Saying information wants to be free does more harm than good | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Saying information wants to be free does more harm than good | Technology | guardian.co.uk: "'Information wants to be free' (IWTBF hereafter) is half of Stewart Brand's famous aphorism, first uttered at the Hackers Conference in Marin County, California (where else?), in 1984:

'On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.'

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Doctorow makes a good case for not saying IWTBF anymore. It is good to remember that it was not intended to stand on its own as an absolute statement of fact but as part of a paradox.

Facebook Privacy: A Bewildering Tangle of Options - Graphic - NYTimes.com

Facebook Privacy: A Bewildering Tangle of Options - Graphic - NYTimes.com

Infographic illustrating the way Facebook's privacy settings have changed, as part of Nick Bilton's article "The Price of Facebook Privacy?". A good illustration of Facebook's attempt to find a way of enabling it to control personal identity online.

Making the internet safe for free speech | Gus Hosein | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Making the internet safe for free speech | Gus Hosein | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Through a simple subpoena or unwarranted access, vast amounts of personal information on individuals may be accessible to government authorities, much of which would have been previously inaccessible. Tactics such as these are regularly used to discover the identities of journalists' sources by gaining access to telephone and email logs so surveillance creates a hostile environment for free speech.

Generation Control

Tell-All Generation Learns to Keep Things Offline
The NYTimes reports that students

are more diligent than older adults, however, in trying to protect themselves. In a new study to be released this month, the Pew Internet Project has found that people in their 20s exert more control over their digital reputations than older adults, more vigorously deleting unwanted posts and limiting information about themselves. “Social networking requires vigilance, not only in what you post, but what your friends post about you,” said Mary Madden, a senior research specialist who oversaw the study by Pew, which examines online behavior. “Now you are responsible for everything.”

My own study shows that a large portion of students at Dal is concerned about privacy when using Facebook, but it also shows that a solid minority believes that there are no real privacy concerns.

hypnotizing chickens

We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint

WASHINGTON — Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the leader of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was shown a PowerPoint slide in Kabul last summer that was meant to portray the complexity of American military strategy, but looked more like a bowl of spaghetti.

Read the full story at the NYTimes "We have met the enemy and he has PowerPoint"