ME AND OPHELIA
Saturday, January 31, 2004
WEBLOGS AND WIKIS COURSE
At Bemidju State University, Minnesota, USA
Yesterday, University student Sara Lundin's blog Downward Facing Life appeared in my list at Technorati. Here's what I found when I visited her blog:
"So, I found this really cool blog today. It is Me and Ophelia, and there is some very interesting information. I really enjoy the political commentary and the links to other websites with information. It is also important to note that the information is presented in a fairly non-biased manner, with the facts being available for public consumption."
Sara's blog is mostly for a course entitled "Weblogs and Wikis," which is an experimental writing course taught by Associate Professor M C Morgan in the Department of English at Bemidji State University. She blogs about her classmates Sean at Froyd's Rants and Erin of SweetandSourGoth, their Writing Class and other snippets, like a really great idea for re-using all of those tea bags that you find around your house (check out 8 Ways to Reuse Infused Tea Leaves and the rest of this nice site), and says Interweave Press puts out a large number of knitting and spinning books, which she loves.
Good luck to everyone on the Weblogs and Wikis Weblog course. Thanks for the kind mention Sara. Email anytime. I'm always here :)
_ _ _
BLOG GIVES HOMELESS MAN A GLOBAL READERSHIP
As he struggles to leave the streets
On visiting Sara's Blogs and Wikis Daybook, I discovered this this post by student Mary Otieno:
"The Homeless Guy is a must read. People out there are doing serious work with their blogspots. I don't like reading long entries, but this one just grubbed my attention. The story of Barbieux is so intriginly sad and how he started his weblog. Since not everyone visits my blog, I have posted it in the daybook for everyone to read. Please read it."
Mary's right. It is a fascinating story. Kevin Barbieux, 31, is a mild-mannered veteran of the streets with a blog named The Homeless Guy that receives hundreds of visits a day from people around the the world. Read Kevin's FAQ.
At Bemidju State University, Minnesota, USA
Yesterday, University student Sara Lundin's blog Downward Facing Life appeared in my list at Technorati. Here's what I found when I visited her blog:
"So, I found this really cool blog today. It is Me and Ophelia, and there is some very interesting information. I really enjoy the political commentary and the links to other websites with information. It is also important to note that the information is presented in a fairly non-biased manner, with the facts being available for public consumption."
Sara's blog is mostly for a course entitled "Weblogs and Wikis," which is an experimental writing course taught by Associate Professor M C Morgan in the Department of English at Bemidji State University. She blogs about her classmates Sean at Froyd's Rants and Erin of SweetandSourGoth, their Writing Class and other snippets, like a really great idea for re-using all of those tea bags that you find around your house (check out 8 Ways to Reuse Infused Tea Leaves and the rest of this nice site), and says Interweave Press puts out a large number of knitting and spinning books, which she loves.
Good luck to everyone on the Weblogs and Wikis Weblog course. Thanks for the kind mention Sara. Email anytime. I'm always here :)
_ _ _
BLOG GIVES HOMELESS MAN A GLOBAL READERSHIP
As he struggles to leave the streets
On visiting Sara's Blogs and Wikis Daybook, I discovered this this post by student Mary Otieno:
"The Homeless Guy is a must read. People out there are doing serious work with their blogspots. I don't like reading long entries, but this one just grubbed my attention. The story of Barbieux is so intriginly sad and how he started his weblog. Since not everyone visits my blog, I have posted it in the daybook for everyone to read. Please read it."
Mary's right. It is a fascinating story. Kevin Barbieux, 31, is a mild-mannered veteran of the streets with a blog named The Homeless Guy that receives hundreds of visits a day from people around the the world. Read Kevin's FAQ.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/31/2004
__________________________________________________________________
BARGAINS AT EBAY
Search for misspelled goods
Here are 5 of the 10 things we didn't know this time last week:
1) Cunning bargain hunters are roaming Ebay looking for misspelled goods which attract hardly any bids because they don't turn up in text searches. One man bought three Compaq laptops at a pittance simply by asking for "Compacts" instead.
2) Pets will be eligible for frequent flier points on Japanese airline JAL from March. The points will be exchangeable for cage rentals on board, as well as gifts.
3) The man who invented Ctrl+Alt+Delete retired on Friday. David Bradley, 55, spent five minutes writing the computer code that has helped bail out millions of PC users, while working for IBM in the 1980s. "I may have invented it, but Bill Gates made it famous," Bradley said.
4) 70% of mobile phone owners in the UK have pre-pay models.
5) Bill Clinton sent just two e-mails while he was president. Of the two Mr Clinton sent, one was a test to see if the president could push an e-mail button. The other was addressed to astronaut-turned-politician John Glenn. Mr Glenn has the distinction of being the first American to orbit the Earth and the only person to receive an e-mail written by Mr Clinton when he was in office (see Full story).
BARGAINS AT EBAY
Search for misspelled goods
Here are 5 of the 10 things we didn't know this time last week:
1) Cunning bargain hunters are roaming Ebay looking for misspelled goods which attract hardly any bids because they don't turn up in text searches. One man bought three Compaq laptops at a pittance simply by asking for "Compacts" instead.
2) Pets will be eligible for frequent flier points on Japanese airline JAL from March. The points will be exchangeable for cage rentals on board, as well as gifts.
3) The man who invented Ctrl+Alt+Delete retired on Friday. David Bradley, 55, spent five minutes writing the computer code that has helped bail out millions of PC users, while working for IBM in the 1980s. "I may have invented it, but Bill Gates made it famous," Bradley said.
4) 70% of mobile phone owners in the UK have pre-pay models.
5) Bill Clinton sent just two e-mails while he was president. Of the two Mr Clinton sent, one was a test to see if the president could push an e-mail button. The other was addressed to astronaut-turned-politician John Glenn. Mr Glenn has the distinction of being the first American to orbit the Earth and the only person to receive an e-mail written by Mr Clinton when he was in office (see Full story).
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/31/2004
__________________________________________________________________
TV NEWS NETWORKS ADMIT THEY DID A DISSERVICE TO HOWARD DEAN AND THE VIEWERS - Heads should roll with public apology to Howard Dean and his campaign
Don't you think the network executives responsible for repeatedly broadcasting Their Version of the "Dean Scream" speech -- ought to resign or be fired, and a public apology issued to Howard Dean and his campaign team? I do. My previous posts on this issue, and the following report in full by Diane Sawyer (New York-ABC News, January 29, 2004) may help you make up your mind.
The Version of Reality You Didn't See.. or Hear on TV
By ABC NEWS' Diane Sawyer:
"It was the scream Howard Dean says became famous after the media played it nearly 700 times in a few days. Not only that, his camp adds, what we heard on the air was not a reflection of the way it sounded in the room. After my interview with Dean and his wife in which I played the tape again -- in fact played it to them -- I noticed that on that tape he's holding a hand-held microphone. One designed to filter out the background noise. It isolates your voice, just like it does to Charlie Gibson and me when we have big crowds in the morning. The crowds are deafening to us standing there. But the viewer at home hears only our voice.
So, we collected some other tapes from Dean's speech including one from a documentary filmmaker, tapes that do carry the sound of the crowd, not just the microphone he held on stage. We also asked the reporters who were there to help us replicate what they experienced in the room.
Reena Singh, ABC News Dean campaign reporter: "What the cameras didn't capture was the crowd."
Garance Franke-Ruta, Senior Editor, American Prospect: "As he spoke, the audience got louder and louder and I found it somewhat difficult to hear him."
Dean's boisterous countdown of the upcoming primaries as we all heard it on TV was isolated, when in fact he was shouting over the roaring crowd. And what about the scream as we all heard it? In the room, the so-called scream couldn't really be heard at all. Again, he was yelling along with the crowd.
Neal Gabler, Senior Fellow, Lear Center USA: "When you're talking about visuals, context is everything. So, you've got a situation in which you have what I'd call the televised version of reality, which is not the same as the actual reality in room. You know in a situation like this, no one takes responsibility."
Comments from network executives:
CBS News: "Individually we may feel okay about our network, but the cumulative effect for viewers with 24-hour cable coverage is -- it may have been overplayed and, in fact, a disservice to Dean and the viewers." -- Andrew Heyward, President - CBS News
ABC News: "It's always a danger that we'll use good video too much." -- David Westin, President - ABC News
CNN: "We've all been wrestling with this. If we had it to do over again, we'd probably pull ourselves back." -- Princell Hair, General Manager - CNN
Fox News: "It got overplayed a bit, and the public clearly thought that, too, and kept him alive for another round." -- Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO - Fox News."
[Source of ABC News report link courtesy Halley Suitt - with thanks]
Related posts in this weblog:
Mon 26 Jan: A DIFFERENT TWO MINUTES ALTOGETHER - See two videos of what really happened in Iowa
Sun 25 Jan: WHAT THE INTERNET GIVES, THE INTERNET CAN TAKE AWAY - A lesson to us all - by Tom Watson MP
Sun 25 Jan: DEANGOESNUTS.COM GETS IT - Message of the day
Sat 24 Jan: DEAN SCREAM IS A WINNER - Capitalise on the rallying call
_ _ _
Note: Maybe we bloggers could push the media for a public apology and ask them to give Howard Dean free airtime to allow him to convey the message that was suppressed and destroyed by the media - what do you think? Wonder how many hours of airtime was devoted to the 700 showings of their version of the Dean Scream. Don't you think he ought to be given the equivalent amount of airtime, free of charge, as compensation to let the public hear the message that was destroyed by the media in Iowa and New Hampshire?
_ _ _
US Candidates and issues - courtesy of BBC News online.
TV NEWS NETWORKS ADMIT THEY DID A DISSERVICE TO HOWARD DEAN AND THE VIEWERS - Heads should roll with public apology to Howard Dean and his campaign
Don't you think the network executives responsible for repeatedly broadcasting Their Version of the "Dean Scream" speech -- ought to resign or be fired, and a public apology issued to Howard Dean and his campaign team? I do. My previous posts on this issue, and the following report in full by Diane Sawyer (New York-ABC News, January 29, 2004) may help you make up your mind.
The Version of Reality You Didn't See.. or Hear on TV
By ABC NEWS' Diane Sawyer:
"It was the scream Howard Dean says became famous after the media played it nearly 700 times in a few days. Not only that, his camp adds, what we heard on the air was not a reflection of the way it sounded in the room. After my interview with Dean and his wife in which I played the tape again -- in fact played it to them -- I noticed that on that tape he's holding a hand-held microphone. One designed to filter out the background noise. It isolates your voice, just like it does to Charlie Gibson and me when we have big crowds in the morning. The crowds are deafening to us standing there. But the viewer at home hears only our voice.
So, we collected some other tapes from Dean's speech including one from a documentary filmmaker, tapes that do carry the sound of the crowd, not just the microphone he held on stage. We also asked the reporters who were there to help us replicate what they experienced in the room.
Reena Singh, ABC News Dean campaign reporter: "What the cameras didn't capture was the crowd."
Garance Franke-Ruta, Senior Editor, American Prospect: "As he spoke, the audience got louder and louder and I found it somewhat difficult to hear him."
Dean's boisterous countdown of the upcoming primaries as we all heard it on TV was isolated, when in fact he was shouting over the roaring crowd. And what about the scream as we all heard it? In the room, the so-called scream couldn't really be heard at all. Again, he was yelling along with the crowd.
Neal Gabler, Senior Fellow, Lear Center USA: "When you're talking about visuals, context is everything. So, you've got a situation in which you have what I'd call the televised version of reality, which is not the same as the actual reality in room. You know in a situation like this, no one takes responsibility."
Comments from network executives:
CBS News: "Individually we may feel okay about our network, but the cumulative effect for viewers with 24-hour cable coverage is -- it may have been overplayed and, in fact, a disservice to Dean and the viewers." -- Andrew Heyward, President - CBS News
ABC News: "It's always a danger that we'll use good video too much." -- David Westin, President - ABC News
CNN: "We've all been wrestling with this. If we had it to do over again, we'd probably pull ourselves back." -- Princell Hair, General Manager - CNN
Fox News: "It got overplayed a bit, and the public clearly thought that, too, and kept him alive for another round." -- Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO - Fox News."
[Source of ABC News report link courtesy Halley Suitt - with thanks]
Related posts in this weblog:
Mon 26 Jan: A DIFFERENT TWO MINUTES ALTOGETHER - See two videos of what really happened in Iowa
Sun 25 Jan: WHAT THE INTERNET GIVES, THE INTERNET CAN TAKE AWAY - A lesson to us all - by Tom Watson MP
Sun 25 Jan: DEANGOESNUTS.COM GETS IT - Message of the day
Sat 24 Jan: DEAN SCREAM IS A WINNER - Capitalise on the rallying call
_ _ _
Note: Maybe we bloggers could push the media for a public apology and ask them to give Howard Dean free airtime to allow him to convey the message that was suppressed and destroyed by the media - what do you think? Wonder how many hours of airtime was devoted to the 700 showings of their version of the Dean Scream. Don't you think he ought to be given the equivalent amount of airtime, free of charge, as compensation to let the public hear the message that was destroyed by the media in Iowa and New Hampshire?
_ _ _
US Candidates and issues - courtesy of BBC News online.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/31/2004
__________________________________________________________________
NOTHING WRONG WITH THE DEAN CAMPAIGN
Internet helped not hindered Howard Dean's chances
Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, announced his departure on Wednesday, January 28, 2004, after Governor Dean asked Roy Neel to come in as CEO of the campaign.
Here's a copy of Pierre Omidyar's Jan 28 post on Trippi's departure, and analyses of what may have contributed to Dean's showing (a respectable third place in Iowa, and a strong second in New Hampshire):
"First Clay Shirky suggests in an excellent piece that the Howard Dean campaign's exemplary use of the Internet (and social software) may have contributed to its disappointing showing in Iowa and New Hampshire. Then, Howard Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, who was also the architect of Dean's Internet strategy, resigns (or is fired).
I guess political campaigns and the Internet have this much in common: instant feedback and near-instant reaction to that feedback. Let's just hope this doesn't diminish the perceived value of the kind of inclusive campaign Joe Trippi ran for Howard Dean."
Here's a copy of my comment on Pierre's post:
"I'm not quite sure what to make of this all. My feelings are that there was nothing wrong with the Dean Campaign itself. And that without the Internet Dean may not have got as far as he did with publicity and fundraising. Although the traditional media gave Dean a very hard time, to the point of ruining his campaign, perhaps when it came down to casting their votes, the people of Iowa and NH were not as anti the Iraq war as they were a while back, and perceived Kerry as having better credentials and a more presidential persona and gravitas than Dean, thus making him seem more likely to win against George W Bush."
_ _ _
A heroes' farewell: Joe Trippi, January 28, 2004, Rira, Burlington, Vermont:
"The picture I didn't take happened as Costello, Kelly and I were leaving Rira about 1:30 AM. Behind us, Joe Trippi was embracing Matt Gross, tears in Joe's eyes. I thought about these two guys, getting together more than a year ago, to make something happen in politics. And they did" - Jim Moore.
NOTHING WRONG WITH THE DEAN CAMPAIGN
Internet helped not hindered Howard Dean's chances
Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, announced his departure on Wednesday, January 28, 2004, after Governor Dean asked Roy Neel to come in as CEO of the campaign.
Here's a copy of Pierre Omidyar's Jan 28 post on Trippi's departure, and analyses of what may have contributed to Dean's showing (a respectable third place in Iowa, and a strong second in New Hampshire):
"First Clay Shirky suggests in an excellent piece that the Howard Dean campaign's exemplary use of the Internet (and social software) may have contributed to its disappointing showing in Iowa and New Hampshire. Then, Howard Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, who was also the architect of Dean's Internet strategy, resigns (or is fired).
I guess political campaigns and the Internet have this much in common: instant feedback and near-instant reaction to that feedback. Let's just hope this doesn't diminish the perceived value of the kind of inclusive campaign Joe Trippi ran for Howard Dean."
Here's a copy of my comment on Pierre's post:
"I'm not quite sure what to make of this all. My feelings are that there was nothing wrong with the Dean Campaign itself. And that without the Internet Dean may not have got as far as he did with publicity and fundraising. Although the traditional media gave Dean a very hard time, to the point of ruining his campaign, perhaps when it came down to casting their votes, the people of Iowa and NH were not as anti the Iraq war as they were a while back, and perceived Kerry as having better credentials and a more presidential persona and gravitas than Dean, thus making him seem more likely to win against George W Bush."
_ _ _
A heroes' farewell: Joe Trippi, January 28, 2004, Rira, Burlington, Vermont:
"The picture I didn't take happened as Costello, Kelly and I were leaving Rira about 1:30 AM. Behind us, Joe Trippi was embracing Matt Gross, tears in Joe's eyes. I thought about these two guys, getting together more than a year ago, to make something happen in politics. And they did" - Jim Moore.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/31/2004
Friday, January 30, 2004
HOW TO MAKE A BETTER MAC LAPTOP
Is the perfect laptop a fantasy?
Over the past seven weeks, the Dell Latitude C400 notebook that I am using right now has developed problems. I'd purchased it last June, direct from Dell in Ireland, and chose that particular model because it was (and still is, I believe) the most lightweight notebook - with the power of a good desktop - on the market.
For the first six months it was really quiet and ran just fine. After that, I became aware of the fan whirring and revving up more often than not. A heat problem seemed to cause the machine to switch off, without warning, every half hour.
After spending three hours on the phone with Dell in Bangalore, a Dell engineer visited me here a few days later on Friday December 12, and replaced the fan. Ten minutes after he left, the notebook shut itself off. He was recalled right away and returned here on Tuesday December 16, to fit a different type of fan. On Wednesday December 17, he returned with a replacement keyboard and fitted a new motherboard. All that was left of the original notebook, costing me £2K, was the screen, hard drive and bottom half of the casing. The on-site Dell engineer found nothing wrong with the original fan or the first replacement fan. He'd consulted over the phone with his tech supervisors in Dell Ireland. So far, no-one at Dell Ireland or Bangalore has been able to identify the root of the problem. I guess we were all just hoping it was the fan and/or motherboard and keyboard.
The day before yesterday, I emailed Dell because the notebook still switches itself off, without warning, at least 3 or 4 times a day. Usually, it happens when I'm searching the Internet and publishing to my blog. I believe there's something fundamentally wrong with the design of this particular model. Perhaps something to do with the chip, or the the ultra slim casing not providing enough space inside for air to circulate and cool.
After first replacement fan, which was identical to the original fan (plastic with 8 spokes) was replaced with (what Dell Bangalore described to me over the phone as) a "better fan" (plastic with 12 spokes) the buzz of the notebook switched on sounded loud. You can tell if the notebook is switched on from the next room. Most of the time it interferes with my concentration. The fact that the fan had been re-designed, tells me that other Dell customers have encountered heat problems. My fear is that this is a problem that Dell has no way of resolving because nobody at Dell could figure exactly why the problems arose in the first place.
Up until last year, I was pleased with Dell's after sales service but I'm deeply disappointed with this notebook and regret not purchasing the 17" Power Book from Apple as I'd originally planned. Back in the 1980's my first office desktop was a Mac. I was a fan and vowed that my first home computer would be a Mac. Unfortunately, last April, following half a dozen phone calls - over six weeks - to the Apple Centre in Bristol, my confidence in their customer service disappeared when the sales literature, spec and quote never arrived, as promised.
Dan Gillmor, a journalist in Silicon Valley, reports that IBM is now making the chips Apple will use in new-generation computers. His post on how the make a better Mac laptop has attracted some interesting comments.
_ _ _
Update: This post has taken over three hours to publish because my notebook switched itself off three times. A letter to Michael Dell is being constructed from the information contained within these four posts. If anyone reading this has Michael Dell's latest email address, I would be most grateful to receive it. Thanks.
Note to Pete, if you are reading this, I've just found this while searching for Michael Dell's email address: GRRN Web Action Center. Later on, I'll add it to the comments box of yesterday's post on Epson.
_ _ _
THE INTERNET IS THE ULTIMATE BASE MEDIUM
It will either undermine or support all other media
Dan Gillmor writes: "Nine years ago, the amazing Doc Searls wrote this essay, redefining marketing in an Internet world. It's still a prescient piece, as his first rule suggests:
"The Internet is the ultimate base medium -- it will either undermine or support all other media. Think of the Internet as a phone system, a postal service, a library, a distribution hub and a yellow pages -- all in one. Only, unlike all those traditional institutions, nobody controls it. Anybody can participate in any of those roles."
Dan's post attracted interesting comments from Morden Mars and Doc Searls, basically saying there's little in the essay that wasn't anticipated 24 years ago by Alan Toffler in The Third Wave, which forecast of the forthcoming era of the "Prosumer". And that Toffler was credited as a source in The Cluetrain Manifesto and deserves enormous credit for anticipating the Information Age and the shifts in power it would bring.
Is the perfect laptop a fantasy?
Over the past seven weeks, the Dell Latitude C400 notebook that I am using right now has developed problems. I'd purchased it last June, direct from Dell in Ireland, and chose that particular model because it was (and still is, I believe) the most lightweight notebook - with the power of a good desktop - on the market.
For the first six months it was really quiet and ran just fine. After that, I became aware of the fan whirring and revving up more often than not. A heat problem seemed to cause the machine to switch off, without warning, every half hour.
After spending three hours on the phone with Dell in Bangalore, a Dell engineer visited me here a few days later on Friday December 12, and replaced the fan. Ten minutes after he left, the notebook shut itself off. He was recalled right away and returned here on Tuesday December 16, to fit a different type of fan. On Wednesday December 17, he returned with a replacement keyboard and fitted a new motherboard. All that was left of the original notebook, costing me £2K, was the screen, hard drive and bottom half of the casing. The on-site Dell engineer found nothing wrong with the original fan or the first replacement fan. He'd consulted over the phone with his tech supervisors in Dell Ireland. So far, no-one at Dell Ireland or Bangalore has been able to identify the root of the problem. I guess we were all just hoping it was the fan and/or motherboard and keyboard.
