"Immersion" is an online tool by MIT that enables you to see what NSA knows about you from your Gmail account.

At the end of July, Zimbabweans went to the polls. This time round, websites were set up to allow citizens to post reports on electoral violence, intimidation, irregularities etc. This information was then analysed and and mapped.

http://www.zimelections2013.com/
http://zimbabweelections.crowdmap.com/
http://www.votewatch263.org/

(Tati Almeida, whose son Alexander Almeida was arrested and disappeared in the early 1970s)

AFRICA: CELL PHONES AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE
A recent study called Technology and Collective Action: The Effect of Cell Phone Coverage and Political Violence in Africa, has some interesting findings.

(James Bridle's 'Drone Shadown 002, photographed in Istanbul)

"I STARTED FEELING LIKE A SOCIOPATH": DRONE OPERATOR
In a filmed interview, former US drone operator Brandon Bryant, 27, said that during the course of his work he “lost respect for life” and started feeling like a “sociopath”.

A video tribute to Bradley Manning featuring celebrities including the UK's Russell Brand.

PROTEST IN TURKEY: TACTICS
Citizen video: Michelle McCloskey writes for WITNESS,  "As the #OccupyGezi protests have surged, Turkish mainstream media has foundered, failing to cover the anti-government demonstrations for fear of retribution. Citizen journalists–”sivil gazeteci,” in Turkish–have stepped up to fill the role so that the Turkish people and the world can see what's happening in the country."

(March against Monsanto. Image from the Global Alliance for Seed Freedom)

We're used to reading critiques from civil society and activists about big companies' use of our data; its more unusual to read about companies supporting initiatives to help consumers capture the value of this data.

(Part of the cover of Ethan Zuckerman's book Rewire)

Three academic perspectives on info-activism:

A useful bibliography;