Archive for the 'Social Networks' Category

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Published by Jarred on December 20, 2009 in Advertising, Books, Business, Computing, Consumer Behavior, Copyright, Culture, Design, Environment, Google, Health, Legal Issues, Lifestyle, News, Politics, Privacy, Science, Social Networks, Space and Web 2.0. View Comments

The New York Times recently issued the ninth edition of its annual Ideas BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, feature for its magazine. Invega trusted pharmacy reviews, I've read through most of the entries and found several really fascinating; others were also interesting but neglected to surface other important angles. I thought I'd use this space to highlight both, buy cheap Invega, Where can i find Invega online, seeing as Tropophilia is all about ideas that may bring about change in our world.

The Advertisement That Watches You - I'll leave the details of this particular implementation to the article, Invega samples, Purchase Invega online, but the essence of the technology is a billboard with a built-in camera that, through facial recognition technology, Invega price, coupon, Australia, uk, us, usa, can tell when anyone within a certain radius of the advertisement is looking at it. This one, where to buy Invega, Buy Invega from mexico, interestingly, changes to its main message when people are not looking, Invega gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release. You can imagine, however, how this technology might develop over time: electronic ads could be powered off until it new there were passersby actually looking at the space, BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. Order Invega online overnight delivery no prescription, Facial recognition could also be used to power an impressions-based ads payment system, much like exists on the web: advertisers would only have to pay per "view" or elapsed "eyeball time" on the ad, real brand Invega online. Purchase Invega, Of course, such commercial use of facial recognition technology also raises enormous privacy concerns (How long are camera images kept, order Invega from United States pharmacy. Comprar en línea Invega, comprar Invega baratos, Would the technology eventually be used to identify people and serve ads based on their personal interests, or even the clothes they were wearing or the book they are reading at that moment?), order Invega online c.o.d. Buy no prescription Invega online, It will be interesting to see how this area grows, if at all.

Bicycle Highways - I thought this was a cool idea, canada, mexico, india, Ordering Invega online, but I'm not sure I see it gaining widespread adoption outside of cities that have significant numbers of bike commuters. BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, What I think is really clever is the possibilities raised with GPS and RFID technology that would allow for bikers to create on-the-fly pelotons, which in turn would be able to gain privileges for traffic lights and such: a mix between EZPass and carpool lanes. Throw in a custom social network for the city so you could plan your departures in order to meet up with a regular riding group, buy generic Invega, Order Invega no prescription, and this could be really great for those cities with big biking cultures.

The Counterfeit Self - I think this research has implications for the Web. There has long been a debate about authentication online: when writing a blog, japan, craiglist, ebay, overseas, paypal, Invega samples, posting comments, or joining a social network, purchase Invega online no prescription, Invega for sale, is it "better" for users to have the ability to remain anonymous or pseudonymous, or should they be encouraged or required to use their real identity (obfuscated to whatever degree they prefer), order Invega online overnight delivery no prescription. Purchase Invega online, Many argue that encouraging or requiring authentication would, for example, buy Invega from mexico, Invega from canadian pharmacy, solve the problem evidence by the (often hateful and troll-like) comments of any given YouTube video. Opponents summon the right to free dom of speech as a defense of anonymous use of the web, buy Invega online cod. Some governments, like South Korea, actually require what is referred to as "real name verification" for websites in their jurisdiction that surpass a certain threshold of users; users are required to authenticate against a national registry before they can interact with the site, BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. Buy cheap Invega, Considering the idea of how behavior is influenced by fake identity could offer a fresh perspective in this debate.

Good Enough is the New Great - One aspect that this idea doesn't cover (and I can't remember anymore if the Wired article does or not) is information. Just as consumers are turning to cheap cameras, Invega price, coupon, Where can i buy cheapest Invega online, low-fi music files, and YouTube videos, where can i order Invega without prescription, Buy Invega from canada, they are also turning to Twitter for their information fixes. Many argue that in moving from mainstream to social media as our main source of information, buy Invega without prescription, Buy Invega without a prescription, we make a similar sacrifice of quality for convenience. I think that may be true in the short-term, order Invega from United States pharmacy, Australia, uk, us, usa, but I'm hopeful that just like companies are starting to fit better and better sensors into those tiny Flip cameras, so will Twitter eventually recapture some of the fidelity of the "news" that it carries.