The day before yesterday, I emailed Dell because the notebook still switches itself off, without warning, at least 3 or 4 times a day. Usually, it happens when I'm searching the Internet and publishing to my blog. I believe there's something fundamentally wrong with the design of this particular model. Perhaps something to do with the chip, or the the ultra slim casing not providing enough space inside for air to circulate and cool.
After first replacement fan, which was identical to the original fan (plastic with 8 spokes) was replaced with (what Dell Bangalore described to me over the phone as) a "better fan" (plastic with 12 spokes) the buzz of the notebook switched on sounded loud. You can tell if the notebook is switched on from the next room. Most of the time it interferes with my concentration. The fact that the fan had been re-designed, tells me that other Dell customers have encountered heat problems. My fear is that this is a problem that Dell has no way of resolving because nobody at Dell could figure exactly why the problems arose in the first place.
Up until last year, I was pleased with Dell's after sales service but I'm deeply disappointed with this notebook and regret not purchasing the 17" Power Book from Apple as I'd originally planned. Back in the 1980's my first office desktop was a Mac. I was a fan and vowed that my first home computer would be a Mac. Unfortunately, last April, following half a dozen phone calls - over six weeks - to the Apple Centre in Bristol, my confidence in their customer service disappeared when the sales literature, spec and quote never arrived, as promised.
Dan Gillmor, a journalist in Silicon Valley, reports that IBM is now making the chips Apple will use in new-generation computers. His post on how the make a better Mac laptop has attracted some interesting comments.
_ _ _
Update: This post has taken over three hours to publish because my notebook switched itself off three times. A letter to Michael Dell is being constructed from the information contained within these four posts. If anyone reading this has Michael Dell's latest email address, I would be most grateful to receive it. Thanks.
Note to Pete, if you are reading this, I've just found this while searching for Michael Dell's email address: GRRN Web Action Center. Later on, I'll add it to the comments box of yesterday's post on Epson.
_ _ _
THE INTERNET IS THE ULTIMATE BASE MEDIUM
It will either undermine or support all other media
Dan Gillmor writes: "Nine years ago, the amazing Doc Searls wrote this essay, redefining marketing in an Internet world. It's still a prescient piece, as his first rule suggests:
"The Internet is the ultimate base medium -- it will either undermine or support all other media. Think of the Internet as a phone system, a postal service, a library, a distribution hub and a yellow pages -- all in one. Only, unlike all those traditional institutions, nobody controls it. Anybody can participate in any of those roles."
Dan's post attracted interesting comments from Morden Mars and Doc Searls, basically saying there's little in the essay that wasn't anticipated 24 years ago by Alan Toffler in The Third Wave, which forecast of the forthcoming era of the "Prosumer". And that Toffler was credited as a source in The Cluetrain Manifesto and deserves enormous credit for anticipating the Information Age and the shifts in power it would bring.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/30/2004
Thursday, January 29, 2004
OPHELIA'S FIRST TIME
In the snow
This morning we awoke 06:00 AM. Pitch dark outside. We trotted to the kitchen and opened the back door. What a shock. Ophelia shrank back. The black rubber doormat was snow white. She crept back, stealth like, toward the open door, eyeing the snow, sniffing the air, head held high, whiskers and nose twitching. Then she got excited (we lead a sheltered life) tail went up and out she strutted with her warm paws onto the ice. I followed her and stuck my head through a gap in the courtyard wall, to see how she'd manage her jump from the wall, onto a railing, and down onto the ground below. Unusually (because of the salt in the sea air here) everything was coated with thick ice. In a flash, she'd skated down the wall, skipped onto the railing and landed, feet first, into a pristine dusting of snow. And then just sat there, looking awestruck as she eyed me (with my head poking through the wall) and the surrounding whiteness. She looked so beautiful out there in her brown fur coat. She'd never seen snow before. Off she went on her usual patrol. And returned an hour later, looking very pleased with herself. Pads of her paws were not at all cold or wet. Clever pussy cat.
A few days ago, I received a letter from a friend in Ireland. She wrote that Jung called animals God's children, and she thinks they are. Me too. Hehe Ophelia, my darling little baby, I love you my dear little furry faced pet.
In the snow
This morning we awoke 06:00 AM. Pitch dark outside. We trotted to the kitchen and opened the back door. What a shock. Ophelia shrank back. The black rubber doormat was snow white. She crept back, stealth like, toward the open door, eyeing the snow, sniffing the air, head held high, whiskers and nose twitching. Then she got excited (we lead a sheltered life) tail went up and out she strutted with her warm paws onto the ice. I followed her and stuck my head through a gap in the courtyard wall, to see how she'd manage her jump from the wall, onto a railing, and down onto the ground below. Unusually (because of the salt in the sea air here) everything was coated with thick ice. In a flash, she'd skated down the wall, skipped onto the railing and landed, feet first, into a pristine dusting of snow. And then just sat there, looking awestruck as she eyed me (with my head poking through the wall) and the surrounding whiteness. She looked so beautiful out there in her brown fur coat. She'd never seen snow before. Off she went on her usual patrol. And returned an hour later, looking very pleased with herself. Pads of her paws were not at all cold or wet. Clever pussy cat.
A few days ago, I received a letter from a friend in Ireland. She wrote that Jung called animals God's children, and she thinks they are. Me too. Hehe Ophelia, my darling little baby, I love you my dear little furry faced pet.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/29/2004
_______________________________________________________________
HACKING YOUR EPSON PRINTER
Is good for the environment and reduces mindless waste
My brand new, all-in-one Epson scanner, photo-copier and colour printer looks smart and runs well. When it arrived via Dell, I marvelled at its quality but was suspicious of the price. How could Epson produce, ship and profit from a super machine, at such low cost to the customer? It seemed too good to be true.
A set of colour ink refills cost £20+. You can only use Epson refills. The printer contains a chip that flags up an alert when the cartridges are nearing empty. You need to replace the cartridges before they are empty, or the machine won't function. Which means you can't use up all the ink you've paid for. I'm told by other users that the printer won't allow you to ignore it when the cartridges need replacing: it simply stops printing; and that Epson's guarantee becomes invalid if you try to use any other brand of cartridge.
On January 25, 2004, Jim O'Connell wrote the following post on hacking your Epson printer, quote: "Here's a link to a Japanese site for hacking your inkjet printer to use a set of bigger, cheaper (I assume) bottles of ink. The reason you can buy an inkjet printer so cheaply is that the manufacturers expect to make all of their profit by selling tiny cartridges of ink at exhorbitant prices. Some manufacturers have gone so far as to include a chip in their own cartridges to keep users from buying cheaper third-party ink cartridges. This clever modification seems to just keep the original cartridge topped off, using a hole in the top and those added black rubber tubes you see in the photos." (Via John on the Japan Photo Mailing List)
It seems to me that hacking your Epson printer would be good for the environment and help reduce mindless waste. Here's why. If Epson users who do lot of printing, "hacked" their printer, their savings on not buying Epson ink cartridges would eventually pay for a new printer. In other words, it'd be easier and cheaper to disregard Epson's chip and guarantee. When things go wrong (by which time the guarantee may have expired anyway) users could bin their Epson machine and spend the savings on a new Epson printer. As with many products these days, it's more cost effective to buy new than it is to get something repaired. And, even if you did not mind the cost, who is willing and able to fix any of these things, especially the equipment with imbedded chips?
In time, if enough users did this, www.epson.com would get the message because their ink cartridge market would "dry up". And, as Epson would not be making enough profit on the sale of printers, they'd have to do something about the mad game they're playing with consumers and the environment.
A huge number of people around the world do make an effort to sort their rubbish for recycling. Paper, glass, metal and organic matter. But what becomes of all the plastic? Those plastic made Epson printers and non-refillable cartridges? Office equipment, gadgets, TVs, radios, VCRs, childrens toys, household appliances, etc. Where does it all go? The waste is amazing. How many more decades can this go on for? And how come it's still allowed to go on? Who is doing something about manufacturers turning us into a throw-away society that's creating mountains of ugly waste and deadly pollution around the world?
Don't you think that hacking your printer is good for the environment? I do. That's why I love Jim's post (and the picture!) Thanks Jim :)
_ _ _
Updated Thu Jan 29 20:43 PM: Further to Peter Barr-Watson's comments in this post, here's my contribution to his great idea for a meme: ink rip-off. Make it viral. Pass it on!
HACKING YOUR EPSON PRINTER
Is good for the environment and reduces mindless waste
My brand new, all-in-one Epson scanner, photo-copier and colour printer looks smart and runs well. When it arrived via Dell, I marvelled at its quality but was suspicious of the price. How could Epson produce, ship and profit from a super machine, at such low cost to the customer? It seemed too good to be true.
A set of colour ink refills cost £20+. You can only use Epson refills. The printer contains a chip that flags up an alert when the cartridges are nearing empty. You need to replace the cartridges before they are empty, or the machine won't function. Which means you can't use up all the ink you've paid for. I'm told by other users that the printer won't allow you to ignore it when the cartridges need replacing: it simply stops printing; and that Epson's guarantee becomes invalid if you try to use any other brand of cartridge.
On January 25, 2004, Jim O'Connell wrote the following post on hacking your Epson printer, quote: "Here's a link to a Japanese site for hacking your inkjet printer to use a set of bigger, cheaper (I assume) bottles of ink. The reason you can buy an inkjet printer so cheaply is that the manufacturers expect to make all of their profit by selling tiny cartridges of ink at exhorbitant prices. Some manufacturers have gone so far as to include a chip in their own cartridges to keep users from buying cheaper third-party ink cartridges. This clever modification seems to just keep the original cartridge topped off, using a hole in the top and those added black rubber tubes you see in the photos." (Via John on the Japan Photo Mailing List)
It seems to me that hacking your Epson printer would be good for the environment and help reduce mindless waste. Here's why. If Epson users who do lot of printing, "hacked" their printer, their savings on not buying Epson ink cartridges would eventually pay for a new printer. In other words, it'd be easier and cheaper to disregard Epson's chip and guarantee. When things go wrong (by which time the guarantee may have expired anyway) users could bin their Epson machine and spend the savings on a new Epson printer. As with many products these days, it's more cost effective to buy new than it is to get something repaired. And, even if you did not mind the cost, who is willing and able to fix any of these things, especially the equipment with imbedded chips?
In time, if enough users did this, www.epson.com would get the message because their ink cartridge market would "dry up". And, as Epson would not be making enough profit on the sale of printers, they'd have to do something about the mad game they're playing with consumers and the environment.
A huge number of people around the world do make an effort to sort their rubbish for recycling. Paper, glass, metal and organic matter. But what becomes of all the plastic? Those plastic made Epson printers and non-refillable cartridges? Office equipment, gadgets, TVs, radios, VCRs, childrens toys, household appliances, etc. Where does it all go? The waste is amazing. How many more decades can this go on for? And how come it's still allowed to go on? Who is doing something about manufacturers turning us into a throw-away society that's creating mountains of ugly waste and deadly pollution around the world?
Don't you think that hacking your printer is good for the environment? I do. That's why I love Jim's post (and the picture!) Thanks Jim :)
_ _ _
Updated Thu Jan 29 20:43 PM: Further to Peter Barr-Watson's comments in this post, here's my contribution to his great idea for a meme: ink rip-off. Make it viral. Pass it on!
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/29/2004
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
THE HUTTON REPORT
Full Report (PDF file 2MB) and Summary of conclusions
This excerpt, plus Full Report and Summary of conclusions available at BBC News online:
"BBC chairman Gavyn Davies is to resign following Lord Hutton's report in which he criticised the BBC and cleared the government of embellishing its Iraq weapons dossier.
In his long awaited report into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly Lord Hutton said the BBC's claim that the government inserted intelligence into its Iraq dossier knowing it was probably wrong was "unfounded".
Lord Hutton also said the BBC's editorial system was "defective" as BBC Today programme correspondent Andrew Gilligan was allowed to broadcast a "very grave allegation" without having his scripts approved.
Prime Minister Tony Blair told the Commons the report showed "the allegation that I or anybody else lied to the House or deliberately misled the country by falsifying intelligence of weapons of mass destruction is itself the real lie".
Former Downing Street media chief Alastair Campbell said he hoped the report would produce a more honest media culture."
Update - Thursday, 29 January, 2004: BBC apologises as Dyke quits
Director General Greg Dyke has quit as the BBC's crisis deepens in the wake of Lord Hutton's damning verdict.
"My sole aim has been to defend the BBC's editorial independence and act in the public interest" - Greg Dyke, Ex-BBC director general.
Update - Friday, 20 January, 2004: Gilligan quits BBC over Kelly row
BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan has resigned in the wake of the criticism directed at him in the Hutton report.
"This report casts a chill over all journalism, not just the BBC's" - Andrew Gilligan
_ _ _
READERS HAVE THEIR SAY
What will be the impact of the Hutton Report?
Note the comments posted to BBC news online, in response to their question: What will be the impact of the Hutton Report?
Full Report (PDF file 2MB) and Summary of conclusions
This excerpt, plus Full Report and Summary of conclusions available at BBC News online:
"BBC chairman Gavyn Davies is to resign following Lord Hutton's report in which he criticised the BBC and cleared the government of embellishing its Iraq weapons dossier.
In his long awaited report into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly Lord Hutton said the BBC's claim that the government inserted intelligence into its Iraq dossier knowing it was probably wrong was "unfounded".
Lord Hutton also said the BBC's editorial system was "defective" as BBC Today programme correspondent Andrew Gilligan was allowed to broadcast a "very grave allegation" without having his scripts approved.
Prime Minister Tony Blair told the Commons the report showed "the allegation that I or anybody else lied to the House or deliberately misled the country by falsifying intelligence of weapons of mass destruction is itself the real lie".
Former Downing Street media chief Alastair Campbell said he hoped the report would produce a more honest media culture."
Update - Thursday, 29 January, 2004: BBC apologises as Dyke quits
Director General Greg Dyke has quit as the BBC's crisis deepens in the wake of Lord Hutton's damning verdict.
"My sole aim has been to defend the BBC's editorial independence and act in the public interest" - Greg Dyke, Ex-BBC director general.
Update - Friday, 20 January, 2004: Gilligan quits BBC over Kelly row
BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan has resigned in the wake of the criticism directed at him in the Hutton report.
"This report casts a chill over all journalism, not just the BBC's" - Andrew Gilligan
_ _ _
READERS HAVE THEIR SAY
What will be the impact of the Hutton Report?
Note the comments posted to BBC news online, in response to their question: What will be the impact of the Hutton Report?
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/28/2004
_______________________________________________________________
COOKING WITH AMY BLOG
Read it and eat
Thanks to Lisa for pointing out Cooking with Amy, a BlogSpot based in San Francisco, USA. It publishes original food writing providing recipes, restaurant and product reviews, interviews, essays and insight into culinary news. Unlike Lisa, who says it appeared in a Forbes article last year, I have not yet read the entire archive but I agree, it's a wonderfully written foodblog.
COOKING WITH AMY BLOG
Read it and eat
Thanks to Lisa for pointing out Cooking with Amy, a BlogSpot based in San Francisco, USA. It publishes original food writing providing recipes, restaurant and product reviews, interviews, essays and insight into culinary news. Unlike Lisa, who says it appeared in a Forbes article last year, I have not yet read the entire archive but I agree, it's a wonderfully written foodblog.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/28/2004
_______________________________________________________________
THE FIVE-HORSE RACE MOVES ON TO SUPER 7 PRIMARIES
Governor Dean comes away a solid second in New Hampshire
In his newly opened comments section at Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds writes: "People want to know what I think. I pretty much agree with Atrios, actually, at least on how hard this stuff is to predict -- at this point in 1992 I thought Clinton was toast. That shows what my predictive ability is like."
(He was referring to a comment posted by Atrios, quote: "I think people who are writing Dean's obituary yet again are dead wrong. . . . How long before Clinton won his first primary in 1992? Who was the presumed nominee at this point? A certain Senator from Mass. if I remember correctly.")
BBC News' online report: "Senator John Kerry has won the first state primary in New Hampshire, boosting his chances of becoming the Democrat candidate to stand against George W Bush in November's presidential election. The win is likely to give him vital momentum for the primaries that now lie ahead. Senator Kerry has emerged as the frontrunner following his surprise win in the Iowa caucuses last week, but nevertheless the race is still wide open."
Primaries schedule:
27 January: New Hampshire primary
3 February: "Super Seven". Primaries and caucuses in Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, New Mexico and North Dakota. Virginia Republican caucuses
7 February: Democratic caucuses in Washington and Michigan.
What is a primary?
--State-level poll to nominate a party's candidate in the general election
--Held for presidential and congressional races
--In some states voters are restricted to choosing candidates from the party for which they have registered support
--29 states permit "open primaries" in which a voter may back a candidate regardless of party affiliation.
--Primaries first emerged in early 20th Century to weaken the influence of party bosses.
_ _ _
HAVE YOUR SAY AT BBC ONLINE
New Hampshire: Your reaction
Check out the comments posted to BBC news online, in response to their questions: "What is your reaction to the New Hampshire result? How do you see the race for the Democrat nomination going?" You too can have your say by sending them your comments.
THE FIVE-HORSE RACE MOVES ON TO SUPER 7 PRIMARIES
Governor Dean comes away a solid second in New Hampshire
In his newly opened comments section at Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds writes: "People want to know what I think. I pretty much agree with Atrios, actually, at least on how hard this stuff is to predict -- at this point in 1992 I thought Clinton was toast. That shows what my predictive ability is like."
(He was referring to a comment posted by Atrios, quote: "I think people who are writing Dean's obituary yet again are dead wrong. . . . How long before Clinton won his first primary in 1992? Who was the presumed nominee at this point? A certain Senator from Mass. if I remember correctly.")
BBC News' online report: "Senator John Kerry has won the first state primary in New Hampshire, boosting his chances of becoming the Democrat candidate to stand against George W Bush in November's presidential election. The win is likely to give him vital momentum for the primaries that now lie ahead. Senator Kerry has emerged as the frontrunner following his surprise win in the Iowa caucuses last week, but nevertheless the race is still wide open."
Primaries schedule:
27 January: New Hampshire primary
3 February: "Super Seven". Primaries and caucuses in Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, New Mexico and North Dakota. Virginia Republican caucuses
7 February: Democratic caucuses in Washington and Michigan.
What is a primary?
--State-level poll to nominate a party's candidate in the general election
--Held for presidential and congressional races
--In some states voters are restricted to choosing candidates from the party for which they have registered support
--29 states permit "open primaries" in which a voter may back a candidate regardless of party affiliation.
--Primaries first emerged in early 20th Century to weaken the influence of party bosses.
_ _ _
HAVE YOUR SAY AT BBC ONLINE
New Hampshire: Your reaction
Check out the comments posted to BBC news online, in response to their questions: "What is your reaction to the New Hampshire result? How do you see the race for the Democrat nomination going?" You too can have your say by sending them your comments.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/28/2004
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
TEN YEARS OF MY LIFE BLOG
Matthew Haughey's Blogging Project
Matthew Haughey has been building personal sites on the web for the past 8 years, including Metafilter, Ticketstubs, A Whole Lotta Nothing, and PVRblog, among others. All photos on his site are released under Creative Commons license. He says, as long as it's non-commercial and you remember to mention that he took the photos, feel free to reuse them in new works, but remember to use the same license he did.
Back in 2000, aged 31, Matthew started a blogging project called Ten Years of My Life. Since that time, he's posted a monthly photo of himself to track, what he calls, "the cruel passage of time".
Some of his inspiration for the site came from a few similar projects. Diego Golberg's Arrows of Time captures his family on the same day, every year, for 25 years. The 12hr-ISBN-JPEG Project has been running for nearly ten years already. The Daily Photo Project was also an inspiration.
Matthew's personal blog contains a slideshow of pictures and a commenting facility. Some pictures are of his two cats named Mozilla and Chloe. Another picture is of the day, at the top of Mt. Tam, when he asked Kay to marry him (he thought it'd be nice if the highest peak on the San Francisco Bay skyline always reminded them both of that day).
Among the many pictures of his daily life, there's a picture about Bocce. It's one of his favourite games to play. He says it's the sport of kings. That real bocce enthusiasts aren't all about the combed sand courts, white clothes and hats, and elderly men. He blogs that real bocce is about throwing the balls 50 feet across bumpy, gopher-infested, hilly backyards with friends. Good luck with the project Matthew. Hope we're all around in ten years time to see what you look like at the grand old age of 41. Watch out for all those gopher holes on the way :)
[Link courtesy Wax Tablet - Note: read why it is called Wax Tablet]
Matthew Haughey's Blogging Project
Matthew Haughey has been building personal sites on the web for the past 8 years, including Metafilter, Ticketstubs, A Whole Lotta Nothing, and PVRblog, among others. All photos on his site are released under Creative Commons license. He says, as long as it's non-commercial and you remember to mention that he took the photos, feel free to reuse them in new works, but remember to use the same license he did.
Back in 2000, aged 31, Matthew started a blogging project called Ten Years of My Life. Since that time, he's posted a monthly photo of himself to track, what he calls, "the cruel passage of time".
Some of his inspiration for the site came from a few similar projects. Diego Golberg's Arrows of Time captures his family on the same day, every year, for 25 years. The 12hr-ISBN-JPEG Project has been running for nearly ten years already. The Daily Photo Project was also an inspiration.
Matthew's personal blog contains a slideshow of pictures and a commenting facility. Some pictures are of his two cats named Mozilla and Chloe. Another picture is of the day, at the top of Mt. Tam, when he asked Kay to marry him (he thought it'd be nice if the highest peak on the San Francisco Bay skyline always reminded them both of that day).
Among the many pictures of his daily life, there's a picture about Bocce. It's one of his favourite games to play. He says it's the sport of kings. That real bocce enthusiasts aren't all about the combed sand courts, white clothes and hats, and elderly men. He blogs that real bocce is about throwing the balls 50 feet across bumpy, gopher-infested, hilly backyards with friends. Good luck with the project Matthew. Hope we're all around in ten years time to see what you look like at the grand old age of 41. Watch out for all those gopher holes on the way :)
[Link courtesy Wax Tablet - Note: read why it is called Wax Tablet]
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/27/2004
__________________________________________________________
EMERGENCY ALERT: Many reports of W32/MyDoom-A worm
Don't let the virus writers win: update your anti-virus now
An email alert from Sophos arrived this morning. Unusually, it contains the words EMERGENCY ALERT. Message reads: "Sophos has received many reports of sightings of the new email-aware W32/MyDoom-A worm, and is warning system administrators around the world to ensure their systems are protected."
