Shire Civics Cois in the Nonprofit Tech Industry

Shire Civics Co

Empowering Digital Identity A strategic agreement between COTI and Civic has been announced, which is a step that dramatically improves digital privacy and identity sovereignty. The goal of this partnership is to revolutionise the way in which users maintain and safeguard their digital identities, therefore guaranteeing that users have complete control over and security for their personal data inside the ever-expanding world of internet 3. A Leap Towards Enhanced Digital Privacy Located in Tel Aviv, COTI stands as the apex of efficiency, speed, and security as a confidentiality layer on Ethereum. Shahaf Bar-Geffen, CEO of COTI, shared his enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "We’re excited to integrate COTI V2's confidentiality layer into Civic’s platform. Civic is an industry leader in the field of identity management tools for Web3, and COTI will continue to partner with industry leaders. We look forward to working with Civic’s professional team to bring Dynamic DID into full production." Managing one's digital identity is crucial in the modern digital world, as online interactions and transactions are frequent occurrences. People are starting to take more precautions to protect their digital footprints from hackers, illegal access, and data breaches due to this the secrecy layer of COTI V2 is essential as it provides a safe and encrypted method for data calculation and verification. To comply with legal requirements such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC), Civic will utilize COTI V2's Dynamic DIDs in conjunction with Civic Pass, which is a validated credential and a token that cannot be transferred within the user's wallet. Civic’s Innovative Approach to Identity Verification Civic has taken a proactive move by offering a real ID card as part of its entire Civic ID System. This comes at a time when there are rising worries over identity fraud that is powered by artificial intelligence, this is also a huge step forward in the integration of digital and physical verification methods as it provides a comprehensive solution to the problem of fraudulent operations, which is very critical for enterprises in today’s connected internet environment which is always susceptible to hacks and identity thefts. Vinny Lingham, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board at Civic, emphasized the importance of this development saying, "Our vision at Civic is a future where user-controlled digital identity is the standard for authentication and authorization across all digital interactions. We’re very aware of the challenges that the rapidly evolving AI world poses to human identity verification. By launching our physical ID card, we’re taking real steps towards protecting against fraudulent activity that takes place digitally." A Unified Vision for the Future of Digital Identity The partnership between COTI and Civic is more than a technical collaboration; it's a shared vision for a future where digital identity is secure, private, and user-controlled. As these two industry leaders join forces, they set the stage for innovative Web3 use cases, empowering users to navigate the digital world with confidence and assurance. Don’t forget to like and share the story! This author is an independent contributor publishing via our brand-as-author program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR Vested Interest Disclosure:

Empowering Digital Identity: COTI and Civic Forge a Groundbreaking Partnership

ডিজিটাল পরিচয়ের ক্ষমতায়ন: COTI এবং Civic একটি যুগান্তকারী অংশীদারিত্ব তৈরি করে

Stärkung der digitalen Identität: COTI und Civic gehen eine bahnbrechende Partnerschaft ein

Potenciar la identidad digital: COTI y Civic forjan una asociación innovadora

Renforcer l'identité numérique : COTI et Civic forgent un partenariat révolutionnaire

डिजिटल पहचान को सशक्त बनाना: COTI और सिविक ने एक अभूतपूर्व साझेदारी बनाई

デジタルアイデンティティの強化: COTI と Civic が画期的なパートナーシップを築く

디지털 신원 강화: COTI와 Civic, 획기적인 파트너십 구축

Capacitando a Identidade Digital: COTI e Civic Forjam uma Parceria Inovadora

Расширение возможностей цифровой идентичности: COTI и Civic создают новаторское партнерство

Dijital Kimliğin Güçlendirilmesi: COTI ve Civic Çığır Açan Bir Ortaklık Kuruyor

Trao quyền cho bản sắc kỹ thuật số: COTI và Civic tạo dựng mối quan hệ đối tác đột phá

