Google’s Transparency Report: A Good And Troubling Thing

A couple of days ago Google released its latest “Transparency Report,” part of the company’s ongoing commitment to disclose requests by individuals, corporations, and governments to change what users see in search results and other Google properties such as YouTube.

The press coverage of Google’s report was copious – far more than the prior two years, and for good reason. This week’s disclosure included Google’s bi-annual report of government takedown requests (corporate and individual requests are updated in near real time). The news was not comforting.

Read More
11 Comments on Google’s Transparency Report: A Good And Troubling Thing

SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER

Stay up to date on the latest from BattelleMedia.com

Apple To Kill Ping, Add Facebook

(image) I know you all know that Apple has cut a deal to integrate Facebook, because of the relentless coverage of Apple’s developer conference this week. However, I just saw this story from ATD:

Apple’s Ping to End With a Thud in Next Release of iTunes

And thought to myself – “Hey, didn’t I predict that a while back?”

Read More
4 Comments on Apple To Kill Ping, Add Facebook

Do Not Track Is An Opportunity, Not a Threat

This past week’s industry tempest centered around Microsoft’s decision to implement “Do Not Track” (known as “DNT”) as a default on Internet Explorer 10, a browser update timed to roll out with the company’s long-anticipated Windows 8 release.

Microsoft’s decision caught much of the marketing and media industry by surprise – after all, Microsoft itself is a major player in the advertising business, and in that role has been a strong proponent of the current self-regulatory regime, which includes, at least until Microsoft tossed its grenade into the marketplace, a commitment to implementation of DNT as an opt-in technology, rather than as a default.*

Read More
25 Comments on Do Not Track Is An Opportunity, Not a Threat

In 1844, Morse Gets The Scoop, Then Tweets His Dinner

I’m reading a fascinating biography of Samuel Morse – Lightning Man: The Accursed Life Of Samuel F.B. Morse by Kenneth Silverman. I’ll post a review in a week or so, but one scene bears a quick post.

Morse successfully demonstrated his telegraph between Baltimore and Washington DC in May of 1844. Three days later the Democratic party convention commenced in Baltimore. In what turned out to be a masterstroke of “being in the right place at the right time,” Morse’s telegraph line happened to be in place to relay news of the convention back to the political classes in DC.

Recall, this was at a time when news was carried by horseback or, in the best case, by rail. It took hours for messages to travel between cities like Baltimore and DC – and they were just 45 miles apart.

Read More
3 Comments on In 1844, Morse Gets The Scoop, Then Tweets His Dinner

On Small, Intimate Data

Part of the research I am doing for the book involves trying to get my head around the concept of “Big Data,” given the premise that we are in a fundamental shift to a digitally driven society. Big data, as you all know, is super hot – Facebook derives its value because of all that big data it has on you and me, Google is probably the original consumer-facing big data company (though Amazon might take issue with that), Microsoft is betting the farm on data in the cloud, Splunk just had a hot IPO because it’s a Big Data play, and so on.

But I’m starting to wonder if Big Data is the right metaphor for all of us as we continue this journey toward a digitally enhanced future. It feels so – impersonal – Big Data is something that is done to us or without regard for us as individuals. We need a metaphor that is more about the person, and less about the machine. At the very least, it should start with us, no?

Elsewhere I’ve written about the intersection of data and the platform for that data – expect a lot more from me on this subject in the future. But in short, I am unconvinced that the current architecture we’ve adopted is ideal – where all “our” data, along with the data created by that data’s co-mingling with other data – lives in “cloud” platforms controlled by large corporations whose terms and values we may or may not agree with (or even pay attention to, though some interesting folks are starting to). And the grammar and vocabulary now seeping into our culture is equally mundane and bereft of the subject’s true potential – the creation, sharing and intermingling of data is perhaps the most important development of our generation, in terms of potential good it can create in the world.

Read More
24 Comments on On Small, Intimate Data

The Week in Wine, 5.26 Edition

Dinner with friends and a night in the band room proved bountiful when it came to trying new wines this week.

I tasted this Blackbird Vineyards Arriviste – a Rose that the gals had. They sure liked it. Proved a great start to the dinner for them.

Read More
5 Comments on The Week in Wine, 5.26 Edition

From Today’s Ride: 20 Miles O’ Smiles

A good push on a demo’d 29er Marin this morning. A few highlights:

Mt. Tam, where I was headed, from Blithedale Ridge.

Read More
4 Comments on From Today’s Ride: 20 Miles O’ Smiles

And Now, Your Moment of Zen

 

TamWFall

Courtesy Mt Tam this morning. Sorry if it takes a bit to load, this is my first video post. If anyone knows how to make it just play natively, I’d love the tip. I tried it from mobile posting on my phone and it posted sideways….

Leave a comment on And Now, Your Moment of Zen

Facebook’s Real Question: What’s the “Native Model”?

 

The headlines about Facebook’s IPO – along with questions about its business model – are now officially cringeworthy. It’s an ongoing, rolling study in how society digests important news about our industry, and it’s far from played out. But we seem at an interesting tipping point in perception, and now seemed a good time to weigh in with a few words on the subject.

Read More
29 Comments on Facebook’s Real Question: What’s the “Native Model”?

An Appreciation of The “Home Phone”

Last night on a whim I asked folks on Twitter if they had a home phone – you know, a “hard line” – the k ind of communications device that used to be ubiquitous, but seem increasingly an anachronism these days. The response was overwhelming – only three or four of about 35 responses, about ten percent, said they did, and most of those had them due to bad cel reception or because it makes people feel safe in case of an emergency (the “911 effect”).

The reason I conducted my unscientific poll on the home phone came down to my own experience – my home phone (yes, I have one) rings quite rarely, and when it does, it’s almost always a telemarketer, despite the fact that we’re on the “do not call list.” All of our friends and family know if they want to get in touch, they need to call our cels. Of course, our cels don’t work very well in the hills of Marin County, California, which creates a rather asynchronous sense of community, but more on that in a bit.

I set about writing this post not to bury the home phone, but to celebrate it. The home phone is relatively cheap, incredibly reliable, and – if you buy the right phone – will work for years without replacement. Oh, and far as I can tell, a home phone won’t give you brain cancer.

Read More
23 Comments on An Appreciation of The “Home Phone”