Mediaboss Marketing

WTF?

Thats what several bicyclists in Minneapolis were probably thinking recently as they encountered a fully dressed matador squaring off with them on as they rode down one of the citys many bike paths.

Turns out it was an art project from the Carmichael Collective, which over the past 10 months has created a series of similarly wacky and creative stunts.

Its all about creativity for creativitys sake, says Dave Damman, the founder of the collective, which is compromised of employees from Carmichael Lynch, an advertising firm based in that city.

Back in May we covered a project called Bug Memorials which was one of the collectives first projects and ever since theyve been pushing out new ideas as a way to help employees at the firm get their creative juices flowing.

Damman, who is also the chief creative officer for Carmichael Lynch, says that when staffers participate in the collective he doesnt want them worrying about meeting client needs or tailoring projects to reach a specific audience. He just wants them to have fun and think outside the box.

The mantra for the whole thing is What if? he says.

Like many of the collectives projects, the idea for the Bike Matador just popped into an employees head one day. Damman says Thako Harris was riding his bike to work and thought about how he might spruce up the commute.

If he was doing this with cars he probably would have been run over or at least flipped off, Damman says. But none of the bikers had unfavorable responses.

Other recent projects include the Censorship Towel, Piata Anatomy and Urban Plant Tags.

Excerpt from:
Bike Matadors and Censorship Towels Spring From Ad Firm’s Creative Offshoot

When it comes to censorship, librarians sit at ground zero.

"Librarians are on the front line in protecting our freedom to read," said Trisha Noack, supervisor of public relations for the Peoria Public Library.

Almost every day in the U.S. someone challenges a book and asks that it be removed from the shelf of a public or school library.

"They don't want you to read anything from 'Harry Potter' to 'Captain Underpants,' " said Noack. "People are still trying to keep you from reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird' - it gets challenged every year. If everyone backed down, there would be nothing on the shelves to read."

To draw attention to the issue, libraries all over the country will be participating in the American Library Association's Banned Book Week Sept. 30 through Oct. 6.

"It's a freedom we enjoy. You have to protect it," said Noack.

Books are not challenged often in Peoria. In the nine years Noack has been working at the library she has seen only onechallenge.

"The last challenge we had was to 'It's Perfectly Normal' by Robie Harris," said Noack. Meant for ages 10 and up, the book, whose full title is "It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health," describes puberty and human sexuality in a light, kid-friendly way.

"People seemed to object to the drawings, which are line drawings and somewhat humorous at times," Noack said. "They also objected to the practices described as 'perfectly normal.' "

The challenge was instigated by a national group protesting the book all over the country, Noack said.

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National banned book week sheds light on censorship

Summary: Government lifts ban on Google's e-mail service after blocking it last week, following plans to introduce domestic versions of search and e-mail services soon.

Iran has lifted its online blocks on Gmail, but an official says additional censorship is being prepared against YouTube. This comes as the country revealed it was introducing domestic versions of Google's search engine and e-mail service soon.

According to AFP on Monday, Internet users in Iran found themselves able to freely access their Gmail accounts for the first time since the blocks were suddenly in place on Sep. 24.

The secure-protocol HTTPS version of Google search was also made accessible after being blocked at the same time, while the unsecure HTTP version remained unblocked.

Last week, Iran had blocked Gmail but not Google's search engine, in response to a court order linked to the distribution of controversial anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims" on YouTube, also owned by Google.

An Iranian official, had then stated that "due to the repeated demands of the people,Google and Gmail will be filtered nationwide. They will remain filtered until further notice."

However on Monday, Mehr news agency cited Mohammad Reza Miri, a member of Iran's telecommunications ministry committee tasked with Internet filtering in Iran, explaining the the Gmail block had been an "involuntary" consequence of trying to reinforce censorship of YouTube.

"We absolutely do not want YouTube to be accessible. That is why the telecommunications ministry is seeking a solution to fix the problem to block YouTube under the HTTPS protocol while leaving Gmail accessible. That will soon happen."

Changing approach to censorshipYouTube has been effectively censored in Iran since mid-2009, according to data from Google monitoring traffic connectivity.

The Iranian government last week also announced plans to move citizens to its local Internet system, which it said will be fully implemented by March 2013.

