UE Next: My Vision

Urgent Evoke has been an interesting experiment with fusing Web 2.0 with social activism. while i believe that the World Bank's reasons for funding this are FAR less than honorable, i believe that UE has some very positive results because of the wonderful community that it now consists of.

A) WHICH great challenges and social problems should the EVOKE Network tackle next?

1) Corruption in Government - most people just tell me, 'good luck with that one'.

2) Children's Rights - in most of the world, children have little to no rights in their schools and at home. witness this trampling of children's rights in the USA:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6r9neE89Fg

3) Journalism - COWARDLY and UNETHICAL journalism by major media sources, as well as intimidation and smearing of independent/amateur/anonymous journalists, prevents us from knowing the TRUTH. Urgent Evoke's (World Bank's) recent smear of anonymous/independent journalism in the comic for Mission 9 is one example. http://www.urgentevoke.com/profiles/blogs/ethics-in-journalism-abusing

4) LGBT rights - there is a crisis around the world for LGBT, especially in countries where it is ILLEGAL to be LGBT.

5) de facto Racism - the little intolerances that we put up with form the basis of greater problems. racial profiling, using race' as a cultural determinant and racism in advertising are included in these.

6) World Bank - a measly $1000 prize and a transparent effort to improve their public image does nothing to change the way they actually work.

B) WHERE in the world should the network try to build up new EVOKE communities?

Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America are all woefully underrepresented. Urgent Evoke MUST be translated into more languages. Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, French and Hindi would be a good start.

C) WHO would you encourage to play Season 2?

one group of people have only been involved with UE in a non-active role; people with extensive experience in social activism. they have a wealth of information from their successes and failures that everyone can learn from, so they should consider being active agents. of course, i still want mostly people that are new to social activism, which is the idealistic goal of Urgent Evoke.

i would like to see many more journalists involved. they can report on the work of UE Agents, use their press clearance to find more information on missions and report on Urgent Evoke workings.

i would also encourage Jane McGonigal to participate actively. her input would have helped with MANY issues that have happened here on UE.

D) HOW would you change the game for Season 2?

1) more actual 'alternate reality game' playing, as in SuperStruct. - i don't really feel like i am a part of the 'story' at all. where are the prop websites and secret communications that made 'I LOVE BEES' so immersive and 'real'? to start with, i would suggest the creation of a prop site for CitizenX and any prop sites that will support the reports by CitizenX. i would also suggest that the 'enemy' of Urgent Evoke be played by someone as well, giving them 'info' on the fictional part of Urgent Evoke.

2) powers that focus on charity and philanthropy. - http://www.urgentevoke.com/profiles/blogs/secret-of-missing-evoke-p...

3) all-member EVOKE official process. - make a way for anyone to call for an EVOKE for real life situations. news of such disasters as the eruption in Iceland should have sent out an EVOKE to all members.

4) transparency in the work of admins and moderators. - this has already been discussed at length, but still bears repeating as it is a problem that can DESTROY online communities.

E) WHAT new tools would you want as an EVOKE agent?

1) UE phone application - this would allow people without computers, as well as frequent travelers, to participate in Urgent Evoke.

2) UE Agent Chat - would be nice to have, for real time communication.

3) all-member EVOKE official process - as mentioned above.

F) WHY would you come back for a second Season?

i would want to see how it has evolved, or devolved. i also have a curiosity as to what issues the World Bank will choose to display.

G) What more would you want from the experience?

everything listed above.