This week's blog heroes, doing good one click at a time

• In honor of their 10 year anniversary, Google announced their Project 10^100, a contest based on the idea that “helping helps everybody, helper and helped alike.”  They are committing $10 million dollars to fund a winning proposal that “will help as many people as possible.”

• Gaurav Mishra, the Yahoo! Fellow in International Values, Communications, Technology, and Global Internet critiques the cliché of “using technology to do good” and proposes a framework to help think systemically and strategically about the possibilities of communication technologies to “create disruptive models of social change.”

• Might the Planned Parenthood/Sarah Palin (subversive) fundraising campaign that Ashley Bowen blogs about be an example of the kind of disruptive model of social change that Gaurav refers to?  She explains: “This campaign combines the two actions campaign organizers are always begging for: donate some cash and/or write a letter.  Now, in just a few clicks you can do both.”

at gnovis, shift happens

• Jed Brubaker questioned the possibility of us getting it all wrong.  Referring to a Kuhn-style paradigm shift, he wondered: “Once the paradigm shifts (think Copernicus), not only might we find former conclusions inaccurate (the earth is no longer the center of the universe), we might find the thread of inquiry irrelevant.”  Brad Weikel remains skeptical.

• Patricia Francher explored the relationship between spectators and political stars.  To her question of whether “our fascination has shifted from the celebrity to the cult of the celebrity itself”, Jed Brubaker responds: “Perhaps we are no longer "hopelessly devoted to stars and starlets" (as you say), and instead are now hopelessly devoted to ourselves.”

around CCT, it’s all fun and games

• CCTP 505 Professor Michael Coventry posted the information for Go Cross Campus – a team-based, social game in which 505 students are participating this semester.  Everyone is welcome to find out more about the platform, keep tabs on the teams, or even join the game. 

• Garrison is excited about a new gaming conference, hosted by The Swedish Trade Council, the Embassy of Sweden and the Swedish Games Industry.  Låta spelen börja!