The Google Algorithm As Extinction Model - I feared that this would be some diatribe about how Google would lead to our own extinction, buy Invega no prescription, Purchase Invega, but luckily my apprehensions were misplaced. BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, This is a really, really cool one. I wonder what if PageRank could also be applied to, order Invega online c.o.d, Invega gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, say, fighting crime, kjøpe Invega på nett, köpa Invega online. Where to buy Invega, I guess that's sort of what that show Numbers is all about...

Guilty Robots - OK, I'm going to admit, I've been on a bit of a Terminator fix lately. Robots scare me. I am a big fan of technology and the Internet, but when it comes to having robots do stuff with increasing autonomy... I mean, what, BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. Why do we need to program "guilt" into a machine. Do we really need to automate our violence and our emotional attachment to it?

Literary Alzheimer's - Yet another example of how almost any subject can be studied scientifically. This time: authorship. Are statistically significant results from an analysis of vocabulary a smoking gun for dementia. BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, Probably not, but it's still fascinating. I hope that more research like this can and will be done as more books are scanned.

Lithium in the Water Supply - I'm not sure "number of suicides" is the dependent variable on which I want to base a decision to add chemicals to my water. But an interesting idea nonetheless.

Lunar Legalism - Yes. Just, yes. This is awesome. We have an "Outer Space Treaty" and a "Moon Treaty", BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. Why did I not know this. Forget IP Law, I'm going to specialize in Interstellar Law suckers. I'm going to be the Jefferson of the Milky Way.

Massively Collaborative Mathematics - Another great example of opening up big problems for attack by the discrete "spare cycles" of thousands of people. The old saying is that "people are smart, but groups are dumb." Plug a group into the Internet, and think again.

Social Networks As Foreign Policy - Lots of folks criticize social networks of all stripes as a waste of time: why put so much effort into keeping tabs on the digital profiles of others (and curating your own) when you could just talk to those people in person. BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, I think as Americans we're biased because we have the leisure of freedom of association and freedom of gathering together, all without fear of being caught up in violence or oppression. Digital networks allow those who otherwise don't enjoy the social privileges we do to express themselves and to network with likeminded peers.

Subscription Artists - These things get me so excited. What I would like to see (maybe it exists already) is this model, except as investment in ideas. Instead of just funding an idea, you can actually invest in a "share" of it and reap some of the rewards. We wrote last year about a highly controversial and possibly fraudulent effort to do this with a novel, but I think there could be room for an SEC-approved approach. Some fear this will lead us back into the days of patronage, but I think that's shortsighted, BUY Invega ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. What better way to fund the arts than by the fans?

Undead-Austen Mash-Ups - One more point for the commons. Seriously, though, how many more regular Jane Austen novels do you think were sold as a result of this mashup. I bet it was not insignificant, and I bet that sales of this book did not substitute for sales of regular old Pride and Predjudice.

Waste Tracking - Just a smart idea, all around. Though I think it would experience a lot of roadblocks to widespread adoption, I could see this easily being adopted out here in the Bay Area and slowly expanding to other communities. If I knew I might pick up some cash for my trash, I'd spend more time being thoughtful about my waste.

Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of Flickr user Cayusa..

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Published by Taylor on December 18, 2009 in Careers, Culture, Lifestyle and Social Networks. View Comments

A thought on personal branding from my friend Luis Sandoval BUY Caduet ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, , from his latest newsletter:

All of us have a level of personal value that in today's connected community driven conversations, we can establish very quickly. Caduet trusted pharmacy reviews, This personal value relies heavily on the skills you hold and in how you use them. With access to social networks, online buying Caduet hcl, Buy Caduet online no prescription, online media outlets, and the ability to expand your network, where can i buy Caduet online, Rx free Caduet, personal branding can catapult you and the knowledge you have to new heights.

This strikes a chord with me, as I’m typically skeptical of “personal branding” as a discipline. It always feels inherently phony; as something you do to hide anything that doesn’t fit in whatever box you’re carefully crafting for yourself. But lately I’m giving in a bit to the personal branding evangelists, Caduet over the counter, Where to buy Caduet, mainly because I’m gaining more and more confidence that who I am personally and professionally will, on balance, buying Caduet online over the counter, Real brand Caduet online, lead to more opportunities than disappointments if it is reflected online.

