Stephen Fry is someone who is loved by all simply because he is such a cool guy. Or in his nephew’s eyes…”book”. Though its definition isn’t the same as most of us know, it has evolved because technology sort of forced this new meaning as it tries to help us predict what we’re typing. Perhaps our devices feel sorry for us waiting as we poke in a series of letters on the itty, bitty keyboards that frustrate us to no end. So, the youth of today simply make do by redefining the word based on a shortcoming in the system. So, for all of you luddites, “book” now means cool. Who knew, right?

This clever little discussion between Stephen and Jonathan Ross is a reminder that following the rules doesn’t mean that everyone else will. Or that those rules are right and should always stay the same. Whenever a shortcoming is discovered, we humans have a pesky way of compensating for that flaw by modifying the rule on the fly and getting others to accept this new mod.

As a writer, I’ve been frustrated at all of the straight-laced rules that the writing industry pushes on us, as though they were written in granite and could never be changed. EVERYTHING CHANGES. It’s what makes life grow and transform to fit with the changing world that flows all around us. So, whenever someone corrects you for not following the rules, perhaps you might want to question them on their rigidity that won’t allow for better changes to transplant the known flaws that boggle the mind of so many. Creative endeavors, like writing, are as unique as the individual who creates these remarkable works of imagination. Telling someone that they are flat-out wrong is tantamount to ripping out their heart in my book.

Not book.

just saying…

- another great reminder that will make you think, from Reddit

So, it seems that we have a really BIG birthday to celebrate here, and it’s one that blows my mind. Yep, the WWW is 20 year old today and CERN wanted to celebrate it by revisiting the site that started it all (well, a 1992 copy of it). Their gift to the world that became the ungainly but much loved child (well, adolescent now) that we all go to on a daily (or a whole lot more) basis:

Hyperlinks allowed us to connect the many disparate pages that already existed, but could not be easily connected to unless you knew the direct address. And Tim Berners-Lee gave us this gift which then CERN gifted to us all when they turned the whole project over to the public domain. The whole story is much more in-depth and exciting  than I could describe, so go check out a much better story told on ExtremeTech as well as the whole story as told by CERN itself. I really need to read more about its history as the Web really is a home for so many of us, and one that we cherish with all of our hearts and minds!

If you want to check it out, then click on this link to stroll down a little path in history that opened up the whole wide world to us all – or the ones who connected to it anyways.

HAPPY B-day WWW! 20 years and still going strong. May you always continue to grow, share, and inspire without the barriers that so many are trying to put into place.

Update: I know that you’ve seen this already, but I wanted to talk about it in some more detail since our Congress has been out of control with creating legislation that is distinctly tunnel-visioned and dangerous. So here’s the details behind CISPA for your information, as there is still time to contact your Senator with your comments. Thanks.

Honestly, this is getting old. The US Congress has got to be the single biggest threat to the safety and security of the US.

If you disagree with your representative, then it’s up to you to vote them out! How many times have you heard this statement? And how many times have you gone to vote, and well, everything is exactly as it was the very next day, month, and year. Perhaps this should be our ultimate wake up call. Because if you’re like me, well, you’re sick and tired of people telling you that you shouldn’t get your panties in a twist since nothing will ever change. You think? Maybe it’s because we keep doing the same stupid actions waiting for something different to happen.

Which leads us back to this: Again, we have to protest the dangerous and narrow-minded reactions of another Congressman who is determined to get CISPA back through…with no changes from the first time that we protested it. As a matter of fact, all of the good amendments that could have provided protection and privacy for the people were refused during the House Committee session.

