Saturday, May 22, 2004

Meeting the Press and Surviving It. Some helpful tips from a fellow press secretary. By Jim Kennedy. [New York Times: Opinion] 10:01:30 PM    comment []

Seth brings news that Peter Junger blog launched (Junger v. Daley, law professor, Buddhist). 7:29:26 AM    comment []

Monsanto Wins Patent Case on Plant Genes. In a case central to the debate over patenting gene-engineered organisms, Canada ruled on Friday that a farmer infringed Monsanto's patent on genetically modified canola. By Bernard Simon. [New York Times: Business] 7:27:54 AM    comment []

Post: Too Much (bad) Information. Kevin will write something significant about the diary study methodology in a few days, but in the meantime I wanted to pose some questions. A lot of our study techniques seek to understand the user in their natural environment -- the mantra being: we must serve the user in the ways that he or she lives now. Unfortunately, there are plenty of us who do not live in a way that is optimal for our health or our long-term well being. Given this, does it make sense to crystallize bad habits by creating products that tailor to them?... [OK/Cancel] Comic: TMI. 7:23:53 AM    comment []

The Fix. Mystery blogger shakes up D.C. corridors. Did Gibson get break from ABC? Plus: Has "Blondie" gone too far? [Salon.com] 7:21:42 AM    comment []

Robb on swarming, guerrillas, financials. John Robb is thinking about swarming, especially in terms of what terms "global guerrillas" working with finance. [Smart Mobs] 7:18:54 AM    comment []

a candidate who doesn't get privacy in the digital age. So how you reconcile privacyin a world where almost everything you do is "public" is hard. E.g., every click you utter on the net is in a sense "public"; every place you go on the web is "public" -- both in the sense that you transmit to the public information about you as you do it. Yet all of us have the strong (and right) sense that there should be a limit. Here's a candidate running for U.S. Senate who doesn't get that: Jack Ryan. (Warning: if you click on his website you get a pop-up asking to contribute.) (Disclosure: I've contributed to his opponent, Barak Obama). According to Joshua Marshall, Ryan has a campaign worker following Obama every moment of the day, video taping absolutely everything he does "in public." Not only does he record Obama's public appearances, he tails Obama in his car; he follows him into restrooms; he stays a couple feet behind him when he's walking in public; he waits outside his office and pesters his secretary. And he heckles Obama at public appearances. Technically, of course, ok. And even maybe more than technically -- after all, Obama is running for Senate. But do we really need another politician who lives by what is technically ok, to further erase any boundary of privacy? Wonder how Ryan will vote on cameras monitoring every movement of citizens in "public places"? (Thanks to Tom Barger). [Lessig Blog] 7:18:42 AM    comment []