STEM's Website is Up

I spend most of tonight/this morning getting STEM's website up and running, sending out an email to all the members, and generally fretting. Four cups of tea later, two bagels with cinnamon butter, and six hours of life I won't get back later, it's ready for some traffic!

Any comments or suggestions? What functionality would you want in a club blog?

P.S. I'm going to start using the tag "STEM", as I did below to identify the club and bump it up on Technorati. Anyone feeling generous may do the same. Thanks!

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas,vlog,j-school,STEM

STEM (SJSU Technology & Emerging Media

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For those of you that don't know, I am VP of a new student organization on campus that is looking to educate students on new media. We're getting them to blog, vlog, cast every which way, tag, and generally be geekier. STEM is still in its infancy, and any attention we can get and hype we generate will only help promote greater respect for technology in education and the need to continuously evolve methodology. Please feel free to pass this vid around the internet and get people talking. And yes, that is Ze Frank doing that thang he does best.) -Drew

Mardi Gras

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An incident last night ouside of the 7-11 at San Salvador and 6th Street.

Mardi Gras in Downtown San Jose

I'll post more about it in the morning; but I have some excellent footage of the police barricades, arrests, and an incident I filmed at the 7-11 off of San Salvador & 6th St.

Stay tuned, and you'll hear from me again in the morning.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas,vlog,j-school

Does the EFF Have People In Europe?

The New York Time's posted this eerily Orwellian article today from Paris.

European governments are preparing legislation to require companies to keep detailed data about people’s Internet and phone use that goes beyond what the countries will be required to do under a European Union directive.

In Germany, a proposal from the Ministry of Justice would essentially prohibit using false information to create an e-mail account, making the standard Internet practice of creating accounts with pseudonyms illegal.

This frightening legislation, regardless of whether it could even be done, could signal a drastic shift in the way Europe address electronic rights.

While American companies such as Google, the article says, did not require any guarantee that the names associated with email addresses are valid, new legislation may change this.

A draft law in the Netherlands would likewise go further than the European Union requires, in this case by requiring phone companies to save records of a caller’s precise location during an entire mobile phone conversation.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas,vlog,j-schoolGoogle,EFF,New York Times,electronic rights

Executive Order 9066; We Must Remember

The JMC Journal already linked to this article today, but it's worth linking to again.

The article is in remembrance of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by FDR, the direct result of which was the Japanese internment. The order was signed 65 years ago today.

Prof. Gotliffe, who teaches WWII & the Press at SJSU writes:

Former internees are a constant source of inspiration and a manifestation of what is the best in the human spirit when they boldly and emotionally tell their tales.

They fervently hope that the rest of us are not only willing to listen, but are willing to speak up and act.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas,vlog,WWII,9066,,Harvey Gotliff

Friday Wrap-Up in Tech

Monday was a bad day for Daniel Esch...

Tuesday, Ryan Sholin had some righteous indignation...

Wednesday, even the geeks were in the mood for love.
UPDATE: Shaminder Dulai was hanging outside the windows of ladies?!


Thursday, Daniel Sato was sick of multimedia.


And today... well today... I guess we all just needed to giggle.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas,vlog,Steve Sloan,Daniel Esch,Ryan Sholin,Invisible Inkling,World of Warcraft,Valentine's Day

Josh Wolf and the Need for Federal Shield Laws

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Josh Wolf has now been incarcerated longer than any other JOURNALIST in American history, for his refusal to supply a Grand Jury with video tape evidence they subpoenaed.

An interview with Josh was made with Democracy now on Monday. Listen to it here.

As a journalist/vlogger, I have followed this case with great apprehension and interest. There is a great need for a set of Federal Shield Laws for journalists, and a general change in society's perception of who journalists are.

