About Miro
There's an opportunity to build a new, open mass medium of online television. We're developing the Miro internet TV platform so that watching internet video channels will be as easy as watching TV and broadcasting a channel will be open to everyone. Unlike traditional TV, everyone will have a voice.
Our Organization
Miro is built by the Participatory Culture Foundation (PCF), a 501c3 non-profit based in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. PCF was founded in 2005 with a mission to open media and culture to more people than ever before.
People often ask why we're setup as a non-profit rather than a for-profit. Quite simply: all of us at PCF are drawn to the project because of the mission and being a non-profit is the only way we can ensure that the mission is built into the structure of the company. So many times we've seen for-profit companies lose their values as financial pressures mount, founders leave, or they get acquired. We want to make sure that can't happen.
Being non-profit has other benefits as well. Most importantly, it means that we are accountable to our user community and the public. There aren't any venture capitalists or shareholders that can force us to go in a direction that's bad for users but good for profits.
Also see: our mission, our technology, blog and press page.Miro Co-Branded Players
We now offer co-branded versions of Miro. Miro Co-Branded Players enable content producers and distributors to extend their brand and content onto the desktop. For more information, please visit www.getmiro.com/co-branding/
To inquire about Miro Co-Branded Players please send an email to Jesse Patel at jessep [at] pculture.org. In your email, provide the following information: 1) Overview of your organization, 2) Link to your website, 3) Size of your audience, 4) How you want to use your co-branded player, 5) Any special features your co-branded player would need.
Board of Directors
Tiffiniy Cheng
Tiffiniy is a co-Founder of PCF. She is also the Executive Director of the Participatory Politics Foundation.
Joel Cohen
Joel is a television producer, director, and editor, best known for producing The 90's, a critically acclaimed reality magazine series on PBS.
Cory Doctorow
Cory writes for BoingBoing.net, and is a science fiction writer, professor, and has worked for the Electronic Frontier Foundation for many years.
Dave Glassco, Secretary
Dave is a geek, musician, and father living in Austin, Texas.
Rick Hess, President
Rick Hess is a San Francisco-based high technology executive, advisor, and political activist. A former Oracle/PeopleSoft/Arbor/Hyperion VP and CEO of Ellianz, Rick is in awe of the next generation of techies who really want to help improve the human condition using technology.
John Lilly
John is the Chief Executive Officer at Mozilla Corporation, creators of the Firefox web browser.
John Lungo
John is a Venture Partner at Lightspeed. He is a former Senior VP of Oracle and CEO of the Vantive Corporation.
Nicholas Reville, Treasurer
Nicholas is a co-founder of PCF and is the Executive Director.
Zephyr Teachout
Zephyr is National Director of the Sunlight Foundation. Zephyr was Director of Online Organizing for Howard Dean's Campaign, a lecturer at the University of Vermont, a lawyer, and a fellow at the Berkman Center.
Holmes Wilson
Holmes is a co-Founder of PCF. He has led several successful online advocacy projects and is also on the board of the Participatory Politics Foundation.
Major Funders
Rappaport Family Foundation
Mitch Kapor Foundation
Surdna Foundation
Mozilla Foundation
Knight Foundation
Opencast
...and many individual users
Staff
Nicholas Reville
Co-Founder, Executive Director
Nicholas Reville is from Worcester, MA and has a B.A. in Public Policy from Brown University. He worked in a variety of political activism positions for several years before co-founding PCF.
Contact: nicholas[at]pculture.org
Jesse Patel
Business Development Director
Jesse Patel lives in Berkeley, CA, and has a B.S. in Product Design from Stanford University. Jesse joined Miro to help develop strategic relationships with the companies and organizations that are shaping the future of online TV.
Contact: jessep[at]pculture.org
Dean Jansen
Outreach Director
Dean Jansen does everything from interface design, to welding bikes, to project management, to conference planning (his latest feat was co-organizing ROFLCon in his spare time). He'll be in NYC soon.
Contact: dean[at]pculture.org
Janet Dragojevic
Quality Assurance
Janet directs quality and testing for PCF. She lives on an island in the Adriatic.
Contact: jed[at]pculture.org
Holmes Wilson
Co-Founder
Holmes Wilson is from Worcester, MA. He founded the Worcester Computer Co-op, an organization that uses free software and recycled computers to start computer labs in his city. He has a B.A. in Italian literature and speaks Italian.
Contact: holmes[at]pculture.org
Tiffiniy Cheng
Co-Founder
Tiffiniy Cheng is from Worcester, MA and has a BS in engineering and urban planning from the Cooper Union. She has worked in non-profit, urban planning, and public policy-oriented organizations.
Contact: tiffiniy[at]pculture.org
Ben Dean- Kawamura
Software Developer
Ben lives in Rochester, NY.
Contact: ben[at]pculture.org
Luc Heinrich
Software Developer
Luc Heinrich, a Miro programmer, lives in Paris with his wife and two tadpoles (kids).
Contact: luc[at]pculture.org
Chris Lahey
Software Developer
Chris lives in Cambridge. He dances, he curls, he runs amok.
Contact: clahey[at]clahey.net
Paul Swartz
Software Developer
Paul is from Kensington, MD, but graduated with a B.A. from Hampshire College and now lives in Northampton, MA.
Contact: pswartz[at]pculture.org
Will Guaraldi Kahn-Greene
Software Developer
Will lives in Somerville, MA, has a Masters in CS from NEU, writes children's books, hacks on PyBlosxom, programs, and has always thought that computers are both pretty neat and pretty annoying.
Contact: will.guaraldi[at]pculture.org
Nicholas Nassar
Co-Founder
Nick is from Winslow, ME. He graduated from WPI and led Miro development from initial design through version 1.2. He currently lives in Worcester, MA.
Contact: nassar[at]pculture.orgSummer Team '08
Rick Kenney
Summer Team '08
Rick Kenney is an Internet rock star and Dean’s personal hero.
Contact: rick.kenney[at]pculture.org
Vilja Sormunen
Summer Team '08
Vilja Sormunen is studying for a Master’s in International Business at the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland, but will be spending the summer in LA.
Contact: vilja[at]pculture.org
Chris Markman
Summer Team '08
Chris Markman just finished his BA in Screen Studies at Clark University and is moving to Boston shortly.
Contact: cmarkman[at]pculture.org
Parker Higgins
Summer Team '08
Parker Higgins is a junior at the Gallatin School at NYU, spending the summer in Berkeley, CA.
Contact: parker[at]pculture.org
Aditi Rajaram
Summer Team '08
Aditi Rajaram is a rising sophomore at New York University.
Contact: aditi[at]pculture.org
Kyle Hunt
Summer Team '08
Kyle Hunt is a sophomore at Binghamton University, where he majors in history.
Contact: kyle[at]pculture.org