Jim Warren, curmudgeon extraordinaire, writes:
Have you noticed the almost-COMPLETE broadcast-media blackout of the well organized, well attended Shadow Convention, with its well-known speakers and calm, well-reasoned, *substantive* criticisms of (1) money in politics, (2) the failed but monumentally expensive war on drugs, and (3) the continuing hardcore poverty in this nation of wealth (a triad more briefly described, so one speaker observed, as failures in democracy, freedom and equality)?Instead, ALL of the mainstream broadcast media focus ONLY on the two extremes — the completely scripted, tele-promptered, p.r. non-event by the advertising-purchasing mainstream mafia … and the clowning and performances of the street demonstrators (while carefully avoiding any significant airing of their *serious* issues/criticisms).
Pretty damned sad! … and absolutely predictable — when ALL of the mainstream broadcast media are owned by a few mega-media corporate conglomerates.
ICANN Nominates At-Large Directors
ICANN, the international body that controls the domain-name system, announced internally selected candidates for at-large board membership.
They are:
Africa
Alan Levin
Nii Quaynor
Asia/Pacific
Johannes Chiang
Lulin Gao
Masanobu Katoh
Sureswaran RamadassEurope
Maria Livanos Cattaui
Alf Hansen
Olivier Muron
Oliver Popov
Winfried SchuellerLatin America
Raul Echeberria
Ivan Moura Campos
Patricio Poblete
North America
Lyman Chapin
Donald Langenberg
Lawrence Lessig
Harris Miller
Privacy: They Just Don’t Care
AP: Vendors send personal information to marketing firm, despite policies. Brett Hurt, Coremetrics’ CEO and co-founder, said that they “strongly encourage” all of their clients to disclose their relationship with Coremetrics, and provide a link to Coremetrics’ opt-out page. But, “we can’t control what our clients do,” he said.
This is a crock. His company can refuse to take on clients that don’t disclose the relationship. But hey, that wouldn’t be good for business, right?When it it going to dawn on Congress that voluntary compliance (Wired News) with industry-generated privacy policies, a concept laughingly known as self-regulation, law is inadequate? It will dawn on Congress about a month after hell freezes over, because the lawmakers are firmly in the pockets of the industry, and not enough consumers are complaining to their representatives to make a difference.
You could make a difference if you cared enough. I guess not enough of you care.
Not So Easy, Is It?
Wall Street Journal: Humbled, the megastar backers of Pop.com rethink Web site. Their explanation cites a combination of circumstances, including the shift in market conditions for young technology companies; strategic changes meant to broaden Pops appeal and shore up its business prospects; and miscalculations by a team of founders who are used to being on top in Hollywood.
A dirty little secret about online content is becoming clearer and clearer. We have no idea how to make it profitable.