At Craigslist 'camp,' Facebook takes on Twitter
Connect. Inspire. Act. These three words were engraved on my invitation to Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp.
It was Saturday, and I was a little tired. So I was barely in the mood to connect with the daylight, never mind offering it inspiration.
However, I arrived just at the moment when inspiration was being served. In a large outdoor tent in Berkeley, Calif., about 1,500 people who had come together to make communities matter listened as a nice lady from the Craigslist Foundation said that everyone was about to network with the person immediately to their right.
She then asked those persons immediately to their right to score them out of 10--although she insisted that if you only got a 2 it didn't mean your pitch was terrible.
The secret of the networking pitch is, apparently, enthusiasm. So in order to demonstrate, a Berkeley student named Olga was invited to the stage to pitch to Facebook marketing director Randi Zuckerberg.
Olga had her one business card at the ready, when the nice lady announced she would be pitching to Randi's husband too. He works in venture capital, she said. So he's a good judge of pitches.
Olga didn't buckle under the binary pressure. Afterward, everyone stood up and began to pitch to the right.
A panel discussion at Boot Camp.(Credit: CC Cambodia4kidsorg/Flickr)
At the back of the tent, it seemed as if there were a lot of short men pitching to tall women. Even volunteers were pitching to one another. At least I think they were pitching, although the hubbub bubbled so loudly that they might have been wondering about where to get a fine glass of cider.
This mixing of doing good with hard-nosed business was a curious sight. There was passion. There was belief. But at some moments, it almost felt sad that caring was now a business and that business principles needed to be enacted in order to get us pathetic, jaded humans to care and share.
Then Zuckerberg made a well-received speech about, well, how wonderful Facebook is.
She spoke of how the Obama administration had demonstrated "open government" through its embrace of the site. She spoke of how Lenny Kravitz uploads pictures of all his audiences onto his Facebook page. She spoke of how Roger Federer on Facebook really is Roger Federer. In order to emphasize this, she said, he uploaded a video of himself.
She also spoke at some length about events in Iran.
For one weak, fleeting, terrible moment, a slightly cynical drip of sweat ran down my back as I pondered whether Twitter had rather co-opted Iran (in the public eye, at least) and now Facebook was trying to get on level terms.
I let it pass--until, that is, an extremely passionate woman called Pamela Mays McDonald took the microphone to ask what the Twitter tag was for the Boot Camp, as she would like to Twitter with attendees and tell them about her new Facebook group, Hope Against Hate, that was fighting against hate-based violence and speech.
With a swift reflex reaction, Zuckerberg intoned that an alternative to Twittering might be to update your Facebook status.
For all Zuckerberg's extremely well-intentioned passion about social technology being able to bring people together in order to do good, I just wondered whether an additional advert for Facebook was really needed right there.
Especially as Mays McDonald was describing a group against hateful speech, something of a slippery area for Facebook.
This all left me with a peculiar sense that perhaps Facebook feels it needs to compete with Twitter for hearts and minds because they will, in some future way, lead to pockets.
The truth, though, as the enthusiasm and passion for so many different causes at this extraordinary day made very clear, is that we still need pockets to help us convert those hearts and minds.
Thứ Hai, 22 tháng 6, 2009
Bankruptcy could protect Jammie Thomas
Prior to last year, bankruptcy court would not have sheltered Jammie Thomas-Rasset from the $1.92 million debt she owes the music industry. But a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco could enable her to walk away from the debt, several legal experts said on Friday.
In a stunning jury decision on Thursday, Thomas-Rasset was found liable for willful copyright infringement and ordered to pay damages of $80,000 for each of the 24 songs she was accused of illegally file sharing. The 32-year-old is the first person accused of online music piracy by the Recording Industry Association of America who has taken his or her case to court.
(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET Networks)
This is the second time that a jury has ruled in the case against the Brainerd, Minn., resident. In October 2007, she was ordered to pay $222,000, but the decision was thrown out after the judge in the case acknowledged he erred in giving jury instructions. Thomas-Rasset has become the Joan of Arc of the file-sharing community. She has vowed to keep fighting. She's told reporters she hasn't the means to pay the RIAA, and wouldn't if she could.
