Posts Tagged Technology

Not Oprah’s Book Club: Next Generation Democracy

The announcement of Obama’s official campaign for re-election yesterday came a few days after I’d turned the last page on Jared Duval’s compelling book, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open-Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change. As a result, I feel like I’m looking–not just at Obama–but at the entire political process in an entirely new light.

Duval argues, in essence, that our democracy is broken and that there is great potential to fix it, or at the very least, improve it, through open source technology and the ancillary spirit of young Americans. He writes, “Less important than finding some silver bullet policy solution is finding ways to empower as many problem solvers as possible to contribute as ...

The announcement of Obama’s official campaign for re-election yesterday came a few days after I’d turned the last page on Jared Duval’s compelling book, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open-Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, ...

Not Oprah’s Book Club: Next Generation Democracy

The announcement of Obama’s official campaign for re-election yesterday came a few days after I’d turned the last page on Jared Duval’s compelling book, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open-Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change. As a result, I feel like I’m looking–not just at Obama–but at the entire political process in an entirely new light.

Duval argues, in essence, that our democracy is broken and that there is great potential to fix it, or at the very least, improve it, through open source technology and the ancillary spirit of young Americans. He writes, “Less important than finding some silver bullet policy solution is finding ways to empower as many problem solvers as possible to contribute as ...

The announcement of Obama’s official campaign for re-election yesterday came a few days after I’d turned the last page on Jared Duval’s compelling book, Next Generation Democracy: What the Open-Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, ...

Why the “Cure Gays” App Should Never Have Been Approved by Apple

Apple removed an iPhone app from its App Store this morning that claims to “cure” homosexuality after coming under fire for approving the controversial app.

The app had previously received a 4 rating from Apple, which is meant to indicate it contains “no objectionable material” according to Slashdot.

While many rushed to condemn the contents of the app (146,000 outraged people signed the change.org petition decrying it), some took the opportunity to call for a sort of “freedom of speech” for the software behemoth, suggesting that Apple should have the right to approve any app without facing moral questions about its content.

I disagree. Here are three reasons why the “cure gays” app should have been banned ...

Apple removed an iPhone app from its App Store this morning that claims to “cure” homosexuality after coming under fire for approving the controversial app.

The app had previously received a 4 rating from ...

Why are only 13% of Wikipedia contributors women?

And how do we change it? The New York Times reports that only 13% of the hundreds of thousands of Wikipedia contributors are women—and thankfully Wikipedia is determined to do something about it.

About a year ago, the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that runs Wikipedia, collaborated on a study of Wikipedia’s contributor base and discovered that it was barely 13 percent women; the average age of a contributor was in the mid-20s, according to the study by a joint center of the United Nations University and Maastricht University.

Sue Gardner, the executive director of the foundation, has set a goal to raise the share of female contributors to 25 percent by 2015, but she is running up against the traditions ...

And how do we change it? The New York Times reports that only 13% of the hundreds of thousands of Wikipedia contributors are women—and thankfully Wikipedia is determined to do something about it.

About a year ago, the ...

We are all cyborgs now

Don’t worry. It’s less scary than it sounds.

Amber Case may have the coolest job titles ever: cyborg anthropologist and digital philosopher. Basically, she studies and writes about the ways that humans and technology evolve together. Case also founded Geoloqi.com, a private location-sharing application.

In this video, she points out just how we are fish in new technological water, and why we shouldn’t be afraid of innovation, although we should preserve space for unplugged reflection.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now.html

Don’t worry. It’s less scary than it sounds.

Amber Case may have the coolest job titles ever: cyborg anthropologist and digital philosopher. Basically, she studies and writes about the ways that humans and technology evolve together. Case also ...

We are all cyborgs now

Don’t worry. It’s less scary than it sounds.

Amber Case may have the coolest job titles ever: cyborg anthropologist and digital philosopher. Basically, she studies and writes about the ways that humans and technology evolve together. Case also founded Geoloqi.com, a private location-sharing application.

In this video, she points out just how we are fish in new technological water, and why we shouldn’t be afraid of innovation, although we should preserve space for unplugged reflection.

Don’t worry. It’s less scary than it sounds.

Amber Case may have the coolest job titles ever: cyborg anthropologist and digital philosopher. Basically, she studies and writes about the ways that humans and technology evolve together. Case also ...

Net Neutrality Passes, Obstacles Remain

Net neutrality has been a major issue of debate over the last few years and today the FCC has passed some unclear rules regulating Internet access. Advocates on both sides are disappointed with the results: some feel that these new regulations will not limit online discrimination and that large loopholes for corporations still exist, while those on the other side believe that the FCC doesn’t even have the power to make these decisions and is too tightly regulating communications.

Here’s an explanation of what was decided yesterday (courtesy of CNet):

The first rule requires both wireless and wireline providers to be transparent in how they manage and operate their networks.

The second Net neutrality rule prohibits the blocking of traffic ...

Net neutrality has been a major issue of debate over the last few years and today the FCC has passed some unclear rules regulating Internet access. Advocates on both sides are disappointed with the results:

Apple removes National Organization for Marriage app from iTunes store

The National Organization for Marriage, they of the Rock of Judge Judge Bus campaign to remove Iowa justices who ruled in favor of marriage equality, has itself a new opponent: Steve Jobs.

NOM is upset because its iPhone app was rejected by Apple. In response, NOM has made a commercial that calls Jobs “Big Brother” and makes Alanis Morissette’s use of the word “ironic” look positively poetic.

Transcript below the jump.

Apparently, NOM doesn’t think it’s fair that Apple allows apps from pro-life groups and marriage equality groups, or apps like the one promoting the film 8: The Mormon Proposition. “Apple lets you download an app for a movie that attacks a religious minority for supporting Prop 8, but a ...

The National Organization for Marriage, they of the Rock of Judge Judge Bus campaign to remove Iowa justices who ruled in favor of marriage equality, has itself a new opponent: Steve Jobs.

NOM is upset because ...

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