Please stop reading this blog now and take time out to protect your computer. Don't let the virus writers spoil our blogosphere. I use Symantec and update every few days, and receive free email alerts from Sophos. Sophos' emails help to keep me constantly aware of the latest virus threats, and act as a reminder to update my anti-virus protection every few days. If you have not already done so, you can sign-up with Sophos for free automatic email notification of every new virus found in the wild.
In my sidebar, you will see Sophos info feeds on the latest virus and hoaxes. Click on each alert for further details. The information feeds are free, require no maintenance and are automatically kept up-to-date by Sophos. As well as English, the feeds are also available in French, German, Spanish and Japanese.
Update your anti-virus now so that you can detect and prevent the MyDoom-A worm. Click on the Sophos info feed in my sidebar for a detailed analysis of W32/MyDoom-A.
EMERGENCY ALERT: Many reports of W32/MyDoom-A worm
Don't let the virus writers win: update your anti-virus now
An email alert from Sophos arrived this morning. Unusually, it contains the words EMERGENCY ALERT. Message reads: "Sophos has received many reports of sightings of the new email-aware W32/MyDoom-A worm, and is warning system administrators around the world to ensure their systems are protected."
Please stop reading this blog now and take time out to protect your computer. Don't let the virus writers spoil our blogosphere. I use Symantec and update every few days, and receive free email alerts from Sophos. Sophos' emails help to keep me constantly aware of the latest virus threats, and act as a reminder to update my anti-virus protection every few days. If you have not already done so, you can sign-up with Sophos for free automatic email notification of every new virus found in the wild.
In my sidebar, you will see Sophos info feeds on the latest virus and hoaxes. Click on each alert for further details. The information feeds are free, require no maintenance and are automatically kept up-to-date by Sophos. As well as English, the feeds are also available in French, German, Spanish and Japanese.
Update your anti-virus now so that you can detect and prevent the MyDoom-A worm. Click on the Sophos info feed in my sidebar for a detailed analysis of W32/MyDoom-A.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/27/2004
Monday, January 26, 2004
A DIFFERENT TWO MINUTES ALTOGETHER
See two videos of what really happened in Iowa
Yesterday, I blogged two video clips of Howard Dean's now-infamous speech in Iowa. One clip was from BBC News online and the other, an idomstudio.com clip, had been filmed by a Dean campaign supporter standing at the back of the room where the speech was held. The room was filled with deafening noise. It was packed with a mass of supporters (Joe Trippi, campaign manager, says 3,500) shouting at the top of their lungs, stomping their feet, whistling, and clapping. Some were even using megaphones. Here are the perspectives of seven more people who were either present at the speech or had seen one or both clips:
1) Extract from an email that Jim Moore received from supporter Bob Stepno: "I'm not following the blogs much this week, but wondered if you've seen this particular video clip, shot from the *back* of the room during the "rant" speech. The crowd noise certainly puts his shouting and hoarseness in context." http://www.webmastersforamerica.com/Idiom_Studio/video.htm
2) Extract from an email that Jim Moore received from supporter Gary Denton: "Much has been made about Howard Dean in his speech on Tuesday night after the Iowa Caucuses. But how much is due to the camera angle and a sound mike that cancels the crowd noise? What you may have seen or heard on TV and radio or internet was shown in such a way that it sounded like Howard Dean was a raving lunatic. It has been the subject of many humorous remixes - but all using the same source tape and sound mix. Fortunately, in this day of video cameras, a member in the audience that night also took footage, which you can now see here: http://www.idiomstudio.com/ A different two minutes altogether. Note this is volunteer footage.
Here's more from someone who was there - 20 feet from the stage: "People were shouting the whole time -- shouting at the top of their lungs, whistling, and clapping. Some were even using megaphones. Flags were waving, pompons were shaking, and feet were stomping to the point that it was deafening. There were probably over 1000 people elbow to elbow in that room that night. The crowd was so unbelievably loud I could barely hear myself think, let along hear what Howard was saying."
Gary Denton concluded his email by saying "The So-Called Liberal media with the active encouragement of the GOP party have framed this worse than they did the Paul Wellstone memorial. I urge you to visit the website, view the footage and judge for yourself."
THIS RACE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO
Don't allow the media control the message
3) Jim Moore, in his reply to Bob Stepno's email (see 1 above), asks: "On that clip why can't I hear the "yeaahh" ending to the shout we're so used to from the usual broadcast TV or radio? Was the audio track edited or remixed to de-emphasize the shout at all? Or was that yell something that went into a "media" microphone, not to the general PA sound that your clip picked up?
4) Adam Curry in Holland: "I really don't understand what all the hoopla is about over the Dean battle-cry. From what I read about it I was expecting something really heinous. Looked to me like a guy who was rallying his troops to continue into battle, perhaps one that his forces can't even win. He actually acted, err, human. From where I stand (about 5 thousand miles away) this 'incident' is being misused by the media to crush the Dean campaign. Witness the Diane Sawyer interview where Sawyer blatently predicts this will hurt the campaign." [via Jim Moore's News Aggregator]
5) Ryan Overbey: "This race has a long way to go, but it will be disastrous if we let CNN and Fox News control the message and shape what this election will look like. This year's primaries are our elections - not theirs." [via Scripting News]
6) Halley Suitt on Dean's Critics: "Dean is subversive by being honest and direct, emotional and passionate. His critics are quick to point this out. Just as they destroyed other men for crying, they seem to attack him for being vulnerable and human. But the results are paradoxical. Every put-down seems to help him come back stronger. There is another group of people constantly underestimated, criticized for being too emotional, too passionate, disrespected for telling the simple truth. Those people are women. I think Dean's stance resonates with many women. His love and support of his wife is nothing short of revolutionary. This campaign only gets more and more interesting."
7) Joe Trippi, Dean for America's campaign manager: "Here’s the real story on Monday night – the one the press still hasn’t told. I’ve been around campaigns for a long time. On most campaigns, if you come in third in Iowa with 18% and you go to the after party, you’re lucky to find 4 people there. Most every one by the time it’s over has left to find another party and another campaign But on Monday night Howard Dean walked in to the ballroom in Des Moines and there were 3500 people there. And the energy was higher than most victory parties I’ve been to. ..." [via Halley Suitt]
_ _ _
THE PROBLEM IS NOT WITH THE PUNDITS WHO ARE RUINING THIS CAMPAIGN
It is with we who consent to what they do
Today, in his latest post, Jim Moore paraphrases Gandhi: "the problem is not with people in government, it is with we who consent to what they do".
Jim says of the Dean campaign: "The problem is not with the pundits who are ruining this campaign, it is with we who consent to what they do."
_ _ _
ADOPT-A-JOURNALIST
Keeping journalists accountable
Here's a list of people who have volunteered to adopt-a-Journalist. View the Forum and join in. Anything regarding how to keep journalist accountable is a valid topic.
Source courtesy of The Wilgoren Watch 'a blog dedicated to deconstructing the New York Times coverage of Howard Dean's campaign for the White House' via Halley Suitt
Updated: February 1, 2004 - PressThink: Adopt a Campaign Journalist in 2004: The Drift of a Suggestion via Joi Ito's Web: Identity and justice
See two videos of what really happened in Iowa
Yesterday, I blogged two video clips of Howard Dean's now-infamous speech in Iowa. One clip was from BBC News online and the other, an idomstudio.com clip, had been filmed by a Dean campaign supporter standing at the back of the room where the speech was held. The room was filled with deafening noise. It was packed with a mass of supporters (Joe Trippi, campaign manager, says 3,500) shouting at the top of their lungs, stomping their feet, whistling, and clapping. Some were even using megaphones. Here are the perspectives of seven more people who were either present at the speech or had seen one or both clips:
1) Extract from an email that Jim Moore received from supporter Bob Stepno: "I'm not following the blogs much this week, but wondered if you've seen this particular video clip, shot from the *back* of the room during the "rant" speech. The crowd noise certainly puts his shouting and hoarseness in context." http://www.webmastersforamerica.com/Idiom_Studio/video.htm
2) Extract from an email that Jim Moore received from supporter Gary Denton: "Much has been made about Howard Dean in his speech on Tuesday night after the Iowa Caucuses. But how much is due to the camera angle and a sound mike that cancels the crowd noise? What you may have seen or heard on TV and radio or internet was shown in such a way that it sounded like Howard Dean was a raving lunatic. It has been the subject of many humorous remixes - but all using the same source tape and sound mix. Fortunately, in this day of video cameras, a member in the audience that night also took footage, which you can now see here: http://www.idiomstudio.com/ A different two minutes altogether. Note this is volunteer footage.
Here's more from someone who was there - 20 feet from the stage: "People were shouting the whole time -- shouting at the top of their lungs, whistling, and clapping. Some were even using megaphones. Flags were waving, pompons were shaking, and feet were stomping to the point that it was deafening. There were probably over 1000 people elbow to elbow in that room that night. The crowd was so unbelievably loud I could barely hear myself think, let along hear what Howard was saying."
Gary Denton concluded his email by saying "The So-Called Liberal media with the active encouragement of the GOP party have framed this worse than they did the Paul Wellstone memorial. I urge you to visit the website, view the footage and judge for yourself."
THIS RACE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO
Don't allow the media control the message
3) Jim Moore, in his reply to Bob Stepno's email (see 1 above), asks: "On that clip why can't I hear the "yeaahh" ending to the shout we're so used to from the usual broadcast TV or radio? Was the audio track edited or remixed to de-emphasize the shout at all? Or was that yell something that went into a "media" microphone, not to the general PA sound that your clip picked up?
4) Adam Curry in Holland: "I really don't understand what all the hoopla is about over the Dean battle-cry. From what I read about it I was expecting something really heinous. Looked to me like a guy who was rallying his troops to continue into battle, perhaps one that his forces can't even win. He actually acted, err, human. From where I stand (about 5 thousand miles away) this 'incident' is being misused by the media to crush the Dean campaign. Witness the Diane Sawyer interview where Sawyer blatently predicts this will hurt the campaign." [via Jim Moore's News Aggregator]
5) Ryan Overbey: "This race has a long way to go, but it will be disastrous if we let CNN and Fox News control the message and shape what this election will look like. This year's primaries are our elections - not theirs." [via Scripting News]
6) Halley Suitt on Dean's Critics: "Dean is subversive by being honest and direct, emotional and passionate. His critics are quick to point this out. Just as they destroyed other men for crying, they seem to attack him for being vulnerable and human. But the results are paradoxical. Every put-down seems to help him come back stronger. There is another group of people constantly underestimated, criticized for being too emotional, too passionate, disrespected for telling the simple truth. Those people are women. I think Dean's stance resonates with many women. His love and support of his wife is nothing short of revolutionary. This campaign only gets more and more interesting."
7) Joe Trippi, Dean for America's campaign manager: "Here’s the real story on Monday night – the one the press still hasn’t told. I’ve been around campaigns for a long time. On most campaigns, if you come in third in Iowa with 18% and you go to the after party, you’re lucky to find 4 people there. Most every one by the time it’s over has left to find another party and another campaign But on Monday night Howard Dean walked in to the ballroom in Des Moines and there were 3500 people there. And the energy was higher than most victory parties I’ve been to. ..." [via Halley Suitt]
_ _ _
THE PROBLEM IS NOT WITH THE PUNDITS WHO ARE RUINING THIS CAMPAIGN
It is with we who consent to what they do
Today, in his latest post, Jim Moore paraphrases Gandhi: "the problem is not with people in government, it is with we who consent to what they do".
Jim says of the Dean campaign: "The problem is not with the pundits who are ruining this campaign, it is with we who consent to what they do."
_ _ _
ADOPT-A-JOURNALIST
Keeping journalists accountable
Here's a list of people who have volunteered to adopt-a-Journalist. View the Forum and join in. Anything regarding how to keep journalist accountable is a valid topic.
Source courtesy of The Wilgoren Watch 'a blog dedicated to deconstructing the New York Times coverage of Howard Dean's campaign for the White House' via Halley Suitt
Updated: February 1, 2004 - PressThink: Adopt a Campaign Journalist in 2004: The Drift of a Suggestion via Joi Ito's Web: Identity and justice
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/26/2004
Sunday, January 25, 2004
WHAT THE INTERNET GIVES, THE INTERNET CAN TAKE AWAY
A lesson to us all - by Tom Watson MP
In response to Tom's one-line post on US politics, quote: "Howard Dean. What the internet gives, the internet can take away. A lesson to us all", this is the comment I have just posted to his blog:
"If you read a lot of political blogs and compare what's being said in the traditional media, you will see something seriously bad going on. See for yourself the video of Dean's concession speech after the Iowa caucuses (there are links to it in my recent posts): watch the Dean Scream in the context of his speech, rallying up his supporters after their disappointment, and then make your own mind up.
Iowa represents one percent of the US population. Dean came out of nowhere and came a respectable third in Iowa. Neither Clinton nor Bush won in Iowa but both went on to win their party nomination and become President. At the end of a race, it's the one who wins that counts, not who was where in the beginning or middle.
I know nothing about American politics and am not anti any candidate. I'm commenting on this issue, and blog about it, because I am concerned about today's media. And right now in Dean's case with the media attempting to sabotage and write off his campaign, I'm trying to understand why.
Hope you will all take an interest too. So far, I am mostly reading American commentary and would be interested in reading the views of British bloggers. Recently, Clive Soley kindly blogged a post about the Media and The Guardian. Hopefully, there will be more British blogging on these issues."
A lesson to us all - by Tom Watson MP
In response to Tom's one-line post on US politics, quote: "Howard Dean. What the internet gives, the internet can take away. A lesson to us all", this is the comment I have just posted to his blog:
"If you read a lot of political blogs and compare what's being said in the traditional media, you will see something seriously bad going on. See for yourself the video of Dean's concession speech after the Iowa caucuses (there are links to it in my recent posts): watch the Dean Scream in the context of his speech, rallying up his supporters after their disappointment, and then make your own mind up.
Iowa represents one percent of the US population. Dean came out of nowhere and came a respectable third in Iowa. Neither Clinton nor Bush won in Iowa but both went on to win their party nomination and become President. At the end of a race, it's the one who wins that counts, not who was where in the beginning or middle.
I know nothing about American politics and am not anti any candidate. I'm commenting on this issue, and blog about it, because I am concerned about today's media. And right now in Dean's case with the media attempting to sabotage and write off his campaign, I'm trying to understand why.
Hope you will all take an interest too. So far, I am mostly reading American commentary and would be interested in reading the views of British bloggers. Recently, Clive Soley kindly blogged a post about the Media and The Guardian. Hopefully, there will be more British blogging on these issues."
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/25/2004
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POPE SAYS MEDIA DAMAGING FAMILIES
Pope's advice to parents is a pro-active approach
"All communication has a moral dimension... People grow or diminish in moral stature by the words which they speak and the messages which they choose to hear" - Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II has called on governments across the world to ensure that family life is not weakened by the growth of communications media. He said in an age where many families had access to immense and varied media resources, parents needed to regulate how their children used it.
In his statement issued in advance of World Communications Day on 23 May, the Pope once again emphasised traditional Catholic teaching on the family and human relationships. He criticised those in the communications industry who were promoting values detrimental to the common good of society. Although the Pope made clear he was not supporting censorship, he is advocating a more pro-active approach by those who hold his conservative values.
He urged parents to closely supervise what their children saw and heard, be more critical of messages which could undermine the family, and to be outspoken when it came to telling producers and governments what they liked and disliked. And as for governments, he said they needed to involve what he described as family representatives in the regulation of the media, so they did not act against the good of the family.
Source courtesy BBC Pope says media damaging families
POPE SAYS MEDIA DAMAGING FAMILIES
Pope's advice to parents is a pro-active approach
"All communication has a moral dimension... People grow or diminish in moral stature by the words which they speak and the messages which they choose to hear" - Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II has called on governments across the world to ensure that family life is not weakened by the growth of communications media. He said in an age where many families had access to immense and varied media resources, parents needed to regulate how their children used it.
In his statement issued in advance of World Communications Day on 23 May, the Pope once again emphasised traditional Catholic teaching on the family and human relationships. He criticised those in the communications industry who were promoting values detrimental to the common good of society. Although the Pope made clear he was not supporting censorship, he is advocating a more pro-active approach by those who hold his conservative values.
He urged parents to closely supervise what their children saw and heard, be more critical of messages which could undermine the family, and to be outspoken when it came to telling producers and governments what they liked and disliked. And as for governments, he said they needed to involve what he described as family representatives in the regulation of the media, so they did not act against the good of the family.
Source courtesy BBC Pope says media damaging families
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/25/2004
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IT'S A REVOLUTION: COME TOGETHER
Wish John Lennon was alive - he'd love the Internet
In John Lennon's day, music brought people together. Wish he was still alive. He'd love seeing what's happening on the Internet right now. And would write some great songs.
DeanGoesNuts.com has a collection of remixes made about Howard Dean's now infamous January 19, 2004 Iowa caucus concession speech. Caner Ozdemir, site creator, says "We Have The Power (Stand Up for America) (Faulkner remix) is the real Howard Dean". Caner says it's by far his favourite remix.
I wonder if the remixes "Revolutions" and "Come Together", listed, were made from the Beatles' songs "Revolution" and "Come Together". It'd be brilliant if they were. The songs bring back memories of a time when most people seemed to be happier. That generation of Americans are now in their 40's and 50's. Beatles songs are fondly remembered and recognised by most age groups, no matter what the mother tongue of it's listener.
IT'S A REVOLUTION: COME TOGETHER
Wish John Lennon was alive - he'd love the Internet
In John Lennon's day, music brought people together. Wish he was still alive. He'd love seeing what's happening on the Internet right now. And would write some great songs.
DeanGoesNuts.com has a collection of remixes made about Howard Dean's now infamous January 19, 2004 Iowa caucus concession speech. Caner Ozdemir, site creator, says "We Have The Power (Stand Up for America) (Faulkner remix) is the real Howard Dean". Caner says it's by far his favourite remix.
I wonder if the remixes "Revolutions" and "Come Together", listed, were made from the Beatles' songs "Revolution" and "Come Together". It'd be brilliant if they were. The songs bring back memories of a time when most people seemed to be happier. That generation of Americans are now in their 40's and 50's. Beatles songs are fondly remembered and recognised by most age groups, no matter what the mother tongue of it's listener.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/25/2004
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BLOGGERS: HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO BLOW UP THE MEDIA
It isn't Howard Dean who is acting strange - it's everyone else
Dave Winer gets it: "Here's your chance to blow up the media. We love you Howard. It's a meme. Make it viral. Let's do a logo. Pass it on!"
The Village Voice gets it: "Howard Dean's now-infamous concession speech after the Iowa caucuses might have gotten him dubbed as a loony in the mainstream press, but on the Internet it’s making him a rock star"
Democratic Underground gets it: "It isn't Howard Dean who is acting strange - it's everyone else"
DeanGoesNuts.com certainly got it - and created a great site about it: "January 19, 2004 was a magical day in politics and Howard Dean should be immortalized on the internet. I'm just doing my part to make sure that happens" - Caner Ozdemir.
BLOGGERS: HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO BLOW UP THE MEDIA
It isn't Howard Dean who is acting strange - it's everyone else
Dave Winer gets it: "Here's your chance to blow up the media. We love you Howard. It's a meme. Make it viral. Let's do a logo. Pass it on!"
The Village Voice gets it: "Howard Dean's now-infamous concession speech after the Iowa caucuses might have gotten him dubbed as a loony in the mainstream press, but on the Internet it’s making him a rock star"
Democratic Underground gets it: "It isn't Howard Dean who is acting strange - it's everyone else"
DeanGoesNuts.com certainly got it - and created a great site about it: "January 19, 2004 was a magical day in politics and Howard Dean should be immortalized on the internet. I'm just doing my part to make sure that happens" - Caner Ozdemir.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/25/2004
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HOWARD DEAN'S ROCKING
All the way to the White House Yeeeeeaaaaaah!"
To me, Yeeeeeaaaaaah! sounds like yippee. Like Howard Dean was whooping an' hollering a yippee, a motivational call to his troops on the ground. I've seen and listened to the video here and cannot see why anyone is being so derogatory about it. To me, on that tape, he seemed to be be doing a great job of passionately motivating his troops, after the coming third in the Iowa caucuses (when most people thought he'd come first).
Don't you think he was yelping "Yeeeeeaaaaaah!" and not "Yeaarrrrrrrgh!" Big difference between the two. The media cruelly latched onto the latter.
Dean scream remixes. Dean scream merchandise. Buy Dean Scream merchandise such as t-shirts, mugs, etc. The proceeds from all sales go toward Howard Dean's 2004 presidential election campaign.
Spread the meme like Dave Winer says: Make it viral. Let's do a logo. Pass it on!
HOWARD DEAN'S ROCKING
All the way to the White House Yeeeeeaaaaaah!"
To me, Yeeeeeaaaaaah! sounds like yippee. Like Howard Dean was whooping an' hollering a yippee, a motivational call to his troops on the ground. I've seen and listened to the video here and cannot see why anyone is being so derogatory about it. To me, on that tape, he seemed to be be doing a great job of passionately motivating his troops, after the coming third in the Iowa caucuses (when most people thought he'd come first).
Don't you think he was yelping "Yeeeeeaaaaaah!" and not "Yeaarrrrrrrgh!" Big difference between the two. The media cruelly latched onto the latter.
Dean scream remixes. Dean scream merchandise. Buy Dean Scream merchandise such as t-shirts, mugs, etc. The proceeds from all sales go toward Howard Dean's 2004 presidential election campaign.
Spread the meme like Dave Winer says: Make it viral. Let's do a logo. Pass it on!
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/25/2004
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BLOGGING DEAN'S RALLYING CALL
A germ of a great idea in Jim's post
Note in these two excerpts, that Jim's saying: Yeeaaaagh! And Dave's saying: yeaaaggghhh! And BBC online's saying Yeeaarrgghh!" I've been using Caner's Yeeeeeaaaaaah! Does anyone know how best to spell out the Dean Scream?