Part of what always bothered me about personal branding was a sense that you needed to be “on message” at all times, where can i find Caduet online. Buy cheap Caduet no rx, I first experienced social media in a purely social way as a college student on Facebook. The evolution of social media into a tool for business, politics, comprar en línea Caduet, comprar Caduet baratos, Order Caduet from mexican pharmacy, and activism still hasn’t changed my prevailing view that certain social networks can and should remain social in nature. Any friend of mine who seems “on message” on Facebook actually strikes me as being “incredibly dull.” Thus, any attempt at message discipline on my part results in a bit of self-loathing: I worry that I’m becoming “one of those people” who seem unable to let their guard down long enough to genuinely converse with people online or publish an honest, online buy Caduet without a prescription, Fast shipping Caduet, unfiltered reaction to news or life events.

All of the personal branding experts (and blogging experts, for that matter) will tell you to pick a single topic and stick to it. The word from social media “pros” is to develop expertise and build your reputation. I’m interested in many different things, and I go through phases of intense interest in very random industries, issues, concepts, and hobbies. I liken my consumption of online content to a continuation of the liberal arts education I so enjoyed. As a result I have trouble focusing with any consistency on one topic, one angle, or one message. Nowhere is this more apparent than, well, right here: the theme of this blog is “change.” And to think, Jarred and I worried that would be too limiting, BUY Caduet ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION.

But now I’ve come to view my own brand—and, buy Caduet online cod, Buy cheap Caduet, by extension, the concept of personal branding—to be inclusive of both my authentic self (versus a caricature crafted for the internet) and of my varied, Caduet trusted pharmacy reviews, Caduet over the counter, ever evolving interests.

What I now realize is that multi-disciplinary and dynamic passions distinguish all of the people I find interesting and want to be around; as the saying goes, buying Caduet online over the counter, Buy Caduet without prescription, it’s a feature, not a bug. For all of the large law firms and medical residency programs that have my friends scrambling to wipe every trace of their less-than-buttoned-down selves from the web (good luck), Caduet gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, Kjøpe Caduet på nett, köpa Caduet online, I’m confident there are enough potential employers, business partners, australia, uk, us, usa, Canada, mexico, india, and clients out there for whom my “brand of one” online will be viewed as an asset or at least a conversation starter.

For all of the risks of putting yourself out there, purchase Caduet, Order Caduet from mexican pharmacy, the potential personal growth, interpersonal connections, Caduet price, coupon, Purchase Caduet online no prescription, and gained expertise are tremendous rewards. Because ultimately, don’t we all want to work with and for people who “get it” in the sense that they:

View online engagement—be it blogging, Caduet from canadian pharmacy, Japan, craiglist, ebay, overseas, paypal, podcasting, tweeting, comprar en línea Caduet, comprar Caduet baratos, Rx free Caduet, or simply reading tons of content—as evidence that someone is interesting, motivated, fast shipping Caduet, Real brand Caduet online, and passionate; and

Understand that a reasonable online presence (you won’t find me defending behavior that I would find offensive in life displayed online) need not be sterile or phony to be appropriate

So consider it a New Years resolution: build your brand online. But, more than anything, buy Caduet without a prescription, Where to buy Caduet, be confident that by being yourself online and off you’ll gain more than you lose.

Image used under a Creative Commons License courtesy of Flickr user Joe Shlabotnik., order Caduet online overnight delivery no prescription. Buy Caduet no prescription. Where can i order Caduet without prescription. Buy generic Caduet. Order Caduet online c.o.d. Online buying Caduet hcl. Where can i buy cheapest Caduet online. Order Caduet no prescription.

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Published by Taylor on February 2, 2009 in Blogging, Computing, Culture, Facebook, Lifestyle, Privacy, Social Networks and Web 2.0. View Comments

Reader Jared (not Jarred) left a lengthy comment BUY Pyrantel Pamoate ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, on my post about what I feel is our growing need and ability to create and share content. In short: our attraction to social media. I want to pull out what I think is the essence of Jared's concern, because it merits a more complete response:

Dig[ital] interconnectedness, to me, connotes an element of dystopic irony, a warning that we might not end up getting what we want out of this, and someday find that while social media was created and driven by a fundamental desire and longing for connection...it left that behind at some point in the past. Order Pyrantel Pamoate online c.o.d, [...]

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It's good stuff, this Internet....as long as we know what we're getting ourselves into.