Here's why bankruptcy court may be an option for Thomas-Rasset, according to Ira Rothken, the lawyer who has represented BitTorrent tracking sites such as TorrentSpy and Isohunt, and has a long record of defending clients against the entertainment industry:
He says that in the past, when someone was found liable of willful copyright infringement, the law prevented the defendant from discharging, or wiping out the debt in bankruptcy court. Last year, however, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found in the case of Barboza vs. New Form, that "willful" meant one thing in civil court and something else in bankruptcy court.
"Now her conversation must be 'Hey, if we can't settle, I'm going to go forward and file for bankruptcy,' and they'll say 'Well, you'll have to have another trial.'"
--Ira Rothken, attorney
In trademark or copyright cases, "willful" means that a defendant knew what they were doing. According to the Ninth Circuit, bankruptcy laws mandate that for a debt to be non-dischargeable, a plaintiff must prove a defendant was "willful and malicious," meaning the person's intent was to cause harm.
Even entertainment lawyers agree that the Ninth Circuit's decision in Barboza makes it tougher for copyright owners to collect damages. Kathryn Bartow, an attorney with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, a Los Angeles-based law firm that does extensive work for the major movie studios, wrote in a February issue of her firm's newsletter:
(Barboza) serves as a warning to trademark and copyright owners as well as the counsel who represent them in willful infringement cases. When presenting evidence and crafting jury instructions, beware. In willful infringement cases, to prevent an individual defendant from having its debt discharged in bankruptcy, the plaintiff should consider introducing sufficient evidence and including additional jury instructions to satisfy the Bankruptcy Code's definitions of 'willful and malicious.'
If the jury had only found Thomas-Rasset guilty of copyright infringement instead of willful infringement, it would have been easier for her to get rid of the debt.
"If she could have won on that point," Rothken said, "it would be absolutely dischargable without even having to have another hearing in bankruptcy court. She'd be going into a settlement discussion (with the RIAA) saying 'Look, if we can't settle it, I'm just going to go bankrupt and you're not going to get anything.' Now her conversation must be 'Hey, if we can't settle, I'm going to go forward and file for bankruptcy,' and they'll say 'Well, you'll have to have another trial.'"
Fred von Lohmann, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet-user advocacy group, said that proving malice in bankruptcy court might be extremely hard for the RIAA.
"No. 1, I'm not at all sure that they'd be interested in trying this case again," von Lohmann said. "And No.2, I'm not sure they'd win. Just because you think she did it doesn't mean necessarily that she knew and intended to harm the industry. We know that lots of people are running Kazaa without understanding that they're sharing (the music files) at the same time."
Jammie Thomas-Rasset now owes the RIAA $1.92 million. (Credit: Jammie Thomas-Rasset)
Much of what happens next depends upon how settlement talks go between the RIAA and attorneys for Thomas-Rassert.
Since the second the jury's decision was read, the RIAA has said it wants to settle. The trade group for the four largest music companies repeated that sentiment on Friday.
"It was a jury of regular folks who rendered this decision," said Jonathan Lamy, a spokesperson for the RIAA. "We do not seek any specific damage awards. For the few existing cases, this verdict is a reminder of the clarity of the law. With any case, including that of Ms. Thomas-Rasset, we seek to settle these out of court. We stand ready and willing to talk settlement with Ms. Thomas-Rasset or anyone. We think that's most beneficial for everyone involved."
What Thomas-Rasset must consider before going forward is that she has lost twice in court. The legal costs for her may rise. As it stands, the RIAA can legally garnish her wages. According to Bloomberg, she works as a natural-resources coordinator for a Native American Indian tribe.
For the RIAA, the size of the damages stamps it with the bully label and backfires when it comes to public relations. That's the opinion of Ben Sheffner, a former entertainment lawyer and copyright proponent. He says the jury award also potentially hurts the RIAA if someone decides to challenge the damages on constitutional grounds.
"On the plus side, the decision sent a strong message," Sheffner said. Twenty-four "average Minnesotans with no ties to the entertainment industry have now said what she did was wrong and she deserves a strong punishment. On the other side, the size of the monetary damages could be used as serious ammo against the music industry."
Prior to last year, bankruptcy court would not have sheltered Jammie Thomas-Rasset from the $1.92 million debt she owes the music industry. But a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco could enable her to walk away from the debt, several legal experts said on Friday.
