The Future: Collaboration

How would you feel if everyone you added to an email could edit it all they want? It sounds like it could be a disaster. One of your friends editing your words, childishly making it appear as if you are telling everyone that you eat poop. If that is not your first thought, you probably have not spent enough time in online networking sites, or in middle school. So, while there are many interesting possibilities, there is also that danger of immature... "input" we'll call it. Especially when you open up the wave to the general public.

This may sound like a ridiculous idea to some, but that is exactly what Google is doing with the Wave. We were lucky enough to snag one of the developer accounts, and subsequently have had trouble walking away from the computer for the last few days. Since the Wave is still closed to the public, the only chance to truly interact with others is through waves that are opened up to all the developers. Apparently 6,000 people (and counting) can participate in these waves. So you would expect to find at least one childish, annoying little bastard who just wants to mess with people. Yet that isn't happening.

Le'ts take the wave detailing different extensions and robots as an example.This wave is open to everyone, and anyone can reply or edit. What you'll find when you enter it, is the power of collaboration. Rather than resting the responsibility on one person to locate all these extensions, find out what they do, and add the details, the responsibility is on all of us. Thanks to the playback feature, I can show you exactly how this works. In this picture, you'll notice that at step 158, when I was added to the wave, the Bit.ly bot (bottom of the first list of accounts) has no description by it. Obviously that isn't very helpful.


In this next picture, you'll see that I edited the original post, adding a description of the Bit.ly bot. Anyone looking at the screen at that moment, would have seen my typing live. They would see every letter I typed.



Some may say, well this isn't that different from google docs. Which is slightly true, you can collaboratively edit documents in google docs. But google docs don't have gadgets, robots, and extensions that add maps, video, and images, links you up with twitter, facebook, and blogger, translates live typing into almost any language, corrects spelling, shortens URLs, creates polls, checklists, charts, and event attendee lists... etc. And google docs don't have email.

Essentially, we have never seen collaboration at this level from our web browsers. The Wave is supposedly going to be available in a beta version some time in September. So get ready. It is going to revolutionize how we think about communicating online.

Abortion Clinic Escorting Day One: The Sidewalk Dynamic

My first escorting experience was a lot different than Will's was last week. Though we both had about the same number of Anti-abortion protesters ('Anti's'), the ones at my location were a lot more mellow, probably because I was in a progressive, pro-choice part of town. This clinic apparently also has a lot of seasonal protesters, who take the summer off. Many of the Anti's simply prayed outside in front of the clinic, each with rosary in hand, and made no attempt to interact, much less convert or berate any women entering the clinic. Some prayed out loud, some just mouthed their devotions, with a barely audible 'Hail Mary' here and there. One woman's routine actually included some singing. She broke out with a few operatic "Ave Maria"s then continue the rest under her breath. I found my self wondering if they were saying the same prayer, if they each had individual prayers to say, or if they were rotating invocations. I could clearly tell that 'Hail Mary's' were involved here and there, but I couldn't tell if their repertoire went any deeper.

The importance and influence of religion is quite striking. Since each and everyone had a rosary (at least one, apparently they give them out) I'm pretty sure each and every protester was Catholic. I had assumed that many of the protesters would be Catholic, but I didn't expect every single one of them to be. I know that there are people who aren't Catholic who are against abortion and I know that some Catholics are pro choice, but from what I could tell from my one experience today, those who protest abortion clinics are predominantly, if not exclusively Catholic. I believe the moral nature of the abortion debate begs the religious separatism, though I am interested to hear and see how a secular anti-abortion approach would manifest.

In talking with the other escorts, I found there was much more diversity. Though I didn't ask all 8 or so of us there, those who I spoke with were all Jewish, Protestant (from one denomination or the other), or not religious. The escorts were from all over, some native to DC and some who moved here at some point in their lives, and worked in a variety of fields. A few of them had been doing this for at least a year, but most of us had only been escorting a few months, if that. A couple mentioned Dr Tiller and how his slaying motivated them to take action. To be honest though, it was very difficult to have a legitimate conversation to get to know the fellow escorts. Because we don't know what the protesters might do if they had our personal information, and because many protesters will heckle individual escorts, we don't want to bring up any personal information while they are in earshot. Though it appeared that none of these protesters would escalate to that level, we try to not even use each others first names, just incase.