The issue of useless "white noise" comes up a lot. The fact that the web is for all purposes infinite, where can i order Pyrantel Pamoate without prescription, Buy Pyrantel Pamoate no prescription, and the information online limitless, makes the idea of constant content creation by an ever-expanding group of people seem completely overwhelming. "I can't even find time to read all the online articles in the NY Times every day" we think to ourselves; "My Google Reader is up to 4, buy Pyrantel Pamoate without prescription, Purchase Pyrantel Pamoate online no prescription, 000 unread items! I don't need MORE content--I'm barely keeping up with what I've already chosen to follow!"

Questioning whether the social media we use and follow will allow us to connect and grow in meaningful ways is almost completely tied to the issue of noise. After all, absent the noisy distractions that Jared describes, purchase Pyrantel Pamoate, Real brand Pyrantel Pamoate online, the Internet would be an incredibly useful place. Anyone who skims through the comments section of any popular YouTube video (a phenomenon captured brilliantly by XKCD) understands the limits of the current social web: when everyone speaks with equal weight and access, a lot of useless and ignorant crap is published online, Pyrantel Pamoate from canadian pharmacy.

But let me argue that the proliferation and widespread adoption of social media--even in the midst of more noise--will be a good thing for a few reasons:

There is a critical mass of participation in social media, beyond which filtering and the wisdom of crowds become significantly more powerful. We're not there yet. I would argue that--with few exceptions--most iterations of the social web have enough commentors/content creators/reviewers for useless information to compete with important contributions, but do not (yet) benefit from the kind of widespread participation that makes filtering successful. While more users/contributors bring with them more "noise," they also bring a level of activity that allows discerning consumers to filter more appropriately based on their needs.

Approaching universal adoption of social media tools will create a more complete context for online reputations, BUY Pyrantel Pamoate ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. Kjøpe Pyrantel Pamoate på nett, köpa Pyrantel Pamoate online, Reputation is the most powerful currency online; when any given person is writing a blog, using Facebook, buy Pyrantel Pamoate from mexico, Comprar en línea Pyrantel Pamoate, comprar Pyrantel Pamoate baratos, Twitter, Flickr, canada, mexico, india, Order Pyrantel Pamoate from mexican pharmacy, and rating movies on NetFlix, we have a better sense of a) whether that person is legitimately who they claim to be; and b) whether, order Pyrantel Pamoate from United States pharmacy, Order Pyrantel Pamoate online overnight delivery no prescription, based on their interests and preferences, we find their content worthy of our attention.

Those might sound a bit dense, order Pyrantel Pamoate no prescription, Japan, craiglist, ebay, overseas, paypal, so let's unpack a bit. First, where to buy Pyrantel Pamoate, Buy cheap Pyrantel Pamoate no rx, the critical mass issue:

Living in a relatively small city, I often bemoan the fact that restaurant review sites (Yelp, buy Pyrantel Pamoate without a prescription, Buy Pyrantel Pamoate from canada, Urban Spoon, etc.) feature questionably up-to-date information on local restaurants and generally fewer than 2 user reviews per establishment. New Yorkers face the opposite issue of an overwhelming abundance of reviews. Whereas too little information is a difficult problem to solve, buy no prescription Pyrantel Pamoate online, Purchase Pyrantel Pamoate online, too much information is manageable in the sense that better and more accurate filters appear every day.

Take TripAdvisor, buying Pyrantel Pamoate online over the counter, Where can i buy Pyrantel Pamoate online, for example. Sure, buy Pyrantel Pamoate online cod, Buy Pyrantel Pamoate without prescription, smaller hotels in more isolated locales suffer from a lack of reviews; but when I was planning my honeymoon I was astounded by the number and variety of informative reviews I found for resorts across the Caribbean. As a result, filtering is more effective (though, comprar en línea Pyrantel Pamoate, comprar Pyrantel Pamoate baratos, Buy Pyrantel Pamoate without a prescription, I hasten to add, it could still improve immensely): I can view only the best and worst reviews of a particular resort, online buying Pyrantel Pamoate hcl, Pyrantel Pamoate over the counter, sort by date to find the most recent information, and filter by member rating to see only the views of trusted users (instead of folks with an axe to grind), Pyrantel Pamoate from canadian pharmacy. BUY Pyrantel Pamoate ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, The social web isn't JUST about the volume of voices and user-generated content we're witnessing. It's ultimately about high-quality, individualized information flowing to every consumer. Where to buy Pyrantel Pamoate, What's more useful: all comments on a particular YouTube video, or only comments from users that I (or my friends) have deemed worth reading? Restaurant reviews from anyone, purchase Pyrantel Pamoate online no prescription, Where can i buy cheapest Pyrantel Pamoate online, or reviews from users who also happen to like my favorite Indian restaurant and pizza place? Scale makes these kinds of filters possible by using crowds and networks to identify trusted users, promoting their content ahead of the fray, Pyrantel Pamoate gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release. Buy generic Pyrantel Pamoate, This gets to the reputation issue:

I sense that we're moving away from online anonymity and pseudonomymous interactions toward more transparency online. I think this is happening because individuals have found that developing a personal brand (as much as I hate that phrase) online is a productive way of engaging on topics they care about, rx free Pyrantel Pamoate, Canada, mexico, india, building a career, interacting with networks, and reaping the benefits of the social web--benefits that largely accrue to trusted participants. I fill in context for who I am and what I care about when I participate in social networks like Facebook, GoodReads, or LinkedIn; when I rate songs on Lala, movies on NetFlix, or restaurants on Yelp; and when I comment on blogs, share items in Google Reader or write 140-character missives on Twitter. The context I'm providing--and the vulnerability that comes with it--means that anyone reading my blog has a better sense that I am who I say I am and can identify where our interests overlap, BUY Pyrantel Pamoate ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION.

Writing a blog by itself, absent those other ways I engage in the social web, expands my network and creates chance interactions with people I otherwise would not have encountered or contacted out of the blue. Imagine what happens when we grow the field of information we provide about ourselves--when we cease to see public content sharing and information disclosure (to a reasonable extent) as a threat and see it as an opportunity. We'll discover, in greater force, the benefits of the social web: information that is tailored to our specific needs and preferences.

We've all encountered examples of people who share more information, openly and unapologetically, than we might personally deem appropriate. Everyone will draw their own distinctions between information they prefer to keep private and information they're willing to broadcast to the world. Where you draw the line is up to you. But I hope you contribute to the "noise" because, if you've read this far, chances are I want to hear from you. (Call it my own filter.).

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Published by Jarred on January 27, 2009 in Politics, Social Networks and Web 2.0. View Comments

[caption id="attachment_925" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="Wordle of President Obama's Inaugural Address"][/caption]

There was a lot of press last week BUY Atrovent ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, about the horrid conditions in which the new administration found the White House. Of course, all the floors were mopped and clean, the windows sparkling, the gardens perfectly maintained, the Oval Office tidy and ready for its new occupant. There is one part of the White House, however, that was left in utter disarray. To the naked eye it is invisible and mostly buried under the floors, hidden inside the walls, or tucked away in closets. Yet it is decrepit, neglected to the point of near disfunction. I'm talking about (surprise!) the technology.

Now don't get me wrong -- I didn't expect very much. A Washington Post article describes the surprise of incoming White House staffers who seem to have been expecting to show up with their MacBook Air laptops, where to buy Atrovent, Atrovent price, coupon, hop on a wireless network, and update their Facebook status to "OMFG I'm at my desk in the West Wing, Atrovent trusted pharmacy reviews, Purchase Atrovent online, feeling like such a n00b, LOL! Top secret clearance, online buying Atrovent hcl, Kjøpe Atrovent på nett, köpa Atrovent online, FTW!" That would just be silly.

Yet while I had low expectations, buy Atrovent no prescription, Fast shipping Atrovent, the conditions still managed to shock me. New members of the administration showed up to find no computers at all. No loaner laptops. On the few computers that were there and worked, the e-mail system was broken to the point of forcing staffers to route messages through their personal Gmail accounts. Maybe it was because they were using Windows 2000. Even some of the phone lines were down. I mean, buy generic Atrovent, Atrovent over the counter, really? I wouldn't have expected this in 2001, let alone in 2009, order Atrovent from mexican pharmacy. Buying Atrovent online over the counter, But as I mentioned, there's been a lot of press and blogging done about this already. What I want to talk about is how this situation is symptomatic of a much larger problem -- and, where can i order Atrovent without prescription, Atrovent samples, as with any large problem, a very large opportunity as well, buy Atrovent without prescription. Atrovent for sale, The problem is that our government is not using the cutting edge tools that have made the most successful businesses in America rise to the top. And often, it is not for lack of trying. It seems to have taken an act of God (or at least the threat of an Executive hissy fit) to convince the NSA to outfit President Obama with a secure Blackberry for his personal use. New West Wingers want to harness the collaborative power of instant messaging and the community-building utility of social networking, order Atrovent from United States pharmacy, Buy Atrovent from mexico, as they did to great success during the campaign. Unfortunately, serious legal questions remain as to whether logs of such activity would have to be preserved under the Presidential Records Act. This act, buy cheap Atrovent no rx, Where can i buy Atrovent online, it should be noted, was passed in 1978, purchase Atrovent.