Jim Moore reports: "Carol Moseley Braun was just here visiting us in the Dean HQ in Manchester! We gave her a farmworkers' clap of welcome when she arrived, and then again as she left. Yeeaaaagh!"
Dave Winer reports: There's a germ of a great idea in Jim's post above. At every Dean rally he should recite the names of the states. Then roll up his sleeves. Then jump around. Then scream yeaaaggghhh!
BLOGGING DEAN'S RALLYING CALL
A germ of a great idea in Jim's post
Note in these two excerpts, that Jim's saying: Yeeaaaagh! And Dave's saying: yeaaaggghhh! And BBC online's saying Yeeaarrgghh!" I've been using Caner's Yeeeeeaaaaaah! Does anyone know how best to spell out the Dean Scream?
Jim Moore reports: "Carol Moseley Braun was just here visiting us in the Dean HQ in Manchester! We gave her a farmworkers' clap of welcome when she arrived, and then again as she left. Yeeaaaagh!"
Dave Winer reports: There's a germ of a great idea in Jim's post above. At every Dean rally he should recite the names of the states. Then roll up his sleeves. Then jump around. Then scream yeaaaggghhh!
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/25/2004
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DEANGOESNUTS.COM GETS IT
Message of the day
Caner Ozdemir is a Ball State student who launched his DeanGoesNuts.com website last Tuesday. He's already has more than 60,000 hits. Here's what he says on his page:
--"Don't get me wrong! I am actually a Howard Dean supporter and will be voting for him when, and if, the time comes. I just think that January 19, 2004 was a magical day in politics and Howard Dean should be immortalized on the internet. I'm just doing my part to make sure that happens. Check out a link to a site called idomstudio.com containing a video of the entire speech from the crowd's prospective so you can get a feel for what it was like to be there. Put it in context and draw your own conclusion."
-- "Listen to my favorite remix. It's simply amazing. The New Hampshire Primary is this coming Tuesday. Let's change America! Help Dean For America and let's restore hope to our democracy. America deserves better. Remember how this great country came about. It doesn't have to always be the way it is, just because everyone says there's nothing we can do. There IS something we can do. Vote with your heart, and not the polls."
--"If everyone who came to my website so far gave $10, we'd raise well over a $1,000,000 in no time! Imagine that! The White House would be ours! And the days of huge donations by the wealthy deciding who gets to become President of OUR United States would be over!
Not only are we going to New Hampshire..., we're going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and we're going to California and Texas and New York! And we're going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan. And then we're going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House, Yeeeeeaaaaaah!"
DEANGOESNUTS.COM GETS IT
Message of the day
Caner Ozdemir is a Ball State student who launched his DeanGoesNuts.com website last Tuesday. He's already has more than 60,000 hits. Here's what he says on his page:
--"Don't get me wrong! I am actually a Howard Dean supporter and will be voting for him when, and if, the time comes. I just think that January 19, 2004 was a magical day in politics and Howard Dean should be immortalized on the internet. I'm just doing my part to make sure that happens. Check out a link to a site called idomstudio.com containing a video of the entire speech from the crowd's prospective so you can get a feel for what it was like to be there. Put it in context and draw your own conclusion."
-- "Listen to my favorite remix. It's simply amazing. The New Hampshire Primary is this coming Tuesday. Let's change America! Help Dean For America and let's restore hope to our democracy. America deserves better. Remember how this great country came about. It doesn't have to always be the way it is, just because everyone says there's nothing we can do. There IS something we can do. Vote with your heart, and not the polls."
--"If everyone who came to my website so far gave $10, we'd raise well over a $1,000,000 in no time! Imagine that! The White House would be ours! And the days of huge donations by the wealthy deciding who gets to become President of OUR United States would be over!
Not only are we going to New Hampshire..., we're going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and we're going to California and Texas and New York! And we're going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan. And then we're going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House, Yeeeeeaaaaaah!"
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/25/2004
Saturday, January 24, 2004
BLOGOSPHERE ROMANCE AND MARRIAGE
Four bloggers find love
Here's the story of The Redhead Wore Crimson (Wendy) and Accordion Guy (Joey) who met up and became a couple as a result of blogging. Last month, I blogged about Wendy because she seemed to have given up hope of finding a soul mate via the Internet. Best of luck Wendy and Joey.
Another story of two bloggers who met through their blogs, became a couple and married earlier this month. Congratulations!
Four bloggers find love
Here's the story of The Redhead Wore Crimson (Wendy) and Accordion Guy (Joey) who met up and became a couple as a result of blogging. Last month, I blogged about Wendy because she seemed to have given up hope of finding a soul mate via the Internet. Best of luck Wendy and Joey.
Another story of two bloggers who met through their blogs, became a couple and married earlier this month. Congratulations!
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/24/2004
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DEAN SCREAM IS A WINNER
Capitalise on the rallying call
The Dean scream is getting huge publicity. Seems like everyone's talking about the Dean scream. A promoters dream.
Dave Winer: "The famous Dean rant"
Howard Beale: "All human beings are becoming humanoids"
Jim O'Connell: "Why is it that we let the press get away with this kind of puerile 'journalism'?"
Jim Moore: "As Dave Winer said to me earlier today on the phone, the media is trying to "delete" the Dean campaign"
BBC News: "'Dean scream' becomes online hit -- Mr Dean's outburst on Martin Luther King Day has been dubbed his "I have a scream" speech."
Win or lose, it may never be forgotten. I'd capitalise on it. Turn a negative into a positive. Make it the party's rallying call. Capitalise on the Dean scream. Make sure it's NOT forgotten. It'll catch on. What am I talking about? Songs are being written - it's already caught on! The guy just needs to be himself. Yeeaarrgghh! Hehe.
_ _ _
QUOTE BY HOWARD DEAN
Iowa Caucuses, USA, January 2004
"AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO WASHINGTON, DC, TO TAKE BACK THE WHITE HOUSE! Yeeaarrgghh!"
[Source courtesy BBC News Online Click here to listen to Dean's 'scream']
DEAN SCREAM IS A WINNER
Capitalise on the rallying call
The Dean scream is getting huge publicity. Seems like everyone's talking about the Dean scream. A promoters dream.
Dave Winer: "The famous Dean rant"
Howard Beale: "All human beings are becoming humanoids"
Jim O'Connell: "Why is it that we let the press get away with this kind of puerile 'journalism'?"
Jim Moore: "As Dave Winer said to me earlier today on the phone, the media is trying to "delete" the Dean campaign"
BBC News: "'Dean scream' becomes online hit -- Mr Dean's outburst on Martin Luther King Day has been dubbed his "I have a scream" speech."
Win or lose, it may never be forgotten. I'd capitalise on it. Turn a negative into a positive. Make it the party's rallying call. Capitalise on the Dean scream. Make sure it's NOT forgotten. It'll catch on. What am I talking about? Songs are being written - it's already caught on! The guy just needs to be himself. Yeeaarrgghh! Hehe.
_ _ _
QUOTE BY HOWARD DEAN
Iowa Caucuses, USA, January 2004
"AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO WASHINGTON, DC, TO TAKE BACK THE WHITE HOUSE! Yeeaarrgghh!"
[Source courtesy BBC News Online Click here to listen to Dean's 'scream']
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/24/2004
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CUBA LAW TIGHTENS INTERNET ACCESS
'For the common good'
BBC news reports: "A new law coming into force on Saturday makes it impossible for many Cubans to dial up the internet from their home telephone lines. The move clamps down on the thousands of Cubans who illegally access the internet from their homes. From now on, it will not be possible to dial up the main government server from most domestic phone lines. Only lines which are paid for in dollars will have direct access. These are usually restricted to foreigners.
Amnesty International says this is an attempt to shield Cubans from alternative views. All news media in Cuba is rigorously state-controlled and supportive of Fidel Castro's government. But the Cuban government has reacted angrily to suggestions that the change amounts to censorship. It says it is doing nothing more than preventing overused internet connections being clogged up by people borrowing, or selling each other passwords. The internet should be for the common good, it says, pointing out that it will still be available in schools and workplaces.
Dissident groups have expressed doubt that the authorities here can control the internet as much as they might wish. It is true that whenever a new law comes into effect here, Cubans - who are famed for their inventiveness - tend to find a way around it."
CUBA LAW TIGHTENS INTERNET ACCESS
'For the common good'
BBC news reports: "A new law coming into force on Saturday makes it impossible for many Cubans to dial up the internet from their home telephone lines. The move clamps down on the thousands of Cubans who illegally access the internet from their homes. From now on, it will not be possible to dial up the main government server from most domestic phone lines. Only lines which are paid for in dollars will have direct access. These are usually restricted to foreigners.
Amnesty International says this is an attempt to shield Cubans from alternative views. All news media in Cuba is rigorously state-controlled and supportive of Fidel Castro's government. But the Cuban government has reacted angrily to suggestions that the change amounts to censorship. It says it is doing nothing more than preventing overused internet connections being clogged up by people borrowing, or selling each other passwords. The internet should be for the common good, it says, pointing out that it will still be available in schools and workplaces.
Dissident groups have expressed doubt that the authorities here can control the internet as much as they might wish. It is true that whenever a new law comes into effect here, Cubans - who are famed for their inventiveness - tend to find a way around it."
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/24/2004
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GOOGLE TIP-TOED INTO THE HOT MARKET OF ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS
With the quiet launch of Orkut.com on Thursday
Sebastien Paquet blogs out of Quebec. He sure has an interesting blog (well, to my mind anyway). Here is Seb's post on Group Blogging and group voice. Plus, three pieces I'm posting for future reference:
Firstly, below news of Google's social networking service, Orkut. Not yet had a chance to read it all. Curious to see if it might have anything to do with the rumour I blogged on Jan 12, that Google may hook Blogger software to a Friendster-type network (via an acquisition) to tap into the open standard driven computing world.
_ _ _
GROUP BLOGGING AND GROUP VOICE
Many 2 Many: a group weblog on social networking
Secondly, this post written by Ross Mayfield for Many 2 Many, a group weblog on social networking: "Google is working on a social networking service Orkut. Here's an article, another, and the site.
Excerpt: The wires are buzzing with news of Orkut, a social software/on-line community initiative 'in affiliation with Google'. Variously reported (see here, here and here), and sparking some strong comment: GigaOm says this recent development scares the living..."
_ _ _
INTERVIEWING WEB HEADS
Netwoman regularly interviews female bloggers
Thirdly, Seb's post "Interview with a web head" points to under the iron's series of interviews with people of the web. Seb says he loves these because the question-answer dynamics give you a different view than what you get from reading their weblogs. He's thinking of interviewing his favourite bloggers. Great idea. I too love reading bloggers' interviews. Honest dialogue. No spin. Normal conversation. More personalisation. Getting to know others. Creates a sense of community.
Tracy Kennedy's Netwoman blog, regularly features interviews with female bloggers. Each of the interviews, conducted by email, are based on the same topic and set of questions. Last month, Tracy emailed me for an interview which I've agreed to do. Hope to make a start on it soon. Meantime, I'm keeping an eye out for more survey information on estimated numbers of male and female bloggers. Recent survey figures from Perseus don't sit right with my impressions. I'm working on a post to explain why.
GOOGLE TIP-TOED INTO THE HOT MARKET OF ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS
With the quiet launch of Orkut.com on Thursday
Sebastien Paquet blogs out of Quebec. He sure has an interesting blog (well, to my mind anyway). Here is Seb's post on Group Blogging and group voice. Plus, three pieces I'm posting for future reference:
Firstly, below news of Google's social networking service, Orkut. Not yet had a chance to read it all. Curious to see if it might have anything to do with the rumour I blogged on Jan 12, that Google may hook Blogger software to a Friendster-type network (via an acquisition) to tap into the open standard driven computing world.
_ _ _
GROUP BLOGGING AND GROUP VOICE
Many 2 Many: a group weblog on social networking
Secondly, this post written by Ross Mayfield for Many 2 Many, a group weblog on social networking: "Google is working on a social networking service Orkut. Here's an article, another, and the site.
Excerpt: The wires are buzzing with news of Orkut, a social software/on-line community initiative 'in affiliation with Google'. Variously reported (see here, here and here), and sparking some strong comment: GigaOm says this recent development scares the living..."
_ _ _
INTERVIEWING WEB HEADS
Netwoman regularly interviews female bloggers
Thirdly, Seb's post "Interview with a web head" points to under the iron's series of interviews with people of the web. Seb says he loves these because the question-answer dynamics give you a different view than what you get from reading their weblogs. He's thinking of interviewing his favourite bloggers. Great idea. I too love reading bloggers' interviews. Honest dialogue. No spin. Normal conversation. More personalisation. Getting to know others. Creates a sense of community.
Tracy Kennedy's Netwoman blog, regularly features interviews with female bloggers. Each of the interviews, conducted by email, are based on the same topic and set of questions. Last month, Tracy emailed me for an interview which I've agreed to do. Hope to make a start on it soon. Meantime, I'm keeping an eye out for more survey information on estimated numbers of male and female bloggers. Recent survey figures from Perseus don't sit right with my impressions. I'm working on a post to explain why.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/24/2004
Friday, January 23, 2004
LARGEST POLITICAL SITES
The Truth Laid Bear: Weblog Traffic Rankings
Who'd have thought that any site could rocket so quickly into the top ten at The Truth Laid Bear. As pointed out by Jim Moore, Internet Director for the Dean campaign, in his blog, "traffic isn't everything but it is interesting":
1) Daily Kos/Political State Report 97857 visits/day
2) Instapundit 95385 visits/day
3) Eschaton (Atrios) 52712 visits/day
4) Andrew Sullivan 46983 visits/day
5) Gizmodo : The Gadgets Weblog 35851 visits/day
6) Blog for America 33746 visits/day
Kudos to Daily Kos and the Dean campaign's Blog for America.
The Truth Laid Bear: Weblog Traffic Rankings
Who'd have thought that any site could rocket so quickly into the top ten at The Truth Laid Bear. As pointed out by Jim Moore, Internet Director for the Dean campaign, in his blog, "traffic isn't everything but it is interesting":
1) Daily Kos/Political State Report 97857 visits/day
2) Instapundit 95385 visits/day
3) Eschaton (Atrios) 52712 visits/day
4) Andrew Sullivan 46983 visits/day
5) Gizmodo : The Gadgets Weblog 35851 visits/day
6) Blog for America 33746 visits/day
Kudos to Daily Kos and the Dean campaign's Blog for America.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/23/2004
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NEIGHBOURHOOD COMMUNITIES: APARTMENT BLOCK BLOGGING
A great way to bring about convergence between online and offline communities
The Asbury Tenants Weblog makes brilliant use of a blog and is fun to read. It's a community weblog for tenants of the Asbury apartment building in Los Angeles, California, USA. The blog has no connection to the management of the apartment building. Any Asbury tenant may post entries after emailing the admin to ask for a login/password. Any visitor may leave comments. Like Seb says, "think of the value to prospective tenants."
And, like Mark says, "seems odd that this happened in LA first, and not in New York City. Something tells me that future landlords won't appreciate their tenants being quite so "connected". Too bad. What a great way to bring about a convergence between online and offline communities, though."
_ _ _
I say, imagine if tenants' blogging takes off. The stuff that people might blog about could get hair-raising (for tenants and landlords). Wish I'd kept a note of a blog I came across that graphically explained a nightmare scenario of a pair of tenants who met up, fell in love (and split up!) while they were both tenants in the same apartment block but on different floors. It was a scream. Can you imagine the sort of stuff that tenants might blog? I can ;-)
NEIGHBOURHOOD COMMUNITIES: APARTMENT BLOCK BLOGGING
A great way to bring about convergence between online and offline communities
The Asbury Tenants Weblog makes brilliant use of a blog and is fun to read. It's a community weblog for tenants of the Asbury apartment building in Los Angeles, California, USA. The blog has no connection to the management of the apartment building. Any Asbury tenant may post entries after emailing the admin to ask for a login/password. Any visitor may leave comments. Like Seb says, "think of the value to prospective tenants."
And, like Mark says, "seems odd that this happened in LA first, and not in New York City. Something tells me that future landlords won't appreciate their tenants being quite so "connected". Too bad. What a great way to bring about a convergence between online and offline communities, though."
_ _ _
I say, imagine if tenants' blogging takes off. The stuff that people might blog about could get hair-raising (for tenants and landlords). Wish I'd kept a note of a blog I came across that graphically explained a nightmare scenario of a pair of tenants who met up, fell in love (and split up!) while they were both tenants in the same apartment block but on different floors. It was a scream. Can you imagine the sort of stuff that tenants might blog? I can ;-)
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/23/2004
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BLOGGER ANNOUNCES ATOM
My blog's new syndication feed
BLOGGER has just announced support for Atom which means, among other things, that I'll have a new feed for my blog! BLOGGER explains what it means to Blogger users and developers. I'm blogging this news before reading up on it. Fingers crossed, I'll soon have a feed that works. Hehe.
BLOGGER ANNOUNCES ATOM
My blog's new syndication feed
BLOGGER has just announced support for Atom which means, among other things, that I'll have a new feed for my blog! BLOGGER explains what it means to Blogger users and developers. I'm blogging this news before reading up on it. Fingers crossed, I'll soon have a feed that works. Hehe.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/23/2004
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POLITICAL COMMUNITIES
Your voices, from the roots
FromTheRoots allows visitors to become part of a community through posting comments, diaries and suggesting stories. The site, pioneered by Daily Kos and pointed out by Jim Moore, is intended to support Democratic candidates and issues. It welcomes debate on which candidates to support in a primary and what is the best Democratic approach on an issue.
Posting comments is the easiest way to get involved. Diaries allow users to post their own content with a more open-ended format (comments are meant to respond to a specific story). All users can rate all comments, except their own.
To suggest a story, first choose an Issue or State ...
TRUSTED AND UNTRUSTED USERS
All users can rate all comments
To determine trusted and untrusted users, FromTheRoots uses a system called "Mojo" to try to keep the comments as high-signal as possible. The site's page on etiquette for participation explains:
"All users can rate all comments, except their own, between 1 and 5. When your comments are rated by others, those ratings are combined into a weighted average -- newer comments count more than older ones -- called your "Mojo". This, roughly, represents the rating the site could expect your next comment to receive based on your past comments.
Users who have a mojo greater than a certain minimum and who have posted a sufficient number of comments are considered "trusted" users, and have the added capability to rate comments below the normal minimum rating. If enough of a user's comments are rated below 1, that user becomes "untrusted", which means that respected members of the community have repeatedly indicated that your input is offensive, content-free, or merely intended to annoy others."
POLITICAL COMMUNITIES
Your voices, from the roots
FromTheRoots allows visitors to become part of a community through posting comments, diaries and suggesting stories. The site, pioneered by Daily Kos and pointed out by Jim Moore, is intended to support Democratic candidates and issues. It welcomes debate on which candidates to support in a primary and what is the best Democratic approach on an issue.
Posting comments is the easiest way to get involved. Diaries allow users to post their own content with a more open-ended format (comments are meant to respond to a specific story). All users can rate all comments, except their own.
To suggest a story, first choose an Issue or State ...
TRUSTED AND UNTRUSTED USERS
All users can rate all comments
To determine trusted and untrusted users, FromTheRoots uses a system called "Mojo" to try to keep the comments as high-signal as possible. The site's page on etiquette for participation explains:
"All users can rate all comments, except their own, between 1 and 5. When your comments are rated by others, those ratings are combined into a weighted average -- newer comments count more than older ones -- called your "Mojo". This, roughly, represents the rating the site could expect your next comment to receive based on your past comments.
Users who have a mojo greater than a certain minimum and who have posted a sufficient number of comments are considered "trusted" users, and have the added capability to rate comments below the normal minimum rating. If enough of a user's comments are rated below 1, that user becomes "untrusted", which means that respected members of the community have repeatedly indicated that your input is offensive, content-free, or merely intended to annoy others."
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/23/2004
Thursday, January 22, 2004
PRIVACY AND SECURITY ISSUES
There's no such thing as privacy
Following on from my post on Jan 20 re privacy issues, and in response to the comments received, I've looked at some pictures published by BBC News online (my homepage). Seems unlikely that most of the people pictured were aware of having been photographed. Millions of such pictures are in the public domain. It'd be ridiculous for all those people to sue. There is no such thing as privacy in public places. The moment you step outside of your home, your image is in the public domain. So, on reflection, I don't think that the Chinese couple will win in court. Had they been photographed kissing in the garden of their home, might they stand a better chance? I don't think so. Here's why:
How does one define private life and personal space? What can one do about someone using zoom lenses to photograph a person behind the window of their own home, in their garden etc? *Home* for many people could be within the walls of public buildings like hotels, hospitals, care homes, military bases, boarding schools, prisons, etc. People set up home in boats, tents and caravans. Home can be in a presidential palace, mud hut or cardboard box. Some nomads live under the stars.
Big Brother arrived years ago. We are the public domain. So, what exactly is a private life? Is it secret stuff, wrongdoings, skeletons in the closet, things to be hidden in the dark; personal details on financial, medical, DNA, our naked selves? If we think we conduct our private life in private, what's to stop anyone who is witnessing this private life, blogging about it - like the kiss-and-tell and what-the-butler-saw sort of stories communicated by the traditional media. There's no such thing as real privacy.
However, there are such things as security issues. Huge safeguards exist for protecting things and people en masse. But what about our security as individuals, and the safeguards to protect us against opportunists and predators, especially on the Internet? No doubt whole new careers and businesses will be built on these issues. Fields like Cyberlaw are a new frontier, the teachers and students of which are breaking new ground. Hopefully, close attention is being paid to the development of safeguards that will enable individual citizens to protect their personal security. It may be just a matter of time before the things that are unthinkable now, start to happen in cyberspace.
