ME and Ophelia

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BBC'S BIG EXPERIMENT IN CITIZEN ACTIVISM
iCAN launches November 3, 2003

American journalist and blogger Dan Gillmor is currently in London interviewing people at BBCi, the interactive arm of the BBC, about a new project called iCan. "If the project succeeds, it'll be a big deal in the world of journalism," blogs Dan, a Mercury News Technology Columnist working and living in the Silicon Valley area of California, USA.

iCan is a new BBC service which aims to help people start doing something about issues in their life. You can find advice, inspiration, and a growing number of people able to help you. The site doesn't officially launch till 3 November 2003, but they've put it out now in a "beta" version so you can start using it early. If you want to find out how iCan can help you, why not take their quick step-by-step tour, which should be available today.

Dan says of iCan, "The basic idea is to arm citizens with information and tools so they can become political activisits. BBC journalists will closely observe what citizens say and do, and adjust their reporting to some degree to reflect what's happening". For now, his immediate reaction is, quote: "This could make a difference".

Look forward to following Dan's interesting blog as he intends to write a lot more about this in coming days.