Class today: Writing to Change the World - WCC

Writing to Change the World! today! Saturday at WCC at 9:30am-3:30pm. A few extra spaces so come.

What do you care about? What do you really care about? Learn simple, but powerful, methods to get the ideas out of your head and onto the page in order to persuade and convince and move people to your point of view. Part journaling, part activism, this class aspires to clarify the change that we want to see and to begin to create that change in the world with the written word.

Writing to Change the World - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

UPDATED Writing Resources page with links to change the world.

FCC Deadline Passes But Debate Rages On Over Net Neutrality - NBC News.com

My article at NBC News Asian America

“The FCC deadline has passed, but that doesn't mean the fight is over,” said leaders from Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) activist group, 18MillionRising, who hosted a #Fight4NetRights Twitter Chat this week on net neutrality to continue to push for minority voices to be considered as the FCC considers public opinion.

FCC Deadline Passes But Debate Rages On Over Net Neutrality - NBC News.com

Immigration Activists Won't Back Down from Demands for Reform - NBC News.com

My article in NBCNews Asian America:

In the last few days, immigration advocates responded with new campaigns -- virtually and in the real world -- to keep up pressure on the administration to act: on Twitter with the hashtags #WeCantWait, #NoMoreDelays, #GoBigObama,#Not1More, and #FightForFamilies; in Twitter Town Halls; at rallies and press conferences; with postcard campaigns; and by occupying spaces such as Senator Harry Reid’s office.

mmigration Activists Won't Back Down from Demands for Reform - NBC News.com

The Jeremy Lin Trade to the Lakers Makes Clear Business Sense - NBC News.com

Asian-American Twitter accounts were ablaze this weekend surrounding the news that Jeremy Lin had been traded from the Houston Rockets to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jeremy Lin’s story has resonated with many Asian Americans across lines of ethnicity and gender, sports fan or non-sports-fan, immigrant or American-born, as evidenced by his loyal "Linsanity" fandom.

The Jeremy Lin Trade to the Lakers Makes Clear Business Sense - NBC News.com

The #SmartAAPIWomenOfTwitter

Check out the #SmartAAPIWomenOfTwitter (an amazing Twitter response to a Fast Company article on the 25 Smartest Women of Twitter that neglected to include a single woman of color). smh orz.

Twitter / Search - #SmartAAPIWomenOfTwitter

Make sure to also search for #SmartBlackWomenOfTwitter and #SmartLatinaWomenOfTwitter.

V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA | Vision. Visibility. Voice.

Today is the V3con conference at Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles! Can't wait!

V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA | Vision. Visibility. Voice.V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA | Vision. Visibility. Voice.

V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA | Vision. Visibility. Voice.

V3con reception and awards today at Pacific Arts Museum!

V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA | Vision. Visibility. Voice.

Chicago is the World » From Virtual to IRL at the V3 Asian American and Pacific Islander Digital Media Conference

(photograph courtesy of Gil Asakawa)

After the first incarnation of V3con, the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) digital media conference formerly known as Banana, my whole life changed. And I was not even there.

I learned about the Banana 1 conference the week after it occurred through my IMDiversity.com Asian American Village colleague Gil Asakawa’s posts recounting the incredible people he met, the amazing community that came together, the great fun they had. I was so sorry to have missed it, and I started following everyone Gil mentioned.

Then Jeff Yang asked to friend me on Facebook, and I was soon invited into the virtual inner circle of our AAPI digital media community. There I found a safe space and invigorating energy where we could spread news, work through ideas, share our writing, and tell jokes with others who knew the same history, experience, and concerns. My writing began to take off.

Click here for whole article: Chicago is the World » From Virtual to IRL at the V3 Asian American and Pacific Islander Digital Media Conference

Seeking Asian Pacific American Superheroes...at a Conference? - NAM EthnoBlog

Purdue University recently had some race-related troubles in the form of a racist anti-Asian Twitter account(s) that denigrated and ridiculed Asian and Asian American students there. The Asian American community was offended. Others thought it was funny. The university was slow to respond.
As the Asian Pacific American media began talking about it nationally, I began to fantasize about a more effective solution. I knew that two very cool Asian American activists happened to be headed to Purdue for various Asian Pacific American Heritage Month activities. I conjured up the image of the two of them dressed up in sky blue superhero costumes with fluttering capes and bright yellow masks and gloves, parachuting into the center of Purdue to take care of business.

Ka-pow! Sock! Bam!

Sometimes, in the face of depressing news item after depressing news item, I long for a superhero to set things right as cleanly and simply as they do in the comic books.

click on link for more: Seeking Asian Pacific American Superheroes...at a Conference? - NAM EthnoBlog

V3con is the evolution of the Banana Asian American bloggers’ conference: Visibility. Vision. Voice. | NIKKEI VIEW: The Asian American Blog - GIL ASAKAWA'S JAPANESE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE ON POP CULTURE, MEDIA & POLITICS

Hey, that's me in Gil Asakawa's photo! And great video too. I'm so looking forward to the new and improved V3con (Vision. Visibility. Voice.), the Asian American Digital Media Conference.

Click on link to see Gil Asakawa's article and video: V3con is the evolution of the Banana Asian American bloggers’ conference: Visibility. Vision. Voice. | NIKKEI VIEW: The Asian American Blog - GIL ASAKAWA'S JAPANESE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE ON POP CULTURE, MEDIA & POLITICS

Chicago is the World » Helping Asian American girls and women navigate a crossroads of stereotypes and expectations

My twelve-year-old daughter was recently backed up against a wall at school by someone much taller and heavier than her—that classic pose with one hand against the wall behind her head, body leaning into her as he talked, running his other hand through his hair, acting so cool. She did not feel like she was in any danger, but she did not like the feeling of being trapped there.