赋能数字身份：COTI 与 Civic 建立突破性合作伙伴关系

Earth Hacks Recap Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university located in Richmond, Virginia and on Jan. 26–27, happened. VCU Earth Hacks was immediately on-board with being a sponsor, hosting a design thinking workshop during the event, and providing additional support and intros! Experimental Civics Kudos to the whole team for running an amazing event! Start of VCU Earth Hacks I caught up with , one of the co-founders, to ask her why she has supported this event: Sanjana Paul “I started Earth Hacks when I noticed that the rate at which environmental problems are increasing is exponential and the rate at which solutions to these problems are progressing is linear. Having attended hackathons in the past, I know that during these events, rapid innovation takes place and projects that would normally take months to implement have working prototypes ready in 24 hours. Attending hackathons, I saw that the types of problems presented for participants to solve are often very limited in scope and don’t seem to address pressing needs. This led my team and I to realize that nobody has really applied the hackathon model of innovation to environmental problems, and we did so, creating Earth Hacks.” Hackathon 2019 Themes The 3 broad themes this year were: Corporate Sustainability 2. Public Health, Biotechnology, and Medical Waste 3. Energy Efficiency Here is a to the DevPost for access to the 22 submitted projects! link Who Attended? 147 registered participants were at this year’s Earth Hacks. 12 different universities were represented, with the highest attendance numbers coming from VCU, George Mason University, and the University of Virginia. Of the 125 participants who chose to respond to the question asking for their gender, 45 were female and 80 were male. The breakdown of majors who attended Earth Hacks as shown in the image below: The breakdown of year in college of those who attended Earth Hacks as shown in the image below: Credit: Earth Hacks Mentor Shout-Out Mentors are a huge component of any hackathon and I was able to catch up with Associate Professor, Stephen S. Fong, Ph.D., from the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering at VCU and asked him about the experience of mentoring over the weekend event: Stephen S. Fong, Ph.D. EarthHacks was intentionally developed to include a broad spectrum of backgrounds and expertise and as such, an initial challenge for both new and seasoned hackers is determining what the outcomes from EarthHacks projects should look like. In a nutshell, we want to emphasize a sound problem-solving approach where teams can identify and articulate a problem that is important to them and demonstrate an understanding of the area by describing key aspects and existing approaches that have been attempted. Each team should be able to describe the uniqueness of their approach and the stretch goal is to develop their idea with sufficient detail that their project is actionable (able to be implemented). Part of the core challenge is that we like to provide context for thinking big (non-conventional ideas), but since we all want real-world impact, aspects of feasibility are also important. Hackathon Projects Here are some winners to highlight from the event: ROSS Colleen Foley, Rebecca Youngerman, Mollie Gaines Team members: ROSS is a Repurposed Open-source Smartphone Sensor that helps reduce e-waste and promotes community growth. ROSS helps communities around the globe bring in open source data on the community they live in and pushes these cities and towns further towards the goal of becoming a smart city without the major costs. 2-sentence bio: Demo link: https://devpost.com/software/ross Spore Sticker (Our Exp_Civics Fave!) Taylor Duncan, Binal Patel, Trent Jackson Team members: Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation, the process of using fungi to degrade or sequester contaminants in the environment. Allows cardboard to be used as a medium for mushrooms to grow in landfills, and thus accelerates the time necessary for cardboard boxes to decompose. 2-sentence bio: Demo link: https://devpost.com/software/spore-sticker Earth Hacks Logo Rohe Team members: Thomas Gordon, Charles Logan Parham, Kishore Bhat, Soham Apte To reduce the commonly unaffordable price tag attached to smart thermostats filled with bells and whistles, we were able to offer a smart thermostat that is projected to surpass efficiency performance tests, while maintaining a modest retail value. Rohe eliminates the need for a digital interface by utilizing an embedded WiFi chip that offers accurate indoor location fixes, thus boosting energy efficiency and cutting costs drastically for the user. 2-sentence bio: Demo link: https://devpost.com/software/the-green-machine-wc5fe6 Carbon Aliyah Desautels, Anthony Milositz, Jarrod Burrowes, Raymond Hang Team members: The application also uses incentives to increase interest in lower the carbon footprint that is caused by driving. This will help create awareness by connecting the data collected with accessible technology along with creating a network to attract different types of users 2-sentence bio: Demo link: https://devpost.com/software/carbon-2tiax0 Cleanstreak Emma McCamey, Nick Agliano, Sean McDermott, Connor Massaro Team members: Our project promotes sustainable living through an easy-to-use, easy-to-implement point collection system. We designed CleanStreak around green habits in the workplace, in the hope that these habits won’t just be a way to get free Lyft rides, but instead help to form healthy, long-lasting habits in and outside of work. 2-sentence bio: Demo link: https://devpost.com/software/earthhacks So there you have it! These were amazing projects built in a short amount of time! Congrats to all involved. Next Steps As always, if you need hackathon support, give us a shout at Experimental Civics, we’re here with juicy consulting tips and proven templates to help elevate your impact and performance. If you are a VCU student, make sure to make this event down for next year, perhaps you can even volunteer your time to make it go! Share the awesome and tag us: or **@**Exp_Civics **@**earthhacksvcu