For instance, on October 1 of last year, I blogged the BBC's report of an ambulance worker in England who allegedly used a mobile phone to take a photograph of a corpse from a "road traffic incident". Apparently, the victim was a teenage girl. It's easy to imagine how this could happen, and the distress suffered by the girl's family, friends and relatives. What if the photo had been transmitted within seconds to some ghoulish website, before the family were even informed of the girl's death? The traditional media would not have published it, for fear of getting sued, but it could have been posted to an anonymously authored weblog. Once something is on the Internet, how possible it is to delete whatever has been trawled by the search engines?
The ambulance worker was sacked but no charges were brought by the police. (In fact, the report confirmed the police would not be investigating any aspect of the case.) If some sort of lifetime ID number and system (similar to a driver licencing system) were in place, and that awful *incident* was logged against the ambulance worker's ID, it may deter him and others from inflicting devastation on other people's lives. I'm not just talking here about a National ID, but a Global ID system designed for the Internet. In this country, some people concerned with civil liberties are lobbying against our Government's proposal to introduce National ID cards. Surely, the benefits of safeguarding our freedom and protecting us from opportunists and predators, far outweigh any potential infringements of civil liberties. Besides, if there's no privacy to invade, how can there be such a thing as invasion of privacy? In my view, people who are against the introduction of an ID system can expect to be suspected of having something to hide.
There's no such thing as privacy
Following on from my post on Jan 20 re privacy issues, and in response to the comments received, I've looked at some pictures published by BBC News online (my homepage). Seems unlikely that most of the people pictured were aware of having been photographed. Millions of such pictures are in the public domain. It'd be ridiculous for all those people to sue. There is no such thing as privacy in public places. The moment you step outside of your home, your image is in the public domain. So, on reflection, I don't think that the Chinese couple will win in court. Had they been photographed kissing in the garden of their home, might they stand a better chance? I don't think so. Here's why:
How does one define private life and personal space? What can one do about someone using zoom lenses to photograph a person behind the window of their own home, in their garden etc? *Home* for many people could be within the walls of public buildings like hotels, hospitals, care homes, military bases, boarding schools, prisons, etc. People set up home in boats, tents and caravans. Home can be in a presidential palace, mud hut or cardboard box. Some nomads live under the stars.
Big Brother arrived years ago. We are the public domain. So, what exactly is a private life? Is it secret stuff, wrongdoings, skeletons in the closet, things to be hidden in the dark; personal details on financial, medical, DNA, our naked selves? If we think we conduct our private life in private, what's to stop anyone who is witnessing this private life, blogging about it - like the kiss-and-tell and what-the-butler-saw sort of stories communicated by the traditional media. There's no such thing as real privacy.
However, there are such things as security issues. Huge safeguards exist for protecting things and people en masse. But what about our security as individuals, and the safeguards to protect us against opportunists and predators, especially on the Internet? No doubt whole new careers and businesses will be built on these issues. Fields like Cyberlaw are a new frontier, the teachers and students of which are breaking new ground. Hopefully, close attention is being paid to the development of safeguards that will enable individual citizens to protect their personal security. It may be just a matter of time before the things that are unthinkable now, start to happen in cyberspace.
For instance, on October 1 of last year, I blogged the BBC's report of an ambulance worker in England who allegedly used a mobile phone to take a photograph of a corpse from a "road traffic incident". Apparently, the victim was a teenage girl. It's easy to imagine how this could happen, and the distress suffered by the girl's family, friends and relatives. What if the photo had been transmitted within seconds to some ghoulish website, before the family were even informed of the girl's death? The traditional media would not have published it, for fear of getting sued, but it could have been posted to an anonymously authored weblog. Once something is on the Internet, how possible it is to delete whatever has been trawled by the search engines?
The ambulance worker was sacked but no charges were brought by the police. (In fact, the report confirmed the police would not be investigating any aspect of the case.) If some sort of lifetime ID number and system (similar to a driver licencing system) were in place, and that awful *incident* was logged against the ambulance worker's ID, it may deter him and others from inflicting devastation on other people's lives. I'm not just talking here about a National ID, but a Global ID system designed for the Internet. In this country, some people concerned with civil liberties are lobbying against our Government's proposal to introduce National ID cards. Surely, the benefits of safeguarding our freedom and protecting us from opportunists and predators, far outweigh any potential infringements of civil liberties. Besides, if there's no privacy to invade, how can there be such a thing as invasion of privacy? In my view, people who are against the introduction of an ID system can expect to be suspected of having something to hide.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/22/2004
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
DOES GOOGLE NOT KNOW EVERYTHING -
Or are there a lot less number of blogs than estimated?
Perseus randomly surveyed 3,634 blogs on eight leading blog-hosting services to develop a model of blog populations. Based on this research, Perseus estimates that 4.12 million blogs have been created on these services: Blog-City, BlogSpot, Diaryland, LiveJournal, Pitas, TypePad, Weblogger and Xanga.
Recently, I visited Google's Web Directory where it states that the Google directory contains over 1.5 million URLs. But the Perseus survey estimates there are 4.12 million hosted blogs. Does Google not know everything, or are there a lot less blogs than estimated?
_ _ _
TECHNORATI WEB SERVICES FOR BLOGGERS
Brand new quick service
Technorati launches a new service for bloggers.
Source courtesy of Joi Ito's Web
Or are there a lot less number of blogs than estimated?
Perseus randomly surveyed 3,634 blogs on eight leading blog-hosting services to develop a model of blog populations. Based on this research, Perseus estimates that 4.12 million blogs have been created on these services: Blog-City, BlogSpot, Diaryland, LiveJournal, Pitas, TypePad, Weblogger and Xanga.
Recently, I visited Google's Web Directory where it states that the Google directory contains over 1.5 million URLs. But the Perseus survey estimates there are 4.12 million hosted blogs. Does Google not know everything, or are there a lot less blogs than estimated?
_ _ _
TECHNORATI WEB SERVICES FOR BLOGGERS
Brand new quick service
Technorati launches a new service for bloggers.
Source courtesy of Joi Ito's Web
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/21/2004
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
PRIVACY ISSUES IN A PUBLIC PLACE
Stolen kiss lands Chinese school in court
BBC News reports that "a Chinese couple has sued their former high school after it broadcast a video of them kissing on campus as an example of "irregular action". Wei Gang and his unnamed girlfriend have demanded compensation of 5,000 yuan ($600) and a public apology for "mental anguish" caused by the screening, which they said was an invasion of their privacy. Although the video tried to cover up the couple's faces, fellow students recognised them by their dress, the Shanghai Daily reported."
It'd be interesting to know the outcome of this. Firstly, the couple are saying it was an invasion of their privacy but they were kissing in a public place for all to see, so they couldn't have been too concerned about "privacy" issues. Secondly, the school must have felt they were invading some sort of privacy because the video tried to cover up the couple's faces.
Years ago, in America, I recall some sort of paper was required to be signed by someone before you took their photo for public show. I think people ought to be able to sue for having their image taken without their permission. What do you think? How would you feel if an image of you was taken unaware and ended up in the public domain? It happens every day to people in the public eye, why should this couple be any different?
Stolen kiss lands Chinese school in court
BBC News reports that "a Chinese couple has sued their former high school after it broadcast a video of them kissing on campus as an example of "irregular action". Wei Gang and his unnamed girlfriend have demanded compensation of 5,000 yuan ($600) and a public apology for "mental anguish" caused by the screening, which they said was an invasion of their privacy. Although the video tried to cover up the couple's faces, fellow students recognised them by their dress, the Shanghai Daily reported."
It'd be interesting to know the outcome of this. Firstly, the couple are saying it was an invasion of their privacy but they were kissing in a public place for all to see, so they couldn't have been too concerned about "privacy" issues. Secondly, the school must have felt they were invading some sort of privacy because the video tried to cover up the couple's faces.
Years ago, in America, I recall some sort of paper was required to be signed by someone before you took their photo for public show. I think people ought to be able to sue for having their image taken without their permission. What do you think? How would you feel if an image of you was taken unaware and ended up in the public domain? It happens every day to people in the public eye, why should this couple be any different?
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/20/2004
Monday, January 19, 2004
BAGLE VIRUS HIDES AS CALCULATOR
Warnings issued about the rapidly spreading Bagle Windows worm
If you get an e-mail that looks like this, delete it.
Warnings issued about the rapidly spreading Bagle Windows worm
If you get an e-mail that looks like this, delete it.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/19/2004
Sunday, January 18, 2004
BLOGGERS MEDIA MONITORING NETWORK
Powerful stuff
Following on from my post yesterday, Tom Watson MP writes: "Media monitoring today is on another level. All parties have a crack squad who monitor TV, radio and newspapers around the clock. You can get a review of the daily papers sent to your inbox before you wake up in the morning. In my day, you'd be lucky to get them before lunch. Now, as James Moore reports, political bloggers might get in on the act during the run up to the presidential election. The idea is that teams of bloggers attach themselves to a particular journalist. Between them they will analyse and deconstruct each story for bias, inaccuracy and nuance. Powerful stuff if you ask me."
Powerful stuff
Following on from my post yesterday, Tom Watson MP writes: "Media monitoring today is on another level. All parties have a crack squad who monitor TV, radio and newspapers around the clock. You can get a review of the daily papers sent to your inbox before you wake up in the morning. In my day, you'd be lucky to get them before lunch. Now, as James Moore reports, political bloggers might get in on the act during the run up to the presidential election. The idea is that teams of bloggers attach themselves to a particular journalist. Between them they will analyse and deconstruct each story for bias, inaccuracy and nuance. Powerful stuff if you ask me."
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/18/2004
__________________________________
GOOGLE INDIA IS HIRING
Google opens in Bangalore, India
Google has job opportunities in its newly opened office in Bangalore, India. It's their first full engineering facility outside the United States. Their goal is to conceive, research, implement and deploy the next generation search engine - a goal that requires talented software engineers, top coders and visionary computer scientists.
Source courtesy of The Scobleizer -- Geek Aggregator.
_ _ _
WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL CHANGE
American teenage genius blogger Aaron Swartz
Aaron Swartz, a teenage writer, coder, and hacker, appears to be a genius.
One of Aaron's projects is writing. He aims for a weblog post each weekday, and a Google Weblog update when needed. He's also doing some Google writing on contract, and is planning go to school at Stanford in September. Here's how he thinks:
"... I think deeply about things and want others to do likewise. I work for ideas and learn from people. I don't like excluding people. I'm a perfectionist, but I won't let that get in the way of publication. Except for education and entertainment, I'm not going to waste my time on things that won't have an impact. I try to be friends with everyone, but I hate it when you don't take me seriously. I don't hold grudges (it's not productive) but I learn from my experience. I want to make the world a better place ..."
Aaron, on the political compass test, as of 2003-08-23, is lower-left:
Economic Left/Right: -5.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.69
Imagine what's ahead for such a young hard working chap with a fine and brilliant mind. The world is his oyster. Best of luck Aaron. Make the world a better place.
_ _ _
US PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES 2004
On the political compass
Here is where the US Primaries 2004 stand on the political compass.
GOOGLE INDIA IS HIRING
Google opens in Bangalore, India
Google has job opportunities in its newly opened office in Bangalore, India. It's their first full engineering facility outside the United States. Their goal is to conceive, research, implement and deploy the next generation search engine - a goal that requires talented software engineers, top coders and visionary computer scientists.
Source courtesy of The Scobleizer -- Geek Aggregator.
_ _ _
WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL CHANGE
American teenage genius blogger Aaron Swartz
Aaron Swartz, a teenage writer, coder, and hacker, appears to be a genius.
One of Aaron's projects is writing. He aims for a weblog post each weekday, and a Google Weblog update when needed. He's also doing some Google writing on contract, and is planning go to school at Stanford in September. Here's how he thinks:
"... I think deeply about things and want others to do likewise. I work for ideas and learn from people. I don't like excluding people. I'm a perfectionist, but I won't let that get in the way of publication. Except for education and entertainment, I'm not going to waste my time on things that won't have an impact. I try to be friends with everyone, but I hate it when you don't take me seriously. I don't hold grudges (it's not productive) but I learn from my experience. I want to make the world a better place ..."
Aaron, on the political compass test, as of 2003-08-23, is lower-left:
Economic Left/Right: -5.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.69
Imagine what's ahead for such a young hard working chap with a fine and brilliant mind. The world is his oyster. Best of luck Aaron. Make the world a better place.
_ _ _
US PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES 2004
On the political compass
Here is where the US Primaries 2004 stand on the political compass.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/18/2004
Saturday, January 17, 2004
MEDIA MONITORING NETWORK
Tracking the reporters
Dave Winer does not think this is a very good idea. He thinks it would be much better to track the candidates by issues, rather than watching reporters. As per my post on Jan 15, I think the idea of starting up, exploring and testing a bloggers Media Monitoring Network, on a trial basis, is brilliant. Dave has received some interesting comments.
____________________________________
WHAT DO USERS WANT FROM RSS?
Have your say
On January 21, Dave Winer is doing a session at a teleconference involving many of the leading developers in the syndication world. As he'd like the focus to be on people who use the technology, to let them set the agenda for the developers, he is asking bloggers:
"What can technology do to help make getting the information you want easier, more efficient, more fun, more..? If you could put one thing on the agenda of the industry, what would it be? Please try to keep it to one or two sentences, and give it some thought before posting. Even better would be to post something on your weblog if you have one, or post it as a comment: What do users want from RSS?"
_____________________________________
BLOGSPEAK COMMENTS IN THIS BLOG
Successfully transported into HaloScan
Readers' comments posted to this blog have now moved from BlogSpeak to HaloScan. Huge thanks to Harry and Jeevan. Sorry about the disappearance of the service this past week. Jeevan at HaloScan thinks my IE browser is having problems with Javascript. He has some alternative codes that may enable me to open the comments window on this page. In the meantime, I can access and reply to comments by logging in at HaloScan.
Tracking the reporters
Dave Winer does not think this is a very good idea. He thinks it would be much better to track the candidates by issues, rather than watching reporters. As per my post on Jan 15, I think the idea of starting up, exploring and testing a bloggers Media Monitoring Network, on a trial basis, is brilliant. Dave has received some interesting comments.
____________________________________
WHAT DO USERS WANT FROM RSS?
Have your say
On January 21, Dave Winer is doing a session at a teleconference involving many of the leading developers in the syndication world. As he'd like the focus to be on people who use the technology, to let them set the agenda for the developers, he is asking bloggers:
"What can technology do to help make getting the information you want easier, more efficient, more fun, more..? If you could put one thing on the agenda of the industry, what would it be? Please try to keep it to one or two sentences, and give it some thought before posting. Even better would be to post something on your weblog if you have one, or post it as a comment: What do users want from RSS?"
_____________________________________
BLOGSPEAK COMMENTS IN THIS BLOG
Successfully transported into HaloScan
Readers' comments posted to this blog have now moved from BlogSpeak to HaloScan. Huge thanks to Harry and Jeevan. Sorry about the disappearance of the service this past week. Jeevan at HaloScan thinks my IE browser is having problems with Javascript. He has some alternative codes that may enable me to open the comments window on this page. In the meantime, I can access and reply to comments by logging in at HaloScan.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/17/2004
Friday, January 16, 2004
BLOGGERS FORM A NATIONAL NEWS TEAM
There will be scoops and really great reporting
Watch the BloggerStorm community develop, as the Iowa Caucuses start on Monday evening. Jim Moore blogs about why BloggerStorm matters:
"With the launch today of BloggerStorm to cover the Iowa presidential selection process and caucuses, Dean for America is the first campaign to embrace blogs as a way for citizens to report "on-the-ground" frontline reality to the campaign's vast audience.
BloggerStorm's network of contributors consists of individual citizens, not professional reporters. The feeds that the contributors make go directly to the website, without editing. This network of real people with real eyes and ears on the ground, linked to the website of a major candidate with very high traffic levels on the web, plus instantaneous feeds from the field, is a new development in citizen journalism and open democratic campaigning."
There will be scoops and really great reporting
Watch the BloggerStorm community develop, as the Iowa Caucuses start on Monday evening. Jim Moore blogs about why BloggerStorm matters:
"With the launch today of BloggerStorm to cover the Iowa presidential selection process and caucuses, Dean for America is the first campaign to embrace blogs as a way for citizens to report "on-the-ground" frontline reality to the campaign's vast audience.
BloggerStorm's network of contributors consists of individual citizens, not professional reporters. The feeds that the contributors make go directly to the website, without editing. This network of real people with real eyes and ears on the ground, linked to the website of a major candidate with very high traffic levels on the web, plus instantaneous feeds from the field, is a new development in citizen journalism and open democratic campaigning."
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/16/2004
Thursday, January 15, 2004
A MEDIA MONITORING NETWORK
For those of us in the blogosphere and the emergent democracy movement
Last month, Dr Jim Moore, a senior Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, was appointed Director of Internet and Information Services for the Dean campaign.
Yesterday, after a long, long, busy day, Jim was blogging at 1:15AM from his office at Dean for America, in Burlington, Vermont. The temperature was well below zero, the predicted wind chill that night was 30 below zero, and he was far away from his house west of Boston.
As he sat in his office relaxing and blogging, and finding some rest and humour, before travelling the windy, frigid path to Wendy and Kelly's, to sleep, he posted a picture of his peaceful home, an image of the serenity that he treasures.
Around the same time, he was wondering in his blog: "How we can shine an ongoing, daily light of accountability on those involved in helping select a leader for the United States?"
Already this morning, he has blogged an answer: Media monitoring network, from Alex Moody.
Jim suggests that the Media Monitoring Network might be hosted at Berkman, and could be started by selecting a dozen major press journalists who are covering the candidates, and by forming a non-partisan network of bloggers to monitor them. It could be done on a trial basis to explore what it takes to sustain it, and make sure that "we" are indeed fair and balanced.
These ideas, germinating in the Daily Kos community, Jim says, are a healthy start at answering the need for a higher level of accountability in the process of selecting the next President of the United States.
_ _ _
THE POLITICAL WEBLOG MOVEMENT
How people validate the information they receive
Tom Watson MP blogs about a colleague of his being categorical in his view that the Internet will become the single most important method of political engagement in the UK.
In America, apparently, the Internet now equals US radio as a source of political news. Tom points to an article summarising a new survey. I have selected the following extracts:
--More than one-third, or roughly 40 million Americans, have done some form of information gathering or more direct participation in politics via the Internet. Of this group, more than half (52 percent) have gone online to look for more information about candidates' positions on the issues, and 29 percent have used the Internet to find out about campaign organizations or activities in their communities;
--Hitwise found that visitors to the sites in the political category were typically 35 to 44 year old (25 percent) males (56 percent), with household incomes above $75,000 annually (45 percent), who accessed the Internet from home (64 percent) in California, during a session that lasted more than 7 minutes;
--Of the sites where Internet users are accessing political information, Rainie expects that voters will begin assessing credibility. "...it will be interesting to probe how people validate the information they receive or decide what information they can trust. There are really interesting 'brand' questions about this (do I trust what's coming to me from all the National Review channels?), rather than the 'channel' questions about how people get their information (do I trust this because it's coming from the National Review's magazine as opposed to its Web site?)."
Tim Swift (a non-blogger) posted this comment to Tom's blog:
"...The interesting developments will be about the difference between campaigns that just use the internet and email as a marketing tool, and those that use it as a real mechanism to involve people.
The Dean campaign - and I believe to some extent, the Clark campaign, although I have not followed this much - has not just been about internet as marketing; the campaign has in many ways been shaped by the individuals who have participated through the net - quite different from 'political spam'. This is in stark contrast to the Bush campaign use of the net which, so far, is very effective as a rapid communication tool, but is entirely 'top down'.
Further, in the case of Dean, it is not just about the internet - the blog and email has been a way of motivating and informing people, but the impact of the campaign has been about getting a lot of people involved who have then gone out and talked face to face, written letters, and done all the other things that are about real and practical politics. It's not just about the internet - it's also about empowering and involving people. ..."
Source courtesy of Tom Watson MP and article published on CyberAtlas Internet Statistics and Market Research for Web Marketers.
_ _ _
MEDIA - THE GUARDIAN
The Guardian and the fourth estate
Clive Soley, Labour MP for Ealing Acton & Shepherds Bush, blogs about the media and Guardian newspaper in his post The Guardian and the fourth estate. Here is a copy of Clive's post, along with my comment posted in response:
"...It is not easy for people to get their general views into the newspapers so I was pleased to see a whole page in the Guardian quoting the views of a panel of voters chosen by them at the last General Election.
Why though, did the Guardian spoil the exercise by printing a picture of Tony Blair with the long nose of a liar? No one in the survey accused him of lying and I thought the critics were more thoughtful then that. We still have this problem in the media of editorial policy slanting the news. Pictures do tell a story and if there had been people in the survey accusing him of lying it would have been fair but that picture under a quote saying *This is not the government I voted for* implies that the critics in their survey are claiming he is a liar which they were not.
The fact that a range of views was printed in this form is good policy for a newspaper and the nearest they get to blogging! It compares well with some other papers who come from the *all the news that fits the print* school of journalism!
I remember some years ago when the Evening Standard ran a story about London MPs not being present in sufficient numbers in the chamber of the House under a picture of nearly empty House. The picture cut off at precisely that point which would have shown the press gallery to be completely empty!
I wrote to the Editor saying the Standard could help hold MPs to account by publishing a weekly page with short statements by MPs about current events. Answer came there none!
The media used to be the fourth estate with Parliament, Monarchy and Church in first three places. Has the media replaced the Monarchy in second place and has that helped push Britain into a more presidential form? Discuss!..."
Here is the comment I posted in response:
Clive, Last month the UK's Guardian Unlimited announced the winners of their awards for the "Best of British blogging". Final winner for "Best Written" category went to a London call girl. It's definitely not representative of the best of British blogging and certainly is not an example to be held up for young bloggers to aspire to.
We Brits live in the land of the English language, Shakespeare, historically great literature and world famous writers, theatre and comedy. Thumbs down to the all male Panel of Judges for the "Best Written" category: their selection was a disgrace and their reasoning utter twaddle (many bloggers thought it was not any better than thousands of other blogs out there). Because the winning entry centred on prostitution, the Guardian could not even publicise extracts from the winning blog, nor could I quote or link to the winning entry in my blog.