So back home in the safety of our kitchen, we practiced different strategies for what she could do if it ever happened again. She could push him back with two hands. She could casually take one step away from the wall. She could even point, “Look, over there!” She does not need to make a big deal out of it, but practicing these small adjustments empowers her to discretely shift control of the situation.

I shared this story with the very cool Lisa Lee, former publisher of Hyphen Magazine and a co-founder of ThickDumplingSkin.com. She works with young Asian Americans on issues of body image and self-esteem. I peppered her with awkward and inappropriate questions. Together we worried about young women finding themselves, staying safe, having fun, demanding to be treated with respect, and cultivating their characters. It is not easy, especially with all the different messages they get. There is a fine line between sexy and slutty, free-spirited and cheap, nice and taken advantage of. We like to think we can navigate that line with spirit and style, but as this perfectly titled article in Jezebel says, “People Are Terrible, So Stop Putting Your Boobs on the Internet.”

click here for more: http://chicagoistheworld.org/2012/04/helping-asian-american-girls-and-women-navigate-a-crossroads-of-stereotypes-and-expectations/

Speaking at Advancing Justice Conference in San Francisco, Thursday, October 27

Is There An App For That? Leveraging Social Media for Social Justice

Date: Thursday, October 27th
Time: 11:00am-12:30pm
Place: Spring C
Workshop Track: Capacity Building

Social media is now ahead of email in terms of online activity and accounts for over 10% of user time spent on the Internet. Recognizing that this shift is a powerful vehicle by which to communicate social justice messaging, many nonprofits are using social media to raise funds for their programs, inspire advocacy, and raise awareness. This workshop will address how to leverage social media more effectively, overcome challenges, and draw supporters to their cause.

Speakers: Keith Kamisugi, Director of Communications Equal Justice Society; Bilen Mesfin, Communications Consultant/Principal Change Consulting; Mariam Hosseini, Director of Communications Asian Law Caucus; Frances kai-hwa Wang, Online Communications Chair American Citizens for Justice Advisory Board

http://advancingjustice.org/conference/2011/is-there-an-app-for-that-leveraging-social-media-for-social-justice/

AML: Showing off our many local treasures, the power of sharing our ideas - NAM EthnoBlog

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) National Convention was held in Detroit this month. I really wanted to attend, since it was home, but unfortunately I was not able to make it. Still, I watched from afar via Twitter, I saw my friends smiling in Twitpix, I connected people to each other via Facebook and email, I read newspaper articles online, and I even received a cellphone call that would have allowed me to listen in on one of the panels (if only I had not been driving at the time).

It was a little surreal seeing a photograph in the Detroit Free Press of my real-life friends together with my virtual friends, not to mention hearing about the conversations they had because of my virtual introductions.

click on link for more: Showing off our many local treasures, the power of sharing our ideas - NAM EthnoBlog

AML: Showing off our many local treasures, the power of sharing our ideas | annarbor.com

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) National Convention was held in Detroit this month. I really wanted to attend, since it was home, but unfortunately I was not able to make it. Still, I watched from afar via Twitter, I saw my friends smiling in Twitpix, I connected people to each other via Facebook and email, I read newspaper articles online, and I even received a cellphone call that would have allowed me to listen in on one of the panels (if only I had not been driving at the time).

It was a little surreal seeing a photograph in the Detroit Free Press of my real-life friends together with my virtual friends, not to mention hearing about the conversations they had because of my virtual introductions.

click on link for more: Showing off our many local treasures, the power of sharing our ideas

AML Explore the richness of the Asian Pacific American experience with literature and the arts

Asian American writer Lisa Yee, author of Millicent Min Girl Genius, recently wrote an article for parentdish.com about how her mother instilled in her a love of reading. She opened by recollecting the books she and her mother read together:

“When I was little, my mother and I had a nighttime ritual. After my bath, when I was zipped into my pink footie pajamas, she'd sit on the bed and read to me. Mom's voice wrapped me up in fairy tales about princesses beset by trolls, a monkey named George and the adventures of Madeline who resided in an "old house in Paris that was covered in vines.”

When my daughter Hao Hao read the introduction (over my shoulder, as always), she said, "I know all those books." Then we joked that if she wrote a similar article someday, it would read, "My mom read me Ed Young, Allen Say, Laurence Yep, Grace Lin, Lisa Yee, Linda Sue Park..."

click on link for more Explore the richness of the Asian Pacific American experience with literature and the arts

Social Media for Social Change, Recorded on 2/26/11 banana-2 on USTREAM. Conference

Here is a video of our Banana 2 APA Bloggers panel, on social media for social change, about which Angry Asian Man live-tweeted: "This panel on activism is pretty darn awesome. #banana2" (and more:). Panelists include Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Fatemeh Fakhraie, Jehanzeb Dar, Cynthia Liu, and Marissa Lee. Keith Kamisugi was the moderator. Eddy Hong organized the panel.

Social Media for Social Change, Recorded on 2/26/11 banana-2 on USTREAM. Conference

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12963184



Social Media for Social Change, Recorded on 2/26/11 banana-2 on USTREAM. Conference

Politics Talaga?: What We Face, and What We Can Do

Additional thoughts I wrote to answer an unhappy audience member’s comments on social justice activism and social media after the Banana2 Conference on the Politics Talaga blog: What We Face, and What We Can Do

http://politicstalaga.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-we-face-and-what-we-can-do.html

click on link for more Politics Talaga?: What We Face, and What We Can Do