- Destroying the Right to be Left Alone - Christopher Calabrese and Matthew Harwood (TomDispatch)
- Verizon's Plan to Break the Internet - Timothy Karr (Free Press)
- How the Entertainment Cycle Brings Out the Best & Worst Journalism - Kelly McBride (Poynter)
- The Rise of Social Commerce - Shea Bennett (AllTwitter)
- Reinventing Money in Politics - Video Roundtable (Reinventors)
Destroying the Right to be Left Alone
By Christopher Calabrese and Matthew Harwood
September 22, 2013
TomDispatch
For at least the last six years, government agents have been exploiting an AT&T database http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/us/drug-agents-use-vast-phone-trove-e… filled with the records of billions of American phone calls from as far back as 1987.
You're probably assuming that we're talking about another blanket National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program focused on the communications of innocent Americans, as revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden. We could be, but we're not. We're talking about a program of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a domestic law enforcement agency.
Verizon's Plan to Break the Internet
By Timothy Karr
September 18, 2013
Free Press
The company is trying to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet Order, which prevents Internet service providers from blocking, throttling or otherwise discriminating against online content.
And in court last Monday, Verizon lawyer Helgi Walker made the company's intentions all too clear, saying the company wants to prioritize those websites and services that are willing to shell out for better access. She also admitted that the company would like to block online content from those companies or individuals that don't pay Verizon's tolls.
In other words, Verizon wants to control your online experience and make the Internet more like cable TV, where your remote offers only the illusion of choice.
By Shea Bennett
September 23, 2013
AllTwitter (Mediabistro)
Did you know that the term "social commerce" was first introduced by Yahoo in November, 2005?
Since (and even before) then, social commerce has changed the way that we shop online. Global e-commerce sales are expected to top $1.2 trillion this year, and platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are driving a growing chunk of that change.
How the Entertainment Cycle Brings Out the Best & Worst Journalism
By Kelly McBride
September 18, 2013
Poynter
For journalism to survive in this environment, professionals need to minimize the roar in the echo chamber and let the insightful revelations be heard. So how do you do that? For one thing, stop repeating what you hear on social media just because it has the hallmarks of a story about to go viral. Instead, elevate the pursuit of the truth.
Reinventing Money in Politcs
Video Roundtable
July 11, 2013
Reinventors
Participants:
- Lawrence Lessig, Founder of Rootstrikers, author of Lesterland, making elections about people, not money;
- Tim O'Reilly, Founder & CEO of O'Reilly Media;
- Bram Cohen, The inventor of Bit Torrent;
- June Cohen, Executive Producer of TED Media;
- Anna Galland, Executive Director of MoveOn.org;
- Brad Burnham, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures;
- Markos Moulitsas, Founder and Publisher of Daily Kos;
- Ben Rattray, Founder and CEO, Change.org
"We took on an absolutely critical problem that needs to be solved soon: money in politics. The conversation focused on how we could scale up outside public pressure to force real system change on how Big Money funds politics - and then blocks reform."
Spread the word