J. D. Fielder

WSJ.com: Middle East/North Africa Unrest Tracker

Nifty little news tool at the Wall Street Journal (click on image to access):

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(Abstract) Six Provocations for Big Data

Boyd, Danah, and Kate Crawford. 2011. "Six Provocations for Big Data." Presented at Oxford Internet Institute’s A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society.

Abstract: The era of Big Data has begun. Computer scientists, physicists, economists, mathematicians, political scientists, bio-informaticists, sociologists, and many others are clamoring for access to the massive quantities of information produced by and about people, things, and their interactions. Diverse groups argue about the potential benefits and costs of analyzing information from Twitter, Google, Verizon, 23andMe, Facebook, Wikipedia, and every space where large groups of people leave digital traces and deposit data. Significant questions emerge. Will large-scale analysis of DNA help cure diseases? Or will it usher in a new wave of medical inequality? Will data analytics help make people’s access to information more efficient and effective? Or will it be used to track protesters in the streets of major cities? Will it transform how we study human communication and culture, or narrow the palette of research options and alter what ‘research’ means? Some or all of the above? This essay offers six provocations that we hope can spark conversations about the issues of Big Data. Given the rise of Big Data as both a phenomenon and a methodological persuasion, we believe that it is time to start critically interrogating this phenomenon, its assumptions, and its biases.

Available at SSRN

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Chomsky and Foucault Debate Human Nature and Power (1971)

Classic, despite the drab 1970's decor. 

Part 1 via @openculture. You can also find Part 2 of the debate on YouTube.

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Timeu.se: Tracking Reported Time Usage on Twitter

Well, THIS looks like a handy tool! A little something that @redlog at Cornell University put together:

"timeu.se is a web tool for investigating how millions of people report spending their time. This is done by collecting and aggregating millions of messages from Twitter.

Some people say that Twitter conversations are "pointless" or "babble" or that people tweet about "what they had for breakfast." But if you think about it, most casual conversations are just as inconsequential — we just don't record them forever on the web!

I think it's great that people tweet what they had for breakfast, or that they're stuck in traffic or are mowing the lawn. Because what sociologists have always wanted to be able to do is get very detailed measures of how people spend their time without bothering them too much by asking them. Now, by simply examining the conversations that they're having in public, we can do it without bothering them at all!"

Give it at a whirl at http://timeu.se/

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The Netizen Report

First edition of The Netizen Report, a new series at Global Voices Advocacy:

"This is the first post in a new series on GVA called “The Netizen Report”: A regular overview of recent global developments related to the power dynamics between citizens, companies and governments on the Internet. I hope that these regular reports can provide netizens around the world with useful information about who is seeking to influence and shape the digital platforms and networks we increasingly depend upon, and how.

Armed with information, we are in a better position to defend our rights, and to make sure the Internet evolves in a manner that is compatible with free expression and dissent. The format and content of the report will evolve over the coming months based on reader feedback and author experimentation."

CONTINUED AT GLOBAL VOICES ADVOCACY

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