Marc Canter's Digital City

Marc Canter - the guy who brought us Macromedia and the first multimedia authoring tools wants to help post-industrial cities like his own Cleveland re-employ its citizens in a new economy. Unlike me, however, instead of building business from the ground up, Canter believes that the corporate-employee relationship can be salvaged and revitalized. His answer, Digital City Mechanics, is dedicated to re-educating workers in basic net skills while re-educating companies in hiring and organization. Given that the former rust belt is now the polymer belt (cellulose water bottles, anyone?) he may just be onto something. If nothing else, I have learned from experience: do not underestimate this man. The above video was shot on an iPhone at the Open Video Conference, where Marc was hoping to help figure out how to fill in the gaps for open standards in web video production and distribution.

Winner of the Media Ecology Association's first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity, Douglas Rushkoff is an author, teacher, and documentarian who focuses on the ways people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other's values. He is technology and media commentator for CNN, and has taught and lectured around the world about media, technology, culture and economics. His new book, Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age, a followup to his Frontline documentary, Digital Nation. His last book, an analysis of the corporate spectacle called Life Inc., was also made into a short, award-winning film.

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Anonymous

Hey everybody

I just updated our Digital City Mechanics site with a recent white paper that explains everything.

And this is not just about training for jobs – this is about creating jobs as well.
Locobot

Is there really a shortage of workers with basic net skills? People with really advanced net skills can’t make money right now so it’s hard to see what tons of people with basic skills could do for a company.
- Anonymous
  
  Honestly in Cleveland there’s a shortage of folks with really advanced skills as well. I know probably half a dozen companies hiring programmers in the area and if you want to be an independent consultant there’s even more work. Cleveland is an old manufacturing town, and a lot of people still work in “blue collar” jobs here today which means a surprisingly large number really don’t have a modern internet-era skillset.
Anonymous

Feh.. I liked his digiscents idea better. mmm…I love the smell of the web in the morning! and yes it was called “iSmell” Seriously.
http://gameluv.com/luv/?p=1023