WiredPen

He gets some of the verbs (”to tweet” not “to twitter”) and nouns (we’re “twits” not “twitter-ers”!) wrong, but give Stephan Baker credit for jumping into Twitter-space to write his 15 May article, Why Twitter Matters. (tip)

The screen capture (right) is from the slideshow accompanying the story. What happened in March?

I joined Twitter last year at MindCamp, the day after the iPhone was released. I started playing with it again … when? In the fall (this seems to be my first post). And I got a request to sit on a master’s committee (Museology - the study of museums) where Twitter is the focus (how are early adopter museums using the tool? what are best practices?)

In February, Reuters added a “share with Twitter” link on some stories. Then in April, perhaps pushed by that unknown forced reflected in the graph, I published a resources page and a draft framework to analyze Twitter genres

The victim of theft in White Plains NY was an Apple owner and employee. When a friend noticed that Kait’s (stolen) computer had shown up online (which shows how clueless the burglar was)… Kait activated a service called “Back to My Mac,” part of Apple’s dot-Mac service (annual fee, $99). She logged in to the stolen machine and snapped a photo of the thief, who turned out to be a friend-of-a-friend. Both the software used, PhotoBooth, and the built-in camera are standard on newer Apple laptops running OS10.5, Leopard. (tip) Disclaimer: I own multiple Macs and Apple stock.

The FBI has withdrawn a secret demand that the Internet Archive provide details of a registered user’s personal information. This is reportedly only the third time an organization has succeeded in challenging a National Security Letter (NSL). The enormity of this success: the NYT reports that the “FBI issued nearly 200,000 NSLs between 2003 and 2006.”

With a national security letter, the FBI can “require businesses such as libraries, internet service providers, banks, hospitals or telephone companies to provide customer records on request — no court order (warrant) required.” Courtesy of the US Patriot Act.

At least one judge has ruled that NSLs are unconstitutional due to the gag order; the ruling is under appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
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You’ve created a document (not a spreadsheet!) in GoogleDocs and you’d like to invite lots of people to edit the document … without having to input each-and-every email address. Here’s how to do that:
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Today’s Minneapolis-St. Paul StarTribune says “yes.”

This year, as never before, the Internet is fundamentally reshaping
fundraising, voter outreach, turnout strategies and campaign news
coverage.

Not since the advent of television has the nature of campaigning changed so much and so permanently.

Tip (via Twitter)

Part 1 of 2. Key information (process, resources) on how to conduct surveys from Katy Dickinson, a “Sun Sigma Black Belt” (whatever that is!). Oh - it’s related to Dr. Deming: “I was also in one of the last classes that

Dr. Deming taught on statistical management methods, in 1993.”

PCWorld.ca extolls the benefits of Twitter in this brief post. Example, Dell offers discounts, for example. Via Guy Kawasaki (on Twitter).

New York recently implemented a law that requires online retailers, even if they have no physical presence in the state, to collect sales tax on shipments to NY residents and businesses. Amazon is challenging the constitutionality of the law, which is known colloquially as the “Amazon Tax.”

NY State is basing its law on the fact that Amazon has many “affiliates” with addresses in New York. Amazon pays affiliates a small commission on sales that originate from a link on the affiliate web site. Does this payment make the affiliate an “agent” of Amazon or is the affiliate being paid for what is, in effect, an ad that worked?

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How are social networks and social network sites being used by researchers? Guest lecture in Hanson’s COM529 class. [Two addenda!]

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Apple’s iTunes will now be offering new movie releases on the same day as their DVD release. The PR statement notes that “new releases [are] priced at $14.99 and most catalog titles at $9.99.” Participating studios: 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios. (tip via Twitter; disclaimer: I own Apple stock.)