Continue reading here:
Iran unblocks Gmail, plans local alternatives

iStockPhoto / RapidEye

Draconian laws, brutal attacks against bloggers and politically motivated surveillance are among the biggest threats to Internet freedom emerging in the last two years, according to a new report from free speech advocates, Freedom House.

"Freedom on the Net 2012: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media," looked at barriers to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights in 47 countries across the globe. Estonia was rated as having the greatest degree of Internet freedom, while Iran, Cuba and China were viewed as the most restrictive.

While social media was key in the uprising in Egypt, censorship there continues apace, says Freedom House, a U.S.-based independent watchdog organization.

Although online activism is increasing, the report said authoritarian regimes were employing a wider and increasingly sophisticated arsenal of countermeasures.

According to Freedom House, China has the world's largest population of Internet users, yet the authorities operate the most sophisticated system of censorship. Its "great firewall" has become notorious for literally shutting down Internet "chatter" it views as sensitive. Earlier this year, censors blocked related search terms to prevent the public from obtaining news on prominent human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who caused a diplomatic storm when he escaped house arrest to seek refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Major web portals and social networking sites, though not state-owned, have had to comply with strict government censorship rules -- or risk being shut down. After launching a campaign to clean up "rampant online rumors," Chinese authorities in March ordered the country's leading micro-blogging sites -- including Sina Weibo -- to disable their comment function for three days. In China, bloggers are also required to register their real names -- though it's not clear how many have complied with the rules.

"It's a typical response by officials and quite a successful strategy in making it extremely difficult to spread information beyond some small circles of activists," Jeremy Goldkorn, a leading commentator on China's social media, told CNN at the time.

Freedom House claims Beijing's influence as an "incubator for sophisticated restrictions" has not gone unnoticed, with governments such as Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Iran using China as a model for their own Internet controls.

Unrest across the Middle East prompted increased censorship, arrests, and violence against bloggers as authoritarian regimes look to quell calls for reform. Social media was widely accepted to have played a key role in popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Fearing a similar "revolution" in Saudi Arabia, the authorities there took immediate steps to respond to what they regarded as a national security threat.

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Big Brother still watching: Internet censorship up, report says

HONG KONG (CNN) -- Draconian laws, brutal attacks against bloggers and politically motivated surveillance are among the biggest threats to Internet freedom emerging in the last two years, according to a new report from free speech advocates, Freedom House.

"Freedom on the Net 2012: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media," looked at barriers to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights in 47 countries across the globe. Estonia was rated as having the greatest degree of Internet freedom, while Iran, Cuba and China were viewed as the most restrictive.

While social media was key in the uprising in Egypt, censorship there continues apace, says Freedom House, a U.S.-based independent watchdog organization.

Although online activism is increasing, the report said authoritarian regimes were employing a wider and increasingly sophisticated arsenal of countermeasures.

Read the full report

According to Freedom House, China has the world's largest population of Internet users, yet the authorities operate the most sophisticated system of censorship. Its "great firewall" has become notorious for literally shutting down Internet "chatter" it views as sensitive. Earlier this year, censors blocked related search terms to prevent the public from obtaining news on prominent human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who caused a diplomatic storm when he escaped house arrest to seek refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Major web portals and social networking sites, though not state-owned, have had to comply with strict government censorship rules -- or risk being shut down. After launching a campaign to clean up "rampant online rumors," Chinese authorities in March ordered the country's leading micro-blogging sites -- including Sina Weibo -- to disable their comment function for three days. In China, bloggers are also required to register their real names -- though it's not clear how many have complied with the rules.

"It's a typical response by officials and quite a successful strategy in making it extremely difficult to spread information beyond some small circles of activists," Jeremy Goldkorn, a leading commentator on China's social media, told CNN at the time.

Freedom House claims Beijing's influence as an "incubator for sophisticated restrictions" has not gone unnoticed, with governments such as Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Iran using China as a model for their own Internet controls.

Unrest across the Middle East prompted increased censorship, arrests, and violence against bloggers as authoritarian regimes look to quell calls for reform. Social media was widely accepted to have played a key role in popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Fearing a similar "revolution" in Saudi Arabia, the authorities there took immediate steps to respond to what they regarded as a national security threat.

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Internet Censorship on the Up, Report Says