This is a site for things that I find interesting and like to think about. Occasionally, there may be some ramblings and rants. I am interested in all things web, social media, history, mathematics, physics, marketing, Apple, intellectual debates about religion, and most importantly people.
I am also a mom, wife, and a geek.
Facebook has cut a deal with political website Politico that allows the independent site machine-access to Facebook users’ messages, both public and private, when a Republican Presidential candidate is mentioned by name. The data is being collected and analyzed for sentiment by Facebook’s data team, then delivered to Politico to serve as the basis of data-driven political analysis and journalism.
The move is being widely condemned in the press as a violation of privacy but if Facebook would do this right, it could be a huge win for everyone. Facebook could be the biggest, most dynamic census of human opinion and interaction in history. Unfortunately, failure to talk prominently about privacy protections, failure to make this opt-in (or even opt out!) and the inclusion of private messages are all things that put at risk any remaining shreds of trust in Facebook that could have served as the foundation of a new era of social self-awareness.
This last Saturday, Graham, Todd, Amanda, Emily (our new intern), and I trekked to Washington, D.C. to attend the 2012 DC UXCamp. Graham and Todd are veterans of the Bar Camp style of conference, but the rest of us had never attended one before Saturday, and I, for one, was not…
Federal education policy seems blind to the relationship between poverty and student performance.
Way to go, me. A few weeks ago my 2008 MacBook Pro met an early grave. Yes, totally my fault – ugh, the shame. Needing to get on with things, I decided to walk over to the local Apple Store and give the ‘ol credit card a swipe-a-roo. Macs… so expensive. Here’s to first-world problems, friends!…
I have been saying this for a long time. The Digital Divide is wider than ever but not in the way that people think. We, Blacks and Hispanics, have access to the Internet from just about any where possible. What we don’t have are the opportunities to make and produce content for the web, whether it’s a hot mobile app or cutting edge web site. We are high on the list of consumers (spenders), but low on the list of producers (earners).
