new media
Wikipedia Founder Creates Site for Homeless
Published November 21, 2009 @ 01:51PM PT
The Wikipedia model isn't just for pop culture research anymore. Wikis for homeless services information are popping up from coast to coast, proving that when web innovators apply their theories and skills to ease the delivery of social services, everybody wins.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales was recently in Tampa Bay to launch TampaBayHomeless.wikia.com, a site that aims to serve as online "hub" for homeless services in the city. The city isn't the first to have such a site, similar wikis are already being used in larger cities, like New York and LA.
The site - Tampa Bay Homeless - is rooted in the Wikipedia theory of collaboration. The design is user-friendly and easy to navigate, making it easy to find needed information. Information is organized by needs - such as shelter, legal services, food, veterans, etc. - and allows anyone to log-in and edit information. The collaborative model allows shelters to easily update ever-changing information about their shelters, allowing those in need of services to rest assured that the information they need is current.
Part of the reason the idea of a Homeless Wiki is so exciting is it will allow for user feedback. I can envision shelter reviews, personal testimonies that expose snags in the system, information from the streets to aid outreach workers. The concept of service providers and recipients collaborating online is exciting, because it has the potential to ultimately improve the delivery of services.
Collaboration can be tough to accomplish in homeless services. But perhaps wikis are just the thing to provide streamlined services and information to those who need them. It's encouraging to see trailblazing web innovators like Wales applying their concepts to the delivery of social services. Anything to make the "user experience" more streamlined and information more accessible is a win-win for everyone.
What Can 'The Wire' Teach Us About Homelessness?
Published November 02, 2009 @ 06:43AM PT
Harvard University officials announced yesterday that the school plans to offer a class that uses Season 5 of HBO's hit show "The Wire" as a case study for "urban issues" in America.
William Julius Wilson - one of the nation's leading scholars on urban poverty - told the Harvard Crimson that, "‘The Wire' has done more to enhance our understanding of the systemic urban inequality that constrains the lives of the poor than any published study."
It's an interesting observation. Why is it that a fictional television drama speak has the ability to speak to us more than data rooted in rigorous research? Are we overloaded with numbers and figures - some accurate, some hyperbolic - that we're wired to tune these things out? Do we only believe what we see with our own eyes, in our own neighborhoods?
If this is the case, then perhaps it's time we evaluate our world view. Our preeminent poverty experts and leading academic institutions are turning to a HBO series for a real look at urban poverty; perhaps we should take note.
Why not give it a try - watch Season 5 of The Wire. Take it a step beyond mindless entertainment and think about the issues presented in the show. We all have something to gain by opening our minds and trying to understand real issues happening the world around us.
Tweets from the Streets
Published October 31, 2009 @ 08:18AM PT
I'd like to say that I found Ann Marie in Chicago, but the truth is that she found me. Ann Marie uses social media to escape from her world and connect with others. When I arrived in the Windy City I received a tweet from @padschicago and the next day we arranged to meet in a train station.
Ann Marie is not the first person experiencing homelessness to find me via social media. As the face of homelessness changes, and social media continues to expand, I believe we will see many other people without homes on twitter, blogs, and Facebook. Service providers should pay attention to this evolution and understand that social media can be much more than tool for marketing. Twitter and Facebook can serve as an entry point for services or a vehicle for providing virtual case management.
Social media may have the potential to change the way we provide services, but it will not close the gaps that exist in our safety net. As social services become more specialized and targeted to specific populations, some of those who desperately need help simply cannot figure out where they fit in. Ann Marie would like to get off the streets, but she is falling through the gaps in the social service safety net.
ChicagoNow blogger Megan Cottrell tagged along when I met Ann Marie and wrote a very powerful post. We were also on a San Francisco radio show - Live from the Left Coast - with Angie Coiro. And right now as I type, Ann Marie is on a Greyhound headed to Los Angeles to speak with me at 140 Conference.
Truly Anne Marie is a special person simply trying to survive. She honestly shares the challenges she faces everyday and talks about how she uses social media. Although much of her story is sad at least for a few days she is on a vacation from homelessness.
Ann Marie from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.
