Tech Matters: Using tech for positive social change

We are pleased to announce the publication of the data and the accompanying data dictionary from the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The statistical dataset is available on our website. All of personal information has been removed from the published dataset to protect the identities of the victims and statement givers. The dataset can be used to replicate the analysis presented in our report, "Descriptive Statistics From Statements to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission," and for extended analysis of statistical patterns of human rights violations reported to the TRC. The Benetech team worked closely with the team at the Liberian TRC, who did an incredible job of collecting data about human rights violations during Liberia's civil conflict. We are excited about the commitment to transparency and science demonstrated by this data release.

The ten days in the UK amazed me with the power of social media in my life. As a tech guy who also plays a social entrepreneur, I often get asked by my SE buddies about what are the practical use of a tool like Twitter. I moderated an excellent session at the Skoll World Forum last week on using social media for more social mission impact. But rather than making this an extensive essay on the glories of social media, I just want to give some examples from my UK trip, just from Twitter. I spend less than 15 minutes a day on social media, but the payoffs are huge! BBC tracks me down! When I arrived in London on Sunday, I sent a tweet out on Twitter: Just landed at Heathrow and looking forward to Oxford and seeing all my #socent buddies at #swf10 I quickly get a direct message from Tim Weber, the Business Editor of the BBC News website. He invites me to come by the BBC in London the next day for a tour of the newsroom. Via Twitter, we set the time and he gives me the Tube stop (...

My latest President's Update is up on the Benetech website. This update spotlights our new Benetech report celebrating twenty (!) years of technology serving humanity. When I first started Benetech, I never dreamed that we would actually be where we are today. Through the generosity of our committed supporters, Benetech has had remarkable success and I am proud of our impact in the fields of disability, human rights and the environment. Our report asks the question “How many people can a single idea help?” This is a question we ask every day at Benetech. As a technology company where social benefit—not profit—is the bottom line, we believe the knowledge is readily available to solve many of humanity’s most vexing problems. Our innovative solutions take the best of existing technology and adapt it at low cost to confront these challenges. In this time of social conflict, environmental destruction and economic uncertainty, the need for such a strategy has never been greater. We’re...

Great to see two social enterprise bloggers, Kylie Eastley of Tasmania and Tristan Pollock from Minnesota, won Halle Tecco's contest on Huffington Post to go to the Social Enterprise Alliance Summit later this month in San Francisco. I just heard from Jerr Boschee, the interim CEO of SEA, that registrations are already well ahead of past Summits, and that over 30% of the attendees are coming from outside the United States. This year's Summit is being held in conjunction with the Social Enterprise World Forum, which was in Australia last year and Scotland the year before that. Next year it will be in South Africa. We're excited to playing host to the growing global social enterprise movement, and I'm glad that Kylie will be blogging up a storm from down under even Down Under! This Summit will be my swan song in a leadership role at the Alliance. I joined the board ten years ago, and my term limits were extended to act in the chair's role these past two years, fo...