Using a police state to market technology in 1984:
Using a police state to market technology in 2010:
Blogging has declined in popularity among both teens and young adults since 2006. Blog commenting has also dropped among teens.
- 14% of online teens now say they blog, down from 28% of teen internet users in 2006.
- This decline is also reflected in the lower incidence of teen commenting on blogs within social networking websites; 52% of teen social network users report commenting on friends' blogs, down from the 76% who did so in 2006.
- By comparison, the prevalence of blogging within the overall adult internet population has remained steady in recent years. Pew Internet surveys since 2005 have consistently found that roughly one in ten online adults maintain a personal online journal or blog.
While blogging among adults as a whole has remained steady, the prevalence of blogging within specific age groups has changed dramatically in recent years. Specifically, a sharp decline in blogging by young adults has been tempered by a corresponding increase in blogging among older adults.
- In December 2007, 24% of online 18-29 year olds reported blogging, compared with 7% of those thirty and older.
- By 2009, just 15% of internet users ages 18-29 maintain a blog--a nine percentage point drop in two years. However, 11% of internet users ages thirty and older now maintain a personal blog.
Both teen and adult use of social networking sites has risen significantly, yet there are shifts and some drops in the proportion of teens using several social networking site features. --Pew
"The global warming movement as we have known it is dead," the brilliant analyst Walter Russell Mead says in his blog on The American Interest. It was done in by a combination of bad science and bad politics.[...]
Until now, anyone who questioned the credibility of the IPCC was labelled as a climate skeptic, or worse. But many climate scientists now sense a sinking ship, and they're bailing out. Among them is Andrew Weaver, a climatologist at the University of Victoria who acknowledges that the climate body has crossed the line into advocacy. Even Britain's Greenpeace has called for Mr. Pachauri's resignation. India says it will establish its own body to monitor the effects of global warming because it "cannot rely" on the IPCC.
None of this is to say that global warming isn't real, or that human activity doesn't play a role, or that the IPCC is entirely wrong, or that measures to curb greenhouse-gas emissions aren't valid. But the strategy pursued by activists (including scientists who have crossed the line into advocacy) has turned out to be fatally flawed. --Margaret Wente, Globe and Mail
Update: Case in point..."When I was growing up, we had snow constantly, and no one seemed to mind or panic," said Sutton, 48, a mother of three. "I don't know what happened. People get fixated on what the TV forecasters are saying."
Weather forecasters provide crucial predictions to help people prepare, not to grab ratings, said Anthony Moretti, an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Point Park University, Downtown.
"The No. 1 reason why people watch local news is for weather," said Moretti, a former associate producer for two Columbus, Ohio, TV stations. "I don't think there is a conscious effort to pander to the ratings. It's about their responsibility to tell you about the most important thing that is happening in your town. Weather cuts across all of us." -- Post-Gazette
"One of the deepest questions in this field," Nass says, "is whether media multitasking is driven by a desire for new information or by an avoidance of existing information. Are people in these settings multitasking because the other media are alluring--that is, they're really dying to play Freecell or read Facebook or shop on eBay--or is it just an aversion to the task at hand?" --Chronicle
I know, I know: Amazon relied on those $9.99 prices to give it a head start in the digital books market. And raising prices to the $12.99 to $14.99 being talked about could certainly slow sales if consumers don't bite. But here's the thing: it's not as if Macmillan is only raising prices for Kindle. All its digital books will be the same price. It's not as if Kindle users are somehow being punished. The books will cost as much on the Nook from Barnes & Noble and iPad from Apple as they will on the Kindle.
What's bad for consumers may not necessarily be bad for investors.
And for some reason, this is all Steve Jobs' fault. -- Jim Goldman, CNBC
It is a felony of the third degree to intentionally intercept, endeavor to intercept, or get any other person to intercept any wire, electronic, or oral communication without the consent of all the parties. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5703(1).