People want transparency, but CISPA will do nothing to protect them as it will be busy protecting those organizations that assist in data collection.  Here’s just a few of the gems that the House voted as appropriate:

• Information gathered can be used for a broad and unclear “cybersecurity purpose”
• Companies can use countermeasures against perceived security threats (and you think hackers are dangerous?)
• But companies will be sharing your private information with impunity and little oversight
• The information collection can be done without a warrant and without you knowing about it

Learn more about the CISPA bill from one of the voices for the Internet that steps into the fray for the People: EFF

Contact your Congress today. The House has already overwhelmingly passed this bill (after a visit from IBM lobbyists), so we need to contact the Senate. They are planning to debate on Thursday (4/26) and vote on Friday. And don’t assume that the White House will veto this bill just because they said so. That track record has not been too stellar. We’ve had too many outrageous legislations chip away at the foundations of our civil liberties.

Here are a few links to use:

• Learn how House members voted through GovTrack (voting chart here) and the House clerk
• EFF - contact Congress through EFF’s app
• Free Press Action Fund – contact Congress through Free Press’ app
• Fight For The Future – great info and app in one place
• Read about the voices who oppose CISPA (EFF)
• Join the international community’s petition, Save the Internet from the US, on Avaaz

And BTW, the opposition isn’t just a bunch of 14 year olds in their parent’s basements!

We need to do more than re-actively protest every time a dangerous piece of legislation passes. Our representatives aren’t listening to us, partly because they have too many people talking at them. It’s time to start being proactive and get involved, not in campaigning (talk about wasted money that could go for better uses), but actual governing. If this country really is By The People, For The People, then we need to take this phrase more seriously.

Andy Baio gives us another perspective on the war in copyright that is literally splitting our world in two. For those creatives who love the system, thinking that it is protecting their personal creations from those ugly pirates, they will see anyone speaking against copyright as thieves and law-breakers. Then you hear from many other people, of whom all are creative (not just those who claim it in their work as though it’s their own personal badge) who just want to share their own creations with others with no intent to break any law.

Perhaps we all need to revisit the law, which continually gets ramped up to “protect” creators with seemingly little thought to protect their actual ability to create. Now, it’s all about what we can make from all those creations…a business model.

“It’s my own personal creation, and I deserve to profit from it (forever, if I can). If you’re using it for yourself without asking, then you’re stealing from me!”

I don’t know about you, but my muse is screaming inside me right now. Is this really what we now see creativity as – profit centers? That is a really pathetic statement about our world today. But we can only really understand the truth about copyright today when we hear from someone who has been impacted by the industry (because it really is an industry now and not a limited protection as it was originally intended). Like Andy Baio. Take a listen to his story in this video called The New Prohibition to hear just how frightening copyright has become at the hands of institutions which have vested interests in protecting their own kingdoms. This really is an important talk that Andy does beautifully and with heartfelt sincerity.

I also consider myself to be a creative. And take a stance that sharing just continues the path that creativity has always followed. All ideas can trace a path to another idea – but with a personal tweak. That’s what makes it unique, because it’s built off of my own personal growth. And your personal growth. And that guy sitting on the street corner strumming his guitar. And that girl making that pendant. And on and on and on.

Because we all build off of one another. And we need one another to be inspired. And we don’t need institutions putting up nets that stop our sharing movement. Especially since those institutions also acquire their own stable of innovations from predecessors. No one truly owns anything. We all helped build it.

That’s why we need to re-imagine copyright for the 21st century.  Because we’re living in a huge period of inspirational growth that is being developed by each and every one of us. And no one person or place should have the right to claim ownership on anything that we’ve all had a hand in creating.

How many new prohibitions do we have to live through because of misguided laws? Laws can be beneficial if they are really protecting the greater good. When the benefits become more focused for small groups of rewardees, then there’s a problem.

And while we’re thinking about this, perhaps we need to focus more on where the free trade agreements of today are taking us. They’re going to have a huge impact on the creativity of tomorrow. It’s a pretty scary world that comes pretty close to the V of Vendetta and Faranheit 451 worlds. Why are we just quietly letting this happen? We really aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.

