Category: internet

where I discuss new technologies, “web 2.0,” and everything cool

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Cory Doctorow to Join USC Center on Public Diplomacy

Cory DoctorowVery exciting news announced this week for those of us involved in the study and facilitation of public diplomacy…

From the USC press release:

Canadian novelist and technology visionary Cory Doctorow will join the USC Center on Public Diplomacy as a visiting scholar beginning in September, the Canadian Fulbright Commission announced.

Doctorow, who edits the widely read culture and technology blog site Boing Boing, will be the first to hold the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Diplomacy.

[…]”I’m looking forward to being part of the academic discourse on the ways that technology can either liberate or control us,” Doctorow said.

In addition to his work at Boing Boing, Cory regularly releases podcasts of his literary works at his website, CrapHound.

Doctorow was a staff member for several years (and remains a fellow) at the Electronic Frontiers Foundation.
Get your Che Doctorow t-shirts at Giant Robot now.

(This blogger is particularly psyched as he will have the privilege of working with Cory as the primary web editor for the USC Center on Public Diplomacy).

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Show me the $$$

Facebook, the MySpace-like social networking website based on University-affiliations, is on the block and seeking more than a few dimes.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg took Facebook live just two years ago, while a sophomore at Harvard. After recently turning down an offer for $750 million and seeing Facebook’s growth stagnate, he is now seeking up to $2 billion for the popular website, according to BusinessWeek.

Om Malik still believes he should have sold out when the money was on the table as Facebook will be hardfought to compete with the anomaly that is MySpace.

While MySpace continues making headlines as the detective’s best friend, Facebook may be best known locally for exposing the profile of Holly Ashcraft, the USC student convicted of murder for abandoning her newborn in a dumpster near campus last fall.

But many college campuses are already committed to adjusting to a campus culture future dominated by sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

UC Berkeley administrators told the Contra Costa Times:

“…Because students are so far ahead of us, we have a lot of catching up to do.” […] “If we don’t,” added student-development director Jerlena Griffin-Desta, “we’re missing a whole shift in the culture.”

MySpace fetched nearly $600 million last year when Rupert Murdoch swallowed it whole. Facebook’s audience is not nearly as huge, however, as noted at TechCrunch, it is used by 85% of all college students.

$2 billion is a ridiculous amount of money for a social networking site, but, alas, not three weeks ago Viacom announced its interest in combatting Rupe mano-a-mano.

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ANTI-social networking sites

TechCrunch points to two much-needed services in the over-congested world of online-networking:

Isolatr isn’t a real service, but it should be. Sean Bonner of Metroblogging created the site, which promises to “help you find where other people aren’t”. For bonus content, check out the FAQs (every answer is “no”). I love the attention to detail, like calling it a beta service, leaving the “e” out of the name and adding fake quotes from Doc Searls and Xeni Jardin.

Chris Pirillo has been asking for something like this (but real) for ages. Valleywag has more.

Bryant Choung’s Snubster is an actual, live service. It helps you notify people, and the world, that you are pissed off at someone. The “On Notice” feature tells them that they have committed an “infraction” and are in a suspension period. If they really screw up, you can state that they are “Dead to Me”. Each user has a profile (example) where they can get into the juicy details. The only question I have is, why is there an “e” before the “r” in the snubster name?

Add to this list, Memeorandum‘s just-launched gossip-tracking buzzblog WeSmirch.

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Bloggers Campaign to Free Jill Carroll

Curt Hopkins, founding director of the Committee to Protect Bloggers, passed me a note as part of a call-to-blogs to help free Jill Carroll by disseminating a video PSA plea for her safe release.

The video is here (Arabic). Translation is here.

It shouldn’t be necessary to remind readers of this blog that 28-year-old Christian Science Monitor journalist Jill Carroll was kidnapped January 7.

A late February deadline set by her captors passed quietly and there has been no confirmation of her whereabouts or well-being, although optimism remains strong. The Christian Science Monitor announced last week that it has “reinvigorated its Iraqi media campaign” to free Carroll.

[technorati tag: blogjill]