In a stunning jury decision on Thursday, Thomas-Rasset was found liable for willful copyright infringement and ordered to pay damages of $80,000 for each of the 24 songs she was accused of illegally file sharing. The 32-year-old is the first person accused of online music piracy by the Recording Industry Association of America who has taken his or her case to court.
(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET Networks)
This is the second time that a jury has ruled in the case against the Brainerd, Minn., resident. In October 2007, she was ordered to pay $222,000, but the decision was thrown out after the judge in the case acknowledged he erred in giving jury instructions. Thomas-Rasset has become the Joan of Arc of the file-sharing community. She has vowed to keep fighting. She's told reporters she hasn't the means to pay the RIAA, and wouldn't if she could.
Here's why bankruptcy court may be an option for Thomas-Rasset, according to Ira Rothken, the lawyer who has represented BitTorrent tracking sites such as TorrentSpy and Isohunt, and has a long record of defending clients against the entertainment industry:
He says that in the past, when someone was found liable of willful copyright infringement, the law prevented the defendant from discharging, or wiping out the debt in bankruptcy court. Last year, however, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found in the case of Barboza vs. New Form, that "willful" meant one thing in civil court and something else in bankruptcy court.
"Now her conversation must be 'Hey, if we can't settle, I'm going to go forward and file for bankruptcy,' and they'll say 'Well, you'll have to have another trial.'"
--Ira Rothken, attorney
In trademark or copyright cases, "willful" means that a defendant knew what they were doing. According to the Ninth Circuit, bankruptcy laws mandate that for a debt to be non-dischargeable, a plaintiff must prove a defendant was "willful and malicious," meaning the person's intent was to cause harm.
Even entertainment lawyers agree that the Ninth Circuit's decision in Barboza makes it tougher for copyright owners to collect damages. Kathryn Bartow, an attorney with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, a Los Angeles-based law firm that does extensive work for the major movie studios, wrote in a February issue of her firm's newsletter:
(Barboza) serves as a warning to trademark and copyright owners as well as the counsel who represent them in willful infringement cases. When presenting evidence and crafting jury instructions, beware. In willful infringement cases, to prevent an individual defendant from having its debt discharged in bankruptcy, the plaintiff should consider introducing sufficient evidence and including additional jury instructions to satisfy the Bankruptcy Code's definitions of 'willful and malicious.'
If the jury had only found Thomas-Rasset guilty of copyright infringement instead of willful infringement, it would have been easier for her to get rid of the debt.
"If she could have won on that point," Rothken said, "it would be absolutely dischargable without even having to have another hearing in bankruptcy court. She'd be going into a settlement discussion (with the RIAA) saying 'Look, if we can't settle it, I'm just going to go bankrupt and you're not going to get anything.' Now her conversation must be 'Hey, if we can't settle, I'm going to go forward and file for bankruptcy,' and they'll say 'Well, you'll have to have another trial.'"
Fred von Lohmann, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet-user advocacy group, said that proving malice in bankruptcy court might be extremely hard for the RIAA.
"No. 1, I'm not at all sure that they'd be interested in trying this case again," von Lohmann said. "And No.2, I'm not sure they'd win. Just because you think she did it doesn't mean necessarily that she knew and intended to harm the industry. We know that lots of people are running Kazaa without understanding that they're sharing (the music files) at the same time."
Jammie Thomas-Rasset now owes the RIAA $1.92 million. (Credit: Jammie Thomas-Rasset)
Much of what happens next depends upon how settlement talks go between the RIAA and attorneys for Thomas-Rassert.
Since the second the jury's decision was read, the RIAA has said it wants to settle. The trade group for the four largest music companies repeated that sentiment on Friday.
"It was a jury of regular folks who rendered this decision," said Jonathan Lamy, a spokesperson for the RIAA. "We do not seek any specific damage awards. For the few existing cases, this verdict is a reminder of the clarity of the law. With any case, including that of Ms. Thomas-Rasset, we seek to settle these out of court. We stand ready and willing to talk settlement with Ms. Thomas-Rasset or anyone. We think that's most beneficial for everyone involved."
What Thomas-Rasset must consider before going forward is that she has lost twice in court. The legal costs for her may rise. As it stands, the RIAA can legally garnish her wages. According to Bloomberg, she works as a natural-resources coordinator for a Native American Indian tribe.