This meant that most of the morning was spent in relative silence. Some of us spread up and down the block from in front of the clinic where all of the Anti's were, in order to be closer to approaching women, and got a chance to chat a bit more during the down time. But for the most part, much of the day is a very awkward coexistence on the sidewalk. On the street side, there is a line of Anti's praying to themselves and observing. On the other side of the sidewalk and onto the lawn of the clinic were several escorts standing in silence so the Anti's have nothing on us. There appeared to be an uneasy respect between both crowds. Everyone involved has been moved by their own beliefs to take action, just their beliefs and subsequent actions vary widely. So we all stand there (or, in my case, pace around a bit) looking at each other, uneasily but cordially, waiting for someone to approach.

Since I mostly observed, I'm going to hold off on going into the details of what actually escorting people into the clinic is like until I've done it some more. But my first day was a great transition to escorting. As opposed to Will who's first few experiences were a baptism by fire (no pun intended), my experience today was quite fulfilling and educational but ultimately uneventful. I receive a lot of appreciation for just being there though, which was quite nice. The bright orange shirts "Pro-Choice Escort" shirts make us stand out and we were thanked by both clinic attendees and random individuals alike, which made it all worthwhile.

I very much look forward to my next escorting experience. I feel a lot more comfortable after my first day and will share how my next one goes. If you live in the greater Washington Metropolitan region and are interested in escorting yourself, go to WACDTF. If you live elsewhere, contact your local clinic or contact us with questions and we will try to pass them along to the right people. Please keep checking back to Sum of Change for more information about our experiences and our documentary project. Thanks and I'll talk to y'all again soon.

Mitch

A Couple Health Care Myths to Look Out For

So there are tons of myths, and flat out lies, floating around about the health care bill. I will try to run through a few of them for you. (You will notice that I actually put a link to the bill so you can check for yourself, unlike most people that are criticizing it)

Myth 1: Page 16 outlaws private insurance.

Truth: Page 16 details how regulations on private insurance will take effect. These regulations relate to affordable coverage, essential benefits, and consumer protection. In other words, these are the same regulations that President Obama campaigned on and Americans voted for. Page 16 states that these regulations shall not apply to current plans, there is a 5 year grandfather clause, but that they do apply to future plans.

Myth 2: Page 416 forces end of life care on seniors every five years.

Truth: This is a complete and utter lie. First off, page 416 does not say a single thing about "end of life" care. It's page 425-426 that does. But when you actually read it, it does not sound so ridiculous. It does not mandate that they receive end of life care every five years, it says that if it has been more than five years since the last time they received "advance care consultation" than they shall on their next visit. And it is definitely not euthanasia, as the right is most certainly attempting to imply. It is not like a doctor kicks your door down after five years and demands that you get the consultation, but that it will be provided on the next regular check up. And this is to prevent situations like Terry Schiavo that can rip families apart.

WJLA Channel 8 Report on Kidsave

Recently, WJLA Channel 8's Let's Talk Live did a report on Kidsave and the Summer Miracles program. They asked us if we could share our footage from Dulles Airport for their segment, to which we were happy to oblige.




If the embedded video above is not working for you (it sometimes acts funny in firefox), try this link.

Mark Walsh Speaks to Grow the Hope About Messaging

In May, Mark Walsh, founding CEO of Air America and a Democratic media strategist, accepted Grow the Hope's invitation to speak to the community about messaging and media. Many of the people in attendance had rallied behind Obama on his presidential campaign. Their work is not over, however. As David Hart, the founder of Grow the Hope (GTH), would say:

"Electing a smart and moral man as our President was an important step, but it's not enough... The challenges we face are far too massive for any one person to solve alone. The task is not his alone, it is ours together."

Using the lessons they learned during the campaign, and new lessons like Mark Walsh's tips on messaging, members of Grow the Hope are rallying to make real the changes they want to see in the world.

Grow the Hope (GTH) was founded by David Hart and other volunteers from Maryland's Bethesda Obama office. Their goal, is to "nurture the spark of creativity and hope that came alive during the Obama campaign." They have held numerous house meetings since the election, as well as direct actions to make concrete changes in their communities. Recently, we highlighted their efforts to fill food banks and their organizing around health care. Today, we chose to focus on their work to educate their community on messaging. We at Sum of Change have been following GTH, since shortly after the election, to document the work they are doing, and will continue to do so.

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Just posting a code for Technorati.com

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move along now....

I Meet the "Anti's"

Today, I had my first real experience as an abortion clinic escort. For those of you that do did not read our recent pieces, we at Sum of Change Productions are in the early stages of a documentary on the work that clinic escorts do and the stories attached to it. Volunteering as an escort is a part of our research, ideally making our film stronger by giving us a deeper understanding of the work. There is about 8 trillion things I could say about today, but I will keep this somewhat brief, and just run through the day.