Josh brings up an intriguing point in the interview, that we are moving closer to state sanctioned journalism - something that chills the bones of all journalists within a free society.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas,vlog,Josh Wolf

Fun with Walkie Talkies and Zombies

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What happens when tech geeks help their friends move into their new house? Add a couple walkie talkies, a little zombie action, and half a battery for your camera, and you've got some zombie-kicking, nerve-wrenching action. This post is not for the faint of heart.

Silicon Garbage @ SJSU

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Computer parts are often thrown out behind the Engineering Building at SJSU. Many are still functional. Is there a better place for these items to go when they are no longer needed?

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas,vlog

Some Links to Brighten Your Day

Didn't Firefox just come out with 2.0? Here comes 3.0. At least that's the cheery news. In other news:

1.) NetVibes got hacked... figures; I just told my friends about them. There goes my rep.
2.) The Penatagon's already looking to lose before the troops even go.
3.) Kansas City is blowing up.
4.) Russia's given up on her children (Sting gulps, lamenting, "I guess they don't.")
5.) And Anna's gone (God rest her soul)...

And the world's ending...

PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT CONTENT BELOW!!!

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,Andrew,Venegas, Anna Nicole Smith,NetVibes

MyHeavy Responds: No Theft

CEO Dave Carson of MyHeavy left this comment on yesterday's post regarding the Rocketboom video found on his company's site. The email deserves to be reposted, so here it is:

someone created a profile and uploaded it to Heavy - could've been rocketboom folks, or a rocketboom fan perhaps -- and for the record, we never stole anything. the blog postings you read were a reaction to a beta test of our new search engine that enables you to search for videos from all over the web - that particular search feature is down - we're re-tooling based on the reaction we got from everyone who mistakenly thought that we were stealing videos. we hope to have a more refined version of that search functionality up and live in the next few months.

I guess that clears that one up. Much thanks to Mr. Carson for the post.
The conclusion I take is this: USERS should be more responsible in what they upload. Most video bloggers don't care if their material is distributed freely, but HOW and WHERE is a tricky game.

Ergo, don't add video anywhere unless you know you can.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,MyHeavy, Dave Carson,Rocketboom

NEXT Meeting

SJSU Technology and Emerging Media gathered today for a quick, but productive meeting . We still need more students to join before we can officially become a club, so all the officers are scurrying around now trying to promote the club.

The next meeting will be held in the Academic Success Center (old Clark Library) at 4:20 PM in Room 116. I hope to see everyone there!

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,New York Magazine, SJSU Technology and Emerging Media

2nd Meeting in 1 hour

UPDATE: The meeting will be held in Room 116.


The second meeting of the SJSU Technology & Emerging Media club will be in one hour in the Academic Success Center's conference room.

In fact, I'm sitting in the Center right now. It's the first time that I've used its computers, which are available for free to use with a valid student ID card. It's a pretty nice setup. Lots of editing software and room to spread out and work.

Silicon overload... man I'm a geek.

Anyways. Today, we'll see who else is interested in joining the club (and I pray that there are a couple), and get their contact information. I also need to get SJSU ID numbers from the officers and members. We need at least eight members to start the club.

A draft of the constitution will be available in PDF download from this site later today. I've already got it done, for the most part, and am eager to submit it once we get a list of total members.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,New York Magazine, SJSU Technology and Emerging Media

Living on the Internet

First, this great link from the New York Magazine on the new generation gap. The piece got me to googling, and I found this great page on Wikipedia.

What's more amazing than any of the names on the list, is the fact that none of them are more than a decade old. Geez... I'm 22, and I'm already feeling old.

(SIDENOTE: Why is it that "googling" comes up as a misspelled word on BLOGGER?! These things keep me up at night.)

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,New York Magazine, Googling

Five Finger Discount on Copyrighted Goods

WorldChanging had this article on January 12th about the web site MyHeavy.

More specifically, the article was geared towards allegations that MyHeavy had re-encoded videos from well known video bloggers, added ads to them, and hosted them on their site.

It doesn't look like they've stopped. A quick search for "Rocketboom" produced this video from Dec. 5th.

