International Civic Engagement

Facebook Passes MySpace With Global Boost

From the Washington Post:

Facebook may have started to win the global popularity contest over the rival social network site MySpace, judging from some recent figures.

Last month, Facebook had 123.9 million unique visitors and 50.6 billion page views worldwide, according to the research firm ComScore. MySpace, meanwhile, had 114.6 million unique visitors and 45.4 billion page views. According to the Reston, Va., research firm, this is the first time Facebook has edged past MySpace in those measures.

Globalization Must Benefit "Bottom Billion" of Poor - Ban Ki-moon

[Courtesy of UN News Service]

This year must be devoted to helping the “bottom billion” of the world’s poorest to tap into global economic growth, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) yesterday.

“In a globalizing world, we require an international economic environment that fosters development,” Mr. Ban said to UNCTAD’s Executive Committee, which is gearing up for this April’s UNCTAD-XII Conference in Accra, Ghana.

“The Accra Conference can advance this aim by galvanizing support for a more development-friendly global economic, trading and financial system. Accra must also articulate an effective strategy to leverage globalization, trade and investment for poverty reduction and economic growth,” he added.

The Conference, Mr. Ban continued, must also help build consensus on how the current impasse in the Doha Round of negotiations on international free trade can be broken. The talks stalled last year amid disputes between developed and developing countries over agricultural subsidies.

Established in 1964, UNCTAD promotes the integration of developing countries into the world economy. It also helps shape policy debates on development, with a focus on ensuring that domestic policies and international action are mutually supportive in bringing about sustainable growth.

Noting that 2008 is a pivotal year in the effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to reduce extreme poverty and other global ills by 2015, Mr. Ban said that UNCTAD-XII must promote financial policies that help meet the MDGs in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, as a matter of urgency.

The Secretary-General said he will be spending much of this year rallying support for development initiatives in national capitals and at international institutions.

Mr. Ban added that he is also striving to increase the UN’s own effectiveness in advancing its development priorities, and had already formulated recommendations in key areas such as scaling up of activities in support of the MDGs, and bolstering economic development, trade and finance.

“Today’s UN cannot simply champion development, it must deliver every day on its promises,” he said.

Washington Center Campaign 2008 Academic Seminar Website

Announcement

The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars is pleased to announce our special Campaign 2008 Academic Seminar website. This site contains information about our forthcoming programs at the Democratic and Republican national conventions, as well as the 2009 Presidential Inauguration program. A new online application is now available to make it easy to apply.

http://www.campaign2008.info

The application deadlines for the convention programs are:

Democratic National Convention, Denver, CO / The Republican National Convention, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Regular Deadline: March 1, 2008 (space guaranteed)

Late Deadline: June 1, 2008 (space available basis)

We are encouraging students to apply as soon as possible for the national convention programs so we can begin the fieldwork placement process.

It has been our experience that many students who have participated in these programs gain special recognition when they apply later for scholarships and fellowships.  The experience at the conventions is unique and often a topic that comes up in a personal interview.  We place students with state delegations, corporate sponsors, candidate organizations, nonprofit organizations, and the media, and the contacts they make often help the students to decide to be involved in public service or at least increase their interest in civic leadership.

We also welcome faculty and other professionals to apply to attend these programs as Faculty Fellows,  We are also still interested in faculty who may wish to bring a group of their own students to one of the conventions and/or the presidential inauguration program.

For more information, please contact us at C2008@twc.edu.

Sincerely,

Gene Alpert

Votehelp

I received the following message from Suzanne Soule from the Center for Civic Education:

I wanted to alert you to a new website we've developed, VoteHelp - a nonpartisan candidate calculator that helps you choose who to support based on the issues. VoteHelp informs you on the issue positions of leading Republican and Democratic presidential contenders, and also rate how important these issues are to you.

Key 2008 issues include: immigration policy, the Iraq war, national security, civil liberties, drilling for oil, global warming, corporate regulation, agricultural subsides, taxation, the minimum wage, free trade, social security, health care, education, the death penalty, decriminalization of marijuana, homosexual rights, abortion, stem cell research, and gun ownership. Hundreds of hours of research went into capturing the nuances of the 2008 Candidates' positions. Candidates' positions were determined by their speeches, debates, their own websites, interest group ratings, and voting records.

The purpose of the site is to provide Americans with objective information on how their own views compare to where the Presidential candidates stand on the issues. 

http://www.votehelp.org/ might prove a useful tool for civic educators and their students in the upcoming elections.

For more information, please see
http://www.prweb.com//releases/2007/11/prweb570916.htm

Student Opportunity--Weigh in on Public Policy Issues Online

Forum for Democracy, a non-partisan free web site, has launched its Beta version.  Students are invited to weigh in on either side of the public policy debates the site is conducting on a weekly basis. The site encourages informed responses, including not only blogging but also video and all forms of citizen journalism, which you are encouraged to upload to the site.