VCU Imagineers Use Spore Stickers to Recycle Cardboard

Where Music Meets Tech I could only capture a snippet of the action…there are so many fun sessions happening at #SXSW2018 that alas one hacker can only try keep up with the awesomeness happening around town. But first, major props to any hacker who codes/hacks over a conference like this. I have full respect for the 24 hr (and then some) effort it took to get your projects to the finish line in this insane sprint. Here is a meme in my tribute: Credit: Squirrel The returned for its 5th year this March. In a hustling marathon which started yesterday (Tuesday, March 13) through to today (Wednesday, March 14) over a hundred hackers collaborated in teams to build technology in these three categories: Film, VR/AR, and Music. SXSW Hackathon Here were the questions asked to spark ideas: — How is money getting to artists, creators, and rights-holders and can emerging technologies like blockchain or micro-licensing help facilitate and manage the process? How can creatives connect with the right industry players to mutually further careers? Commerce & Industry — How can musicians, filmmakers, or VR/AR designers use tech to create, perform, and display in new ways? What tools can we create to make the process easier or more inventive? Creation and Performance — With the fragmentation of distribution systems, physical media, and streaming options, how do I get my work out to the public and in front of my ideal audience? Distribution — How can we improve the fan, customer, listener, viewer or user experience? Consumer — How can creators collaborate more easily and more creatively across audio, visual, and immersive fields? Cross-discipline It wasn’t until they presented their solutions that it got interesting. even more Whether it was a team building an online beatbox community group creating “music social apps” where your music taste syncs with others who have similar tastes on your social media crafting accessibility apps for the hearing impaired to experience music…one theme was vibrating ( ) off of the projects. or or get it… Day 1 of Hacking (Experimental Civics staff with Hacker Noon) Theme: Community. Yes, building community. From finding those who enjoy the same music as you to wanting to share the pleasure of music with everyone, there was something powerful about the final projects wanting to have an inclusive community. I always find it humbling when technology is once again used as a means to provide an inclusive space in ways that regular methods just fall through. I love the idea of having more people in my life who understand my music taste (as weird as it is — any Bjork fans out there?), but there is something to be said for crafting that shared experience. Is that not why we come together at design sprints like this — to connect? Is that not why we love the thrill of seeing our favorite musicians with complete strangers — to have a shared experience? Is that not why we hack under crazy conditions — to build together? Another project called was focused on sharing emotions we experience while listening to music with others. EmShare literally Photo Credit: **@**cloudinary I would be amiss if I didn’t drop another Hawking quote, but he is at the forefront of my mind like so many others out there right now. “It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.” — Stephen Hawking We’re a pretty incredible bunch of folks on this planet and I’m still utterly impressed at all the folks who turned out for this event and really set the bar high with applications which have a social component at their core. Day 2 of Hacking / Presentations Also speaking of incredible humans, congrats to the #SXSWhackathon first place winners — Dapster! Dapster — “Stream cash, Stream music.” They built a blockchain solution around the distribution of encrypted music IP files. Pretty neat in the short time that they had. Photo Credit: **@**ConsenSys Thanks again to all those who worked hard over the past day, now rest up because we still have a ton of #SXSW left to go. Thanks to the for making this event go! SXSW Hackathon sponsors, mentors, and judges I’ll also drop a brief note to share that this is not the only music + technology hackathon out there which you could be a part of and bring your ideas to. Check out and for those of you remaining in Austin…bring your project to if it has a community component! Red Bull Hack the Hits ATX Hack for Change

One Theme Hit the High Note at the SXSW Hackathon: Community.