For the RIAA, the size of the damages stamps it with the bully label and backfires when it comes to public relations. That's the opinion of Ben Sheffner, a former entertainment lawyer and copyright proponent. He says the jury award also potentially hurts the RIAA if someone decides to challenge the damages on constitutional grounds.
"On the plus side, the decision sent a strong message," Sheffner said. Twenty-four "average Minnesotans with no ties to the entertainment industry have now said what she did was wrong and she deserves a strong punishment. On the other side, the size of the monetary damages could be used as serious ammo against the music industry."
Apple's $30 apology for iPhone activation delays?
Apple is reportedly offering iPhone 3G S customers a $30 iTunes Store credit for delays they experienced trying to activation their new smartphones.(Credit: Apple)
iPhone 3G S users are still experiencing delays activating their new smartphones, but Apple apparently wants to make it up to users.
Apple began notifying affected customers via e-mail on Sunday that they may experience additional delays for another two days due to "system issues" and "high activation volumes," according to readers in various blogs who claim to have received the e-mail. The problems began immediately after the new iPhone's launch Friday.
As a way of apology for the delays, the same e-mail said Apple plans to offer customers a $30 credit iTunes Store credit for "the inconvenience this delay has caused."
Here's the entire text of the e-mail:
Dear Apple Customer,
Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.
We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.
On Monday, you'll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.
Thank you for choosing Apple.
Sincerely,Apple Online Store Team
Apple representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During last July's iPhone launch, while new customers tried to complete the required in-store activation process, overloaded AT&T activation servers made Apple Store lines slow to a crawl and servers eventually crashed altogether. Apple soon ditched the in-store activation and was simply "unbricking" phones, letting buyers activate them at home rather than hold up the line because of crashed servers.
In stark contrast to the frenzied first day sales of the original iPhone and last year's iPhone 3G, Friday's launch was marked by considerably smaller and quieter crowds for the smartphone's debut.
One analyst expects Apple to sell 500,000 iPhones this weekend. That's half as many phones as Apple sold when it launched the iPhone 3G, but Apple sold that phone in 21 countries on the first day. In comparison, the iPhone 3G S will be sold in only eight countries on its first day.
Apple is reportedly offering iPhone 3G S customers a $30 iTunes Store credit for delays they experienced trying to activation their new smartphones.(Credit: Apple)
iPhone 3G S users are still experiencing delays activating their new smartphones, but Apple apparently wants to make it up to users.
Apple began notifying affected customers via e-mail on Sunday that they may experience additional delays for another two days due to "system issues" and "high activation volumes," according to readers in various blogs who claim to have received the e-mail. The problems began immediately after the new iPhone's launch Friday.
As a way of apology for the delays, the same e-mail said Apple plans to offer customers a $30 credit iTunes Store credit for "the inconvenience this delay has caused."
Here's the entire text of the e-mail:
Dear Apple Customer,
Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.
We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.
On Monday, you'll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.
Thank you for choosing Apple.
Sincerely,Apple Online Store Team
Apple representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During last July's iPhone launch, while new customers tried to complete the required in-store activation process, overloaded AT&T activation servers made Apple Store lines slow to a crawl and servers eventually crashed altogether. Apple soon ditched the in-store activation and was simply "unbricking" phones, letting buyers activate them at home rather than hold up the line because of crashed servers.
In stark contrast to the frenzied first day sales of the original iPhone and last year's iPhone 3G, Friday's launch was marked by considerably smaller and quieter crowds for the smartphone's debut.
One analyst expects Apple to sell 500,000 iPhones this weekend. That's half as many phones as Apple sold when it launched the iPhone 3G, but Apple sold that phone in 21 countries on the first day. In comparison, the iPhone 3G S will be sold in only eight countries on its first day.
Chủ Nhật, 21 tháng 6, 2009
Want a job? Hand over your Facebook password
How would you like to apply for a job and have your prospective employer ask for the usernames and passwords for all your social-networking accounts?
That’s what’s happened to applicants for jobs with the city of Bozeman, Montana, who were surprised to discover they needed more than a work history and references.
“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,” reads a background-check waiver form that applicants had to sign. (There’s no mention of Twitter.) The form then contains three lines where applicants are to list their logins and passwords.
The request raised questions about privacy rights in Montana, whose constitution states: “The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.”
