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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

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"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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An Introduction to Semiotic Democracy

Posted by Mary on 30/08/2007 at 9:46

Note: The idea of semiotic democracy - the collaborative public definition of cultural signs (semeîon in Greek) - is gaining popularity, particularly as it applies the the Internet. Here's a passage on semiotic democracy from my case study on the citizen journalism web site OhmyNews. Please feel free to correct my interpretations.

signs.jpg 

Citizen reporters take part in the semiotic process of creating meaning within a culture. They cease to be a passive audience for the culture products which reflect the priorities of others and instead create their own cultural products which reflect their own priorities. Given wide enough

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OhmyNews Case Study: The Super-Short Version

Posted by Mary on 28/08/2007 at 12:16

Note: In June I was hired by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society to write a case study about the effect that the Korean citizen journalism site OhmyNews has had on democracy in that country. I finished the first draft of the report last week. This is the executive summary.


Ever since Tom Paine wrote "Common Sense" in 1776, citizen journalism has been strengthening democracy. By providing an alternative to mainstream media in both content and perspective, citizen journalism keeps people better informed about public issues, allowing them to more intelligently form opinions about public policy and select

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Hello Beantown!

Posted by Mary on 26/08/2007 at 21:22


KSG campus in Boston


You may have noticed that I didn't write much this week (actually, I wrote nothing). That is because I was finishing up the OhmyNews case study (more on that in future posts) and moving the Boston (that's Beantown to the locals).

Why have I moved to Boston? I'll be starting a 2-year Master in Public Policy degree in a week at the Kennedy School of Government. I'm a little nervous (it is Harvard after all) but mostly really excited. I am expecting to meet some really smart and idealist and ambitious people - neat-o!

That's

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The Internet That Was

Posted by Mary on 21/08/2007 at 15:11

Why do people want to be "on the Internet?" One of the main reasons is simple freedom. The Internet is a rare example of a true, modern, functional anarchy. There is no "Internet Inc." There are no official censors, no bosses, no board of directors, no stockholders.

Today that paragraph, written in 1993, seems naive and ill-informed. There certainly are censors on the Internet. Look at China and Saudi Arabia. While there is no "Internet Inc." the Internet is most certainly a commercial entity with its associated "bosses," "boards of directors" and "stockholders." I am not just talking about the

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Nobody for President

Posted by Mary on 19/08/2007 at 12:35

It's not even 2008 yet and already I'm disillusioned with every presidential candidate. But, thanks to Facebook, I've found a new candidate I can get behind: Nobody.

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According to the Nobody for President group page on Facebook, Nobody will end the war in Iraq, Nobody will clean up George Bush's mess, Nobody will fix the education system, Nobody will make us energy independent, Nobody will protect us against terrorist threats, and Nobody will restore ethical behavior to the White House. Sounds like a great candidate. I'm in.

I wasn't always this cynical. In 1999 and 2000 I actually spent several

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Taking Back the Internet

Posted by Mary on 17/08/2007 at 13:06

Most of the Internet is like a village square where the rich come to sell you something and the powerful come to remind you who is boss.   The rich don't expect you to interact with them and they don't want you to interact with them unless it will somehow encourage you to buy more.   The powerful  don't expect you to interact with them and they don't want you to interact with you unless it will somehow encourage you to be more obedient.

We have accepted that we can't talk back to the rich and powerful.  But that is a lie. 

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The Gift Economy on the Internet

Posted by Mary on 11/08/2007 at 14:32

giftbox.jpg Open it up, it's free... and here's why

 

One of the basic tenets of anarchist thought is the gift economy, an economic system in which goods and services are given without any explicit agreement for a reciprocal gift of money, good or services from the receiver. Basically, in a gift economy, if someone needs something which you have the ability to give, you give it, and vice versa. Most people consider gift economies to be rather silly and utopian ("someone's just gonna give me a new cell phone - yeah right!"), but what few people realize is that a

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The Election Blogging Guide

Posted by Mary on 10/08/2007 at 23:58

electionguide.jpgBack in 2006 I wrote The Election Blogging Guide with Solana Larsen and Zephyr Teachout. At the time we wrote it, Solana was an editor at openDemocracy, and now she is also co-managing editor at Global Voices. Zephyr Teachout was Director of Online Organizing for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign and also worked with the Sunlight Foundation. Basically, these two women are rock stars and I am honored to have worked with them.

We decided to write the guide because blogs are a new forum for political expression and engagement. They offer a space for freer speech

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Korea: How Voters Can Steal an Election

Posted by Mary on 09/08/2007 at 13:03

koreaphoneusers.jpgSeoul subway cell phones: great things happen politically when everyone's connected.

Note: this is part of an on-going series of posts based on my research of the the Korean Citizen journalism site OhmyNews. Previous posts can be found here and here.

December 19, 2002, was Election Day in Korea. It was the culmination of this evolution, when the citizen media, grassroots politics, and ordinary citizens came together to shift the fate of an election. The night before, presidential candidate Roh Mo-Hyun was dealt a terrible blow. Chung Mong-Joon, a critical supporter of Roh withdrew his support for the

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The Goal of my Activism

Posted by Mary on 04/08/2007 at 21:42

I've never written a post about my goals as an activist, so if I sound foolishly idealistic please forgive me.   I am interested in digital activism because I think it has the potential to change the world.  But what kind of change am I interested in? What is the end goal of all this activism?

In short, I want to live in a society where people can live the lives they choose, not the lives that are dictated to them by circumstances of birth, ethnicity, social class, or gender.  This is a simple humanist vision, yet we have not yet

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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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