Community projects are everywhere. They’re in our homes, on our streets, in our schools, and in our government. They live right under our noses and hover around our daily thoughts. How many times a day do you brainstorm the best ways to avoid traffic, or how your neighborhood could be improved? The hard part isn’t in determining community projects, it’s being able to recognize one when the irritation strikes. The best way is to simply ask yourself these two questions: - What are my largest pain points? - Do these pain points affect others? This should help you figure out if a problem is worth exploring. The next step is to craft your problem statement. Insert Problem Here In order to write a problem statement, you must truly focus on the problem at hand. You aren’t writing about the traffic lights and all the buses and all the carbon monoxide in the air from the idling cars in rush hour. When I’m brainstorming, I have a tendency to go on mental tangents that blur my focus, or I attach too many auxiliary problems to my main concern that I become overwhelmed. Instead, spend the time to map out the actual problem and think through each aspect. This is also the point that I start involving design thinking. For example, if the problem is that there aren’t enough marked bike lanes in the city, then thinking about who is riding bikes and why can start to govern both the design and the solution. This brings me to my next tip, which is letting the end-user guide you. Focus on the problem through the eyes of those who suffer from it, which may include you, but be sure to think of as many different personas as you can. At this point, it’s best to do some research and interviews. At a recent hackathon in Houston, I was part of team working on supporting public defenders that needed immediate access to collateral consequence data while working with clients in a high-pressure time window. Most of us on the team needed to talk with several lawyers and visually walk through the steps of what our personas — the lawyers the clients — were facing. We had to dive deep into the actual situation in order to fully grasp the exact problem we were solving for. It’s important to take your time here and give this an intentional effort, lest you offer a solution that is unworkable or that doesn’t solve the real issue. The payoff for research and concentrating on the end-user is tremendous. and Tubman Project | Houston Hackathon 2017 Insert Imagination Here Another tip is to use your imagination. Go right off the deep end with possible solutions and have fun with it. I say this lightly, but I am adamant about this, in part because 99% of the problems we’re trying to solve aren’t new, which means that traditional solutions are already being used (and are often ineffective). If you can’t let yourself be creative, you’ll never imagine new ways to approach traffic, bike lanes, or even poverty — this is key to harnessing the latent power of technology for the public good. Personally, I can sometimes struggle with letting my imagination run its course, regardless of what comes to mind. I find that silence, my environment, and my energy levels play a big role in my process, so I take care to be mindful of these elements when I’m trying to play or be creative. I usually go on short walks outside to reenergize and think about all possible solutions — both in the short term and the long term. Alone, without judgment, I can ignore all limitations and dream of what could be. Insert Parameters Here My last tip is grounding yourself after floating around in fantasy solutions. While hover cars would essentially “solve” many traffic issues, there are countless limitations to using this as a solution to traffic and focusing time and energy on this solution wouldn’t be very productive. Instead, I need to understand all of the limiting factors for my problem statement: time, resources, skills, user research, and usability. The grounding process can begin to dictate whether this is a multiple-stage project and what can be accomplished within the confines of a hackathon. With these tips in mind, the problem statement you build out (either alone or with a team) will not only be impactful, but also effective with the delivery. Let’s recap before I share some examples of problem statements I’ve helped craft and their hackathon solutions: Focus on the actual problem (as a woman of many tangents, I can attest to how important it is to stay aligned.) 2. After you have your initial problem statement worked out, it’s time to run with the unicorns. 3. Then recognize that your unicorns are in an arena with boundaries and scale back to reality. We need to conserve water in Texas I can’t find our lost pets Our homeless shelter doesn’t get enough donations I can’t ride my bike safely in my city The bees are dying Examples of Problem Statements: Smart water sprinkler system Online pet portal  Donation mobile app Interactive web bike lane app Hive monitoring app Civic Technology Solutions to above Statements: I frequently host problem statement workshops for clients and would be than happy to run through a few exercises with folks to hear what ideas they have and how we can refine problem statements together. Also, if you’re trying to pitch your problem to gain community support, I have some more readily defined criteria and activities that we can work through on how to craft a powerful problem statement where people instantly understand what you’re doing and feel compelled to support you. MORE Let’s talk at and get to writing your problem statement! I’m sending each of you positive vibes and I’m here to help if you need me — together we can change the world, one problem at a time! experimentalcivcs.io