Instead of fuming or emailing them: my blog enabled me to do something about it. I felt empowered. Firstly, I blogged a post about it. Secondly, I deleted all links to the Guardian in my sidebar. Thirdly, I planned never again to read or link anything to do with the Guardian. I'm a Sunday Times reader anyway, so no great loss. But, if more people turned their backs on certain newspapers, it could send a powerful message.
No, I do not think the media (broad description includes tv, newspapers, radio) have replaced number two the Monarchy. But I do think many people are wising up to the media. I believe blogging and the Internet, in years to come, may become a more powerful and influential medium. In the future, the traditional media will be forced to sit up and take notice of the truth because bloggers would not let them get way with any editorial policy slanting the news.
This is a copy of my January 12, 2004 post re the great increase in Spanish blogging:
EXPLOSION OF SPANISH BLOGGING IN 2003
Blogs coming of age in Spain
Thanks to W4 and Dowbrigade for highlighting this post (written by Madrid-based blogger Marta Peirano of Elastico) that explains how world events, including the Prestige oil spill and the Iraq war, sparked growth and a new sense of significance for Spain's blogs this year:
"...It's easy to forget, ensconced as we are each in our own corner of the Blogosphere, the true depth and breath of this movement. Even when we reach out and link with far-flung blogs that somehow come to our attention, we can still not do more than scratch the surface of the sphere.
If you would like a reminder that Blogging is a world-wide phenomena which is working its magic hither and tither around the globe, check out this just-released article in Wired on the explosion of Spanish-language blogging during the past year.
"All of a sudden it became obvious that TV and newspapers weren't providing us with the truth," Peirano says. "We saw things on weblogs that contradicted what we were seeing in conventional media -- digital snapshots and first-person reports posted by independent people, individuals, who'd traveled to the oil spill site to help with cleanup."
"We were reading these live blog accounts, and it was as if the entire country realized at the same time we weren't being told the truth," adds Peirano. "The media was just lying..."
_ _ _
BLOGSPEAK ACQUIRED BY HALOSCAN
Free commenting facility
Apologies to readers for the disappearance of this blog's commenting facility from BlogSpeak. Here's the explanation from BlogSpeak:
BlogSpeak is in the process of being acquired by HaloScan. Everyone's account will be transferred there, with all comments in tact. Further information will be posted here in the coming days to advise you how to take advantage of this. Also, an email will be sent to all users informing them of the switch.
It was fun serving all of you, and sorry it had to come to an end. You can blame that one on surpasshosting.com. I have a special for everyone who has recently donated. Look for an email from me in the coming days to explain.
For those of us in the blogosphere and the emergent democracy movement
Last month, Dr Jim Moore, a senior Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, was appointed Director of Internet and Information Services for the Dean campaign.
Yesterday, after a long, long, busy day, Jim was blogging at 1:15AM from his office at Dean for America, in Burlington, Vermont. The temperature was well below zero, the predicted wind chill that night was 30 below zero, and he was far away from his house west of Boston.
As he sat in his office relaxing and blogging, and finding some rest and humour, before travelling the windy, frigid path to Wendy and Kelly's, to sleep, he posted a picture of his peaceful home, an image of the serenity that he treasures.
Around the same time, he was wondering in his blog: "How we can shine an ongoing, daily light of accountability on those involved in helping select a leader for the United States?"
Already this morning, he has blogged an answer: Media monitoring network, from Alex Moody.
Jim suggests that the Media Monitoring Network might be hosted at Berkman, and could be started by selecting a dozen major press journalists who are covering the candidates, and by forming a non-partisan network of bloggers to monitor them. It could be done on a trial basis to explore what it takes to sustain it, and make sure that "we" are indeed fair and balanced.
These ideas, germinating in the Daily Kos community, Jim says, are a healthy start at answering the need for a higher level of accountability in the process of selecting the next President of the United States.
_ _ _
THE POLITICAL WEBLOG MOVEMENT
How people validate the information they receive
Tom Watson MP blogs about a colleague of his being categorical in his view that the Internet will become the single most important method of political engagement in the UK.
In America, apparently, the Internet now equals US radio as a source of political news. Tom points to an article summarising a new survey. I have selected the following extracts:
--More than one-third, or roughly 40 million Americans, have done some form of information gathering or more direct participation in politics via the Internet. Of this group, more than half (52 percent) have gone online to look for more information about candidates' positions on the issues, and 29 percent have used the Internet to find out about campaign organizations or activities in their communities;
--Hitwise found that visitors to the sites in the political category were typically 35 to 44 year old (25 percent) males (56 percent), with household incomes above $75,000 annually (45 percent), who accessed the Internet from home (64 percent) in California, during a session that lasted more than 7 minutes;
--Of the sites where Internet users are accessing political information, Rainie expects that voters will begin assessing credibility. "...it will be interesting to probe how people validate the information they receive or decide what information they can trust. There are really interesting 'brand' questions about this (do I trust what's coming to me from all the National Review channels?), rather than the 'channel' questions about how people get their information (do I trust this because it's coming from the National Review's magazine as opposed to its Web site?)."
Tim Swift (a non-blogger) posted this comment to Tom's blog:
"...The interesting developments will be about the difference between campaigns that just use the internet and email as a marketing tool, and those that use it as a real mechanism to involve people.
The Dean campaign - and I believe to some extent, the Clark campaign, although I have not followed this much - has not just been about internet as marketing; the campaign has in many ways been shaped by the individuals who have participated through the net - quite different from 'political spam'. This is in stark contrast to the Bush campaign use of the net which, so far, is very effective as a rapid communication tool, but is entirely 'top down'.
Further, in the case of Dean, it is not just about the internet - the blog and email has been a way of motivating and informing people, but the impact of the campaign has been about getting a lot of people involved who have then gone out and talked face to face, written letters, and done all the other things that are about real and practical politics. It's not just about the internet - it's also about empowering and involving people. ..."
Source courtesy of Tom Watson MP and article published on CyberAtlas Internet Statistics and Market Research for Web Marketers.
_ _ _
MEDIA - THE GUARDIAN
The Guardian and the fourth estate
Clive Soley, Labour MP for Ealing Acton & Shepherds Bush, blogs about the media and Guardian newspaper in his post The Guardian and the fourth estate. Here is a copy of Clive's post, along with my comment posted in response:
"...It is not easy for people to get their general views into the newspapers so I was pleased to see a whole page in the Guardian quoting the views of a panel of voters chosen by them at the last General Election.
Why though, did the Guardian spoil the exercise by printing a picture of Tony Blair with the long nose of a liar? No one in the survey accused him of lying and I thought the critics were more thoughtful then that. We still have this problem in the media of editorial policy slanting the news. Pictures do tell a story and if there had been people in the survey accusing him of lying it would have been fair but that picture under a quote saying *This is not the government I voted for* implies that the critics in their survey are claiming he is a liar which they were not.
The fact that a range of views was printed in this form is good policy for a newspaper and the nearest they get to blogging! It compares well with some other papers who come from the *all the news that fits the print* school of journalism!
I remember some years ago when the Evening Standard ran a story about London MPs not being present in sufficient numbers in the chamber of the House under a picture of nearly empty House. The picture cut off at precisely that point which would have shown the press gallery to be completely empty!
I wrote to the Editor saying the Standard could help hold MPs to account by publishing a weekly page with short statements by MPs about current events. Answer came there none!
The media used to be the fourth estate with Parliament, Monarchy and Church in first three places. Has the media replaced the Monarchy in second place and has that helped push Britain into a more presidential form? Discuss!..."
Here is the comment I posted in response:
Clive, Last month the UK's Guardian Unlimited announced the winners of their awards for the "Best of British blogging". Final winner for "Best Written" category went to a London call girl. It's definitely not representative of the best of British blogging and certainly is not an example to be held up for young bloggers to aspire to.
We Brits live in the land of the English language, Shakespeare, historically great literature and world famous writers, theatre and comedy. Thumbs down to the all male Panel of Judges for the "Best Written" category: their selection was a disgrace and their reasoning utter twaddle (many bloggers thought it was not any better than thousands of other blogs out there). Because the winning entry centred on prostitution, the Guardian could not even publicise extracts from the winning blog, nor could I quote or link to the winning entry in my blog.
Instead of fuming or emailing them: my blog enabled me to do something about it. I felt empowered. Firstly, I blogged a post about it. Secondly, I deleted all links to the Guardian in my sidebar. Thirdly, I planned never again to read or link anything to do with the Guardian. I'm a Sunday Times reader anyway, so no great loss. But, if more people turned their backs on certain newspapers, it could send a powerful message.
No, I do not think the media (broad description includes tv, newspapers, radio) have replaced number two the Monarchy. But I do think many people are wising up to the media. I believe blogging and the Internet, in years to come, may become a more powerful and influential medium. In the future, the traditional media will be forced to sit up and take notice of the truth because bloggers would not let them get way with any editorial policy slanting the news.
This is a copy of my January 12, 2004 post re the great increase in Spanish blogging:
EXPLOSION OF SPANISH BLOGGING IN 2003
Blogs coming of age in Spain
Thanks to W4 and Dowbrigade for highlighting this post (written by Madrid-based blogger Marta Peirano of Elastico) that explains how world events, including the Prestige oil spill and the Iraq war, sparked growth and a new sense of significance for Spain's blogs this year:
"...It's easy to forget, ensconced as we are each in our own corner of the Blogosphere, the true depth and breath of this movement. Even when we reach out and link with far-flung blogs that somehow come to our attention, we can still not do more than scratch the surface of the sphere.
If you would like a reminder that Blogging is a world-wide phenomena which is working its magic hither and tither around the globe, check out this just-released article in Wired on the explosion of Spanish-language blogging during the past year.
"All of a sudden it became obvious that TV and newspapers weren't providing us with the truth," Peirano says. "We saw things on weblogs that contradicted what we were seeing in conventional media -- digital snapshots and first-person reports posted by independent people, individuals, who'd traveled to the oil spill site to help with cleanup."
"We were reading these live blog accounts, and it was as if the entire country realized at the same time we weren't being told the truth," adds Peirano. "The media was just lying..."
_ _ _
BLOGSPEAK ACQUIRED BY HALOSCAN
Free commenting facility
Apologies to readers for the disappearance of this blog's commenting facility from BlogSpeak. Here's the explanation from BlogSpeak:
BlogSpeak is in the process of being acquired by HaloScan. Everyone's account will be transferred there, with all comments in tact. Further information will be posted here in the coming days to advise you how to take advantage of this. Also, an email will be sent to all users informing them of the switch.
It was fun serving all of you, and sorry it had to come to an end. You can blame that one on surpasshosting.com. I have a special for everyone who has recently donated. Look for an email from me in the coming days to explain.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/15/2004
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
MY PLANT READ MY MIND!
The secret life of plants
Interestingly, Jay Macarthy has categorised this piece by Flemming Funch under the heading of Relationships and Dating. Here's an extract and comments from readers:
"... So, now, for the simple and interesting experiments. You attach the clips to some plant you have standing around the house. Any plant will do, but a big leafy thing would be good. The meter will just show the needle standing rather still.
If you cut off a leaf of the plant, the needle will give a sizable reaction. Not very surprising. But the surprising part is that if you take your scissor and approach the plant, intending to cut a leaf off of it, it will also react in a similar fashion, without you having touched it. It seems to react to your intention somehow.
Likewise if you have several plants, maybe of the same kind. Put them in different rooms, to rule out that they can, eh, see each other. Attach the meter to one of them and have somebody watch it. Then go to the other plant and either treaten to cut one of its leaves off, or actually do so. Either way, the plant in the first room will react as if it was happening to itself.
The secret life of plants
Interestingly, Jay Macarthy has categorised this piece by Flemming Funch under the heading of Relationships and Dating. Here's an extract and comments from readers:
"... So, now, for the simple and interesting experiments. You attach the clips to some plant you have standing around the house. Any plant will do, but a big leafy thing would be good. The meter will just show the needle standing rather still.
If you cut off a leaf of the plant, the needle will give a sizable reaction. Not very surprising. But the surprising part is that if you take your scissor and approach the plant, intending to cut a leaf off of it, it will also react in a similar fashion, without you having touched it. It seems to react to your intention somehow.
Likewise if you have several plants, maybe of the same kind. Put them in different rooms, to rule out that they can, eh, see each other. Attach the meter to one of them and have somebody watch it. Then go to the other plant and either treaten to cut one of its leaves off, or actually do so. Either way, the plant in the first room will react as if it was happening to itself.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/14/2004
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
HYDE: A COMMUNITY DEVASTATED
Mapping Shipmans deadly pattern
BBC News Online reports that killer doctor Harold Shipman has died after being found hanging in his cell in Wakefield Prison today.
Dr Shipman was convicted of the murder of 15 patients but an inquiry later concluded he had killed at least 215 over two decades. By the time he was caught he was killing at a rate of one patient every ten days.
Most of Shipman's estimated 215 victims lived in and around Hyde in Greater Manchester, where he was a GP from 1978 until his arrest in 1998.
Using the start button here, you can see how his murders gathered pace over those years.
_ _ _
THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEAS OF 2003
In the world of politics and economics
This article summarizes what Dave Pollard believes were the most important ideas of 2003 in the world of politics and economics.
Dave makes no apologies for the fact that this list reflects his perspective on the political compass test (-8.2, -8.0). He says those with conservative or authoritarian views are welcome to make their own lists.
_ _ _
WHAT BLOG READERS AND WRITERS
Want to see more of
This list - what the blogosphere wants more of - is featured in the righthand sidebar of Dave Pollard's blog How to Save the World.
Blog readers want to see more:
a. original research, surveys etc.
b. original, well-crafted fiction
c. great finds: resources, blogs, essays, artistic works
d. news not found anywhere else
e. category killers: aggregators that capture the best of many blogs/feeds, so they need not be read individually
f. clever, concise political opinion (most readers prefer these consistent with their own views)
g. benchmarks, quantitative analysis
h. personal stories, experiences, lessons learned
i. first-hand accounts
j. live reports from events
k. insight: leading-edge thinking & novel perspectives
l. short educational pieces
m. relevant "aha" graphics
n. great photos
o. useful tools and checklists
p. précis, summaries, reviews and other time-savers
q. fun stuff: quizzes, self-evaluations, other interactive content
Blog writers want to see more:
a. constructive criticism, reaction, feedback
b. thank you comments, and why readers liked their post
c. requests for future posts on specific subjects
d. foundation articles: posts that writers can build on, on their own blogs
e. reading lists/aggregations of material on specific, leading-edge subjects that writers can use as resource material
f. wonderful examples of writing of a particular genre, that they can learn from
g. comments that engender lively discussion
h. guidance on how to write in the strange world of weblogs.
Mapping Shipmans deadly pattern
BBC News Online reports that killer doctor Harold Shipman has died after being found hanging in his cell in Wakefield Prison today.
Dr Shipman was convicted of the murder of 15 patients but an inquiry later concluded he had killed at least 215 over two decades. By the time he was caught he was killing at a rate of one patient every ten days.
Most of Shipman's estimated 215 victims lived in and around Hyde in Greater Manchester, where he was a GP from 1978 until his arrest in 1998.
Using the start button here, you can see how his murders gathered pace over those years.
_ _ _
THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEAS OF 2003
In the world of politics and economics
This article summarizes what Dave Pollard believes were the most important ideas of 2003 in the world of politics and economics.
Dave makes no apologies for the fact that this list reflects his perspective on the political compass test (-8.2, -8.0). He says those with conservative or authoritarian views are welcome to make their own lists.
_ _ _
WHAT BLOG READERS AND WRITERS
Want to see more of
This list - what the blogosphere wants more of - is featured in the righthand sidebar of Dave Pollard's blog How to Save the World.
Blog readers want to see more:
a. original research, surveys etc.
b. original, well-crafted fiction
c. great finds: resources, blogs, essays, artistic works
d. news not found anywhere else
e. category killers: aggregators that capture the best of many blogs/feeds, so they need not be read individually
f. clever, concise political opinion (most readers prefer these consistent with their own views)
g. benchmarks, quantitative analysis
h. personal stories, experiences, lessons learned
i. first-hand accounts
j. live reports from events
k. insight: leading-edge thinking & novel perspectives
l. short educational pieces
m. relevant "aha" graphics
n. great photos
o. useful tools and checklists
p. précis, summaries, reviews and other time-savers
q. fun stuff: quizzes, self-evaluations, other interactive content
Blog writers want to see more:
a. constructive criticism, reaction, feedback
b. thank you comments, and why readers liked their post
c. requests for future posts on specific subjects
d. foundation articles: posts that writers can build on, on their own blogs
e. reading lists/aggregations of material on specific, leading-edge subjects that writers can use as resource material
f. wonderful examples of writing of a particular genre, that they can learn from
g. comments that engender lively discussion
h. guidance on how to write in the strange world of weblogs.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/13/2004
Monday, January 12, 2004
KNOWLEDGE MEDIA AND NOTES
And well organised blogs
Lately, I've been keeping an eye out for well organised blogs, hoping to see layouts that could be compatible with my BlogSpot Plus set-up. I'd like to categorise my posts so that I can find them all in one place. But I do not wish to move from Blogger. This log of daily posts, archived here by month only, is a nuisance when I want to find my posts on blogging, community, Internet dating and social networking.
Judith Meskill has a neat way of organising her blog knowledge notes, assorted bits and bytes on knowledge sharing, social software, content-based search, genealogy, haiku, poetry, and life in general.
I'm looking for simple ways to archive this particular post by subject so that, when I blog more examples, my posts can be retrieved under one subject heading. Then, when I'm ready to work on re-designing my blog, I could just whizz through all the samples to see how others have organised their work. No doubt other BlogSpot users feel the same way.
Early days yet, Blogger is still under development. Look forward to see what they are coming up with next. In the meantime, I can live with the way my blog stands while I spend time exploring social networking and knowledge media. This week, I'm looking forward to catching up on Marc Eisenstadt's My Dog, BuddySpace and Microsoft's Social Computing Group.
See previous post below re speculation that Google's hooking Blogger software to a Friendster-type network (via an acquisition) to tap into the open-standard-driven computing world.
_ _ _
BIT TORRENT, GI-FI AND OTHER TRENDS IN 2004
Internet News' blogging on steroids
Here are two extracts from Judith Meskill's post "blogging on steroids" taken from InternetNews' article BitTorrent, 'Gi-Fi,' and Other Trends in 2004:
1. MICROSOFT'S NETWORK TOOL: WALLOP
Blogging technology merged with wikis and integrated into social networks -
A truly connected world of online journals
-- If you were caught off guard by the wild popularity of blogs (define) in 2003, wait till you see what 2004 has in store. The next wave could be dubbed blogging-on-steroids -- as blogging technology is merged with wikis (blogging "best-practices" sites) (define) and integrated into social networks (the Friendsters of the world) to create a truly-connected world of online journals, Web collaboration and personals networking.
2. WILL GOOGLE HOOK BLOGGER SOFTWARE TO A FRIENDSTER-TYPE NETWORK
(via an acquisition) to tap into the open standard driven computing world?
-- Researchers at Microsoft are already testing a networking tool called Wallop to explore how people share media and build conversations in the context of social networks. The word around the industry is that Google will hook its Blogger software to a Friendster-type network (via an acquisition?) to tap into the ever-more-connected, open-standard-driven computing world.
-- In 2004, the evolution of the weblog/wiki/personal network will make a huge impact in the way information is shared on the Internet. Doubters need just look at the way the heavyweight politicians have embraced blogging to take advantage of the conversational nature of the technology...
_ _ _
W4 K-COLLECTOR
Easy to read and find new blogs
On clicking through Judith Meskill's knowledge notes..., I discovered W4 k-collector. I'm not yet familiar with who or what collects and selects the blog posts featured, but it seems like an easy way to get a taster of different blogs.
_ _ _
EXPLOSION OF SPANISH BLOGGING IN 2003
Blogs coming of age in Spain
Thanks to W4 and Dowbrigade for highlighting this post (written by Madrid-based blogger Marta Peirano of Elastico) that explains how world events, including the Prestige oil spill and the Iraq war, sparked growth and a new sense of significance for Spain's blogs this year:
"...It's easy to forget, ensconced as we are each in our own corner of the Blogosphere, the true depth and breath of this movement. Even when we reach out and link with far-flung blogs that somehow come to our attention, we can still not do more than scratch the surface of the sphere.
If you would like a reminder that Blogging is a world-wide phenomena which is working its magic hither and tither around the globe, check out this just-released article in Wired on the explosion of Spanish-language blogging during the past year.
"All of a sudden it became obvious that TV and newspapers weren't providing us with the truth," Peirano says. "We saw things on weblogs that contradicted what we were seeing in conventional media -- digital snapshots and first-person reports posted by independent people, individuals, who'd traveled to the oil spill site to help with cleanup."
"We were reading these live blog accounts, and it was as if the entire country realized at the same time we weren't being told the truth," adds Peirano. "The media was just lying..."
And well organised blogs
Lately, I've been keeping an eye out for well organised blogs, hoping to see layouts that could be compatible with my BlogSpot Plus set-up. I'd like to categorise my posts so that I can find them all in one place. But I do not wish to move from Blogger. This log of daily posts, archived here by month only, is a nuisance when I want to find my posts on blogging, community, Internet dating and social networking.
Judith Meskill has a neat way of organising her blog knowledge notes, assorted bits and bytes on knowledge sharing, social software, content-based search, genealogy, haiku, poetry, and life in general.
I'm looking for simple ways to archive this particular post by subject so that, when I blog more examples, my posts can be retrieved under one subject heading. Then, when I'm ready to work on re-designing my blog, I could just whizz through all the samples to see how others have organised their work. No doubt other BlogSpot users feel the same way.
Early days yet, Blogger is still under development. Look forward to see what they are coming up with next. In the meantime, I can live with the way my blog stands while I spend time exploring social networking and knowledge media. This week, I'm looking forward to catching up on Marc Eisenstadt's My Dog, BuddySpace and Microsoft's Social Computing Group.
See previous post below re speculation that Google's hooking Blogger software to a Friendster-type network (via an acquisition) to tap into the open-standard-driven computing world.
