At some point yesterday, shortly after TED posted it, Monica Lewinsky's 2015 TED Talk had about 198,000 views. One day later, as of this writing, it had gotten 644,394. I believe the reason for this is not just because we're encouraged ourselves when someone has the courage to turn horrific public humiliation into social change. It's also because of the timing of Lewinsky's talk. "There are two … [Read more...] about Monica Lewinsky’s talk going viral: A sign
Jeffrey Rosen
Flawed early laws of our new media environment
Before any more laws aimed at protecting young people's online privacy get passed, I wish lawmakers could spend more time with kids using social media – kids of both sexes and various ages, at least their own children or grandchildren – and less time reacting to constituents' concerns and news reports about kids in social media. Certainly not all they'd observe and discuss with kids would be … [Read more...] about Flawed early laws of our new media environment
Aggregated extortion, digital footprints’ dark side & second chances
This is the chilling side of the digital footprint (something that everybody has) – chilling because the takeaway seems to be that nobody can make a mistake anymore. Web sites with names like BustedMugshots and JustMugshots claim they're doing society a favor by publishing photos that document arrests (not convictions) en masse. And when prospective employers or even people looking for a date or … [Read more...] about Aggregated extortion, digital footprints’ dark side & second chances
The global free speech experiment for participants of all ages
We don't hear about it much, but an important, historically unprecedented experiment is being conducted in Internet-connected schools, libraries, homes and workplaces in every country under every sort of government on the planet. It's about how to protect people and their right of free expression – e.g., children and other protected classes – at the same time in social media. It's unprecedented … [Read more...] about The global free speech experiment for participants of all ages
Self-definition in social media: I am not my online profile
Think about it. Media literacy no longer protects "only" the quality of the information we take in. It now protects our relationships and even our identities – on several levels. It's an understatement to say we need to be media literate more than ever now. I've posted plenty about the relationships part (social literacy), so this time the identity part, because I've seen no better illustration of … [Read more...] about Self-definition in social media: I am not my online profile