Who are We?

We are a non-profit media and technology education organization led by a network of individuals interested in making technology serve us. Our community includes leaders from industry, nonprofit spaces, education, media, and beyond. Though our backgrounds and fields vary widely, our network is united by a common passion for understanding technology’s interactions with society, and developing those relationships to serve society on both a micro and macro level.

Ourmedia.Org builds multidirectional networks involving students, technology leaders, corporate innovators, teachers, researchers, and other organizations to define the role of technology in support of society. Its aim is to build communities that support this upcoming generation of thinkers at the intersection of education, technology, and media by bringing together diverse users, stakeholders, and thought leaders across sectors and generations. Our emphasis is on forefronting the voices and concerns of generation Z, with guidance from the current leadership in these sectors to build a network of support.

1

Arpanet

Dave’s interest in technology started during his time in college, where he engaged with the ARPANET at UCSB, the start of the internet, and saw how it would transform the world. Dave helped build hundreds of advanced technology factories that powered the global economy.

2

Intel

Dave sold a public company to work with Intel to define a 20 year computing vision that was a more inclusive secure social network delivered through the first cloud platforms.

3

OurMedia Re-Launch

After witnessing the extreme commodification of the internet, he re-launched the non-profit Ourmedia to address the lack of a support network and community to guide upcoming thought leaders in leveraging technology to serve society.

4

Tara Mandrekar

In 2022 Dave brought on Tara Mandrekar, a current student at the University of California, Santa Barbara with a passion for law and social justice. Tara was drawn to the project because of their interest in ensuring that media and technology is held accountable to creating positive rather than harmful impacts on society.

Ourmedia.Org builds multidirectional networks involving students, technology leaders, corporate innovators, teachers, researchers, and other organizations to define the role of technology in support of society. Its aim is to build communities that support this upcoming generation of thinkers at the intersection of education, technology, and media by bringing together diverse users, stakeholders, and thought leaders across sectors and generations. Our emphasis is on forefronting the voices and concerns of generation Z, with guidance from the current leadership in these sectors to build a network of support.

Where are we going?

March 2023

In March of 2023 we hosted our first event at the University of California that asked a diverse group of faculty and students to consider how Chat-GPT might impact human life and progress. The event was a great success, with all parties learning something new about how AI might be leveraged to assist in humanity’s endeavors as well as the importance of having these types of conversations across both generation and discipline. Ourmedia is currently working on adapting this workshop for use at other universities, as well as growing a Slack community where participants can share additional resources and continue the conversation.

Next Steps

In the coming month, we will be releasing our first workshop package on how to better listen to students in adapting machine learning models and artificial intelligence to university systems as well as life more generally. We hope to facilitate that practice on other campuses by creating workshop packages for use at other universities.

Our Future

Beyond our current efforts, Ourmedia plans to spend the summer building a community and repository of the voices of this movement, including thought leaders and members of generation Z, which will culminate in a festival in the Fall to consider digital innovation more broadly with a wide range of stakeholders.

Why does this matter?

Our current digital world serves to divide us rather than serve us

But there is room for change

Ourmedia.org works to foster a broader discussion and build a social network between Generation Z and current thought leaders that can map onto our society’s current vibrant but scattered push towards social change. If one has a voice in the solution, one will more likely have ownership of the solution.

We are igniting a movement of changemakers to address how an increasingly decentralized technological world could address some of the limitations that our social and political institutions have created. Our work reconciles the abstract ethos of ‘Tech-for-Good’ with real-world, off-line efforts to repair institutions surrounding democracy and the media. Ourmedia’s interest in technology stems from the original purpose of the internet, which was to inform and connect people.

WELCOME TO OURMEDIA

We want your voice and participation to define how Web3 can best serve and support us. What does that mean to you?