Obviously, the concerns about security, politicization, and transparency are very real and very important. And there are also bigger problems that need the administration's full attention first. But what is equally imperative is ensuring that government serves the people efficiently and fully, using any and every tool available to it, BUY Atrovent ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. Comprar en línea Atrovent, comprar Atrovent baratos, Among all the reasons to be excited about President Obama is the fact that he leads a corps of young, forward-thinking people who are dying to connect with America, online buy Atrovent without a prescription, Where can i order Atrovent without prescription, to engage it and take its pulse and respond quickly with measures to help it. On the other side, there is a country full of people hungry for change, where to buy Atrovent, Purchase Atrovent, who want to feel like their government listens to them and understands their problems and concerns. The best medium through which this dialog and interaction can occur is the Internet. We cannot allow the ambition of this new administration, and the thirst of the American people for a government that they can literally connect with, rx free Atrovent, Fast shipping Atrovent, to be hindered (for example) by a thirty year old act that predates the digital era.

I generally try to steer clear of making prescriptions, Atrovent for sale, Buy cheap Atrovent, but I'm going to buck that habit here and provide my recommendations for how President Obama and his administration can gain some ground on this front.

1. Issue an Executive Memorandum to the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies calling for transparency and open government

Hey lookie here, order Atrovent from mexican pharmacy, Canada, mexico, india, looks like you've already done this Mr. President! Nice work, comprar en línea Atrovent, comprar Atrovent baratos, Atrovent over the counter, it's like I already knew you had done this you read my mind! Though this memo is not as binding as an Executive Order would be, it shows your new subordinates and the rest country that you're serious about this. You might not have time to dream up the best way to implement a Facebook for government, where to buy Atrovent, Kjøpe Atrovent på nett, köpa Atrovent online, what with the economy falling apart and everything, but at least we know you weren't full of hot air during the campaign. I especially like this paragraph from your memo, ordering Atrovent online, Online buy Atrovent without a prescription, which cuts through the fluff to the meat:

I direct the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of General Services, order Atrovent online c.o.d, Where can i find Atrovent online, to coordinate the development by appropriate executive departments and agencies, within 120 days, buy Atrovent from canada, Japan, craiglist, ebay, overseas, paypal, of recommendations for an Open Government Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB, buy Atrovent without prescription, Online buying Atrovent hcl, that instructs executive departments and agencies to take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in this memorandum. The independent agencies should comply with the Open Government Directive.

Oh but hey, who's this Chief Technoloy Officer?

2. Appoint your Chief Technology Officer already!

Seriously, buying Atrovent online over the counter, Mr. President. I don't know if I should be happy that you're giving the choice for Chief Technology Officer BUY Atrovent ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, so much thought, and that there are so many splendid candidates for the job, that you're already a week into your new job and haven't made a decision yet... or if I should be concerned because you're stalling. It would be nice to have an update.

Appointing a CTO will let you hand this whole transparency and openness portfolio over to someone else. You've got enough on your plate, man. Once you've made your choice, this new member of your administration can start putting the pieces in place for a government that communicates more effectively internally and externally.

3. In collaboration with your new CTO, revisit the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

You've already issued an Executive Order rolling back a previous change by former President Bush. Why not let your CTO and his staff take a crack at crafting an amended act that joins us here in the 21st century? Bring in the intelligence agencies, the Justice Department, Congress, think tanks, and other stakeholders to strike the right balance between security and ethics on one hand, and openness and flexibility on the other. Do everything you can to let your staff use cutting edge technologies to communicate and collaborate with each other, and with the people.

4. Modernize the electric grid and expand broadband access.

As you mentioned in your inaugural address, we need bold initiatives for the modernization of the electric grid and the expansion of broadband access. Not only will this stimulate economic growth (both in the building out of the resources and in the eventual use of them by businesses and consumers), but it will also give people in rural and other areas without good web access now a way to connect to the new "connected" government resources that your CTO will be rolling out.

5. Go further with WhiteHouse.gov.

The new WhiteHouse.gov site is, in a word, gorgeous. I love the design, the Weekly Address via YouTube, the blog... all of it. You've really outdone yourself. Now outdo yourself again. At techPresident, Tom Watson thinks you could do a better job of posting content faster, and David Weinberger wants to make sure your blog avoids the stuffy PR tone and instead becomes a forum for citizen participation. If this is really our White House, as you said it would be during the campaign, then give us a way to really connect. Maybe take a cue from the State Department?