I woke up this morning with a slightly soar throat, the result of nights of web design without sleep. It's a Saturday, and it's 9:00am. I would much rather sleep in, try not to get too sick because we have a big week ahead of us. I made a commitment though, and I have an hour drive ahead of me, so it is time to wake up. I was not nervous on the drive up. I have done plenty of protesting, and dealt with plenty of protesters. So far, none of this felt too far outside of my comfort zone.

I get to the clinic, and see the "anti's" immediately. For those that do not know, the term "anti's" refers to the regulars that show up every week to "demonstrate" (or harass if you want to get nit-picky about it). I came alone, and I appear to be the first escort to arrive, so I park down the street and wait for the others to arrive. They taught us in the training that you never escort alone, because the anti's will be quick to claim you assaulted them (as I learned in the first half-hour). If you are alone, there are no witnesses on your side, so just never escort alone.

When I saw the others, I left the car to join them. (For obvious reasons, I will not be using anyone's name, besides my own, without explicit permission to do so). I met my trainer for the day, a nice lady who has been escorting for about fifteen years now. We went inside to get me an escort shirt, essentially a bright orange tank top with "clinic escort" written on it. The second I walked in, the clinic staff shot me a big smile and thanked me for volunteering. That moment was one I tried hard to remember for the next two-and-a-half hours.

In the clinic escort training, they taught us that boring is good. But today was not the case. The anti's that showed up today were regulars, and immediately recognized myself and another as new. Not only were we new, but men too. One anti just pounced on us with the traditional "they're killing babies in there", "why are you helping them", "God will forgive you, repent", and so on, and so on. For a few minutes, I just stood there, laying out my best poker face. Eventually, I broke and responded, as she rambled at me, with something along the lines of "there is a patient to consider too." And we went back and forth, politely, aside from her constant condescension. Throughout the conversation, I let slip at some point that my mother is a doctor. I quickly learned my lesson from that. For the rest of the day it was "your mother the doctor" this, and the "Hippocratic Oath" that. I did not let a single fact about myself slip from then on. They will jump on anything you give them, so we do not even use our names around them. Luckily, my mom will laugh at them when she hears about this, so it did not offend me the way it might if I thought the words would hurt her.

Then we had the first patient arrive. Nothing about this had scared me up to this point. I am not afraid of the threat of violence, or of confronting an anti in vigorous debate. None of that scares me (as a political organizer, those are pretty much part of the job description). However, approaching a woman walking up the street who might be a patient, who is being yelled at about killing babies, and trying to reassure her that I am here to help, that she can talk to the protesters but does not have to, that she does not have to answer personal questions from them... that scares me. That moment is so real, so quick. That is definitely out of my comfort zone. Luckily, our trainers handled most of that today, and us two newbies mostly acted as a human wall to help guide the way into the clinic. However, one of us slightly bumped into an anti, and "Assault!" they screamed. As I said before, do not ever escort alone.

And then there was a patient that arrived who spoke little-to-no English. I was the only one who spoke any Spanish (the anti's didn't, but that didn't stop them from screaming wretched things, even the most obvious logic escapes them). From the look in the patient's eyes, she was clearly caught off guard by all this.

I am not great at Spanish, but I speak it enough to get by in a conversation, and from a city council race I worked on, I can go on and on in Spanish about improving education in the inner city. I was nervous, but what else could I do? "Habla espanol?" I asked.

To which she replied "No." She was expecting me to ask if she speaks English, and responded with that by accident, another sign of how shaken she was by the whole event.

"No ingles?" (No English?)

"Si" (Yes)

Once you are talking to the patient, making eye contact, the fear goes away. For me at least, it was somewhat natural after that. You talk, so that the patient has someone to listen to other than the hateful anti's.

"Vamos. No tiene que hablar con ella," Which roughly means, "Let's go. You don't have to talk to her." Her being the rambling lady yelling about baby killing.

That was about as eventful as it got. Most of the patients just made their way in, trying to ignore the anti's. Occasionally, a guy who came with a patient would come outside to have a cigarette and would get into a conversation with the anti's. By a conversation, I mean he sat there, usually answering as little as possible, while one or two anti's rambled on and on. My favorite part was when an anti called the holy, immaculate conception a case of rape. I have never, in my life, heard a Christian refer to it as that.

After the first patient arrived, I knew I would continue doing this. It is purely disgusting that people have to escort at clinics. Imagine if men got this type of treatment every time they bought a condom. I will be back next week, and shortly after that. I would much rather not. But, as my trainer said to an anti today, "I'm here because you are."

You can become a clinic escort too! Contact your local clinic, or contact us if you need any help and we will try to pass your questions along to the right people.