Once formally launched, the site will be awarding free trips, prizes and scholarships to the best and brightest solution-based participants. The aggregated majority and minority opinions will be presented to elected representatives in Washington, D.C. as an expression of the Voice of We the People.  In time students will be able to earn college credit for participation. Please visit www.forumfordemocracy.com.

Job Candidates Getting Tripped up by Facebook

Yesterday, I posted my response to an interesting Newsweek/MSNBC article on Facebook.

MSNBC published another Facebook-themed article today, one dealing with the implications of what one posts online for her/his future career opportunities.  Here are some key points:

According to a March survey by Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank, 35 percent of hiring managers use Google to do online background checks on job candidates, and 23 percent look people up on social networking sites. About one-third of those Web searches lead to rejections, according to the survey.

[snip]

Risqué pictures are not the only way a job applicant can be tripped up. Pictures of illegal behavior like drug use, or heavy alcohol use, could disqualify a candidate. Some also suggest poor writing and bad grammar on Facebook profiles and in blog entries can raise a red flag about communication skills. Derogatory comments or complaints or radical political positions also can draw the scrutiny of a prospective employer.

[snip]

A study by Adecco, a work force consulting firm, showed that 66 percent of Generation Y respondents, those in their late teens and 20s, were not aware the information they put online can be factored into hiring decisions. Fifty-six percent said they think the practice is unfair.

Facebook Grows Up

I just read an interesting Newsweek/MSNBC article on Facebook, which is in the process of growing its user base beyond the ranks of college and high school students.

I try to check my Facebook account at least once a day and use it to communicate with students, some of my colleagues and my nieces.  I have found some work-related applications for Facebook, and several of my Park University colleagues have created Facebook groups for classes, prospective students and other purposes.

During the previous two semesters, I awarded my graduate students a bonus point for creating a Facebook account and joining our School's Facebook group.  Many of these students, even those in their mid-20s spend a great deal of time on the site.

Global Internet Video Channel Launched to Find Missing Children

From Government Technology:

The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), in partnership with Google's YouTube, and The Find Madeleine Campaign today announced the creation of a new initiative that will provide worldwide exposure to information and videos of missing children. A new YouTube Missing Children's Channel, Don't You Forget About Me, has been created exclusively for posting videos of missing children. The new channel will be operational today.

Case information and videos of missing children will first be submitted to ICMEC for review and verification before posting on the new channel. ICMEC will work with analysts at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), local and national law enforcement on U.S. cases, and with Interpol on international cases to confirm it is an open case and verify the details of the case and video. After the case information has been certified, it will be forwarded to YouTube for posting. Anyone with information about a missing child featured on the Web site will be directed to contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.

"Every year hundreds of thousands of children go missing around the world and some are abducted to other countries, creating unique challenges for law enforcement and family members searching for them," said Ernie Allen, President and CEO of ICMEC. "In the U.S. alone, nearly 800,000 children are missing each year or about 2,000 each day. Photos remain the single most effective tool for finding a missing child. This new resource will provide unprecedented exposure for missing children, reaching potentially millions of viewers every day and increasing the opportunity that someone has seen them."

The timing of the announcement coincides with the 100th day since Madeleine McCann went missing. Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007 while on a family vacation in Portugal. This past June, Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, sought ICMEC's assistance to create an international resource that would quickly disseminate pictures of missing children throughout the world. Gerry McCann recently visited the headquarters of NCMEC and ICMEC in Virginia where he and Allen discussed the need for disseminating information and images of missing children on a broader, global basis.

"Kate and I are really enthusiastic about this powerful new resource," said McCann. "We believe it will help in the search for Madeleine and many other children. We are grateful to ICMEC for its leadership on behalf of our child and so many others."

YouTube's popularity and global reach made it a natural choice as a partner in this project. The channel's headline banner, "Don't You Forget About Me," is named after the hit song by the Scottish rock group "Simple Minds."

In addition to information and videos of missing children, the channel will include child safety and educational materials in several languages as well as Public Service Announcements and messages from dignitaries, celebrities and others including First Lady Laura Bush and soccer star David Beckham.

Askville

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Amazon encouraging me to visit Askville, described as a "friendly gathering place where you can ask questions on any topic and 'get real answers from real people.'"

I took a look today and found it to be an example of creative online community building.  Many of the questions I read were consumer-driven.  However, I came across some questions that addressed significant life issues, including:

"I'm in my mid-fifties & haven't worked a "real" job in about 20 years. I'd like to get back to work - any suggestions?"

Boston to Join Second Life

From Government Technology:

Last May, as Internet users were discovering Second Life -- described on the site as a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its more than 8 million residents -- the government of Sweden announced it was putting a Swedish embassy there in the online world.

Boston is also ramping up a Second Life online presence, according to a recent story in the Boston Globe, and the city hopes to present concerts, hold virtual office hours by city officials, and help residents engage in many of the types of civic participation currently conducted through e-mail or on the city's Web site, but with the added novelty of a virtual world.