Time to Hack Community Projects: 3 Guidelines for Writing Problem Statements

2019 Crypto Annual Review: Taming the Wild West

I didn’t know what to expect when I read this session title at … how could 5K be making an impact. I was dumbfounded and instantly curious… MozFest …was it enough funding? What types of projects were these? Where were these changemakers from? Who were these people? #CantEvenRightNow Before I reveal who they were (it’s not that secretive, you can scroll down), I want to share my one takeaway before you get lost in their projects and amazingness. Major takeaway: To any and all aspiring civic hackers/inventors/social entrepreneurs/idea people, there are always spaces to try and experiment with your ideas. Someone will listen and hear you! The beauty of all these projects is that they were all small scale ideas put into action. And Mozilla listened to the cry of these awardees wanting to elevate their work and passions. I know that many of us out there can be nervous about sharing our ideas and perhaps even applying for programs like this…but I deeply encourage you to try and try again. Okay, enough of that, now onwards to who these people were: Group picture of Team EITCHA Escola Itinerante de Tecnologia Cidadã Hacker — EITCHA Brazil EITCHA is a project to designed to teach children in schools around Porto Alegro in Brazil about open science, citizen science, open software and hardware, open data and information security. Project leads will be leading 3-day workshops demonstrating these concepts by teaching students how to program, deploy, and collect data through a meteorological station at their school. Website — / Gitlab repository — Project: Lead: Leonardo Sehn Alves Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: http://eitcha.org/ https://gitlab.com/eitcha Building an Open Data community in Madagascar (Twitter: ) Madagascar This project aims to develop and implement a five-month training program for young students and engage them in establishing an Open Data Community in Madagascar. This will be achieved through data training courses, online and field data collection and the creation of an open data platform especially designed to publish data collected by non profit organizations. Project: Lead: Fabienne Rafidiharinirina @assomaidi Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: http://www.association-maidi.mg Binder workshops (Twitter: / GitHub: ) Switzerland Over six months, the leaders of this project will develop and test-drive a one day Binder workshop for educators, journalists and scientists who want to learn to use Binder to improve the accessibility, shareability and reusability of their work. The workshop will be tested at three events in Europe. Project: Lead: Tim Head @betatim @betatim Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: https://mybinder.org/ ETER || a free/libre air-quality monitor for education & research (Twitter: / GitHub: ArgentinaDescription: A six-month project for co-prototyping an open source air quality monitor with high school teachers. This will accompany the development of open educational resources around why and how to run open science school projects. Project: Lead: Julieta Arancio @cassandreces @thessaly) Location: Learn more and get involved: https://github.com/rlyehlab/eter ‘¡Vuela!’ means ‘fly!’ in Spanish. Image designed by @teddiet.wee Open Science Drone Toolkit (Twitter: & ) Argentina & Chile Through seven open and collaborative workshops in Chile & Argentina, this project will support the prototyping of an open source drone toolkit for improving scientific research in different fields and to help advance a community of collaborators and users of open science tools in South America. Project: Leads: Gustavo Pereyra Irujo & Paz Bernaldo @gpereyrairujo @PazByC Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: https://osf.io/fscn4/ DNA sequencing to the people (Twitter: / GitHub: ) Germany The goal of this project is to put DNA sequencing into the hands of amateurs by running a series of workshops on a) creating open source hardware and protocols and b) giving people hands-on experience with DNA sequencing. Project: Lead: Lisa Thalheim @li5a @lthalheim Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: https://github.com/lthalheim/DITSeq Promoting Inclusive STEM Education — Tactile Material & 3D Printing (Twitter: / GitHub: ) Greece With a goal of promoting inclusive STEM education, this project aims to create tactile & 3D printing material to engage typical development, special educational needs and visually impaired students. Materials will be created through a series of five workshops taking place in upper primary & secondary schools. Project: Lead: Nikolaos Nerantzis @nerantzis @nerantzis Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: https://acoaf.wordpress.com Open Knowledge Maps Enthusiasts (Twitter: / GitHub: ) Austria Open Knowledge Maps seeks to establish a worldwide community of power users and ambassadors to involve users more strongly in the Open Knowledge Map platform creation process and to enable them to spread the knowledge of visual literature search techniques and increase access to scientific knowledge. They will do this through development of training materials, establishment of a community coordinator and a community infrastructure. Project: Lead: Maxi Schramm @ok_Maps @OpenKnowledgeMaps Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: https://openknowledgemaps.org Photo of Project Lead, Caleb Kibet Promoting Open, Reproducible, and Collaborative Bioinformatics Research in Kenya (Twitter: / Gitter: ) Kenya This project seeks to sensitize and promote open and reproducible bioinformatics research within Nairobi by organizing meetups, workshops and hack-a-thons to promote bioinformatics research. Target groups are graduate students and highly motivated undergraduate students in local universities. Project: Lead: Caleb Kibet @Calkibet @kipkurui Location: Description: Learn more and get involved: https://github.com/kipkurui/OpenScienceInBioinformatics-Kenya So there you have it folks, some truly amazing people to collaborate with. I encourage you to take the time to find which ones speak to you and get involved. Or…apply to the program itself. Boo-yah! Thanks for reading!

