K. Agtarap, Brook Ellingwood, Suna Gurol, Elizabeth Hunter, Beth Koemans, Toni Del Rio, Carlos Sanchez, Inge Scheve and Sean Wang.

Flip the Media is seeking writers for the summer, and the coming academic year. Submit your story idea here, or send completed posts to dan@alibipictures.com or wordlush@gmail.com.

“Let’s Do the Numbers’: Metrics and Maturation of Digital Media in Emerging Markets. One of the central storylines of Anita Verna Crofts’ culminating Seattle Arts and Lecture talk addresses the “demographic dividend” that many emerging market countries possess: namely, the significantly young populations who can drive economic growth as they enter the workforce.

download presentation audio

However, a young population alone does not guarantee success. Certain stars must align in governance, education, and employment opportunities. Countries that are home to large youth populations and have limited infrastructure or jobs opportunities find themselves in challenging situations where they have millions of under employed and unemployed youth. Some of these youth are educated and some not—and if there are no jobs to focus their talents then unrest can occur, and often does. Again, it comes back to the human capacity on the ground.

Scott Macklin and Anita Verna Crofts spoke at the 17th Annual Washington State Nonprofit Conference last Friday.

(view presentation)

Read more…

Unlike the namesake film – “My Dinner with Andre” – where the existential discourse found its place in the conversation at the table – the philosophy and science of this dinner was placed in the story of the food itself.

The occasion was an offering of a 30-course (frankly, I lost count) sampling of recipes from the upcoming: “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking” authored by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet. Consisting of over 2400 pages with 3500 images, the 6 volume set spans over 6 miles of text with the ink alone weighing in at 4 pounds. The dinner was prepared and served at the Intellectual Ventures food lab. Now, realizing we are all shaped and live by particular metaphors, I am going to induce a music analogy to describe my culinary experience. Read more…

This past Fall, three Communication undergraduates (Lucas Anderson, Nicolette Lock, and Ryan McNamme) and a Master of Communication in Digital Media student (Matthew Franco) participated in the FLIP Brazil study abroad program.  Sponsored by the Comparative History of Ideas Program, The Latin American Studies Program in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and the Master of Communication in Digital Media (MDCM) program at the University of Washington, the goal of FLIP Brazil was is to investigate issues of human rights as they are understood in the Brazillian context, document research with film and photos, and then return with footage for editing into short pieces that illustrate their findings and for possible use as a human rights activist tool.

“The outcome of our project was more than just music but a meaningful bond between people coming from completely different realities critiquing the same social problems which exist in two different countries and across the globe.”  – Jaime Espinoza and Tom Pepe Read more…

“It’s not about what you got…it is how you freak it.”

Our walks be-get our thoughts – which then can be-come steps of action.  In my B-Side Docs about Seattle vignette produced as part of MTV’s $5 Dollar Cover Seattle, I had the opportunity to take a walk with musician Gabriel Teodros to places not typically highlighted on Seattle tour maps.  The sixth cut from his album “Love Works” starts with the lyric, “We got a lot of work to do.”  Indeed, taking a walk with Gabriel is work but just like the beat driving his song there is the tickle of a piano line which be-speaks hints of play and fun.

Read more…

The MCDM (with a little help from our friends) is inviting folks to join us this Friday to engage in conversation regarding Wikileaks and its release of documents.

The UW’s Master of Communication of Digital Media (MCDM), in collaboration with the Seattle Public Library and City Club present:

Open Secrets: An Open Conversation about Wikileaks and Information Transparency in America

Seattle Public Library  – Microsoft Auditorium (1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA)

5:00-7:00 p.m., Friday, December 10, 2010

Admission free, RSVP

Confirmed Subject Matter Experts:

Mike Fancher, Editor at Large of The Seattle Times
Brett Horvath, Director of The Leaders Network
Sarah van Gelder, Editor-in-Chief, Yes! Magazine

Hosted by Hanson Hosein, Director MCDM and Host of Media Space on UWTV
Directed by Scott Macklin, Associate Director MCDM

With the explosion of digital and social media platforms over the past decade, we celebrate the idea of an openness and transparency – especially online.  Is Wikileaks just another platform within this new “open” environment?  Or has the past week’s events provided a harsh lesson in our need to retain control over certain forms of information?  We’ll engage the public in a conversation about the nature of Wikileaks and its impact on our understanding of the Internet.

Streamed live at http://www.livestream.com/mcdm