"We want to customize our lives…," "It is as though we have all put ourselves on cable news…," "We seem willing to dispense with [other] people altogether…." All these dire, dour, disrespectful pronouncements about this undifferentiated mass called "we" from highly respected psychologist Sherry Turkle at MIT in the New York Times. Where is her acknowledgment that the way we use all the devices, … [Read more...] about So we’re all becoming cyborgs, Dr. Turkle?
media shift
Facebook’s IPO not just a business story, of course
With its clever lede – "It sure pays to have friends" – the New York Times reported a story that goes way beyond business, even though it is indeed a big business story: "Facebook, the vast online social network, took its first step toward becoming a publicly traded company on Wednesday as it filed to sell shares on the stock market." The Times adds that Facebook is "on track to be the largest … [Read more...] about Facebook’s IPO not just a business story, of course
Checking in on the media shift
We're experiencing a profound media shift that's shifting other things too. The signs are all around – struggling newspapers and other publishing companies, the way children gather information and learn, the burgeoning calls for school reform, the shift from consumers to users behind all of the above. We’re usually too busy to think much about long, drawn-out sea changes. But founder of … [Read more...] about Checking in on the media shift
Formspring: What’s going on around it
Last week I wrote about what's going on at Formspring. This week: what's going on around it. The problem we, all of us, are dealing with isn't mainly a Web site whose business plan did not include teens using the site for their own purposes, some harmful. I think everyone can agree that the basic problem is the nasty behavior on it. What those of us who grew up in the mass-media era struggle over … [Read more...] about Formspring: What’s going on around it
Milestone for Net safety: Hemu moves on
Hemanshu Nigam, better known as Hemu, helped MySpace weather some serious Net-safety storms since shortly after News Corp. acquired the social network site. I'm telling you this because today he launched his own company, SSP Blue, about four years to the day he became MySpace's chief security officer. I remember that time well. It was at the height of the US's predator panic, when... MySpace … [Read more...] about Milestone for Net safety: Hemu moves on