Is discovering a job applicant’s cheeky status updates or stupid YouTube videos a “compelling interest” for the city of Bozeman?
Chuck Winn, Bozeman’s assistant city manager, thinks so.
“Before we offer people employment in a public trust position, we have a responsibility to do a thorough background check,” Winn told CNET on Thursday. “Shame on us if there was information out there available about a person who applied for a job who was a child molester or had some sort of information out there on the Internet that kind of showed those propensities and we didn’t look for it, we didn’t ask, and we hired that person,” Winn said. “In many ways we would have let the public down.”
Hmm. Maybe I’m out of touch here, but do people really list their pedophiliac tendencies on Facebook?
According to CNET, Bozeman city offices have been flooded with angry calls and e-mails since this news broke earlier this week. In an unscientific online poll by a Montana TV station, 98 percent of respondents opposed the city’s request on privacy grounds.
The furor led city officials to reconsider. After a closed-door meeting Friday, Bozeman officials suspended the practice, according to several Montana media outlets — who first announced the news on Twitter.
How would you like to apply for a job and have your prospective employer ask for the usernames and passwords for all your social-networking accounts?
That’s what’s happened to applicants for jobs with the city of Bozeman, Montana, who were surprised to discover they needed more than a work history and references.
“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,” reads a background-check waiver form that applicants had to sign. (There’s no mention of Twitter.) The form then contains three lines where applicants are to list their logins and passwords.
The request raised questions about privacy rights in Montana, whose constitution states: “The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.”
Is discovering a job applicant’s cheeky status updates or stupid YouTube videos a “compelling interest” for the city of Bozeman?
Chuck Winn, Bozeman’s assistant city manager, thinks so.
“Before we offer people employment in a public trust position, we have a responsibility to do a thorough background check,” Winn told CNET on Thursday. “Shame on us if there was information out there available about a person who applied for a job who was a child molester or had some sort of information out there on the Internet that kind of showed those propensities and we didn’t look for it, we didn’t ask, and we hired that person,” Winn said. “In many ways we would have let the public down.”
Hmm. Maybe I’m out of touch here, but do people really list their pedophiliac tendencies on Facebook?
According to CNET, Bozeman city offices have been flooded with angry calls and e-mails since this news broke earlier this week. In an unscientific online poll by a Montana TV station, 98 percent of respondents opposed the city’s request on privacy grounds.
The furor led city officials to reconsider. After a closed-door meeting Friday, Bozeman officials suspended the practice, according to several Montana media outlets — who first announced the news on Twitter.
Want a job? Hand over your Facebook password
How would you like to apply for a job and have your prospective employer ask for the usernames and passwords for all your social-networking accounts?
That’s what’s happened to applicants for jobs with the city of Bozeman, Montana, who were surprised to discover they needed more than a work history and references.
“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,” reads a background-check waiver form that applicants had to sign. (There’s no mention of Twitter.) The form then contains three lines where applicants are to list their logins and passwords.
The request raised questions about privacy rights in Montana, whose constitution states: “The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.”
Is discovering a job applicant’s cheeky status updates or stupid YouTube videos a “compelling interest” for the city of Bozeman?
Chuck Winn, Bozeman’s assistant city manager, thinks so.
“Before we offer people employment in a public trust position, we have a responsibility to do a thorough background check,” Winn told CNET on Thursday. “Shame on us if there was information out there available about a person who applied for a job who was a child molester or had some sort of information out there on the Internet that kind of showed those propensities and we didn’t look for it, we didn’t ask, and we hired that person,” Winn said. “In many ways we would have let the public down.”
Hmm. Maybe I’m out of touch here, but do people really list their pedophiliac tendencies on Facebook?
According to CNET, Bozeman city offices have been flooded with angry calls and e-mails since this news broke earlier this week. In an unscientific online poll by a Montana TV station, 98 percent of respondents opposed the city’s request on privacy grounds.
The furor led city officials to reconsider. After a closed-door meeting Friday, Bozeman officials suspended the practice, according to several Montana media outlets — who first announced the news on Twitter.
How would you like to apply for a job and have your prospective employer ask for the usernames and passwords for all your social-networking accounts?
That’s what’s happened to applicants for jobs with the city of Bozeman, Montana, who were surprised to discover they needed more than a work history and references.
