staff:

Tumblr Insights: Election 2012 Report

With the U.S. presidential campaign already off to a roaring start, news from the Republican primary contests has been a major topic across Tumblr. As we near another crescendo in Florida, we were curious how the campaign—from the numerous debates and rallies, to election ads and gaffes—has played out so far in terms of the type and quantity of attention received by each candidate on Tumblr.

The first graph shows how frequently each candidate’s name appeared in posts. The second shows other tags most frequently associated with each candidate. We’re most impressed with the viral power of one creative concept blog: When Rick Perry’s Unpopular Opinions sprang up as a parody of one of Perry’s campaign videos, he easily became the most blogged candidate overnight.

Our Insights team will be bringing you more data as the campaigns progress!

(via kopoint)

President Obama to host Google 'hangout' today

kopoint:

What: POTUS on Google+

When: Today, January 30th, at 5:30 EST.

Where: http://goo.gl/48iYH

The White House pledges the president will answer “several of the most popular questions” submitted through YouTube, while some questioners will be invited to participate in a live conversation on Google+ … Google maintains the White House has no role in which questions will be selected. Rather, Google team members will choose the questions from among the most top-rated of those submitted and pledged to ensure there is a balance between several different issue categories. Questions will also come in the form of YouTube videos, live video, and text.

More info on CNN -»

This American Life: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory

Think of this not as a story about Apple, but about a commentary on Western culture and globalism.

kopoint:

Mike Daisey was a self-described “worshipper in the cult of Mac.” Then he saw some photos from a new iPhone, taken by workers at the factory where it was made. Mike wondered: Who makes all my crap? He traveled to China to find out.

Listen to the Episode -»

In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad

In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. Apple and its high-technology peers — as well as dozens of other American industries — have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in modern history. However, the workers assembling iPhones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocates and documents published by companies themselves. Problems are as varied as onerous work environments and serious — sometimes deadly — safety problems. Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms. Some say they stand so long that their legs swell until they can hardly walk. Under-age workers have helped build Apple’s products, and the company’s suppliers have improperly disposed of hazardous waste and falsified records, according to company reports and advocacy groups that, within China, are often considered reliable, independent monitors.

Full Story on the New York Times -»

Twitter will 'censor' tweets by country

kopoint:

In what marks a u-turn for the microblogging company, Twitter has now announced it will censor certain tweets depending on the rules of each country. Prior to this technology being activated, if Twitter blocked a tweet, it was deleted across the service globally. The new system allows it to block tweets which may not comply with a certain country’s laws just in that location, but the messages will be still be live across Twitter around the world.

Full Story on the Telegraph -»

How Stuff Works: How SOPA Works

Piracy — and more specifically the threat of foreign sites hosting pirated material — is the primary focus of a piece of United States legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Representative Lamar Smith from Texas introduced SOPA, also known as H.R. 3261, to the United States House of Representatives on Oct. 26, 2011. According to the language in the act, its purpose is to “promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes.”

When you dig into the language of the act, you’ll find that the goal is to target sites that exist on computers in countries outside the United States. Because these sites — and the people who run them — are outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law, the act aims to hinder or shut down pirate sites in an indirect way. The proposed rules set out by the act are controversial — several companies and Internet experts have objected to the material in the act and some go so far as to say it could break the Internet.

Read the Full Article

kopoint:

Get Educated About SOPA & PIPA

Today around the world, sites will be going black to protest against proposed changes in laws that could effect the entire Internet as we know it.  Known as SOPA and PIPA, they were written to help fight piracy, but in reality could harm more than help. Take a moment to learn more at Google or Wikipedia and then contact the appropriate people in government to tell them not to pass this. 

 Learn More
High-res

kopoint:

Get Educated About SOPA & PIPA

Today around the world, sites will be going black to protest against proposed changes in laws that could effect the entire Internet as we know it. Known as SOPA and PIPA, they were written to help fight piracy, but in reality could harm more than help. Take a moment to learn more at Google or Wikipedia and then contact the appropriate people in government to tell them not to pass this. 

Learn More

Our Internet intellectuals lack the intellectual ambition, and the basic erudition, to connect their thinking with earlier traditions of social and technological criticism. They desperately need to believe that their every thought is unprecedented. Sometimes it seems as if intellectual life doesn’t really thrill them at all. They never stoop to the lowly task of producing expansive and expository essays, where they could develop their ideas at length, by means of argument and learning, and fully engage with their critics. Instead they blog, and tweet, and consult, and give conference talks—modes of discourse that are mostly impervious to serious critique.

The Internet Intellectual | The New Republic
By Evgeny Morozov on October 12, 2011

How to Disappear with Frank Ahearn - Dan Patterson
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Track: How to Disappear with Frank Ahearn

Artist: Dan Patterson

Album: Interview

Plays: 250

Interview: How to Disappear with Frank Ahearn | danpatterson

How to disappear completely and never be found: an interview with Skiptracer Frank Ahearn.

Frank Ahearn is a Skiptracer: he helps locate ‘lost’ individuals. Perhaps more importantly, Frank helps people disappear. In this interview with Dan Patterson from ABC News Radio, Frank details common information mistakes, subtle privacy slips, and how best to erase your footprints, online and off.

On Google - On the Media
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Track: On Google

Artist: On the Media

Album: WNYC

Plays: 21

Podcast - On the Media for WNYC - 12 Aug, 2011

On Google 

This week, we look into the monolithic impact Google has on our lives for better and for worse.