Fwd: FILMS FOR ACTION LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE, FEATURES OVER 600 ONLINE VIDEOS HAND-PICKED TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Michael Hoey
From: Tim Hjersted <timhj...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 9:11 PM
Subject: FILMS FOR ACTION LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE, FEATURES OVER 600
ONLINE VIDEOS HAND-PICKED TO CHANGE THE WORLD
To: Matthew Toplikar <mtop...@gmail.com>, Mason Umholtz
<masonu...@gmail.com>, Steven <innern...@gmail.com>, Michael
Almon <para...@ixks.com>, Michael Hoey <mike...@gmail.com>
FILMS FOR ACTION LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE, FEATURES OVER 600 ONLINE VIDEOS
HAND-PICKED TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Lawrence, KS, January 26, 2010 - After 12 months in development, Films
For Action has launched its new website - a bold redesign that sets
the standard for what a 21st century community-powered news outlet
should look like. The site now features over 600 videos, daily
independent news, and a "Take Action" section to help users find ways
to make a positive impact.
"It's probably the most comprehensive collection of videos dedicated
to social change online," says Tim Hjersted, co-founder and director
for the project. "With the overwhelming amount of junk-food-news and
political gossip out there, people have really grown hungry for
diverse, nutritious information. The website has become a treasure
trove for people wanting to learn about what's really going on in the
world."
Founded in 2006, Films For Action is a non-profit organization that
works both on an international and local level to raise awareness of
important social, environmental, and media-related issues not covered
by the mainstream news. Through its website and the group's local city
chapters, the goal is to provide citizens with the information and
perspectives essential to creating a more just, sustainable, and
democratic society.
"For the new design, accessibility was key," says Mason Umholtz, the
team's Chicago-based graphic designer. Umholtz spent months
teleconferencing with Hjersted to reach the site's new visual look.
"A lot of news and activist sites can be intimidating, too cluttered
or clogged up with ads. Oftentimes the content is great but the clunky
interface or presentation turns people away. It was essential for us
to create an aesthetic and a user-experience that was attractive,
familiar, and easy to use."
The site boasts an extensive feature list, drawing on many of the best
innovations in web 2.0 design and social media connectivity. Member
profiles can be created easily with Facebook Connect, and include
messaging, notifications, and the ability to follow your friends'
activity on the site. The new site also allows anyone to contribute
content, while a democratic voting system gives users the power to
help decide what content is featured on the homepage. Several other
features are dedicated to the site's city chapter areas, including
local events, local news coverage, and a directory for local activist
groups.
All of these features were brought to life by the team's computer
programmer, Eli Dragen, who saw the potential for the project to take
on a national and global focus.
"After four years focusing the project on efforts in Lawrence and
seeing the success we'd had, we realized that the needs our own city
had for better media was true everywhere,” Dragen said. “Most
organizations are strapped for technical resources and can't afford to
hire a Web designer to create a robust news site from scratch, and so
far, none of the ‘website-out-of-a-box’ solutions, like Word Press or
Blogger have focused on activist functionality. With the new site,
we've made it easy for anyone to create a local chapter dedicated to
providing indy-media for their city."
Matt Toplikar, a co-founder and editor for the project, believes the
site may become the future of activism on the Web.
“This is more than just a catalog of 600 films and video clips,” said
Toplikar, who works in the film and TV industry out of Albuquerque,
N.M. “It’s an activist’s library, an information hub for local
organizing, and a place where people can turn their political
frustration into positive action. Nothing in its class even begins to
compare.”
"People are tired of the weak journalism and shallow debates from the
usual talking heads on TV," Hjersted says. "But we don't need to wait
for the mainstream media to reform themselves. With the internet, we
don't need $500 million to buy our own network. We can create our own
media channels. Grass-roots, from the bottom up."
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