I am a doctoral student at “New media, innovation and literacy” program at the London School of Economics and Political Science (Media Department). My research is focused on the role of crowdsourcing platforms in crisis situation and development of network institutions as a new mode of governance. I am a co-author of a report “Russian Network Society and Social change” (can be downloaded here: www.internews.org/pubs/Innovation/Internews_Research_RussiaNetworkSociety.pdf).

I am a contributor to “Runet Echo”, a project of “Global Voices Online”that analyzes the Russian Internet. He has consulted on information technology, new media, and social media projects for The World Bank and Internews Network, and worked as a research assistant at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University.

I has taught two undergraduate classes “Production of content for new media” and “Internet and advocacy” at the Sammy Ofer Communication School at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya (Israel). He also conducts trainings and gives lectures about social and political role of new media in U.S, Russia, Israel and other countries.  Previously I worked as a journalist for major Russian newspapers Kommersant and Novaya Gazeta, and served as news editor and analyst for Israeli TV.

I am a co-founder of “Help Map” (Russian-fires.ru), a crowdsourcing platform, which was used to coordinate assistance to victims of wildfires in Russia in 2010 and won a Russian National Internet Award for best project in the “State and Society” category.  Currently he and his colleagues develop a new crowdsourcing platform for coordination of mutual aid in crisis situations Rynda.org

I hold MA in Global Communication from George Washington University (Washington, DC) and BA in Communication and International Affairs from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.