Micro Fundraising on Twitter. “Little gifts - and lots of them - are the holy grail.” Some interesting links and case studies for non-profit organizations.  ¶

Selling of The President. A brief look at non-profit ads and political graffiti depicting President Bush over the last 8 years. See also Bush Billboards and GWB in international advertisements. I hope the next time we see this guy’s mug it’ll be on the witness stand.  ¶

What You Can Do With the City. Curated by the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a list of 99 creative, public interventions for civic improvement. See, for instance, Illicit Stencil Saves Cyclists and Reclaim Vacant Lot with What City’s Got. ( via ag, gi)  ¶

Shoes flown round the world. “Protests were held in Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey as the Israeli offensive entered its second week...In many cities people waved shoes — recalling the action of an Iraqi journalist who hurled footwear at U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad last month in a symbolic insult. British demonstrators threw dozens of shoes into the street as they passed the gated entrance to Downing Street, where Prime Minister Gordon Brown lives, and shouted angrily at a line of 40 police officers on guard there. ‘Come to get your shoes Gordon,’ one woman shouted as other marchers directed chants of ‘Shame on you’ at Brown.”  ¶

10 Design Policy Proposals.

The results of a meeting held in Washington DC on November 30, 2008, this concise policy brief proposes a consolidated design policy that fosters “economic competitiveness & democratic governance.” The proposals are:

1. Formalize an American Design Council to partner with the U.S. Government.
2. Set guidelines for legibility, literacy, and accessibility for all government communications.
3. Target 2030 for carbon neutral buildings.
4. Create an Assistant Secretary for Design and Innovation position within the Department of Commerce to promote design.
5. Expand national grants to support interdisciplinary community design assistance programs based on human-centered design principles.
6. Commission a report to measure and document design’s contribution to the U.S. economy.
7. Revive the Presidential Design Awards to be held every year and use triple bottom-line criteria (economic, social, and environmental benefit) for evaluation.
8. Establish national grants for basic design research.
9. Modify the patent process to reflect the types of intellectual property created by designers.
10. Encourage direct government investment in design innovation.

The site is currently accepting comments on the proposals.

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Negotiating Dominance and Submission Through Industrial Design. “Like interactions between people, every dialogue between user and product can be framed as an exchange of power as well as meaning. Products like erasers and hammers submit to our intentions, while cell phones, books, and subways make us submit, either by seduction or force.”  ¶