Collaborative Nation Blog

The Semantic Web

web universe
I've become obsessed with the semantic web.

From Wikipedia;

The Semantic Web is a "man-made woven web of data" that facilitates machines to understand the semantics, or meaning, of information on the World Wide Web[1][2]. The concept of Semantic Web applies methods beyond linear presentation of information (Web 1.0) and multi-linear presentation of information (Web 2.0) to make use of hyper-structures leading to entities of hypertext.

 

Mixed Tape: Tecno Hippie Mix

A mixed tape to help you stay energized and positive while you are working on your passion, tecno-activism volunteer opp, or anything else where positive beats would be useful. Stay bright!

 

Top Google SEO Tools

Google Analytics
This is the standard tool used to find out how people are coming to your site (direct, search, other sites, etc), what content is the most popular, what buttons/sections are being clicked, and much more.

Google Webmaster Tools
Used mostly by site developers, this tool also allows you to see what search queries individuals have been using to get to your site. It also tells you if you have a slow site, and what might be causing it.

Google Website Optmizer
It allows you to test different versions of a page to see which one is the most effective.

 

Create or Die

sitin movementsThis past weekend, I attended Create or Die 2 -  an unconference focused on hacking projects that will bring in more diverse voices to the media ecology.

While I was on the organizing committee, nothing prepared me.  It wasn't just an event - a movement was born.

It was a gathering of like-minded souls from across all age groups, ethnicities, parts of the country, races, industries. The only thing we seem to share in a common was some type of spark and passion for transforming the world around us. Have you ever tried to describe who you would invite to your perfect party? Well, this even was just that:

A cast of super interesting, complex, "doers," who are artists, technologists, writers, academics, activists, who like to play with others, and are gifted at transforming the world around them. Did I also mention that many come from communties of struggle?

 

Women and Wikipedia: A Symbol of the Current Digital Divide

wikipediaThis is an article I wrote for WiredLatinos.

A recent study by the Wikimedia Foundation revealed that only 13% of all Wikipedia entries are written by women. This is alarming for many reasons, but mostly because Wikipedia is an important information tool world-wide, and the lack of women indicates that knowledge construction on the site may be biased. Of course, true to its self-analytical nature, the Wiki community has already launched several initiatives to bring more women on board.

For early adapters, the study seemed more indicative of problems found not only on Wikipedia, but the web in general.

In the early 90s, many of us were attracted to the online world because of the alternative it provided to mainstream channels – lets admit it, most of us were considered quite “unique” back then. As the internet grew, it began to serve more as a type of mirror that reflected human nature than as a virtual gathering ground for geeks, misfits, and technologists.

 

What is a Tecno Activist?

tecno activist army


At its most simple, a techno activist is someone that uses technology to instigate change. This can be done in many ways.

At Collaborative Nation, we believe information is power, and helping people share information about the topics that most matter to them, while connecting them to similiar minded individuals, is what we love to do.