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The more Kelly explores the issue, the more convinced he is (and he makes a compelling case) that [scale down, microscopic] technological progress is pretty much inevitable. It can be slowed down by bad policy, but it can’t be stopped. And, what’s most compelling to me is that this sort of progress isn’t dependent on anything like patents. It’s happening no matter what. The advancement of technology happens for a variety of reasons, little of which has to do with “protecting” the ideas. In fact, within that “protection” there’s little benefit.

The indispensable Techdirt exploring a deep thought from Kevin Kelly, a personal favorite among Internet experts and prognosticators, noting the inevitability of exponential technological progress even in confronting constraints and “bad policy.”

Today we learned that CTV will broadcast 60 hours of tomorrow’s Michael Jackson memorial over 10 of its channels.  While reading their press release loudly proclaiming the “super-simulcast,” I cringed with horror. Has anyone turned on a TV in the last week, flipped through the channels, and not had Michael Jackson’s ridiculously tragic life invade their living room?

It gets better.

After a long and nauseating “Save Local TV” campaign by CTV and CanWest (and the even more disgusting counter campaign by the cable and satellite companies – I’m looking at you Shaw and Rogers) today the CRTC decided to bailout the broadcasters to the tune of $100 million for the 2009-10 broadcast year.

Saying the absolutely most ridiculous thing possible, CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C. pronounced that “we have taken steps to ensure that broadcasters … continue to provide Canadians with programming that reflects their needs and interests.”

von Finckenstein will surely soon declare that up is down,  black is white and that money grows on trees. The CRTC is requesting that you submit your comments by August 10, 2009, by filling out the online form.

On the bright side, Ben Mulroney and dead Michael Jackson have real chemistry together.  (as noted by  @robertmcbean)

Clay Shirky on these newfangled interwebs and how they are changing the world.

Douglas Rushkof gives an incredibly thought provoking talk on the history and origins of: capitalism, economics, the corporation, money and banking. Rushkof explains how the current financial system heavily incents the creation of ‘hollow’ companies where everything is outsourced. Everything. He goes on to examine the role of web 2.0, ephasizing the elimination of information scarcity, and the role it will have in fundamentally changing – even completely revolutionizing – the fundamentals of the economic system.

Agree or disagree, this talk presents such a compelling case for the future that demands either action or refutation…

But I’m still torn.

(link via mikesoron.tumblr.com)

My friend, former boss, current volunteer team member, and local blogger Doug Lacombe wrote a great piece for techvibes.com about his recent trip up to Red Deer to see Michael Geist speak at Red Deer College. 

Dr. Geist’s Fair Copyright for Canada still serves as the best example of Canadian internet-organized opposition and activism related to a specific issue: the lack of provisions protecting consumers rights in the now defeated Bill C-61. Although I’m a member of Fair Copyright for Canada, I think the most interesting of part of Dr. Geist’s story is the rise of effective internet-organized activism itself as a phenomenon. 

As Doug put it: 

The rise of digital advocacy has been meteoric, to say the least. Web 2.0 or “social media” applications such as blogs and Wikis, Facebook, MySpace and now Twitter have given the power to organize and mobilize to the masses. It’s simply easier and more efficient to find people of like-mind and take action.

In other words, as the internet and social media tools proliferate, the transactional cost of organizing like-minded people into groups begins to approach zero. Getting those people to come out in the real world and “take action” on issues they care about is the real potential of the exponentially growing social web and what Ken Kowalski is worried about: 

• Barack Obama understood that creating meaningful connections through any and every communications medium would produce results on Novermber 4th 2008.
• Local #yyc (i.e. Calgary) twitter users understand it in their (our) frequent meet ups, like Demo Camp  or Third Tuesday Calgary  (which I help organize.)
• The site meetup.com is a social media site with the specific goal of migrating connections and relationships made on the web into the real world.

Doug and I understand the power of these mediums too. That’s why we’re working together to get Calgary Reads, a local non-profit organization dedicated to helping struggling grade two readers, set up in the social media world (Facebook, CR Blog, Twitter) with the goal of helping them promote their annual CBC-Calgary Reads Book Sale fundraiser on May 1-3 . </shamless_plug>

Check out Doug’s Blog: blinking12.ca - social media for the VCR generation