Personal experiences bringing technology and new media to disaster areas

A discussion about technology, culture, the Creative Commons and the media with regards to disaster areas and warzones.

Jacob Appelbaum traveled from Turkey into Iraq in April of 2005. He documented his trip with a focus on photography, blogging and video interviewing. After hurricane Katrina, he traveled into Houston, Baton Rouge and finally New Orleans.

The discussion will cover issues from safety, technology, documentation, sensitivity to local cultural issues, techniques for entry, methods for networking in remote parts of the world, helping other travelers and how new media such as blogging helps us to address issues worldwide.

It will be a discussion about modern techniques for disseminating information in a wide spread manner. The speaker will discuss the programs, protocols, and methods he has used in his recent experiences in New Orleans and Iraq. The speaker will also discuss methods for bypassing authority figures that may wish to restrain or monitor a person disseminating information.

Further subject manner will include:

Finding uplinks in obscure or distant parts of the world or destroyed areas directly after a disaster. The use of cryptography and stenography, when and where it's useful. Finding a core audience of people that are interested in the subject matter. Being helpful and knowing when to say what. Staying safe and being prepared.