I wrote it before I read New York Times executive editor and parent Bill Keller's stylish dismissal of social media, but "Hawk drama (& human drama) in the digital age" would've been my response. It was about how we really need to think about "the observer effect" on both the experiment (red-tailed hawks, or youth in social media) and the observer (people at the viewer end of the "hawk cam," … [Read more...] about Social media: Time to end the laments & get on with it, maybe?!
Archives for May 2011
Survival of the most cooperative?
Is evolution evolving? A column by David Brooks in the New York Times points to a growing number of books about a fresh take on evolution. Move over "survival of the fittest," make room for survival of the most cooperative – or maybe survival of the kindest, or the thriving of the kindest, or of the most collaborative? In one such book, The Righteous Mind, the authors "argue that natural selection … [Read more...] about Survival of the most cooperative?
Phishing seriously on the rise in social sites
You know what phishing is, right? Tricking Net users into clicking on bad links and sharing sensitive info like passwords and credit card numbers by pretending to be someone the users trust (a friend, their bank, etc.). Well, Microsoft says the number of phishing attacks in social network sites increased 1,200% last year, eWeekEurope.co.uk reports. Phishers "get a higher return on investment … [Read more...] about Phishing seriously on the rise in social sites
A California social-networking privacy bill
I have one question about California's proposed Social Networking Privacy Act: Why not focus more on education than restriction, as it becomes clearer from the research that young people care deeply about their privacy online and have nuanced privacy practices of their own (see a blog post on this by researcher danah boyd). Media literacy instruction in school needs to include discussion about … [Read more...] about A California social-networking privacy bill
Angry Birds: Future ‘total world domination’?
It's looking like that – total world domination for, of all things, Angry Birds (quite serendipitously to continue my bird theme this week [see this on red-tailed hawks]). Signs of approaching world domination: 1. Google has adopted Angry Birds, er, adapted their game for the Web via its Chrome browser, the Washington Post reports, adding that the game already runs on Android and Windows … [Read more...] about Angry Birds: Future ‘total world domination’?