From Monday, iCommons will be running an auction to raise funds to sustain the organisation's projects. They will be updating the site every few days with new items (each item will be on bid for 10 days). Watch this space or visit the iCommons auction page for updates...
via iCommons.org [add'l links by newsgrist]:
The iCommons Auction runs from 19 November to 14 December, 2007. This is an innovative auction of paraphernalia from some of the world's leading Internet figures. From Internet activist and Stanford Law Professor, Lawrence Lessig's coat that he wore in countries around the world that invited him to talk about free culture; to pre-prints from best-selling novelist, Cory Doctorow's forthcoming, to-be-Creative Commons-licensed novel, Little Brother; and from #13 of only 20 plush toys of Firefox Japan's mascot, Fox-keh that took the world by storm, to four of Indian intellectual property expert Lawrence Liang's favorite Bollywood films: this auction is a celebration of free culture from around the world from those who make it and build it every day. All the proceeds of the auction will go to developing and sustaining iCommons' global projects.
The first set of items include the following:
1. Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture Coat
At the Dubrovnik iSummit, Lawrence Lessig, author, activist and philosopher hung up his boots, as the saying goes, to work on a new issue. He has not left the free culture movement that he helped found (he remains CEO of Creative Commons) but his activism has taken a new turn, and he has left the stage to make way for new commentators, philosophers and leaders.Rather than donating his boots, Lessig has kindly donated two of the hand tailored coats that he wore while talking about free culture in dozens of countries around the world. We will start and end the iCommons Auction with one of each of these coats.
2. A First Life Survival Kit for a Second Life Fan
Some Second-Lifers find adjusting to their life in the First Life, or real world, a little difficult – it's nowhere near as pretty, and sometimes you have to deal with real people. So Linden Lab, the home of Second Life, has created this survival kit to protect the avid user. The kit contains a grey Second Life hoodie sweatshirt, and a Second Life Official Guide Book signed by co-author Cory Ondrejka. Also included in the package are an assortment of essential Second Life items: stickers, a postcard signed by Lindens, a glowing LED cube, a black Second Life cube t-shirt, a "Will work for Linden $" t-shirt, a custom embossed Moleskine notebook and a USB thumbdrive.
3. Firefox's Foxkeh
One of a limited edition of only 20 plush toys, 'Foxkeh' was born in Japan as part of the very successful 'Spread Firefox' campaign. Reading from the blog entry that describes how the toy was made on foxkeh.com, you can see just how popular it is. Foxkeh himself is licensed under Creative Commons and his image has been used to promote Firefox by Firefox users all over the world.According to his blog, Foxkeh (who is about kindergarten age in human years) is a friendly, curious fox, from the third planet. His favourite things are open space, making friends and playing freely, and he dreams of becoming the greatest Web browser in the world. Only 20 Fox-keh's were created, so he is a special toy.
Next up include:
and many more! (There are a total of 30 items in this year's auction.)The people who have donated to the iCommons Auction are leading figures in the global movement to make the Internet a powerful tool for change, innovation, sustainability and development. Their donations tell stories of a history that is currently being written. This auction is a celebration of free culture from around the world from those who make it and build it every day.
These are valuable mementos from the global free culture movement, but they also represent bidders' commitment to sustaining the work that iCommons is doing to grow local awareness and understanding of the value of common knowledge, education and creativity for all humankind.