The statute is set to expire in December 2008, but could be amended and remain on the books. [Note -- it still seems to be on the books. --DGJ] Under the current statutory language, consent of all parties is required to tape a conversation. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5704. Consent is not required of any parties if the parties do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy for their non-electronic communication. See definition of "oral communication," 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5702.
Anyone whose communication has been unlawfully intercepted can recover actual damages in the amount of $100 per day of violation or $1,000, whichever is greater, and also can recover punitive damages litigation costs, and attorney fees. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5725.
A person commits a misdemeanor if he views, photographs or films another person in a state of full or partial nudity without consent, under circumstances where the nude person has an expectation of privacy. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 7507.1. --Reporters Committee on the Freedom of the Press, "Pennsylvania"
What are the laws about recording interviews where you live? (Here's a list that outlines the recording laws for each US state. Wikipedia has an article on "Wiretapping.")
See also "Photographer's Rights," and this:
The law in the United States of America is pretty simple. You are allowed to photograph anything with the following exceptions:
• Certain military installations or operations.
• People who have a reasonable expectation of privacy. That is, people who are some place that's not easily visible to the general public, e.g., if you shoot through someone's window with a telephoto lens.
That's it.
You can shoot pictures of children; your rights don't change because of their age or where they are, as long as they're visible from a place that's open to the public. (So no sneaking into schools or climbing fences.)
Video taping has some more gray areas because of copyright issues, but in general the same rules apply. If anyone can see it, you can shoot it.
And yes, you can shoot on private property if it's open to the public. That includes malls, retails stores, Starbucks, banks, and office-building lobbies. If you're asked to stop and refuse, you run the risk of being charged with trespassing, but your pictures are yours. No one can legally take your camera or your memory card without a court order.
You can also shoot in subways and at airports. Check your local laws about the subway, but in New York, Washington, and San Francisco it's perfectly legal. Airport security is regulated by the Transportation Security Administration, and it's quite clear: Photography is A-OK at any commercial airport in the U.S. as long as you're in an area open to the public.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. --Andrew Kantor
They seemed to care about the yearbook back in 1888, when the first issue was published, and the name-- originally chosen at random-- was ascribed an arcane meaning via a contest won by med student Leander Fogg, who reasoned that "corks" were students who didn't know what to say when called upon in class (like corks silently plugging a bottle), whereas "curls" were students who knew all the answers, as one who "curleth his tail for delight." A few years later, the student publishers-- all men in a pre-coeducation UVA-- described their book:
"A monument raised by the students, to be a memorial to them of each other, of the University, and of all things common to them and to the University."
In effect, it was a 19th Century version of social media, something that allowed students to preserve a shared experience. Ironically, the 21st Century's version, Facebook, appears to have been a contributing factor in the demise of the storied yearbook. --Dave McNair, The Hook
A 2D version of this logo
appeared on RCA records; it was the iPod dancing silhouette of
its day -- a visual icon used to market an audio technology.
Recent Comments
Sun 9:17 Joshua Sasmor: I had a similar result, but I don't have a snow blower... http://blogs.setonhill.edu/JoshuaSasmor/2010/02/the_aftermath.html... (on Obligatory Snowpocalypse Photo)
Sat 3:32 Dennis G. Jerz: You're right, it also matters what you plan to do with the photo. I can snap a picture of a... (on "Can We Tape?")
Fri 20:37 Karissa : I think it's important to point out that how you can use media sometimes also depends what the audio/photo/video will... (on "Can We Tape?")
Wed 13:47 Dennis G. Jerz: Mike Arnzen's Pedablogue offers an insightful response to this entry. http://blogs.setonhill.edu/MikeArnzen/praxis/on_the_sacramentality_of_teaching_a.html... (on The Sacramentality of Teaching and Learning)
Sun 10:51 Jefe: Dennis, this is outrageously funny. I assume you have seen the movie, Downfall. I've watched it twice. Very powerful. But,... (on Digital Humanities and the case for Critical Commons)
Fri 15:06 Homeschool Curriculum: Having two boys myself, I would not have ever guessed about this trend. I think it is very interesting and... (on Sorry, Boys, This Is Our Domain)