How People Are Changing the World $5K at a Time

Donating your work to a project — especially one for the social good — deserves recognition, or at least I like to think so. I would love to take a second to talk about a few ways for you to get some well-deserved credit for your hackathon work, because you’ve earned it. Get Recommended I’ve been exploring with the best way to leverage LinkedIn fully in both my personal and professional networking efforts, and I can’t stress this one enough. I really feel that LinkedIn opens doors that can be wedged shut if following traditional methods of outreach. I know that every platform has its pros and cons, which is why I didn’t focus this blog on LinkedIn itself. Instead, I want to stress how important it is to list your hackathon efforts in your online profiles. Include links to your projects, even if they’re half-baked — you’re not selling a product, you’re selling your own potential. In fact, I can’t even count the number of people I know who have been headhunted over the content that they’ve shared on their page or in their profile, rather than by having drinks or going to alumni events. So how do you do this exactly? You can certainly put down your hackathon project as a volunteer experience or as a project under “accomplishments.” Beyond that, I would suggest contacting the event organizers or even your project team lead and asking for a LinkedIn recommendation. These individuals are in a position to speak volumes about what you contributed to the project and identify your key strengths. They are also some of your biggest cheerleaders, and they might even offer to connect you with others in your field that are looking for someone just like you! Blog It Up I think it’s so important to share experiences we have hackathon, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are so many stereotypes and assumptions when it comes to hackathons, which is why sharing what the actual experience is like can help clear up misconceptions and get more people excited about the potential for change. Blogging about your experience is also a great way to share the ideas you lovingly and excitedly hatched during the conference, and can not only establish your own creativity, but might help others build on those ideas for future projects, in true hackathon style. When it comes to civic hackathons, the biggest piece for me is making sure that the magic of collaboration is thick in the air. I want to ensure that everyone feels welcome and feels included in the project they are working on. Moreover, hackathons include a ton of fringe benefits in the form of networking and participation. Whether it’s learning a new skill, developing a new project, or meeting some folks that can help you on your journey, there are so many positives to sharing how hackathons have influenced your personal and professional development. In fact, that’s why I launched this blog because I wanted to use this as a platform to connect non-technical and technical folks, to be in a space that cultivates future innovations, and to design spaces for communities so that they can build the agency to create change. Promote Yourself By “promote” I mean in every shape or form possible — whether it’s telling your friends that you registered, photobombing the event photo, or posting about the event on social media while you’re there, wear your participation loud and proud. So often we forget to acknowledge the extra work we contribute and recognize how good it feels to be part of something larger. I love looking back at all the hackathons I’ve either attended or run to reflect on the people I met, the innovations we developed, and the problems we solved. These memories are so important and definitely keep me in touch with why I do hackathons in the first place. The other point that I want to make with this is that while promoting the project you worked on, you can also promote the skills you used or even the new skills that you learned. These are powerful recruitment messages that you can blast out: “Hey guys, you already knew I was amazing, but look at what I can do in a time-crunch-high-stress-hackathon event working with COMPLETE strangers!” Talk about highlighting your soft skills to with collaboration, teamwork, and understanding nuanced dynamics. I think this is so important that I’ve actually implemented rewards to ensure that the hackers at my events get their much-deserved credit. And rest assured your contributions amazing! In my time working on hackathons I have truly met some of the most incredible people who continuously shape my life and take things to the next level with their passion to help the local community and to consistently be developing new ideas. I have so much respect for those with the stamina, heart, talent, and dedication to bring these ideas to life. Go hackers! are If you’ve participated in any of the hackathons I’ve been involved with and would like a recommendation, all you need to do is ask! I find it incredibly rewarding to elevate the voices of the doers and hustlers who want to make our world a better place. Want to co-author a blog together? Want to spread some social media love? I’m always happy to help! Contact me via: experimentalcivics.io

