With only a few weeks to go before WSIS, I'm increasingly concerned that most of my friends and relatives in the United States haven't heard about the Summit - other than through me. Michael Jackson is plastered all over the news and talk shows, but WSIS is nowhere to be seen. Granted that UN Summits are never the top of the news cycle in the US media, but I seem to recall more people at least knowing that the WSSD was coming up in S. Africa in 2002.

What would you all think of some more creative marketing techniques to raise awareness of the WSIS Youth Caucus? One idea I've been muddling over is to see if we can get the group mentioned on one of the talk shows in the US. Mike has already done the Oprah show a few years ago. Which got me thinking about the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Partly because I'm an addict and watch it every day. Partly becasue I've always liked her as a comedian. And partly because she has a segment every Monday on what people do while watching her show. People send in photos and short letters of what they do (e.g. at work, in the dentist office, at the bar, in prison) while watching her show.

I was thinking that it would be relatively easy/fast during the Summit to take a photo at the Youth Hub of a group of us with her Web site pulled up on the big plasma screen TV monitor... I could write a short note saying I usually watch her show every day, but couldn't that week since I was in Geneva at the WSIS w/ the Youth Caucus (plugging the YCDO.net URL) trying to figure out how to use TV, radio and the Internet to help solve world problems. But that we had pulled up some of the online clips at the Youth Hub in our few spare moments.

I bet she'd read it... what do you think? Too cheesy? Quirky enough to work?

It's true... I love Johnny Cash. I can't help it. And I can't hide it any more. I hear songs like "Rock Island Line" start playing on my Launchcast station and my toe starts tapping. I have this urge to rip out my headphones and blast the music throughout the office. It's a daily fight to restrain myself. To be cool. To fit in.

But, underneath it all, I know that I love Johnny Cash. It really is a loss that he died this past year.

Those of you not on the tech-riders news list might be interested to know that on the Summit Collaborative website you will now find some notes from a
recent workshop they facilitated on successful Grantseeking Strategy & Proposal Writing for Projects Related to Technology. These are not comprehensive in any way, but may be helpful to some.

The workshop was presented as part of the Summit Collaborative's Exec Tech Talk Program. If you are interested in learning more about this program then contact Heather McQueen at hmcqueen@summitcollaborative.com - you can also learn more at http://www.summitcollaborative.com/ett_info.html

Has anyone read the book "Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank"? I was just reading an interview with the author, Robert Fuller, and it looks pretty amazing.

Based on the book, a new foundation has been established called the Dignitarian Foundation. It states that "Our mission is to challenge and overturn the consensus view that says it's okay to treat certain people badly - becuase you can get away with it. When our collective voice is strong enough to shift this balance of power, we will be able to hold accountable anyone who directly harms the dignity of another, or support traditions, laws and practices that do."

Sign me up.

to raise a baboon.

Ok - maybe not a whole village - but at least some close female friends. At least that's what researchers found in Kenya when studying how the animals' social networks affected their mothering ability over 16 years. They found baboon mothers who formed networks with female friends were a third more successful at raising their young than loner moms who were isolated. The friends tended to stick up for each other against outside attacks, and researchers believe close bonds may also help reduce stress levels for the mothers and infants.

The point? Not sure.... but it made me want to call up some friends and throw rotten fruit at invaders.