The Passive Revolution

Did you tweet about the demonstrations in Egypt? Welcome to the revolution! Wait what? The idea that you can start a revolution from your twitter account is absurd. Social media applications (twitter, facebook, foursquare, and the like) have become essential communication tools. The Iranian demonstrations last year proved that they can be used to organize people behind a cause, but twitter employees weren't out in the street shouting. The people were. Tinting your twitter avatar green is, and always will be, a passive show of support! If you want a revolution, tweet or facebook your buddies about it and get on a plane to Egypt. Get out in the street and be heard.

There's no such thing as 'the social media revolution'

WikiLeaks -- Organized Crime Ring?

Tick off a government or two and get picked up on whatever charges they can manage against you? Just release a large encrypted file with a promise that if anything happens to you, you'll release the key. Who knows what is in there. It's kind of like extortion in a way, but could it actually be used as extortion? Say some shady banker 'wikileaks' sensitive documents about his client's tax evasion status. Say one of those clients was an extremely rich celebrity.
WikiLeaks: "Give us a million dollars or we'll go public with our dirt and ruin your image."
Celebrity: "No."
WikiLeaks publishes a little encrypted bomb.
Celebrity: "Ok I'll pay. Just don't hurt me!"
No one but WikiLeaks knows if the data in the bomb was garbage or actually damaging. I don't know if celebrities are scared of anything, but corporations are.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1348859/WikiLeaks-Banker-Rudolf-Elmer-arrested-revealing-tax-evaders-account-details.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/wikileaks-insurance-file/

Time Management and the Internets

I remember when I didn't have an internet connection. My computer seemed so uninteresting. It did productive tasks like word processing and solving difficult math problems. Times have changed, now my computer is 20 times faster and I don't do anything except extremely important and interesting things like surf the web. The internet, it seems, is a mixed bag. The world has access to more information than ever before but it doesn't seem to have made us any better as a people. When I look around in my classes I see people harnessing the power of the internet to explore the world around them! I mean to play flash games... Can we use our time more wisely? Can we use these new tools to become a better people? I don't know, but I'm going to go spend some quality time with my wife.