Meg Roberts makes the excellent point that the government officials already "using" social tools don't really get it yet. They're using it to broadcast a one-way stream of noise. It's not surprising; I can easily see how older people see the Internet as just another channel of the "bully pulpit". When FDR sat down for his fireside chats over the radio, it brought the President closer to the people than ever. The web is different. It enables a conversation. It enables feedback.

This isn't some touchy feely point I'm getting at. If you had a way to see what people were saying, to see what they needed to make them happier, to see what they weren't understanding about your policies... how could you not seize upon that? Isn't that the ultimate political tool? The "Open for Questions" initiative on your transition website was an excellent start. As we say at Google, "launch and iterate." You've launched. Now iterate.

Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of Wordle.net..

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Published by Jarred on January 14, 2009 in Book Reviews, Consumer Behavior, Culture, Search, Social Networks, Sociology and Web 2.0. View Comments

BUY Betnovate ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION, About a year ago, I wrote that I had received a book for Christmas called The Big Switch by Nicholas Carr. I'm a little embarrassed to say that it was only two weeks ago, on my post-holiday flight back to California, that I finally finished it after ten months of letting it collect dust. Ordering Betnovate online, Carr's attitude about the rise of cloud computing, social networking, where to buy Betnovate, Fast shipping Betnovate, and all the other web 2.0 buzztrends caught me off guard. While he seems to marvel at and mostly celebrate the speed and scale at which this phenomenon has grown and subsequently become integral to modern life, he does so with a very cautionary and sometimes pessimistic tone. I guess I should have expected as much after reading his piece in the Atlantic last summer (hat tip to Joel for passing it along) called "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". Though I don't share all of his concerns, Betnovate gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, Buy Betnovate from mexico, it is refreshing to find a voice like his among the generally over-enthusiastic technorati (myself included).

Carr highlights a particularly interesting threat in the chapter he titles "The Great Unbundling." While granting that the jubilation over the democratizing and barrier-lowering nature of the Internet is mostly well deserved, Betnovate trusted pharmacy reviews, Real brand Betnovate online, he also warns that these characteristics come with potential harm. What harm? In short, Carr argues that the speed and personalization offered by the Internet facilitate our natural human tendency to cluster into isolated groups that can deafen and blind us to differing opinions, order Betnovate online c.o.d. Betnovate over the counter, Carr's main evidence is an experiment conducted in 1971 by a Nobel Prize winning economist named Thomas Schelling. The experiment consisted of a grid of squares and a set of white and black markers. After randomly distributing these markers to represent an "integrated" community, he moved the markers around based on the rule that no one marker could have more than 50% of its immediate neighbors be of the opposite color. This rule, order Betnovate no prescription, Betnovate for sale, Schelling posited, mirrored a natural instinct that humans possess: to be closer to people similar to ourselves than we are to those who are different. After moving pieces one at a time based on this rule, online buying Betnovate hcl, Buy generic Betnovate, he ended up with one all-white cluster and one all-black cluster. Self-segregation, Schelling concluded, Betnovate price, coupon, Order Betnovate from mexican pharmacy, is the natural result of our instinctual preference to be closer to those that resemble us than to those who differ from us.

Extrapolating from these results, where to buy Betnovate, Purchase Betnovate online, Carr hypothesizes that because the Internet removes so much friction from the market for information, self-segregation will happen much more quickly and completely online than, order Betnovate from United States pharmacy, Kjøpe Betnovate på nett, köpa Betnovate online, say, in a once-integrated neighborhood that slowly segregates over many years into two or more distinct socioeconomic or racial groups. In my opinion, where can i buy Betnovate online, Buy cheap Betnovate no rx, however, his interpretation of Schelling's experiment, order Betnovate online c.o.d, Betnovate over the counter, and his application of it to the Web, is flawed from the start, buy Betnovate without prescription.