_ _ _
BIT TORRENT, GI-FI AND OTHER TRENDS IN 2004
Internet News' blogging on steroids
Here are two extracts from Judith Meskill's post "blogging on steroids" taken from InternetNews' article BitTorrent, 'Gi-Fi,' and Other Trends in 2004:
1. MICROSOFT'S NETWORK TOOL: WALLOP
Blogging technology merged with wikis and integrated into social networks -
A truly connected world of online journals
-- If you were caught off guard by the wild popularity of blogs (define) in 2003, wait till you see what 2004 has in store. The next wave could be dubbed blogging-on-steroids -- as blogging technology is merged with wikis (blogging "best-practices" sites) (define) and integrated into social networks (the Friendsters of the world) to create a truly-connected world of online journals, Web collaboration and personals networking.
2. WILL GOOGLE HOOK BLOGGER SOFTWARE TO A FRIENDSTER-TYPE NETWORK
(via an acquisition) to tap into the open standard driven computing world?
-- Researchers at Microsoft are already testing a networking tool called Wallop to explore how people share media and build conversations in the context of social networks. The word around the industry is that Google will hook its Blogger software to a Friendster-type network (via an acquisition?) to tap into the ever-more-connected, open-standard-driven computing world.
-- In 2004, the evolution of the weblog/wiki/personal network will make a huge impact in the way information is shared on the Internet. Doubters need just look at the way the heavyweight politicians have embraced blogging to take advantage of the conversational nature of the technology...
_ _ _
W4 K-COLLECTOR
Easy to read and find new blogs
On clicking through Judith Meskill's knowledge notes..., I discovered W4 k-collector. I'm not yet familiar with who or what collects and selects the blog posts featured, but it seems like an easy way to get a taster of different blogs.
_ _ _
EXPLOSION OF SPANISH BLOGGING IN 2003
Blogs coming of age in Spain
Thanks to W4 and Dowbrigade for highlighting this post (written by Madrid-based blogger Marta Peirano of Elastico) that explains how world events, including the Prestige oil spill and the Iraq war, sparked growth and a new sense of significance for Spain's blogs this year:
"...It's easy to forget, ensconced as we are each in our own corner of the Blogosphere, the true depth and breath of this movement. Even when we reach out and link with far-flung blogs that somehow come to our attention, we can still not do more than scratch the surface of the sphere.
If you would like a reminder that Blogging is a world-wide phenomena which is working its magic hither and tither around the globe, check out this just-released article in Wired on the explosion of Spanish-language blogging during the past year.
"All of a sudden it became obvious that TV and newspapers weren't providing us with the truth," Peirano says. "We saw things on weblogs that contradicted what we were seeing in conventional media -- digital snapshots and first-person reports posted by independent people, individuals, who'd traveled to the oil spill site to help with cleanup."
"We were reading these live blog accounts, and it was as if the entire country realized at the same time we weren't being told the truth," adds Peirano. "The media was just lying..."
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/12/2004
Sunday, January 11, 2004
eBAY TRADERS FIND AUCTION GOLD IN THE AMERICAN DREAM
Oregon based Craig Solomon's setting up warehouses across the American west
Extracts from "eBay traders find auction gold" article in today's Sunday Times:
An estimated 150,000 people across the world make a living on eBay, the internet auction site, by selling everything from old postcards to shopping centres. The true elite are 500 "top power sellers" who will be invited to join a millionaires' circle this Easter.
Oregon-based entrepreneur Craig Solomon, 40, is setting up warehouses across the American west to hold goods to sell on behalf of more cautious clients.
San Jose-based eBay, like Amazon, the bookseller, and Google, the internet search engine, is a survivor of the dotcom bubble that burst four years ago. Pierre Omidyar (see his blog Pierre's Web), who founded it in 1995 as an online jumble sale for Silicon Valley geeks, has amassed a fortune estimated at £4.2 billion.
The website has become a part of popular culture. "Pop songs mention it, and it has become a verb - to ebay. This is a hallmark of true influence," says Dennis Price, author of several guide books to making a fortune on the site.
_ _ _
eBAY HAS BECOME A BAROMETER OF PUBLIC TASTE
The virtual market knows before any media pundit what's cool - or not
For sociologists, eBay has also become a barometer of public taste, Marc Smith, employed by Microsoft to analyse such trends, says the virtual market knows before any media pundit when a pop idol ceases to be fashionable or a once-neglected brand such as Hush Puppy shoes becomes cool again.
"This community is at the cutting edge of contemporary pop culture," says Smith. "With nearly 70m registered bidders around the world, more people watch eBay than any one TV programme. And often it's a lot more entertaining, too."
Further links:
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
For UK readers: eBay UK
_ _ _
Quote by the geneticist Lord Winston:
"THE KIND OF CHILD YOU HAVE DEPENDS ALMOST ENTIRELY ON HOW YOU BRING IT UP. GENES AND INHERITED DISPOSITIONS ARE PIECES OF TRIVIA REALLY"
Lord Winston, 59 Professor of fertility studies, London: A pioneer of in-vitro fertilisation techniques, Lord (Robert) Winston passionately advocates giving scientists reasonable freedom to carry out embryology research and so develop appropriate techniques for improving the treatment of infertility. Winston is also familiar to the wider public as the presenter of the recent BBC TV series The Human Body.
_ _ _
Source courtesy of The Sunday Times, January 11, 2004.
Oregon based Craig Solomon's setting up warehouses across the American west
Extracts from "eBay traders find auction gold" article in today's Sunday Times:
An estimated 150,000 people across the world make a living on eBay, the internet auction site, by selling everything from old postcards to shopping centres. The true elite are 500 "top power sellers" who will be invited to join a millionaires' circle this Easter.
Oregon-based entrepreneur Craig Solomon, 40, is setting up warehouses across the American west to hold goods to sell on behalf of more cautious clients.
San Jose-based eBay, like Amazon, the bookseller, and Google, the internet search engine, is a survivor of the dotcom bubble that burst four years ago. Pierre Omidyar (see his blog Pierre's Web), who founded it in 1995 as an online jumble sale for Silicon Valley geeks, has amassed a fortune estimated at £4.2 billion.
The website has become a part of popular culture. "Pop songs mention it, and it has become a verb - to ebay. This is a hallmark of true influence," says Dennis Price, author of several guide books to making a fortune on the site.
_ _ _
eBAY HAS BECOME A BAROMETER OF PUBLIC TASTE
The virtual market knows before any media pundit what's cool - or not
For sociologists, eBay has also become a barometer of public taste, Marc Smith, employed by Microsoft to analyse such trends, says the virtual market knows before any media pundit when a pop idol ceases to be fashionable or a once-neglected brand such as Hush Puppy shoes becomes cool again.
"This community is at the cutting edge of contemporary pop culture," says Smith. "With nearly 70m registered bidders around the world, more people watch eBay than any one TV programme. And often it's a lot more entertaining, too."
Further links:
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
For UK readers: eBay UK
_ _ _
Quote by the geneticist Lord Winston:
"THE KIND OF CHILD YOU HAVE DEPENDS ALMOST ENTIRELY ON HOW YOU BRING IT UP. GENES AND INHERITED DISPOSITIONS ARE PIECES OF TRIVIA REALLY"
Lord Winston, 59 Professor of fertility studies, London: A pioneer of in-vitro fertilisation techniques, Lord (Robert) Winston passionately advocates giving scientists reasonable freedom to carry out embryology research and so develop appropriate techniques for improving the treatment of infertility. Winston is also familiar to the wider public as the presenter of the recent BBC TV series The Human Body.
_ _ _
Source courtesy of The Sunday Times, January 11, 2004.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/11/2004
Saturday, January 10, 2004
'CHEMICAL WEAPONS' FOUND IN IRAQ
Iraq said it had destroyed all its chemical weapons
BBC News reports that Danish troops have found dozens of mortar shells in southern Iraq which could contain chemical weapons according to initial tests. The 36 120mm mortar rounds appeared to have been buried for at least 10 years. All showed traces of blister gases, a group of chemical compounds which include mustard gas.
US officials confirmed the apparent find and said the weapons were probably left over from the 1980-88 war on Iran. "Most were wrapped in plastic bags, and some were leaking."
The former regime of Saddam Hussein used blister agents against Iranian soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war. Chemical weapons were also used to kill about 5,000 Kurds in the northern city of Halabja in 1988.
Before the US-led war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Iraq said it had destroyed all its chemical weapons, but the alleged continuing threat from weapons of mass destruction were cited by the US and UK leaders as a key reason for the war.
Further reading in my 17 November, 2003 post: Take The Long View: President Bush's critics should be heard but not appeased. History will vindicate him.
_ _ _
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO SADDAM
Readers have their say
A few weeks ago, BBC News online asked its readers: What is your reaction to Saddam Hussein's capture? How should he be dealt with? Where should he be tried?
The debate is now closed. These comments reflect the balance of opinion received.
Iraq said it had destroyed all its chemical weapons
BBC News reports that Danish troops have found dozens of mortar shells in southern Iraq which could contain chemical weapons according to initial tests. The 36 120mm mortar rounds appeared to have been buried for at least 10 years. All showed traces of blister gases, a group of chemical compounds which include mustard gas.
US officials confirmed the apparent find and said the weapons were probably left over from the 1980-88 war on Iran. "Most were wrapped in plastic bags, and some were leaking."
The former regime of Saddam Hussein used blister agents against Iranian soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war. Chemical weapons were also used to kill about 5,000 Kurds in the northern city of Halabja in 1988.
Before the US-led war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Iraq said it had destroyed all its chemical weapons, but the alleged continuing threat from weapons of mass destruction were cited by the US and UK leaders as a key reason for the war.
Further reading in my 17 November, 2003 post: Take The Long View: President Bush's critics should be heard but not appeased. History will vindicate him.
_ _ _
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO SADDAM
Readers have their say
A few weeks ago, BBC News online asked its readers: What is your reaction to Saddam Hussein's capture? How should he be dealt with? Where should he be tried?
The debate is now closed. These comments reflect the balance of opinion received.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/10/2004
Friday, January 09, 2004
THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEAS OF 2003
About the world of blogs and blogging
Dave Pollard's post in his blog, How To Save the World, summarises what he believes were the most important ideas of 2003 about the world of blogs and blogging. It is the first part of a series of posts and he invites readers to comment with feedback on what they think or if he has missed any important ideas.
The following excerpts are my five favourites:
1. The Internet is a World of Ends
Doc Searls and David Weinberger explained to bloggers and to e-business what the Internet is and how it works:
Bloggers (and blogging tool developers) now realise that it's a jungle out here. There are no rules. The blogosphere, like the Internet, is owned by no one, open to everyone, and made better by each of us. A cornucopia of unrestricted and open innovation. Its value flowers at the ends, and, fellow bloggers, we are the ends.
2. Blogs have Tipping Points and manifest the Strength of Weak Ties
Ever noticed how hard it is to get your family and close friends ('strong ties') to read your blog? That's because they see no incremental value in doing so.
But friends of friends, people two or three degrees removed from your network, do. Weak ties probably got you your job, found your life partner, provoked your most innovative ideas, and sourced most of your blog's readership. And you can exploit these weak ties to push a new idea, find new readers, perhaps even save the world. It's easy, just:
--test the credibility of and degree of interest in what you're saying by sending messages to selected mavens (bloggers who incubate new ideas and stick with them until they catch), A-listers (bloggers who already have a huge audience), and connectors (bloggers, like me, who have an audience that crosses diverse communities of interest);
--focus on a few subjects and address them profoundly and creatively, instead of talking a bit about everything under the sun; and believe: persevere until your message finds its audience.
3. Blog functionality is a critical component of Social Networking
And, Social Networking will transform blogging (and also transform the Internet, the media, the way we communicate, and even the evolution of business).
Social Networking Applications (recently voted Technology of the Year by Business 2.0 magazine) will go beyond just allowing you to publish what's on your mind and browse what's on other people's.
They will allow you to map and manage your networks, the communities to which you belong, your strong and weak ties.
They will evolve blogging from clumsy, mostly one-way communication to a rich, two-way seamless multi-media communications medium that will allow you to identify and connect simply and powerfully with people you want to know better (for personal, practical or business reasons). Build deep relationships. Collaborate on awesome projects. Find the next president.
4. Blogs could be the platform for a proxy for each of us as individuals
Our electronic filing cabinet and electronic identity. A blog consists of information about you, and knowledge you've accumulated.
What if you expanded it to be a repository for all the information about you and all the knowledge you've accumulated, your 'locked' filing cabinet. You control it, you decide what does and doesn't go into it, and who can have a temporary key to what parts of it.
Then at work, it could be your proxy, the repository of knowledge that shows your value to your employer and the value you've added to the company. And it could be your resume.
At home, it could be your medical patient record. Your bookshelf catalogue and refrigerator/pantry inventory and recipe book. Your bio for the dating service.
Imagine the applications that could be built on this knowledge. Your intellectual property, under your control. Amazing. Scary.
5. Blogging is increasingly a platform for achieving mainstream recognition
Just as the main readers of most business websites are competitors, not customers, the mainstream media are perusing blogs for new ideas and trends.
So far they haven't really caught on to how the blogosphere works, so the process is serendipitous, creating brief fame mainly for A-listers who provide alternative viewpoints to stories of the day where no mainstream media pundits are at hand.
But the mainstream media and bloggers are both learning how to use each other. Some bloggers have launched books based on their blogs, and some blogging self-promoters now have columns or spots in regular media.
Those who think there's no money and fame in blogging are too quick to judge blogs' importance in the information society.
Source courtesy of Stowe Boyd
About the world of blogs and blogging
Dave Pollard's post in his blog, How To Save the World, summarises what he believes were the most important ideas of 2003 about the world of blogs and blogging. It is the first part of a series of posts and he invites readers to comment with feedback on what they think or if he has missed any important ideas.
The following excerpts are my five favourites:
1. The Internet is a World of Ends
Doc Searls and David Weinberger explained to bloggers and to e-business what the Internet is and how it works:
Bloggers (and blogging tool developers) now realise that it's a jungle out here. There are no rules. The blogosphere, like the Internet, is owned by no one, open to everyone, and made better by each of us. A cornucopia of unrestricted and open innovation. Its value flowers at the ends, and, fellow bloggers, we are the ends.
2. Blogs have Tipping Points and manifest the Strength of Weak Ties
Ever noticed how hard it is to get your family and close friends ('strong ties') to read your blog? That's because they see no incremental value in doing so.
But friends of friends, people two or three degrees removed from your network, do. Weak ties probably got you your job, found your life partner, provoked your most innovative ideas, and sourced most of your blog's readership. And you can exploit these weak ties to push a new idea, find new readers, perhaps even save the world. It's easy, just:
--test the credibility of and degree of interest in what you're saying by sending messages to selected mavens (bloggers who incubate new ideas and stick with them until they catch), A-listers (bloggers who already have a huge audience), and connectors (bloggers, like me, who have an audience that crosses diverse communities of interest);
--focus on a few subjects and address them profoundly and creatively, instead of talking a bit about everything under the sun; and believe: persevere until your message finds its audience.
3. Blog functionality is a critical component of Social Networking
And, Social Networking will transform blogging (and also transform the Internet, the media, the way we communicate, and even the evolution of business).
Social Networking Applications (recently voted Technology of the Year by Business 2.0 magazine) will go beyond just allowing you to publish what's on your mind and browse what's on other people's.
They will allow you to map and manage your networks, the communities to which you belong, your strong and weak ties.
They will evolve blogging from clumsy, mostly one-way communication to a rich, two-way seamless multi-media communications medium that will allow you to identify and connect simply and powerfully with people you want to know better (for personal, practical or business reasons). Build deep relationships. Collaborate on awesome projects. Find the next president.
4. Blogs could be the platform for a proxy for each of us as individuals
Our electronic filing cabinet and electronic identity. A blog consists of information about you, and knowledge you've accumulated.
What if you expanded it to be a repository for all the information about you and all the knowledge you've accumulated, your 'locked' filing cabinet. You control it, you decide what does and doesn't go into it, and who can have a temporary key to what parts of it.
Then at work, it could be your proxy, the repository of knowledge that shows your value to your employer and the value you've added to the company. And it could be your resume.
At home, it could be your medical patient record. Your bookshelf catalogue and refrigerator/pantry inventory and recipe book. Your bio for the dating service.
Imagine the applications that could be built on this knowledge. Your intellectual property, under your control. Amazing. Scary.
5. Blogging is increasingly a platform for achieving mainstream recognition
Just as the main readers of most business websites are competitors, not customers, the mainstream media are perusing blogs for new ideas and trends.
So far they haven't really caught on to how the blogosphere works, so the process is serendipitous, creating brief fame mainly for A-listers who provide alternative viewpoints to stories of the day where no mainstream media pundits are at hand.
But the mainstream media and bloggers are both learning how to use each other. Some bloggers have launched books based on their blogs, and some blogging self-promoters now have columns or spots in regular media.
Those who think there's no money and fame in blogging are too quick to judge blogs' importance in the information society.
Source courtesy of Stowe Boyd
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/09/2004
Thursday, January 08, 2004
PROFESSORS WHO BLOG
Dr Andrew Cline's Rhetorica
Andrew Cline's Rhetorica Network offers analysis and commentary about the rhetoric, propaganda, and spin of journalism and politics, including analysis of presidential speeches and election campaigns.
Dr Cline, a former journalist, is currently a rhetoric scholar and adjunct professor of English at Park University near Kansas City, Missouri. He earned his PhD in the Interdisciplinary PhD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; his fields are English (Rhetoric) and Political Science (Presidential Politics and political communication).
His sidebar provides links to major sources of information, blog essays and a compendium of critical techniques to help you analyze political and journalistic messages. Also, he links to weblogs written by academics - Professors Who Blog - and shows his score on the political compass test as follows:
Economic left/right: -.62
Authoritarian/Libertarian:
-4.46
_____________________________
Quote by Mahatma Gandhi:
"BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD"
Source courtesy of Out Of Focus
_____________________________
2004 BLOGGIE AWARDS
Nominate your favourite blogs
Yesterday, I spent an hour nominating most of the links in my sidebar. Hope you too can participate in Bloggie's Fourth Annual Weblog Awards.
Source courtesy of Blogger and *cough* Vote Scary! *cough*
Dr Andrew Cline's Rhetorica
Andrew Cline's Rhetorica Network offers analysis and commentary about the rhetoric, propaganda, and spin of journalism and politics, including analysis of presidential speeches and election campaigns.
Dr Cline, a former journalist, is currently a rhetoric scholar and adjunct professor of English at Park University near Kansas City, Missouri. He earned his PhD in the Interdisciplinary PhD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; his fields are English (Rhetoric) and Political Science (Presidential Politics and political communication).
His sidebar provides links to major sources of information, blog essays and a compendium of critical techniques to help you analyze political and journalistic messages. Also, he links to weblogs written by academics - Professors Who Blog - and shows his score on the political compass test as follows:
Economic left/right: -.62
Authoritarian/Libertarian:
-4.46
_____________________________
Quote by Mahatma Gandhi:
"BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD"
Source courtesy of Out Of Focus
_____________________________
2004 BLOGGIE AWARDS
Nominate your favourite blogs
Yesterday, I spent an hour nominating most of the links in my sidebar. Hope you too can participate in Bloggie's Fourth Annual Weblog Awards.
Source courtesy of Blogger and *cough* Vote Scary! *cough*
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/08/2004
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
WHO/WHAT IS A BLOGGER?
Asks British blogger Clive Soley MP
Clive Soley is Labour MP for Ealing Acton & Shepherds Bush. He has been asked to speak on political blogs and knows he will be asked:
1) What type of people read or write blogs?
2) If he put a few questions on his blog, which didn’t require a person to identify themselves, would he get an accurate picture?
He needs to get a picture of who/what is a blogger - things like age, gender, work status, geographical location - and would appreciate any suggestions. Hope you can help.
Asks British blogger Clive Soley MP
Clive Soley is Labour MP for Ealing Acton & Shepherds Bush. He has been asked to speak on political blogs and knows he will be asked:
1) What type of people read or write blogs?
2) If he put a few questions on his blog, which didn’t require a person to identify themselves, would he get an accurate picture?
He needs to get a picture of who/what is a blogger - things like age, gender, work status, geographical location - and would appreciate any suggestions. Hope you can help.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/07/2004
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
SOCIAL NETWORKS
And six degrees of separation
Following on from my recent posts re Internet dating, privacy and ID issues, I have added several new links to my sidebar, under the heading of social software, and spent today studying four great posts:
Jim Moore's theoretical note on why blogs matter, the strength of weak ties and six degrees of separation.
Joi Ito's thoughts on Skype and IM.
John Barlow's Entering CasualSpace...
Timothy Falconer's universal human identifiers.
_ _ _
BUDDYSPACE AND HUMINITY'S BLOG
The strength of the weakest links
Also today, I discovered BuddySpace and Huminity's post on the strength of the weakest link via My Dog, a blog by American Marc Eisenstadt who lives in England and works as a Chief Scientist at the Knowledge Media Institute of The Open University in Milton Keynes.
Huminity describes itself as free social networking and chat software that allows you to chat with anyone, navigate animated maps of connections and view the links of friends between you and anyone else.
With Huminity you can chat with anyone, enter chat-rooms, find people and search the links of friends between you and anyone else. Huminity is more than a social software or a chat software, it's a revolution in human interaction.
The possibilities are endless dating, job seeking, business networking, making new friends or finding long-lost classmates...
And six degrees of separation
Following on from my recent posts re Internet dating, privacy and ID issues, I have added several new links to my sidebar, under the heading of social software, and spent today studying four great posts:
Jim Moore's theoretical note on why blogs matter, the strength of weak ties and six degrees of separation.
Joi Ito's thoughts on Skype and IM.
John Barlow's Entering CasualSpace...
Timothy Falconer's universal human identifiers.
_ _ _
BUDDYSPACE AND HUMINITY'S BLOG
The strength of the weakest links
Also today, I discovered BuddySpace and Huminity's post on the strength of the weakest link via My Dog, a blog by American Marc Eisenstadt who lives in England and works as a Chief Scientist at the Knowledge Media Institute of The Open University in Milton Keynes.
