“In the U.S., certain kinds of personal information aren’t treated like property at all. It’s very difficult to sue someone for misuse of personal information. And even if you do, they can never give you back your mailing address, your Social Security number or your DNA, for that matter.”

The piece goes on to explain that it is easy to sue someone for misuse of corporate information … hence, L.L.P.

The obvious question: How do you do it?

(via Freakonomics)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch takes a look this Sunday — here’s a preview.

(via  Elie Gardner)

(via Al’s Morning Meeting)

The modern Internet, however, is everyone’s printing press, particularly using those tools that require little or no technical knowledge to publish. Ordinary people are using the Net to work together to effect change. That is, the voice of the powerful and that of extremists is being replaced by the combined voice of moderates.

This is all about the distribution of information and, therefore, power. It’s about democracy. It’s damn exciting.

Broadband internet access at home is still in the $40-50 range. I pay Verizon extra to access the internet on my Blackberry. I pay extra to use my Blackberry as a tethered modem. Traveling to the New York the other day, I paid for WiFi access in TWO different hot spots because my tethered modem kept dropping the connection (not a coincidence I think). Companies pay for high speed lines for their employees. And we of course pay a lot for the computers and handheld devices that we use to access the Internet (e.g., iPhone).

At the Journalism That Matters conference in D.C. last month, I met Wally Bowen, director of the Mountain Area Information Network. His nonprofit company provides Internet access in rural areas … and does journalism. Right on track, I think.

All these folks do!

(via Snarkmarket)

Why is this more important to me than the end product of the new site the public sees? Because meeting your users where they are isn’t about making them come to the library website. In considering our long term virtual presence plans, the library website is a given. … To truly be successful we have to get our content into the path of the people who wouldn’t walk through our door (physical or virtual).

I wish every librarian thought this way.

(via librarian.net)

Here’s one worth checking out.

Journalism, oral history, storytelling … great stuff.

All at Etude, from the University of Oregon.

Look out for some similarly awesome stuff on the new version of the MFA in Memphis site.

The neighborhood has low rent and no trees, a leaky bucket of a place where dreams seem to run right on through. Dirty Red’s mother pries the boy’s fingers from the hem of her dress and tells him a hundredth time: “Baby, it’s okay to play.”

Dirty Red knows if he goes outside children will call him names and punch and pinch him, like the day before and the day before that. To please his mother he walks outside, but instead of going to play he doubles back up the stairs and sits just outside the closed door.

Dirty Red can’t face the neighborhood, not today. He curls up in a ball on the concrete steps and sticks a thumb in his mouth. People step over him like litter.

I have a lot of writing ahead of me tonight. This is the food that’ll keep me at it. This and a barrel of coffee.

(via Gangrey)