The great conundrum, and an invitation to solve it

  • Why does an increased national polarization, juxtaposed with Web 3.0 and a growing urgency for much more “Tech for Good,” offer you an opportunity? Well, driven by America’s mounting culture of valuing the individual over the neighborhood, a disruptive shift toward the good needs to happen. Jamie Diamond, with J.P. Morgan, recently said it best, that “stakeholder” interest should be more balanced with “shareholder” interest. We can meet the moment.
  • Why you and I should immediately want to do something is weighed against a backdrop of data from the past two years that shows that bad behavior is trending up, and that philanthropy, church attendance and environmental health are going downhill. With alarm, you’ve noticed that something darker and deeper seems to be happening as well, featuring a long-term loss of solidarity with a long-term rise in alienation.
  • Ideally, despite all of its acknowledged downsides, technology that you and I possess—and that we’ve actually helped to develop, either directly or indirectly—is about to be re-directed into “Tech for Good.” This can be a pivot point for our society. You’re joining a mainstream, nonpartisan group whose members have spanned from the U.N., World Bank, tech companies, non-profits as well as storytellers from Hollywood to personal media, there’s a broad commitment from across our society; and we have experience in bringing these together.

Here is how you can help.

We need to come out of the Pandemic with a more balanced 21st Century Economy. First, we’ve adapted to change more in the past 24 months—and at a faster pace—than we ever have. As agents of that change, you and I can appreciate how remarkable that accomplishment is. Going forward, the space between the physical and digital world will continue to shrink. As a result, new opportunities will materialize with greater frequency, and with immeasurable impact. Through actionable dialogue, we can help determine whether that’s to become a good thing, or not.

Is technology the center of the universe, no. Rather, we as in you and I are the center, and we should view technology as having a seat at the table, not at the center of our experience. We all discuss information overload, and with the rate of change accelerating we need to have positions to deal with this because it is distracting us from our most fulfilling lives.  Redefining the role of Information, Communication and Technology together.

Second, is it possible for us to reboot for the 21st Century? If so, the potential gained from this tack may be your and my greatest fighting chance yet. You’ll probably agree that potential is the common measure for all of us. Yet, in this case, it will always remain a mere fraction—substantially less than one—without the denominator of our collective effort. With your proven background, you already have a lot going for you, but we offer to find a way to apply that potential to this new problem. That’s why we request your engagement.

You may have observed that it often takes a crisis to help us change strategy and behavior. In turn, with change comes an abundance of opportunity. And that’s when and how we can actually exceed our potential.

As the front lines are being turned upside down, and transformations are accelerating because of technology, the rate of change is moving too fast for business, government and society to adapt vigorously. But you possess experience in building out the technology industry that has powered the economy for the past 50 years. You recognize it’s been used for good, but now increasingly weaponized for self-indulgence.

To keep them from breaking bad, an updated system of communications, new behaviors, governance and accountability must be made to exist. Or, as Jamie Diamond of J.P. Morgan cites, “Stakeholder” interests. To reach our potential, at stake is nothing less than the future of education, business, the environment, faith, and society.

The next generation is shaping up and will determine the future of how we engage and serve our business and social interests. Those of us that are from the 20th century should lean in and add a helping voice for the next generation. Information, Communication and Technology

Teamed with your valuable background, the following are examples of experiences that we can bring to the toolchest:

  • Over 20 years ago we developed some of the first cloud platforms, real time communications and decentralized computing. Those potential advancements for society are now being launched across the market as we head into the Metaverse, AI, Crypto and Quantum computing—many of which were pioneered by our network of business and technology leaders. Among these, decentralized computing significantly enhances how we as individuals can connect to each other, consume information that is trusted, and take actions together.
  • To boost personal performance for networks of thousands, our team introduced AI to social commerce interactions. We pioneered some of the first Podcasts, built by our (who is “our” community of early adopters of communicating with digital media. We contributed to activating the community of the first videobloggers before YouTube, and established the first social network to advance ocean sustainability, constructed an early marketplace for conducting social commerce with AI-guided digital engagement and video technology, plus much more. We now have available to us so many open API’s and tools to redefine our commercial and social interactions.
  • As these examples are intended to illustrate, we have spent decades building a deep network of relationships and would like you to join us in exploring how to define and advance 21st Century economics for Stakeholder interests, that’s us.

In summary, with your participation, in the first 90 days we’ll develop a three-year road map that will be detailed in a transparent way what we will accomplish after a series of listening posts. Milestones will include establishment of a joint purpose and culture, and an approach for Decentralized Organizations that re-enforces how tech can best support humanity. To serve our interests, this is a 501c3.

This very well may be your and my best chance to help revive both our immediate and broader communities, employing something that you and I have built our lives around—Tech for Good.  We invite your participation and donations. Please share with us your contact information and what you would like to help contribute for to defining how we strive to a better work-life balance.

Two heads are better than one. Can we please talk?

Your colleague,

Dave