“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,” reads a background-check waiver form that applicants had to sign. (There’s no mention of Twitter.) The form then contains three lines where applicants are to list their logins and passwords.
The request raised questions about privacy rights in Montana, whose constitution states: “The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.”
Is discovering a job applicant’s cheeky status updates or stupid YouTube videos a “compelling interest” for the city of Bozeman?
Chuck Winn, Bozeman’s assistant city manager, thinks so.
“Before we offer people employment in a public trust position, we have a responsibility to do a thorough background check,” Winn told CNET on Thursday. “Shame on us if there was information out there available about a person who applied for a job who was a child molester or had some sort of information out there on the Internet that kind of showed those propensities and we didn’t look for it, we didn’t ask, and we hired that person,” Winn said. “In many ways we would have let the public down.”
Hmm. Maybe I’m out of touch here, but do people really list their pedophiliac tendencies on Facebook?
According to CNET, Bozeman city offices have been flooded with angry calls and e-mails since this news broke earlier this week. In an unscientific online poll by a Montana TV station, 98 percent of respondents opposed the city’s request on privacy grounds.
The furor led city officials to reconsider. After a closed-door meeting Friday, Bozeman officials suspended the practice, according to several Montana media outlets — who first announced the news on Twitter.
Thứ Ba, 5 tháng 5, 2009
Myanmar tops list of worst places to be a blogger
Bloggers in Myanmar, Iran and Syria work under some of the most repressive conditions in the world, facing tactics such as regulation, intimidation and even imprisonment, according to a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Myanmar, where students sit at an Internet cafe, tops a list of the worst places to be a blogger.
The organization released a list of the "10 worst countries to be a blogger" to call attention to online oppression in connection with World Press Freedom Day, which was observed Sunday.
"Bloggers are at the vanguard of the information revolution, and their numbers are expanding rapidly," the group's executive director, Joel Simon, said in a report posted on the organization's Web site. "But governments are quickly learning how to turn technology against bloggers by censoring and filtering the Internet, restricting online access and mining personal data.
"When all else fails, the authorities simply jail a few bloggers to intimidate the rest of the online community into silence or self-censorship."
Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- is the worst place in the world to be a blogger, Simon's organization says. A military government restricts Web access and throws people into jail for posting critical material.
Burmese authorities have the capability to monitor e-mail and other communication methods and can block users from viewing the Web sites of political opposition parties, the organization says, citing research group OpenNet Initiative.
One Burmese blogger, Maung Thura, is serving a 59-year prison term for circulating video footage after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.
Number two on the list is Iran, whose authorities, the group says, regularly detain and harass bloggers who dare to criticize religious or political figures, the Islamic revolution or its symbols.
Third is the Syrian government, which the committee says detains bloggers for posting content deemed detrimental to "national unity."
Cuba is next on the "dishonor roll." Its government now holds in jail 21 writers who led online journalism in the early part of the decade, the organization says.
In Saudi Arabia an estimated 400,000 sites are blocked, the committee says, and in Vietnam the Orwellian-sounding Ministry of Information and Communication has created an agency tasked with monitoring the Internet.
Tunisia and Turkmenistan, nations where the Internet is heavily restricted, also find a place on the list.
So, too, does China, which maintains the most comprehensive online censorship program in the world, the organization says.
Chinese authorities, it says, rely on service providers to filter searches, block critical Web sites, delete objectionable content and monitor e-mail traffic. The committee said its research shows at least 24 online writers are in prison in the country.
Egypt rounds out the list at number 10. Local press freedom groups in the country documented the detention of more than 100 bloggers in 2008 alone, the organization says. Most reported mistreatment, and a number were tortured, it says.
"The governments on the list are trying to roll back the information revolution, and for now they are having success," Simon said in the report. "Freedom of expression groups, concerned governments, the online community, and technology companies need to come together to defend the rights of bloggers around the world."
Backyard scientists use Web to catalog species, aid research
As a hobby, Suzie Jirachareonkul, a teacher and mother of two, spends many of her nights searching for endangered toads on the country roads near her home outside Cape Town, South Africa.
Volunteers in South Africa are collecting data on the Western Leopard Toad, which is endangered.
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She often finds them flattened on the street.
"They're so beautiful and it's just really hard to live with, especially when you're living on the road right here," the 33-year-old said of the toad deaths. "So we started doing something about it. We started saving them off the road in the middle of the rain."
