Visitors and Residents (from blip.tv)

from blip.tv

Visitors & Residents

This video explains the useful distinction between Visitors and Residents on the web.

From Tall blog: tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk

‘Controlled Serendipity’ Liberates the Web

Most of us do this to some degree. We are no longer just consumers of content, we have become curators of it too.

If someone approached me even five years ago and explained that one day in the near future I would be filtering, collecting and sharing content for thousands of perfect strangers to read — and doing it for free — I would have responded with a pretty perplexed look. Yet today I can’t imagine living in a world where I don’t filter, collect and share.

Yes, maybe, but...

It isn't exactly controlled serendipity, it is more creating structures which allow one to control that which otherwise would be left to serendipity. So, in many ways, it is not in the least serendipitous. It is, however, the use of channels or paths that are unusual, but are adapted for an organizational, a resource-finding purpose that were not originally designed for this. It is path making.

Top 10 technologies for tyranny - Software - Technology - News - CRN Australia

Top 10 technologies for tyranny - Software - Technology - News - CRN Australia: "Top 10 technologies for tyranny"

Top 10 technologies for tyranny

By Iain Thomson
Jan 18, 2010 9:29 AM

Essential tools for up-and-coming despots."

The top five
5. Malware/keyloggers
4. CCTV

3. Databases

The beauty of the database is that it creates a streamlined, efficient method for reducing everyday human activity to a collection of statistics. A well-maintained database is particularly effective in times of strife, as modern tools have made it possible to cross-reference names and locations with previously flagged entries.

2. Web monitoring

...some countries have set up their own internal web monitoring systems, notably China although other countries also practice this. Such systems not only allow content to be blocked at source but also allow the authorities to keep track of what individuals are doing online. They are helped in this by companies operating in the country in question more often than not.

Basically web monitoring is just another form of undercover surveillance, but as the world becomes to rely more and more on the internet so web monitoring is becoming more useful as a method for crushing dissent.

1. Firewalls

Truly, for the ruler who demands the finest in information suppression, the large-scale public firewall is a must.

Is it really doomsday for books? Not while English casts its spell | Books | Books | The Observer

Is it really doomsday for books? Not while English casts its spell | Books | Books | The Observer:

"The books themselves, with some egregious exceptions, are better printed, bound and jacketed than ever before. Take any volume published in the 1970s and place it next to, say, Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall or Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn. The contrast is shocking. Narrow margins, cheap paper, and hideous typography have all had a comprehensive aesthetic makeover."

Interesting that the rise of e-books and the rising threat to the existence of the book might reinvigorate the quality of books produced.