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Bio

livingroom_100x113.jpgIn 2006, I founded ZapBoom Consulting,  which specializes in the analysis of how digital tools like cell phones and the Internet can be used in social change campaigns in developing countries.  I have researched and written reports on topics ranging from online citizen journalism to blog advocacy and internet censorship.  I have also performed in-country Internet monitoring and international conference organizing. 

You can contact me at MaryCJoyce AT gmail DOT com.

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Client Buzz

Feedback from Zapboom Clients:

"Mary's passion and energy for digital activism is obvious in every action and initiative she makes."...read more

"Right away she cut to the core of our needs."...read more

"She deserves much of the credit for organizing a tremendously successful event."...read more

"She was able to turn a potentially complex technical task into something that brought all the different viewpoints together and channelled everyone's energy in a collaborative manner."...read more

Digital Activism Projects

Current CV

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Written Products

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When interactive web apps fall into the wrong hands

Posted by Mary on 01/05/2007 at 20:43

Mostly, I love what Java, XML, and their love child AJAX have done for the internet. They turn stade webpages into interactive mobile spaces. However sometimes these innocent, fun, web apps fall into the wrong hands.

What I am referring to is Tiffany's new design-your-own-charm-bracelet-page, www.tiffany.com/charms, which allows you to drag and drop any number of charms (silver, gold, or platinum - your choice) onto a chain and then buy it. Here's my effort. I chose the platinum and gemstone line, natch.

tiffanysmaller.jpg

 

Honestly, though I don't know why this bothers me so much. I think it must

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People without offices

Posted by Mary on 30/04/2007 at 20:52

Recently I have been working in cafés.  There are two near my home that I like, Café Espresso, which is a hip and vaguely Asian and is located of Pedro de Valdivia.  The other is a Tavelli on Manuel Montt.  A say "a" Tavelli because Tavelli is a chain whose restaurants are as ubiquitous in Santiago as Au Bon Pain is in New York (actually, ABP came to Chile a few years ago and failed, probably because of Tavelli).

tavelli.jpg

A Tavelli in my neighborhood, though not the one I work at.

 

Even though I like Café Espresso the most I

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In the internet age, everything is known.

Posted by Mary on 28/04/2007 at 22:09

Tonight I watched The Boys From Brazil, one of those classic films more famous for it's surprise ending (which everyone knows by now) than for being truly great. Once I accepted that is was hokey, though, I really enjoyed the twisty plot. However, there was one element that I didn't understand. There is a bone bracelet that appears throughout the film, and also in the closing shot, and I wondered "what the heck is this damned bone bracelet?" So I did what anyone would do. I googled it.

Soon I found myself on a message board on Internet Movie

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the People's K Street

Posted by Mary on 27/04/2007 at 11:16

Special interests are the American boogeyman. They are used as political ammunition by both the right and left and everyone agrees that they are a danger to our democracy because the priorities of these "special interests", rather than the public well-being, set the political agenda in Washington.

However, special interests are not the problem. Every citizen has their own special interests. (Mine, for example, include opposition of the Iraq war, support of green energy alternatives, an irrational revulsion towards plastic packaging, and celebrity gossip blogs). No, the problem is not that special interests exist. The problem is that some special

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Interview in Citizen Newspaper el Morrocotudo

Posted by Mary on 26/04/2007 at 9:08

morrocotudo me.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo from the interview - me looking at the El Morrocotudo website.

 

Today an interview with me (written by Vlado) was published in El Morrocotudo, the Chilean online citizen newspaper that I mentioned in yesterday's post. The topic is "how the internet is changing politics." You can read the article here (in Spanish, por supuesto).

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Why Does Citizen Activism Happen?

Posted by Mary on 25/04/2007 at 9:45

The reason why I am interested in digital activism is not because I like tech. Despite the fact that I have been working in the field for two years, I am still intimidated by HTML and the intricacies of the internet. Rather, I am interested in digital activism because it promises a more equitable distribution of political power.

Political change occurs by bringing pressure upon decision-makers. Because of the mass use of the internet and cell phones (ICT), millions of people now have access to the tools of mass communication and message dissemination, mass organizing and microfundraising. No longer

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I'm depressed about the Nigerian election

Posted by Mary on 23/04/2007 at 20:17

I guess it doesn't surprise anyone when an African country with a history of military coups and rampant corruption pulls off an election that is rife with fraud, violence, and disenfranchisement. Still, the shamelessness of the abuse of power made it rather shocking. Here's a taste from the report I am writing on the elections for the OpenNet Initiative (ONI):

The local elections of April 14, as well as the presidential election on April 21 were marred by blatant and widespread violence, fraud, and disenfranchisement. The anecdotes were both shocking and disheartening. In the northern village of Dandume, not a (Read more)

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Pledge to Live a One Planet Life

Posted by Mary on 23/04/2007 at 0:03

Care2 is a social network of seven million progressive people. Today I received an e-mail from them asking me to pledge to live on one planet (currently North Americans live like they have five planet's worth of resources). They also had a cute (maybe too cute) video to illustrate their point about over-consumption. Here's their page on The Petition Site where you can sign the pledge to live a One Planet Life. I like that idea. It's simple and elegant.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/666393111

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Terrorism in my Morocco

Posted by Mary on 21/04/2007 at 11:29

The news of Attorney General Gonzalez's Senate hearing and the massacre at Virginia Tech grabbed most of the headlines in the US this week. However, you may have noticed a small item in the international section of the newspaper or a line scrolling by at the bottom of the screen during a newscast: Morocco has experienced three suicide bombings in the past two month, two of them last week alone. This new violence paints Morocco as yet another redoubt of violence and fanaticism in the Middle East. But I know Moroccans better than that. I lived in Morocco for two

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Politically, We Are Still in Web 1.0

Posted by Mary on 20/04/2007 at 16:29

I am a member of MoveOn and its younger siblings Avaaz (global "MoveOn") and Step it Up ("MoveOn" against global warming) and I think they are all great. I can sign a petition or donate to run a political ad or even call my Congressman, and I've done all three actions for these organizations.

Still, I don't think this hub-and-spokes model of political activism shows the full political potential of the net. The promise of Web 2.0 is that we can all be content creators yet, for all its success in involving citizens in politics, MoveOn and its siblings are

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Quote of the Week

"If you think you can influence the agenda, you walk through the world with different eyes and different ears."

-Yochai Benkler

What is Digital Activism?

Digital activism means grassroots activists using digital technologies like cell phones and the internet to increase their impact, thus subverting traditional power hierarchies and changing the world.

The Blog Advocacy Guide

        

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