An aide to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld broke the news that Osama bin Laden was dead — on Twitter. And an IT guy in Pakistan unknowingly live-tweeted the attack. Follow along to see how the story played out on Twitter. From @Storify.
Category Archives: Posterous
Internet Use Correlates With Engagement For High School Students
[R]ecent findings from a longitudinal study of high school age students [suggests] that youth who pursue their Interests online are more likely to be engaged in civic issues.
via readwriteweb.com
Note that I have significantly changed the headline that accompanied this RRW story. The original (emphasis added):
Study Finds the Internet Makes Youth More Engaged Citizens
The use of “make” as the verb is telling: it suggests that correlation (those who use the Internet more are also more civicly active) is equivalent to causation: that is a fallacy. Moreover, this phrasing implies a lack of agency on the part of the human: the force of the Internet is so powerful as to cause a change in human behavior in the analog world! Continue reading
Wisconsin IT Department Treats Pro-Union Website Like A Porn Site
The website DefendWisconsin.org, which supports union protesters, could not be accessed on the Wisconsin Capitol wifi network on Monday and part of Tuesday, according to various news reports.
The Capitol internet service, which restricts access to certain websites considered inappropriate for lawmakers, revealed a “blocked page” when users tried to access the site using the building’s wireless system.
“Inappropriate” in the context of government web servers is usually a code word for porn.
Continue reading
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
This is a map of the United States (it cost us $200 million) that depicts terrestrial mobile wireless coverage. As presented, the coverage appears seamless. I’m here to tell you that is not the case.
Last summer, we drove from Seattle to Minneapolis, in a meandering way. There were plenty of times that I had no coverage, period, because I am an AT&T subscriber with a phone that will not function on Verizon’s network. There were plenty of times when my iPhone showed that I had a data signal, but I did not. And there were plenty of times when all I had was voice, no data.
What other things might the map be hiding? The cost (for example, taxes on mobile service) perhaps?
Tip: Slashdot
BoA Fraud Alert Reveals Horrible Customer Service System
Bank of America called this afternoon, advising me that there was a hold on my debit card because of a possible fraudulent charge. It was a recording: please call this number ASAP. Continue reading
