Innovation: Clay Shirky Interview & NetSquared Challenges

Originally posted by me on the NetSquared blog.

NetSquared currently has 3 open Challenges, calling for innovators and change makers around the world to submit ideas for Web and mobile-based technologies for social change.  I recently sat down with Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, and asked what he thought about the impact of the social web on innovation.

Check out his answer (video) and Challenges you can dive into today!

UC Berkeley Human Rights Center Mobile Challenge

The Human Rights Center is sponsoring a challenge to encourage innovations for applying mobile technologies for human rights investigations and advocacy. Through a NetSquared Community vote, 10 finalists will be chosen. All 10 finalists will be invited to present their ideas at an international conference, “The Soul of the New Machine: Human Rights, Technology, and New Media,” at UC Berkeley, May 4 and 5, 2009. A panel of judges, selected by the Human Rights Center, will choose three winners, to be announced at the conference. Winners will receive cash awards of $15,000 (first place), $10,000 (second place), and $5,000 (third place) to implement their ideas.

N2Y4 Mobile Challenge

N2Y4’s Mobile Challenge calls for your world-changing ideas of how mobile applications can help citizens, groups and others create a better world for everybody.  NetSquared and our Challenge Sponsors invite submissions of innovations in mobile technologies for use by civil society.  Through a NetSquared Community vote, 14 Featured Projects will be selected to participate in this year’s NetSquared Conference.  Two representatives from each of the 14 Featured Projects will be invited to present their ideas in person at N2Y4, May 26-27, 2009 and compete for cash prizes.

Social Actions’ Change the Web

Social Actions’ Change the Web Challenge is about building innovative tools to help people find and share opportunities to take action on the Web sites, blogs, and social networks that we all visit everyday.  We want you to dream up a new tool to help people find and share actions. Any Web enabled device can become a place to connect with actions: your iPhone, news sites and blogs, Facebook & other social networks, or even in your own Web site! We’re excited to see what you come up with!  Did we mention that there’s also $10,000+ in prizes!

There’s a lot happening around the world right now with Web and mobile-based technologies and the opportunities for innovators to combine new tools with social benefit are rich.  These three challenges offer three more ways for you to showcase your ideas, find new collaborators, and even have a chance to win money for implementation.

Here’s to seeing you in the Project Gallery!

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