Huminity describes itself as free social networking and chat software that allows you to chat with anyone, navigate animated maps of connections and view the links of friends between you and anyone else.
With Huminity you can chat with anyone, enter chat-rooms, find people and search the links of friends between you and anyone else. Huminity is more than a social software or a chat software, it's a revolution in human interaction.
The possibilities are endless dating, job seeking, business networking, making new friends or finding long-lost classmates...
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/06/2004
Monday, January 05, 2004
INTERNET DATING, LOVE ONLINE - THE RISKS AND HAZARDS
Beware: Online dating goes behind bars
My Internet dating experiment, carried out over the past week, to explore a few websites that are free of charge with no vetting, is now over.
Theoretically, at the outset, I anticipated the biggest hurdles would concern privacy and ID issues. In reality, I quickly found that by not taking any personal risk, these hurdles become insurmountable obstacles.
In the absence of third party vetting or a mechanism for authenticating personal identification, it is impossible to build any trust and move forward without taking chances involving personal risk.
One cannot verify a stranger's ID - not without first disclosing to that stranger one's real name, proper email address, location and telephone number. Nicknames, hotmail type addresses and cellphone numbers appear suspect after the initial exchange of several e-mails.
Answering personal ads electronically, or by land mail to a PO Box number, speaking to a stranger over a payphone or meeting in person at a neutral location, gives no real clues. These days, confidence tricksters know all the tips. So, take people on face value or what?
My cat Ophelia has a vaccination certificate book. It is a log of her annual booster shots giving her a clean bill of health, signed and dated by the vet, each November. Should she go missing, she can be traced through the microchip in her neck and to her health certificate on her vet's computer. Seriously, people ought to come with health passports too, including tests for STD and AIDS.
Banks and credit card companies have succeeded in overcoming ID verification problems, so there must be a solution for better online dealings with strangers. Our Government's introduction of a National ID Card could help. But there would probably need to be some sort of 'pin' number matching each person to their ID Card. I find these issues fascinating and hope to write more at a later date.
On looking into the etiquette of online dating, and the safeguards and precautions one should take before embarking on internet dating, I found DateSmart, a site on background checks, private investigation, dating lies, deception and love. Here is an excerpt:
THE INTERNET'S PLAYERS
Who Are You Really Talking To
What Do they Really Want?
It's amazing. You go to a chatroom or IRC for the first time and there are people there! Talking, laughing, joking around, playing ways and even "painting" pictures with ASCII art. At first you're hesitant. Learning the program, just watching the conversations. Sooner or later, you're ready to start talking to them.
It's easy to assume that this entire medium is safe. Harmless even. After all, you're in the safety of your home or office. They don't know you, they don't know where you are. You can be anyone you want! You can even design a new persona.
You don't know them either ...
The fact is, while many people are very serious about meeting others on the internet for the purpose of establishing a meaningful relationship, others just aren't. How do you know? Sincere people don't put on an act, insincere people do.
Who's seriously there to meet others and who isn't? By following the basic tips covered here, you can often get a feel by just calling them (or not getting their number or real e-mail address after time) of whether or not they're for real, but here are some other ways you can tell.
"How do I know if he or she is really telling me the truth about ...?"
For those of you have been wondering about a person's age, marital status, etc., and how you can go about getting the facts, here's a great web resources specifically devoted to online dating. This is an extremely affordable service that can provide you with all of the information you've been looking for.
With so many people asking the same question - perhaps now is the time to closely examine how to tell if the person you are dealing with on the "net" is, in fact, the person they are purporting to be.
But how? How do we determine this? If we come out and blatantly interrogate them, they will no doubt be offended. On the other hand, this micro-scrutiny may well be what we have to resort to - and in turn, we must be prepared to subject ourselves to the same. Still, a cunning and masterful liar will jump through any hoops to satisfy their goal - so, after some thought, I have put together, based on my own experiences and insights, a list of possible ways to determine if you are dealing with an honest person.
1. Listen To Them!
I cannot stress enough the importance of real "listening" to the person you are dealing with. Of course, the notion of "listening" to someone's words on the screen is ridiculous - but if you consider that in the sense they are "speaking" to you - this makes perfect sense. Do they sound too good to be true? We'd all really like to believe the person we are coming to enjoy knowing and speaking with is exactly as they say they are. We want noting more than to take them at fact value. But reading these stories we find often that the real-deal is the exception rather than the rule. Read what they are writing - pin them down on "iffy" details - if they refuse to be pinned, or remain evasive, consider that a RED FLAG and proceed with caution... [end of excerpt]
_ _ _
BE HONEST, FORTHRIGHT AND ABOVE BOARD -
PEOPLE ON THE NET ARE REAL PEOPLE
And we need to act accordingly to avoid deceit and unpleasant surprises
Wildxangel is a dating advice site and a "must read" for anyone using the Internet as a way to meet new people. Here are some extracts:
--"Keep in mind when reading letters on this site that in a lot of cases relationships started on the net will fail due to common reasons; e.g.. looks, personality, family/ethnic background, etc. Hence, the reason a lot of these fail is not due to fact that they started on the net. However, in most of the same cases these relationships would never have started without the net in the first place!"
--I've done the 'net thing for the last year or so and have had good and bad experiences. I am an officer in the military and move around frequently making it hard for me to really connect to a community. Also, I don't care for bars too much. So I tried the internet and used both American Singles and Match.com. I've had mixed results ranging from the normal "no chemistry" dates, two serious relationships, to one woman who got drunk and went psycho on me during our first (and LAST) date. As a whole, most of the people I met were above board.
--My advice to other readers: take the precautions offered on this great site, take your time, and don't dwell on the past. Be honest, forthright, and above board. People on the 'net are real people and we need to act accordingly to avoid deceit and unpleasant surprises.
--I would also suggest that, if you're serious about meeting someone, don't fall into the trap of confining yourself to the Internet. Enlighten yourself. I suggest a couple of books: Dr. John Gray's "Mars and Venus on a Date" and Dr. Joy Brown's "Dating for Dummies."
--These good reads will get you on board the "clue train" in short order! Then get out and try volunteer work, join a club, socialize in public, and even take a jab at the newspaper personals. Don't put yourself on house arrest and rely exclusively on a computer to meet that special woman...get out of the house! Work on your social skills in public...they come in handy on that first date!"
_ _ _
DATING, LOVE ONLINE - THE RISKS AND HAZARDS
A Gentleman's Internet Companion
One chap wrote to Wildxangel with this piece advice for GoodGuys on the net.
_ _ _
IF YOU DATE . . . INVESTIGATE
Trust yourself, if you feel something is wrong, you're probably right
Here are some more tips from DateSmart on Internet relationships - and stories of predators lurking on the Internet:
--Is there something you can't quite put your finger on? Learn the early warning signs of trouble in your relationship. Do any of these sound familiar to you? If so, click a behaviour for assurance that you're not alone and for more information.
--If you are not getting a real e-mail address from them after several anonymous e-mail addressed letters and chats, challenge them for the real deal. Ask them point blank if they're married.
--Remember: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it is!"
--People you've never met, with any morals or values at all will never accept assistance from a stranger.
For British readers: If you have encountered some kind of online fraud you may wish to read the advice that the Metropolitan Police have published on their Fraud Alert website.
_ _ _
BEWARE: INTERNET DATING GOES BEHIND BARS
Web's largest business pairs up with another huge industry: prisons
On reading about people's experiences on the Internet, I found this eyeopener Internet dating goes behind bars - a report written by Mary Wiltenburg, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, August 2003. Here is an excerpt:
Marvin Span has been locked up for three years, his felony case tied up in appeals. In his online ad, he's draped over a faux-Grecian statue in what looks like the courtyard of his Rhode Island jail. He's "sincere, serious romantic and very intelligent and understanding." He's even, he writes - for the right woman - "willing to relocate."
Online dating, the Web's largest trackable source of consumer dollars, drew $300 million last year. Prisons, one of America's largest industries, are worth an estimated $40 billion. Maybe it was only a matter of time before the two paired off. Their love story begins with the birth of the Internet: In 1996, as far as anyone can reconstruct, a handful of rudimentary prison-penpal sites started out with a few ads apiece.
Today, convict matchmaking giants like prisonpenpals.com and jailbabes.com claim between 7,000 and 10,000 ads, and scores of competitors: from the straightforward (inmate.com) to the suggestive (ladiesofthepen.com) to the uncomfortably mercantile. Cellblockmail.com's headline ad this week instructs: "To write to Diana, please add her to your Shopping Cart, then continue browsing ads or proceed to Checkout."
Some, particularly victims' rights advocates, oppose the ads. Others champion them as a humane way to keep inmates connected to society. [end of extract]
_ _ _
Notes to readers and self:
In past years, some facilities have discussed giving inmates limited access to the Internet. What do you think?
I'm on the side of the victims' rights advocates, and opose the ads. Yes, I agree that the above is a humane way to keep inmates connected to society, but prisoners should not be at liberty to be connected to society as freely as those who have not offended.
Generally speaking, prisoners are locked up because they have caused trouble and are a menace to society. They should not be given any opportunity to disguise their identity and location by using a cellphone, pager, fax or computer. Not everyone in Britain is online. Prisoners are not "deprived" without access to computer and the Internet, in the same way that they are not "deprived" without access to a car and cellphone.
Note to self: check HM Prison Service policy on inmates access to matchmaking services, personal ads and the Internet.
_ _ _
WISDOM FROM EV
Another gem via Joi Ito's Web
Ev: "Come to think of it, this is a corollary to one of my favourite truisms: We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions."
Joi: "Yup."
_ _ _
DESERVING HONOURS
Sir Tim Berners-Lee
Congratulations to English born Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, on being awarded a knighthood.
Following recent controversy over honours, several letters from readers appeared in the Sunday Times. Colonel Sir Martin Coath's letter, my favourite, is a good example of English humour:
PERSPECTIVE: Shock, horror. Three hundred people turned down honours over a period of 70 years. So less than 0.2% of recipients turn the offer down. Are you making a mountain out of a molehill? Robert Taylor, Kidlington, Oxfordshire
ENEMIES: I am reminded of Maurice Bowra's observation when Warden of All Souls': "One should always accept any honours offered; to do so gives such pain to one's enemies." Michael Norman, Ipswich
WORTHY: I was displeased to read all the criticisms in your paper of our excellent honours system. In my considerable experience those honoured are invariably worthy recipients of their honours.
Colonel Sir Martin Coath
KGB, CB, BSE, MFI, GCSE (Woodwork), Sevenoaks, Kent.
Beware: Online dating goes behind bars
My Internet dating experiment, carried out over the past week, to explore a few websites that are free of charge with no vetting, is now over.
Theoretically, at the outset, I anticipated the biggest hurdles would concern privacy and ID issues. In reality, I quickly found that by not taking any personal risk, these hurdles become insurmountable obstacles.
In the absence of third party vetting or a mechanism for authenticating personal identification, it is impossible to build any trust and move forward without taking chances involving personal risk.
One cannot verify a stranger's ID - not without first disclosing to that stranger one's real name, proper email address, location and telephone number. Nicknames, hotmail type addresses and cellphone numbers appear suspect after the initial exchange of several e-mails.
Answering personal ads electronically, or by land mail to a PO Box number, speaking to a stranger over a payphone or meeting in person at a neutral location, gives no real clues. These days, confidence tricksters know all the tips. So, take people on face value or what?
My cat Ophelia has a vaccination certificate book. It is a log of her annual booster shots giving her a clean bill of health, signed and dated by the vet, each November. Should she go missing, she can be traced through the microchip in her neck and to her health certificate on her vet's computer. Seriously, people ought to come with health passports too, including tests for STD and AIDS.
Banks and credit card companies have succeeded in overcoming ID verification problems, so there must be a solution for better online dealings with strangers. Our Government's introduction of a National ID Card could help. But there would probably need to be some sort of 'pin' number matching each person to their ID Card. I find these issues fascinating and hope to write more at a later date.
On looking into the etiquette of online dating, and the safeguards and precautions one should take before embarking on internet dating, I found DateSmart, a site on background checks, private investigation, dating lies, deception and love. Here is an excerpt:
THE INTERNET'S PLAYERS
Who Are You Really Talking To
What Do they Really Want?
It's amazing. You go to a chatroom or IRC for the first time and there are people there! Talking, laughing, joking around, playing ways and even "painting" pictures with ASCII art. At first you're hesitant. Learning the program, just watching the conversations. Sooner or later, you're ready to start talking to them.
It's easy to assume that this entire medium is safe. Harmless even. After all, you're in the safety of your home or office. They don't know you, they don't know where you are. You can be anyone you want! You can even design a new persona.
You don't know them either ...
The fact is, while many people are very serious about meeting others on the internet for the purpose of establishing a meaningful relationship, others just aren't. How do you know? Sincere people don't put on an act, insincere people do.
Who's seriously there to meet others and who isn't? By following the basic tips covered here, you can often get a feel by just calling them (or not getting their number or real e-mail address after time) of whether or not they're for real, but here are some other ways you can tell.
"How do I know if he or she is really telling me the truth about ...?"
For those of you have been wondering about a person's age, marital status, etc., and how you can go about getting the facts, here's a great web resources specifically devoted to online dating. This is an extremely affordable service that can provide you with all of the information you've been looking for.
With so many people asking the same question - perhaps now is the time to closely examine how to tell if the person you are dealing with on the "net" is, in fact, the person they are purporting to be.
But how? How do we determine this? If we come out and blatantly interrogate them, they will no doubt be offended. On the other hand, this micro-scrutiny may well be what we have to resort to - and in turn, we must be prepared to subject ourselves to the same. Still, a cunning and masterful liar will jump through any hoops to satisfy their goal - so, after some thought, I have put together, based on my own experiences and insights, a list of possible ways to determine if you are dealing with an honest person.
1. Listen To Them!
I cannot stress enough the importance of real "listening" to the person you are dealing with. Of course, the notion of "listening" to someone's words on the screen is ridiculous - but if you consider that in the sense they are "speaking" to you - this makes perfect sense. Do they sound too good to be true? We'd all really like to believe the person we are coming to enjoy knowing and speaking with is exactly as they say they are. We want noting more than to take them at fact value. But reading these stories we find often that the real-deal is the exception rather than the rule. Read what they are writing - pin them down on "iffy" details - if they refuse to be pinned, or remain evasive, consider that a RED FLAG and proceed with caution... [end of excerpt]
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BE HONEST, FORTHRIGHT AND ABOVE BOARD -
PEOPLE ON THE NET ARE REAL PEOPLE
And we need to act accordingly to avoid deceit and unpleasant surprises
Wildxangel is a dating advice site and a "must read" for anyone using the Internet as a way to meet new people. Here are some extracts:
--"Keep in mind when reading letters on this site that in a lot of cases relationships started on the net will fail due to common reasons; e.g.. looks, personality, family/ethnic background, etc. Hence, the reason a lot of these fail is not due to fact that they started on the net. However, in most of the same cases these relationships would never have started without the net in the first place!"
--I've done the 'net thing for the last year or so and have had good and bad experiences. I am an officer in the military and move around frequently making it hard for me to really connect to a community. Also, I don't care for bars too much. So I tried the internet and used both American Singles and Match.com. I've had mixed results ranging from the normal "no chemistry" dates, two serious relationships, to one woman who got drunk and went psycho on me during our first (and LAST) date. As a whole, most of the people I met were above board.
--My advice to other readers: take the precautions offered on this great site, take your time, and don't dwell on the past. Be honest, forthright, and above board. People on the 'net are real people and we need to act accordingly to avoid deceit and unpleasant surprises.
--I would also suggest that, if you're serious about meeting someone, don't fall into the trap of confining yourself to the Internet. Enlighten yourself. I suggest a couple of books: Dr. John Gray's "Mars and Venus on a Date" and Dr. Joy Brown's "Dating for Dummies."
--These good reads will get you on board the "clue train" in short order! Then get out and try volunteer work, join a club, socialize in public, and even take a jab at the newspaper personals. Don't put yourself on house arrest and rely exclusively on a computer to meet that special woman...get out of the house! Work on your social skills in public...they come in handy on that first date!"
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DATING, LOVE ONLINE - THE RISKS AND HAZARDS
A Gentleman's Internet Companion
One chap wrote to Wildxangel with this piece advice for GoodGuys on the net.
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IF YOU DATE . . . INVESTIGATE
Trust yourself, if you feel something is wrong, you're probably right
Here are some more tips from DateSmart on Internet relationships - and stories of predators lurking on the Internet:
--Is there something you can't quite put your finger on? Learn the early warning signs of trouble in your relationship. Do any of these sound familiar to you? If so, click a behaviour for assurance that you're not alone and for more information.
--If you are not getting a real e-mail address from them after several anonymous e-mail addressed letters and chats, challenge them for the real deal. Ask them point blank if they're married.
--Remember: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it is!"
--People you've never met, with any morals or values at all will never accept assistance from a stranger.
For British readers: If you have encountered some kind of online fraud you may wish to read the advice that the Metropolitan Police have published on their Fraud Alert website.
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BEWARE: INTERNET DATING GOES BEHIND BARS
Web's largest business pairs up with another huge industry: prisons
On reading about people's experiences on the Internet, I found this eyeopener Internet dating goes behind bars - a report written by Mary Wiltenburg, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, August 2003. Here is an excerpt:
Marvin Span has been locked up for three years, his felony case tied up in appeals. In his online ad, he's draped over a faux-Grecian statue in what looks like the courtyard of his Rhode Island jail. He's "sincere, serious romantic and very intelligent and understanding." He's even, he writes - for the right woman - "willing to relocate."
Online dating, the Web's largest trackable source of consumer dollars, drew $300 million last year. Prisons, one of America's largest industries, are worth an estimated $40 billion. Maybe it was only a matter of time before the two paired off. Their love story begins with the birth of the Internet: In 1996, as far as anyone can reconstruct, a handful of rudimentary prison-penpal sites started out with a few ads apiece.
Today, convict matchmaking giants like prisonpenpals.com and jailbabes.com claim between 7,000 and 10,000 ads, and scores of competitors: from the straightforward (inmate.com) to the suggestive (ladiesofthepen.com) to the uncomfortably mercantile. Cellblockmail.com's headline ad this week instructs: "To write to Diana, please add her to your Shopping Cart, then continue browsing ads or proceed to Checkout."
Some, particularly victims' rights advocates, oppose the ads. Others champion them as a humane way to keep inmates connected to society. [end of extract]
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Notes to readers and self:
In past years, some facilities have discussed giving inmates limited access to the Internet. What do you think?
I'm on the side of the victims' rights advocates, and opose the ads. Yes, I agree that the above is a humane way to keep inmates connected to society, but prisoners should not be at liberty to be connected to society as freely as those who have not offended.
Generally speaking, prisoners are locked up because they have caused trouble and are a menace to society. They should not be given any opportunity to disguise their identity and location by using a cellphone, pager, fax or computer. Not everyone in Britain is online. Prisoners are not "deprived" without access to computer and the Internet, in the same way that they are not "deprived" without access to a car and cellphone.
Note to self: check HM Prison Service policy on inmates access to matchmaking services, personal ads and the Internet.
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WISDOM FROM EV
Another gem via Joi Ito's Web
Ev: "Come to think of it, this is a corollary to one of my favourite truisms: We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions."
Joi: "Yup."
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DESERVING HONOURS
Sir Tim Berners-Lee
Congratulations to English born Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, on being awarded a knighthood.
Following recent controversy over honours, several letters from readers appeared in the Sunday Times. Colonel Sir Martin Coath's letter, my favourite, is a good example of English humour:
PERSPECTIVE: Shock, horror. Three hundred people turned down honours over a period of 70 years. So less than 0.2% of recipients turn the offer down. Are you making a mountain out of a molehill? Robert Taylor, Kidlington, Oxfordshire
ENEMIES: I am reminded of Maurice Bowra's observation when Warden of All Souls': "One should always accept any honours offered; to do so gives such pain to one's enemies." Michael Norman, Ipswich
WORTHY: I was displeased to read all the criticisms in your paper of our excellent honours system. In my considerable experience those honoured are invariably worthy recipients of their honours.
Colonel Sir Martin Coath
KGB, CB, BSE, MFI, GCSE (Woodwork), Sevenoaks, Kent.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/05/2004
Sunday, January 04, 2004
NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
Best of luck to those who have chosen to not drink alcohol
We Quit Drinking is another brilliant idea of Joi Ito's. It is a brand new blog by and about people who have chosen to not drink alcohol.
No doubt this super talented group of bloggers, and the blog itself, will prove inspirational to many people around the world. It's bound to become a great source of comfort and support to those who need it. God bless and good luck to everyone involved.
Best of luck to those who have chosen to not drink alcohol
We Quit Drinking is another brilliant idea of Joi Ito's. It is a brand new blog by and about people who have chosen to not drink alcohol.
No doubt this super talented group of bloggers, and the blog itself, will prove inspirational to many people around the world. It's bound to become a great source of comfort and support to those who need it. God bless and good luck to everyone involved.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/04/2004
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Thursday, January 01, 2004
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2004
With love from Ingrid and Ophelia
Up late this evening watching TV. Loud fireworks in this neighbourhood even though it is lashing with rain outside. Ophelia is hiding under the bed. Need to take a blogging pause for next few days. Have a pile of emails to catch up on and reply to, and visitors expected. Blogger's server was down for most of the day. Had difficulty publishing and editing previous post. If you spot errors and gobbledeygook characters, sorry there is not a lot more I can do about it right now. With all good wishes to you for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. Love from Ingrid and Ophelia xx
With love from Ingrid and Ophelia
Up late this evening watching TV. Loud fireworks in this neighbourhood even though it is lashing with rain outside. Ophelia is hiding under the bed. Need to take a blogging pause for next few days. Have a pile of emails to catch up on and reply to, and visitors expected. Blogger's server was down for most of the day. Had difficulty publishing and editing previous post. If you spot errors and gobbledeygook characters, sorry there is not a lot more I can do about it right now. With all good wishes to you for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. Love from Ingrid and Ophelia xx
ME AND OPHELIA
This is the personal blog of Ingrid Jones.
I live by the sea in Dorset, England, United Kingdom.
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