- thanks to Techdirt for the share and perspective

If you’re on the Internet, then you probably know the story of Aaron Swartz. If not, do yourself a favor and go find out about the very important work that he was doing with so many other Internet guardians. Then find out how his very young life was cut too short before he could do more good that this world so desperately needs. You’ll hear both sides of the story, with many calling him a hacker without truly understanding that hacking has many different hats and reasons (some good and some not so much, though all valuable lessons). Many of us believe that hacking is actually something that can work in all aspects of our life when the motivation is about rebuilding for the better, pure and simple. Unfortunately, people in power see hacking as a black and white term denoting illegality without the nuances of understanding that nothing only ever has two sides…even the law… because it has a back story which is where the important information is hidden. Especially when it benefits those who only push for the black and white approach to life.

All of you (and me) who use the Internet need to be aware at just how far off the path of good legislation for the Internet has gone. This is (and apparently always has been) about control pure and simple. The Internet is another source of power that enables control on a global scale. Our institutions and governments do not see it in this digital domain in the same manner that we do, as a means to protect democracy. People see it as a Land of the Free, and are quite capable of wrangling in the uncontrollable when it harms the greater good. Organizations see it as a means to generate more for themselves, with little thought about common good. Which way you see it is up to you, but how it’s protected is up to us all…together. Because currently, status quo has a negative batting average if you’re following the news.

Read about the latest of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), and then look carefully at the news to see how our leaders treat OUR world. Here’s a sample:

• US Travel Restrictions to Cuba doesn’t stop a visit by a celebrity couple, and certain politicians don’t like it – from the Guardian UK
• Greece is once again in the Troika’s target – another from the Guardian UK
• ICIJ’s coverage of the Global Offshore Money Maze – Secrecy For Sale
• India’s Red Brigade – from the Guardian UK

Notice a trend in just a few day’s worth of small-scoped news? People are finally stepping up to the plate and questioning this ongoing belief that everything in existence is meant to stay the same perpetually. Nothing is meant to stay the same. NOTHING! Look at our planet and our universe. They are continually evolving, with the old moving out of the way for the new. Not being eliminated but reconstituted into something better because it is learning from its history. That is how all of life exists. And that is what hacking is about, and what Aaron (and many others ) stand up for.

These stories are all related because we all share one life on one tiny planet. And that means that this ME mentality needs to shift now. If our institutions are failing, it’s partially because we are not involved in them as we should be. Removing the bad aspects. Using our knowledge to make our society better for the whole. THAT is what Aaron would have wanted each and every one of us to do. Learn and create. Rebuild so that more people benefit, and not just the few.

There are lots of people grumbling because certain peoples won’t just follow the norm. They are comfortable with their lot. Those who aren’t…well, they’re hacking with the skills that they have:

• Building communities for business and social – Read more from Yes Magazine and Marjorie Kelly
• Online Activism can teach so that we can move forward and not backwards – read a brief synopsis of Internet Activism on Wikipedia
• We can talk to one another in a global online and active conversation that might just inspire the next big seismic quake that will change the world (like Reddit and many online blogs and forums)
• Even kids around the world are aware of the dangers that we ourselves create and are moving to spread smart change – remember Severn Suzuki from way before we hit 7 billion with so little changing because of status quo

The next few days, you’ll be seeing another digital quake trying to awaken us all as we attempt to put the spotlight on the disaster known as the CFAA. Read more about it on Techdirt, EFF, and CDT to name a few authorities on the subject. Because this won’t stop until we make our voices heard together and offer a viable alternative that has nothing to do with blind profit-mongering. We are no longer able to just stand on the sidelines and lament about how nothing will ever change. It’s up to each and every one of us to show an interest in all aspects of life! This is important: CFAA goes too far, so click on the badge above to take you to Fix The CFAA.

