An international Maritime success story - using the power of blogging

By anybody's standards, Mcinnes-Cooper lawyer David Fraser is an national - and even international - success.

Not yet 40, he has become the go-to-guy in Canada whenever Canada's national media want a pertinent quote on a privacy-related story.

In researching credible panelists for "Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?" (an Internet and Digital Town Hall) here in Halifax, the planning committee quickly became convinced that all the movers and shakers on these issues lived in Central Canada - and that in fact live most with 150 miles of Ottawa's Parliament Buildings.

In a bit of panic, we called some of those movers and shakers and said, "You got to help us out - is there anyone in the Maritimes with any sort of a national presence on these kinda issues?!"

They started off admitting they didn't know anyone Down East, period, who dealt with these issues.

But then invariably, they'd pause in mid stream ,"...wait - the big guy on privacy - David Fraser - isn't he from Halifax - yeah, I am sure he is."

Then they all confess that "they read his "Canadian Privacy Law" blog faithfully".

The son of a Canadian diplomat, Fraser travelled widely as a child. But since coming, in 1993, to St Mary's for a history MA and then to Dal to get his LLB, David has remained in Halifax.

He's done all the 'old school things' a lawyer and a scholar always does to gradually get better known nationally - the articles in the traditional journals, the conferences meet-and -greets.

But conferences are a rare event and a lawyer in Halifax in the past would normally be outside the day to day connection building that lawyers inside the "blessed triangle" of Toronto to Ottawa to Montreal enjoy.

But the world of blogging - and lawyers have probably taken it up more assiduously than any other profession - allows a truly talented someone in a relatively small and remote region like the Maritimes to quickly make their mark nationally.

Not just among the lawyers and journalists inside The Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal Beltway either - the power of blogging is shown when a successful law-blogger starts getting comments and faithful readers from lawyers in Canadian towns and cities even more remote than Halifax.

To these small town readers, David Fraser is an online superstar.

Remember - "on the internet - nobody knows you're a Down-Easter."

We exaggerate - if anything, people online are even more curious than usual to learn a little more about the writers they admire.

Its just that it doesn't matter anymore where you live - if you have talent - above all the talent to communicate what you have to say - you can leap over geographic barriers without a glance, to plant your brand on the world.

David Fraser's success as a stay-at-home Maritimer who is nevertheless a nationally-known blogger shouldn't be allowed to remain unique.

Others here in the Maritimes need to learn his story - above all those ambitious young people already looking to leave here to become successful.

David shows us all that you can still stay Down East and yet establish a national voice - if you have drive, intelligence - and a blog....

Pirate Party to meet in Halifax October 17

The old line parties - the Greens,Bloc,NDP,Liberals and Conservatives - will face a new party whenever Mr Harper next visits the GG.

The Pirate Party of Canada is very, very, very close to getting itself registered officially with Elections Canada.

(I know that feeling....)

Halifax is no exception to the process and a group has been meeting online and in person in this city.

The next in-person meeting is take place , 3:00 PM, this Saturday, October 17th, at the Spring Garden Road branch of the Halifax Library.

I work - occasionally ! - so I will be late, but I will be there.

The only East Coast stop of the open internet Town Hall movement , "Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?" will be inviting all the political parties to attend the October 26th evening meeting at the Dal SUB McInnes Room.

That includes the Pirates.

I can only hope that their presence (before almost 600 would-be voters !) will put the old line parties on notice.

It is essential that all of the oldliners give more than lip service as to just who is throttling the information pipeline we so desperately need right now, to make it through the world's environmental crisis and the coming natural resource shortfall.

In the future, Ideas - not Oil - will keep grandmother warm and granddaughter fed - and it will be seen as a criminal act to throttle a good new idea , just to protect your firm's dinosaur intellectual assets.

I am as serious as Life itself - when people are cold and hungry they are not always the most rational and they will start looking around for scapegoats - it would be better for our Telcos and Cablecos if they are not in an angry electorate's line-of-sight....

Rob leForte and DSU runs bold with Town Hall on "Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?"

When Chebucto Community Net came to Rob LeForte, External VP at the Dalhousie Student Union in Halifax, and suggested the DSU consider sponsoring an alternative Town Hall on citizen concerns over just where in the h-ll the internet mavens were taking our private data and personal freedoms, he could have easily begged off.

But to his credit, he took it up right away as something the DSU owed not just to its students and university students across Canada, but as part of Dal's obligation to serve the greater Atlantic Canadian population.

(These alternative Town Halls had been making their way across Canada and the East Coast was overdue for one.)

Atlantic Canadians need so badly to be part of the national and global conversation on the direction of where the internet is going.

"Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?"

October 26 - 7:00-9:30pm.

Its a Monday evening and there is only 600 seats - max - at McInnes Room, Dal SUB - so plan to get there early.

Thanks ,Rob & DSU Executive for having the vision....!

A rare PhD sees Internet copyright from two unusual angles at "Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?"

Darren Abramson is an unusual sort of philosopher , even for the twenty first century.

And I've met a few.

Michael Marshall is my partner, as many of you may know.

His father, Rowland (Rollie) Marshall, is a retired philosophy professor at SMU (St Mary's University) here in Halifax.

Rowland always insisted that philosophers have to climb down from their ivory seminar rooms and 'go public'.

On his retirement, he donated sufficient money to convince SMU to set up an annual public lecture where prominent philosophers are brought in to deliver a public-oriented lecture on a matter of pressing public concern.

So I am sure that Rowland is proud that a philosopher was invited to add his two cents to one of the most pressing issues of our day : where in the heck are the big boys of the internet heading with our personal information and personal freedoms ?

("Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?" Oct 26 Mcinnes Room, Dal SUB, 7-9:30 pm, free - only 600 seats so plan to get there early.)

Doctor Abramson, who teaches at Dalhousie university, has an unusual educational background for a philosopher .

He has a joint Ph.D. in the philosophy of mind & cognitive science ( and he's not just winging it in the tech department, either : he also has a M.Sc. in Computer Science.)

He has his own views on how copyright is working out out there on the digital pipeline - and how it should be working.

It won't be the usual spin, that is for sure.

Be there !

Slashdot post picks up on "Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?"

Tanx to farbles and slashdot.org for picking up on the latest in a cross country series of ALTERNATIVE town halls over citizen concerns on just what the Canadian Sector of the Digital DMZ is up to.

"Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?"

Oct 26 7-930 pm, Mcinnes Room, Dal SUB, free, only holds 600 people and a few aliens, be there early.

Show S. Harper how to do citizen engagement right....

David Fraser, national expert, local treasure

We are lucky to have someone like lawyer David Fraser of Mcinnes Cooper around here in Atlantic Canada.

He is the best known expert in the country on privacy issues, particularly as they are impacted by digital 'progress'.

Most experts on telecommunication and digital/internet concerns are found in Central Canada - particularly in Ottawa.

David is here, he's ours, and he speaks on privacy concerns on the internet at the Dal SUB McInnes Room on October 26th at 7pm.

"Who is SHAPING your Digital Future?"

Learn about your rights and obligations as you ply the uncharted waters of the internet....