Stop Being Shy: 3 Ways for Hackers to Get Recognition

For more than six years I’ve been grateful to work with journalists across six continents after helping build the team that grew in scope and impact as the . Today, I’m taking a step in a new direction as co-founder and head of journalism operations for as it embarks on a radical new paradigm for self-sustaining journalism. Indeed, I believe we’re on the verge of a revolution. Google News Lab Civil At its core, Civil will be created as a decentralized platform for news (across mobile-first web and app) using with a structure to better engage with an active community and ensure across the network. It’s also an opportunity for entrepreneurial journalists to rally their peers and generate content directly for their audience — all while getting paid. What is Civil you might ask? blockchain technology security Like many others across tech, media, and financial industries, I’ve thought about blockchain and the revolutionary potential of cryptocurrency, but Matthew Iles, CEO of Civil, inspired me with how , and other blockchain infrastructure technologies can also be a backbone for developing new types of apps in addition to anything around cryptocurrency and cryptoeconomic systems. It’s essentially an ultra-secure way to re-think how goods, services and intellectual property can be distributed and exchanged. What is blockchain? Ethereum IPFS Civil strives to spur journalism at the grassroots level and make it possible for people to sponsor journalism across areas like investigative reporting, local news and policy coverage while creating a marketplace for journalists, consumers and citizen reporters alike. Civil’s approach believes that new technology coupled with the power of the people might be an answer. (To learn more details about how Civil’s platform will function you can review outlining the technical and structural components or Iles’ initial Medium post .) And what does all that mean to news? Civil’s white paper here : Civil believes that everyone can make a difference to the health of the news eco-system while working alongside professional journalists in a reporting and community-organizing capacity — all within the security of the blockchain and an open exchange of ideas to spur critical content of important issues. This intersection of startups, news and blockchain technology feels truly innovative and full of exciting possibilities. Bottom line It’s still early but Civil is forging ahead (details about the initial $5M in funding from ConsenSys ) and I’m thrilled and humbled to join the growing team of talented individuals. More details to come soon on how it’s all coming together. In the meantime, part of my role will involve recruiting journalists to the platform, so please contact me if you’re interested. Let’s go. (daniel@joincivil.com) here # # # Reflecting on my personal journey (For those curious about how I arrived here and more about my background please read on.) Throughout I’ve had the opportunity to hold a front-row seat to the evolution of news and technology. It began when I graduated from the in 2000 with a focus in technology and a thesis that examined the internet’s role in democracy in Indonesia and Malaysia; I eventually went on to work as a science and technology correspondent at the likes of , CBS News, ABC News; a civics and business reporter at the Vancouver Sun and Details; and a tech analyst at and . my career University of British Columbia’s journalism school CNN MSNBC BBC News US In 2011 I joined Google at a time when publisher-tech company relations were more tense than ever; by the summer of 2014 I had the opportunity to help build the at Google with its mission of collaborating with journalists and entrepreneurs to build the future of media. I feel privileged to have worked alongside such a fantastic team and count myself incredibly lucky to have learned so much from both my time at Google but also my brilliant peers. Of course many challenges remain more broadly at Google and other tech companies across news products, relationships and education but I’m heartened by the progress. News Lab The first time I bought Bitcoin. When I told my mom the news of me departing Google and joining Civil she said: “you’ve always loved a challenge, something you had to try to figure out no matter what.” And that’s probably true. I also feel like I’ve had an entrepreneur inside me waiting to burst