Perspective. Dan has a brilliant understanding of just what ails social business. Because we focus exclusively on money and how it’s used, we continually limit just how much change we’re capable of bringing about. He quoted that charitable giving is stuck at 2% since we first started to measure it in the US. Considering that we’re considered a wealthy country (though we now know this to be unequal), that is a frighteningly small number when compared to the population size – especially the population that understands the importance of non-profit organizations. Listening to Dan lay out his argument of just how skewed our view of charity really is, we need to change our perspective towards a healthier view that allows for proper growth that can help solve the multitude of problems that exist in our world. Because when you look around at our world, it’s evident that change is desperately needed.

What percentage of my donation goes to the cause rather than the overhead?

Dan considers this to be the single most dangerous question that we ask when we give money to charity. We do indeed see overhead as something that should continually decrease so that our share of the pie will increase (or so more money goes to the actual cause, as we all like to exclaim out loud). But if we’re only concerned about our own share, then are we really seeing that there are so many others who also deserve a share of this pie? How fair is it that for-profit organizations can spend money for the glittery PR campaigns that make them look successful, while the same style of campaign in the non-profit world would only bring derision from those who thrive on demolishing any chance of real change?

Today, there are so many people out there who are willing to dream of a change that really solves problems. And many of them are going toward callings that won’t be paid enormous amounts of money. But the sad thing is that there will always be someone out there who questions the sanity of those who don’t pursue the most reward for their efforts. As long as we only concentrate on ME, there’s little chance that WE will all live in equal prosperity.

So how do we get business as usual to change, so that it stops destroying true opportunities that rarely make it past their infancy? Whoever discovers that answer will truly be a hero to the world. Much like Dan Pallota and those like him already are. Thank goodness for such people who inspire. Because this group needs to expand much faster to tackle the innovations that are waiting to be discovered so that change not only takes firm root, but also flourishes. Social business is not like any business, and deserves its own chances of success. Because their profit isn’t linked to stock values, but to the value of life itself.

You’ve heard me gush about Eric Whitacre’s genius using the Web as a musical medium. Well, this time he took TED Talks by storm with a rendition of Cloudburst which incorporated real-time singers with a virtual choir. Every one of his musical creations has brought chills down our spines as we listen to the purity of these brilliant singers. The fact that he can take such beauty and meld it with technology proves that innovation knows no bounds when there are few restrictions. Listen and tremble at the beauty of a divine melody – all thanks to this amazing TED presentation. And thanks as always to the inspiration that Eric shares with us all. This is what true creativity brings to life when its married with passion.

Of course, I jumped on board of his newest Kickstarter Virtual Choir, as did so many others, helping Virtual Choir 4 successfully reach its goal with Bliss. Can’t wait to hear it come to life!

Aaron Swartz was a good friend of the Internet, but a great one of Larry Lessig. We’ve heard of Larry’s crusade to get corruption out of politics by cleaning up campaign financing. But his ideas and actions were quite close to the mission that drove Aaron to do the one act that would cost him everything…at the hands of the US government. This speech by Larry is one of the best (if not the best) that I’ve heard from him. He not only chose to celebrate Aaron’s life and work (which was much to short), but to give us all a challenge to live up to the path that Aaron had embarked upon for more than half of his life.

The title of this post is a German phrase that Larry had used: Die Andersdenkenden and it means those who think differently. We all know what this phrase means by associating it with the famous Apple commercial, and yet we now see the consequences of being one of those people when we look at the consequences suffered by those who choose this path. Aaron was one in a long line of living and departed free thinkers who decided that the hard path was the more worthwhile one.

Larry gave us four laws, but one in particular jumps out as the driving force behind the spirit of those who think differently: FIX obliviousness. So many choose to walk the straight and narrow, choosing to ignore the injustice that happens around us on a daily basis. Can we afford to continue to just let status quo continue? Look around. Better yet, check to see if it makes you feel ill. If it does, then you have your answer.

Aaron’s Law is not only a law being put forth by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (a staunch defender of our digital domain), but it’s also a reminder of how we need to live our lives once we’ve contemplated this talk.

How will you?

- thanks to BoingBoing, Larry Lessig, and most of all Aaron for making us not only think, but do