HacktionLab 2009/01 workshop details

Highbury Farm Workshops

This page is still under construction

The workshops will be simply facilitated discussions and hands-on skills-sharing activities based around a technology or a way of doing something. The aim is to enable a free exchange of ideas based around a theme, and not too much time should be spent in their planning.

Here is a working list of topics for workshops, please feel free to add to it or propose yourself and a workshop you'd like to facilitate:

Flossmanuals.net

Flossmanuals is a community of people writing manuals about Free Software and things you can do with Free Software. It is also an amazing wiki to book technology that allows you to publish your content incredibly cheaply and with a minimum of work. It's a great way to document what you are doing. This workshop is an invitation to use and abuse floss manuals and to get involved in the project - http://flossmanuals.net - feel free to join the email list before the hacktionlab. http://lists.flossmanuals.net/listinfo.cgi/discuss-flossmanuals.net

Technology

• Linux and other free software (viable alternatives for alternative media, Kino, Cinelerra, iTheora, GIMP, OpenOffice)
• renewable energy and how it works (AC and DC theory)
• using the web for collaboration - wikis, drupals, crabgrass, etc.
• L.A.S.E.R. Tag and stencils aka Project Green Lantern

Big Brother

• Is Big Brother really watching?
• Who is he/she?
• Using privacy and encryption techniques

Video-tech

• Live video broadcasting techniques for 'hostile' environments - eg. Beijing

Review of Indymedia in a Web 2.0 world

Following the recent G20 protests in London and the plethora of free media published through sites such as YouTube.com, Blip.tv, Flickr, Picassa, as well as the usual DIY news sites such as Indymedia, should we be evaluating what Indymedia means ten years after it started in the new Web 2.0 world?

• What is Indymedia becoming?
• How can Indymedia embrace new tools on the net and use Web 2.0 concepts to its advantage.
• Is the monolithic portal site approach as the public face of Indymedia really the best approach in the days of Facebook and MySpace?
• Are we all being the media already?
• What are the new activists doing with DIY media activism?
• Do we need to review our relationship with the mainstream media?

Video Websites

• IfiWatch update
• VisionOn.tv update

Friendly Tech Environments

What makes a friendly tech environment?

Sometimes geek environments can be really cold and alienating to non-geeks. Sometimes they can be terrifically welcoming. What are some of the things we can do as enthusiasts to communicate our enthusiasm and share our skills in a friendly way?

Have a look at this blog post about the recent Transmission gathering in Asia http://burningbulan.multiply.com/photos/album/17/TX-AP

i'm taking a small group of first year undergrads to auschwitz via paris and berlin mainly by train in april, and between us we plan to create a 'virtual field trip' through a multimedia wiki mainly for use in the uni. none of us are techs. would be happy to talk and show the experience if you're interested. and your advice and comments in the planning and doing stage would of course be more than welcome. let me know what you think.