out for the better part of 30 years. Maybe ever since grade 8 home economic class where we learned how to make baking-powder pizza. We thought was revolutionary at the time and wanted to start our own delivery business (this was in an era of 30-minute or less deliveries being mind-blowing). Alas, we had a critical flaw in our plan: we were too young to drive and the bus just wasn’t going to cut it for that 30-minute delivery window. So we moved on. it And eventually I got onto the career track of working for big companies: McDonald’s, Thrifty Foods (a decent-sized grocery chain in Canada) and then on to media companies — the Vancouver Sun, CNN, CBS News, ABC News, Details, the BBC. I wrote . Eventually to a tech company with Google. But the reality is that I increasingly felt farther away from having an impact on innovation in news; I’m now ready to roll up my sleeves and get scrappy again. a book But won’t it be hard to do something new? When I mentioned the possibility of leaving Google my oldest daughter said: “Daddy, you’ve been at Google for so long — won’t it be hard to do something new?” I nodded and told her that, yes, some things would be more difficult at least in the beginning but that change often brings its own rewards and all the opportunities ahead aren’t always obvious at first. Plus while going to Civil certainly feels like a new and largely uncharted area of technology, the journalism+innovation and mission-drive aspects are quite familiar. (I also think maybe she’s a little bummed about missing “take-your-child-to-work” day with bountiful Google snacks and mind-blowing science experiments.) Take-your-child-to-work day 2017; the calm before the frenzy. But it occurs to me that I’m also doing this partly for her and her sister. For them to grow up in a world where quality, accurate and secure information can flow between people as they demand it across any type of screen; blockchain technology also provides a real opportunity to combat “fake news” through its . These ideals sounds almost utopian but I believe it’s a dream worth pursuing. Plus I hope they see that it’s OK to take risks sometimes. smart contracts model Reinvigorating a professional voice I’ve also come to realize that I’ve let my professional voice grow quieter in recent years. In journalism school I was a vocal advocate of a robust media and I went into news wanting to continue that sideline activism outside my day job. But my day job(s) took over and pretty soon I was more focused on news than the news . products eco-system Well, I’m taking this opportunity to re-fuel my voice. I’m ready to be more bold again when necessary (watch this space) because the gravitational pull towards journalism isn’t simply about having a job. Or a pay check. Or a byline. Or a like. Or a share. And it shouldn’t be mostly about a paywall or a subscription or a news feed or an ad model. For many, myself among them, journalism is a calling. Yes, journalists and those involved in the business of journalism get paid so it’s not technically a service. But as one of many with hands holding up that pillar of the fourth estate it often feels like it. Sweating under the lights AND the sun in 2006. And that’s what I’ve missed. Over the past six years people have often asked whether I want to go back to being a reporter or writer. Not really. But what I do miss is being in the fray. Navigating these complex challenges at the vanguard, trying to find new ways to foster quality journalism and bridging the gap between news that matters and readers. It’s just time for a change. And as a dual citizen, I still naturally appreciate my Canadian heritage and I love the quote from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky: “skate to where the puck is going — not where it has been.” And that’s what I’m hoping to do. If you’ve read this far, thank you. I’ll finish by saying that while I’m excited to join the revolution(s) at Civil we can’t do it alone. I encourage you to and explore the . My email is daniel@joincivil.com or daniel.sieberg@gmail.com; please share your comments and questions. Join Civil Civil cryptoeconomic white paper To paraphrase s founder when he refers to the media startup space and news eco-system challenges: there’s no guarantee anything work, but everything work. Matter.vc’ Corey Ford will might It’s time for me to join the revolution. 30 -+

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