In these first two months of 2011, we have witnessed an extraordinary sequence of events demonstrating the transformative possibilities of social media when employed in the area of social change.  While it is crucial that we not erase the specific contexts of activist engagement or the diverse organizing elements involved in particular political movements and protests, it is also clear that the tools of social media have played a vital role in an ongoing series of upheavals in Northern Africa and the Middle East.  Closer to home, I was intrigued by ongoing references to connections between events in Cairo and the labor protests in Madison, which circulated though a variety of social media from Flickr to Facebook to Twitter.  The continued linkage of these two very different political events, albeit tenuous or indeed maladroit, illustrates both the power of the new media forms as well as the global reach of the conversation around questions of democracy and social justice.

Speaking at the George Washington University campus on Feb 15th, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed challenges to the Internet in foreign countries, explaining: “We are convinced that an open Internet fosters long-term peace, progress, and prosperity.”  Supporting Internet freedom in other regions of the world is an essential component of supporting democracy and human rights as exemplified by recent events in the Middle East and North Africa. However, it’s important to think about in a domestic context, too, and to understand how important Internet access is to freedom of expression for arts and culture in less charged circumstances.

Maybe you’ve seen the recent headlines. “Comcast Buys NBC.” “AOL Buys Huffington Post.” “Biggest Loser Gets Its Own Cable Channel.” Okay, I made that last one up. But with media outlets gobbling each other up this fast, you can bet they’ll quickly be shutting the door on alternative and independent programming, if they haven’t already. And with six (yes, six) bills introduced just this year to cut funding for public media, one of the arts community’s strongest allies in the broadcasting world is getting hit from all sides.
 

It’s growing. That was the biggest takeaway from the fourth annual gathering of mission driven, community based cinemas at Midway, Utah in the days leading up to the Sundance Film Festival. The event reached capacity this year with many new faces among the grizzled veterans of the art house trenches. Begun as an initiative of the Sundance Institute Art House Project consisting of a dozen art house theaters across the country, the Convergence has become a must attend event for operators, programmers, independent film buyers, and distributors. Even some critics, funders, and service providers made the trip this year. Naturally, this movement has grown out of necessity. There are larger, glitzier trade show events like ShoWest in Las Vegas that cater to the megaplex movie exhibitors dripping with artificial butter and celebrity pandering. Here in the snowy Swiss immigrant hamlet of Midway this dedicated bunch found its own decidedly niche level.