user-generated content

On the Internet, anyone can be a publisher.  Some use their platform to show a dog skateboarding; others seize the opportunity to effect social change.

Planet Forward, the brainchild of Emmy Award-winning journalist Frank Sesno, falls into the latter category, using the Internet to collect the best ideas for solving the energy crisis.

Here's how it works: People submit their personal stories or ideas about solving the energy crisis - via video, poem, or animated short.  Visitors to the Planet Forward website can rate and comment on all of the submissions.  Producers then review the submissions, consider the audience vote, and decide on the best stories to feature in the television pilot.more

Girl Talk: The name conjures sugar and spice and everything nice, with a little Carrie Bradshaw thrown in for good measure. In reality, Girl Talk is the alter ego of Gregg Gillis, an artist who uses software to mix together bits and pieces of other musicians' songs; it's hard to understand the scope of the creativity involved without listening to a few of his songs, which you can do here.

The technique Gillis uses, called "remixing," was a hot topic at the recent South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, and is gaining more and more traction in the online world, begging the question - what is "original content," and who should have the right to appropriate music, film and other content shared online? more

Have you ever had a great idea for a short film, but weren't sure how to get started making it? Do you go to your local art house theater to check out the short films nominated for the Oscars each year? If so, then WGBH Lab is the site for you. The Lab is an online outlet for amateur filmmakers and fans alike to brainstorm ideas for short films, get help from professional filmmakers, and critique each other's work - not to mention possibly be screened on air or online.

WGBH in Boston is one of PBS' largest producing stations, which allows them to have the resources to experiment with projects like the Lab.

The site makes it easy for anyone with Internet access and basic editing software to create a short. If you've got your own camera, you can shoot and upload original footage.

Professional advice from filmmakers like Katrina Browne can help you start the process:more

Here at Engage, we're frequently asking for your feedback on how PBS can better serve you. 

Last year, we asked you what you would like to see more of on PBS.  We got a lot of responses asking for more FRONTLINE, more diversity and lots more quilting and crafting programming.  more

This entry has been re-posted from the Election Connection blog on PBS Vote 2008.

Washington is starting to clear out - the celebrities have gone home and the Obama administration is starting its real work in the White House.  But we can't forget about a weekend that will be remembered for generations.

The inauguration festivities were tracked in a totally new way this year - with a lens into the festivities from the people from around the country who suffered through sub-freezing temperatures and ran around a sometimes-confusing city whose population more than doubled over the weekend. In addition, new technologies gave way for in-depth looks at the festivities, from close up and afar.

For a bird's eye view of the day on the National Mall, NASA provided satellite images, tracking the migration of over a million people gathered from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. more

The Web is buzzing with holiday music playlists, from USA TODAY to Geek Sugar to Bon Appetit. We here at Engage want to know which songs you'd include on your playlist - traditional tunes? Punk covers? There are no wrong answers, so don't be shy - share your picks using the comments feature below. (You can also submit links to your favorite playlists, if someone else has already captured your favorites for you.)

For now, I offer up a selection of unique holiday music - and music videos - from PBS and NPR:more

Does mainstream media represent life in America in a way that rings true for you? Do the people you see on the news, and even in sitcoms or movies, remind you of the people you know? If you answered "no," then Collective Communities may be just what the doctor ordered.

A new Web site in development for PBS, Collective Communities, aims to showcase diverse perspectives on what life in America is like. Instead of a few producers deciding which stories to feature, the site's stories will come from Viewers Like You. While the site will initially focus on American communities, the producers hope to eventually broaden their vision to tell international stories, too.

The site is being produced by FRONTLINE/World and producers Tristan Ahtone, S. Leo Chiang and Jamiah Adams from the National Black Programming Consortium's New Media Institute. In addition to soliciting stories from communities across the country, the producers hope that the site creates a community of its own, with contributors sharing footage, information and ideas online.more

"Eat healthy foods's [sic] or get fat and when you get older you might die. so eat healthy and play."

This is 9-year-old Christina's prescription for a healthier America. It's one of over 1,500 ideas that kids have submitted so far via the Speak Out website on PBS KIDS since the site's launch on November 14.  Produced in collaboration with the New Media Institute, Speak Out invites kids to submit their ideas on what President Obama should do about the issues most important to children - which, as the producers determined via a survey, are schools, being healthy and the environment. In addition to submitting their own ideas, kids can vote on ideas submitted by others; collectively, the site offers a snapshot of a young generation ripe with ideas for changing their nation and the world.

Nina Walia, Associate Director of PBS KIDS, says, "It's rare that we have the chance to do something timely with kids, and the site has gained a lot of attention because of that, (from) both kids and parents."more

Speak Out, a PBS KIDS GO! Web site showcasing kids' ideas for President-elect Obama, is now live.

The project is a co-production of New Media Institute and PBS KIDS GO!. Engage tracked the project through the design and production phases. 

The site includes videos from kids expressing their concerns about the environment, education and health issues, and invites site visitors to add their own ideas and vote on those already submitted. 

Heather, age 8, says that to make the education system better,  "I would like it if every student could have a laptop."  Cole, age 9 suggests "I would make cars sun powered" in order to take care of the earth. 

The production team looks forward to watching the site grow with kid-generated content.  more