Italy 2 Technology 0 – The Battle in World Cup Technology

There is something in the air of Italy that is making them combative. It may not just be that they are the defending World Cup Champions getting ready to score again in South Africa. The government and legislation authority are fighting technology against two of the biggest names on the internet: Google and Facebook.

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All's Well That Ends Orwell In Lower Merion School District

Philadelphia-area school district, Lower Merion, has recently been overwhelmed with anxious job applicants seeking the soon to be vacant position of Vice Principal Lindy Matsko. Prompted by Matsko's claims that she has never “montiored a student via a laptop webcam...and never would,” shocked and excited snoopers are lining up to fill her spot.

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Internet Addiction and You

Oh, hey there! I see you are online again. Must've been a tough day, huh? Where are you coming from? Work, walking the dog, taking the kids to dance class, just had dinner with the family? Wait, none of those things? You're coming from Facebook? Well, then you've been online for longer than I thought. Did you get anything done around the house today or have you been sitting in front of the computer since you got home? Maybe you're just tired and haven't been going to bed on time lately. Oh, you say that's because of the internet too? Hmm, this might be a problem.

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Google, The Great Firewall, and Why Blogging Matters

Today Google, one of the internet's largest and most innovative companies, announced that it is considering pulling its search engine, email and other products out of China's internet market. The move comes after a cyber attack on Google's server in which hackers tried to access the gmail accounts of several Chinese human rights activists. This offensive coupled with evidence that suggests these were the same hackers who infiltrated US defense computer system last year could portend a full blown geopolitical cyber crisis.

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Taming Thought: Tightening the Chains of Social Media

This probably would not have caught my attention were it not for a thematically similar memo recently passed along at institutes of higher learning. I had never before thought before about the commonalities between journalism and education, but I now see that there are many. Both fields tend to draw from the same reservoir of talent- people who are idealistic, unusually perceptive, curious, and prone to judgment. Rarely will one find a teacher or journalist who is short for ideas, or without an active philosophy on living. And now, to an alarming extent, the powers that be within these fields are bent on quieting the voices that teachers and journalists are so inclined towards expressing.

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Be Careful What You Wish For: Healthcare, Democracy, and the Internet

As a free citizen in a democratic republic, what combination of factors would make you so fired up that you would actively seek out your local congressman and shout at him until he will listen to your two cents on an issue? Recently there has been a wave of American anger boiling over at town hall meetings regarding healthcare. In a previous post, I questioned what the news media would cover during the August recess of Congress. I posited that Americans would begin to demand more answers from those in power regarding their lack of progress on international issues. I was right about the renewed call to politicians for more accountability, but wrong about the agenda that would be called into question. It seems a sizable portion of our citizens are most concerned about, indeed fearful of, the Democrats' healthcare initiatives and are voicing their concern to elected officials while they are making their August visits to their home constituencies.

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