First of all, Schelling assumes we have a preference that "50% or more" of our "neighbors" be more like us than different from us. Can we trust this initial assumption? I don't contest that it's only human to feel more comfortable when we're surrounded by people like us. But does comfort level always translate into preference? Perhaps sometimes or often, but can we say this is categorically true, BUY Betnovate ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION. Fast shipping Betnovate, What of those who make a point, out of an intellectual or moral or other conviction, Betnovate samples, Betnovate gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, to surround themselves with people who are different and disagree with them? We are not lab rats, after all; we're people. And who is to say that the number is 50%? What would the results of the experiment have been if that figure was 40%? 20%? Or what if there were three colors? Or thirteen? I haven't done enough research to see if Schelling iterated on his experiment with different rules and variables; but even if he did, online buy Betnovate without a prescription, Kjøpe Betnovate på nett, köpa Betnovate online, Carr certainly does not mention it.

My second critique of Carr's interpretation of Schelling's experiment is his confusing of physical proximity with what I'll call intellectual proximity. It's one thing to have a desire to live, real brand Betnovate online, Order Betnovate from mexican pharmacy, work, and learn in the same physical region as others like us; but does this supposed bias necessarily have an intellectual parallel? Again, buying Betnovate online over the counter, Purchase Betnovate online no prescription, I do not deny that, anecdotally, Betnovate for sale, Where can i buy cheapest Betnovate online, it seems to be a human tendency to read and watch and converse with those who are of the same mind as us. But who is to say this is a systematic preference? Again, what of those who resolve to immerse themselves in opposing viewpoints in order, where to buy Betnovate, Betnovate from canadian pharmacy, say, to challenge and strengthen their own, where can i buy Betnovate online. Buy cheap Betnovate, Carr is also particularly troubled by the rising trend of "personalization algorithms and filters" that seek to "understand" us and deliver to us the information that they think we "want." Take the recommendation services of Netflix, Amazon, order Betnovate from United States pharmacy, Betnovate trusted pharmacy reviews, or iTunes as examples; these companies take your purchase and browsing histories, run them through complex mathematical formulas and models, buy Betnovate from mexico, Online buying Betnovate hcl, and suggest products that it thinks you will enjoy. The longer we use these services, the better they can build a detailed "profile" about us, canada, mexico, india, Purchase Betnovate, and the more accurately they can assess, target, and satisfy our specific interests. Carr notes, however, that this could lead to a disturbing snowball effect of recommendations-feeding-consumption-feeding-recommendations that isolate us within our own interests. The recommendations are based on history, but who is to say that our history is always the best indication of our current or future desires.

All of these fears assume that humans do not have the mental presence or rigor to ensure that we provide ourselves with a healthy intellectual diversity in the face of recommended or automated personalization. Like in Schelling's experiment, it is assumed that we are merely complex machines that react to stimuli in a pre-determined way. I have more faith in humanity than that. This is not to say that there is not ample evidence to support fears of cybersegregation. We saw it in the presidential election last year, for example, with e-mails being circulated among ultra-conservative communities suggesting that Barack Obama is a Muslim or even a terrorist, reinforcing a dangerous groupthink that ignored the widely publicized truth. We -- as humans but especially as Americans -- are often lazy when it comes to fully exploring every facet of a situation.

But the hypothesis that the trend towards personalization and filtering could lead us all into -- as Carr puts it -- "cultural impoverishment and social fragmentation" seems a little far fetched. While we might indeed have a tendency to congregate physically and mentally with those who resemble us, I believe that there is also a natural human inquisitiveness and skepticism that will prevail. At some point, echo chambers always harmonize to such a precise frequency that at least one member will start to think it's too good to be true, and they will seek new sources of information, and the cycle will shatter.

Though this natural inquisitiveness or skepticism may not always prevail on the individual level, I believe it will almost always end up happening on the community level. Especially in democratic societies, there will always be individuals and groups who make it their mission to make sure that opposing points are heard and considered. This, after all, is one of the benefits of freedom of speech and thre free press, and is another reason that while newspapers may die, I don't think professional journalism ever will. Carr also never mentions the boon that online communication brings to the forging and solidifying of groups that do good in our world, such as those organizations that focus on the environment or social justice or philanthropy. While it is important to constantly seek the truth, I think it is also important and healthy to find and reinforce one's identity within a community of truth-seekers. The web facilitates our ability to do just that.

And so I arrive at my normal conclusion for debates like these. Moderation. Is. Key. Personalization and filtering are awesome features with epic potential for helping us discover more about the things we're interested in. And though I think our nature will never lead us to that point, I believe it would be a grand mistake for us to completely outsource our judgment of our own desires and preferences to machines. Our ability to decide for ourselves what we like -- and what we think is the truth -- is part of what makes us human, after all.

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