Hmmm...

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,MyHeavy, Rocketboom

The Pitch

Tonight @ 6:00 PM in DBH 226, I'll be recruiting from JMC163 for the SJSU Technology & Emerging Media club. Essentially, this is also my pitch for teaching new media and web integration in higher education.

The class is being taught by Steve Sloan again.
(Disclosure: Steve is also going to be the club's faculty advisor.)

I'm really excited about the prospect of creating connections for students in this brand new field. I hope everyone is as well.

REMINDER: The second club meeting will take place tomorrow at 4:00 PM in the Academic Success Center's conference room. It's open to any and all that are interested.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,NewNew Media, journalism,,Steve Sloan,Sean, SJSU Technology and Emerging Media

Great Stuff

This is why I listen to Ryan Sholin. You don't get industry advice like this many other credible places.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,Andrew Venegas,New Media,vlog,JMC, journalism, Ryan Sholin,Invisible Inkling,

Vacation

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Driving downtown San Jose, I remember the past few years of my "education."

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,Andrew Venegas,New Media,vlog,JMC, journalism, Port 80,

SJSU Technology & Emerging Media!

Tonight, a small group of students met for the first time to discuss the beginnings of what will become SJSU Technology & Emerging Media.

If ANYONE is interested in joining, our second meeting will be held in Academic Center's conference room Wednesday, February 7,2007 at 4:00 PM. Everyone is welcome!

Here's a breakdown of the new officers of the club:
President: Jessica Drnek
Vice President: Andrew Venegas
Secretary: Kyle Hansen
Treasurer: Sean Gilpin
Student Advisor: Steve Sloan

And for now, we're all press officers - including you! Please let anyone that might be interested (even non-students) know. Video and more will be available as I get it edited.

NOTE: It is not a coincidence that all the officers have their own sites.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,New Media,vlog,JMC, journalism,,Steve Sloan,Sean Gilpin,Jessica Drnek,Kyle Hansen, SJSU Technology and Emerging Media

Last Reminder: Meeting TODAY!

Just one last reminder, the first meeting of the New Media & Tech club (or whatever we name it) will be at 5:00 pm at Pizza My Heart, just off campus from SJSU. Any student, teacher, or all-round geek from the greater Bay Area is welcomed to come.

(Sidenote: Unfortunetely, while membership and participation is open to any and everyone, only students will be allowed to vote in the club. School by-laws. Sorry)

Come out. Get involved. Make some history.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,New Media,vlog,JMC, journalism

Digging Technorati, WTF?!

If you haven't been following Sifry's blog, now would be an interesting time to start. His company, Technorati, just released its new WTF system, making it that much more interactive. Word has already spread that the system is eerily similar to Digg. You decide. Check it out for yourself.

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,New Media,vlog,JMC, journalism, Technorati, Digg,

CNET's still looking

I have multiple job search feeds on my OPML file; I like to look at hiring trends in the tech industry. I've noticed one opening that has been vacant for a while from CNET. It really shows how New Media is changing and where the biz is headed.

Does anyone honestly think this stuff is disappearing anytime soon? Then I guess it's time to start teaching it with theory in college. Hmmm. Maybe CNET could send a guest lecturer.

AFTERNOTE: And yes, I Technorati myself to know who's talking about me in cyberspace. Like Scoble, I'm an egotist. Ha!

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,New Media,vlog,JMC, journalism, CNET,

Wanna Change the University?

Friday, February 2nd, there will be a meeting to discuss the proposed New Media & Tech club at Pizza My Heart, right across the street from La Vic's and Jack N'the Box at 5:00PM. I hope to see everyone there.

If this time doesn't work for anyone, let me know today. I'm flexible, and really want as much participation as possible. Thanks!

San Jose ,SJSU ,Soapbox Prophet ,Tech ,blog ,,Web 2.0,,Andrew Venegas,New Media,vlog,JMC, journalism, Port 80,