When a scientist caught onto her efforts, Jirachareonkul and a friend assembled about 20 volunteers -- a group she calls the "Toad NUTS" -- to collect data on the endangered Western Leopard Toad.
The information they collect is being used in scientific research.
Each time Jirachareonkul comes upon one of the spotted, faintly iridescent creatures, she springs into action. She marks down GPS coordinates, measures the toad, makes notes on its behavior (Is a mate stuck to its back? Is it headed toward a pond?) and uploads the information so scientists can use it.
Oh, and she moves the toad out of traffic's way, too.
While her nighttime hobby may sound a bit strange, Jirachareonkul is far from alone in her efforts to collect amateur scientific data.
At a time when climate change and urbanization are poised to set off a new wave of extinction, some members of the scientific community are turning toward backyard biologists for the data they need to monitor ecosystems and protect struggling species.
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SciTechBlog: more on citizen science
'Toad NUTS' online community
This "citizen science" movement is not exactly new, but it has grown fresh legs as the Internet and social-networking sites help people with uber-specified and often bizarre interests gang up for a cause.
Amateur-produced Web sites now serve as data hubs for squirrel sightings, bird photos, ant anthologies, snapshots of leaves, flowers and trees, water quality info, beetle hunts and firefly tracking, among others. Find links at CNN's SciTech blog
"It's pretty random," said Cyndy Parr of the Encyclopedia of Life. "There's a lot of charismatic things that won't surprise you -- backyard birds, that sort of thing. But there are also thriving communities of people who like to take pictures of butterflies, centipedes, wildflowers, plants."
Some of the sites have sweeping goals. The Encyclopedia of Life, which seeks to gather online information on all known species, has started taking public submissions through a public Flickr group. Some individual users have uploaded more than 2,000 photos.
Project BudBurst, out of Boulder, Colorado, aims to collect so much amateur data about plant species that scientists will be able to tell how climate change is altering the seasons in North America.
The venture, managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, gathers "data that would not otherwise be collected," said Sandra Henderson, the project's director. "We have these additional sentinel eyes on the landscape, if you will. There aren't enough ecologists to be making all of these different plant observations."
National Science Foundation funding for citizen science dropped off significantly in 2002 but generally has been on the rise since, according to budget numbers compiled for CNN. Since that year, funding in the United States has increased more than 240 percent, to more than $3 million for 2008.
Several of the Web projects receive government funding, but others survive on their own merits.
In Spain, Josep del Hoyo founded the Internet Bird Collection, an international compilation of bird videos, sounds and photos that's funded solely by his company. He said the intense passion of birders around the world, plus some money from his publishing company, keep the site running.
Amateurs have posted video of never-before-seen birds on the site, he said, and some of the work has been the foundation for scientific articles.
Technology is amplifying this passion for citizen science, which has been around since scientists started cataloging species. Researchers at several universities are working on iPhone applications and computer programs that could analyze digital photos of plant leaves and automatically identify the plant's species.
When those photos -- from ordinary people all over the world -- are paired with the photographer's location and uploaded to a database, the information would be more valuable than anything scientists could come up with on their own, said John Kress, a botanist and research scientist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
The information could help scientists know if a species is going extinct or dying off in certain regions as the climate warms.
Identifying a plant species can be tricky, Kress said, so these technologies also would ensure that nonprofessional data is good enough to use for scientific research.
"When people do these things as citizen scientists you're always a little suspect as to, 'Are you getting it right?' " he said. "There's some plants out there that are maples and look like oaks -- and only I would know they're really maples. But with this system we would have a standard way of identifying the accuracy of this information."
Some scientists said they're excited about the trend toward citizen-submitted data because it is impossible for scientists to document all of the changes going on around the world.
"At some point it will really lead to almost a democratization of science, where the amateurs and the volunteers are having just as much of an impact on science as the professionals are," said Rick Bonney, who started a citizen science project with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 1987. "It's just going so fast I can't keep up with it anymore."
Others find the movement limited or controversial.
The relationship between formal science and citizen science is similar to that between professional news reporters and bloggers; some scientists worry that the information coming in from nonprofessionals will be inaccurate, said John Musinsky, a senior director at Conservation International.
The citizen efforts are also limited in the sense that, at least for now, they're largely concentrated in North America and Europe, where there aren't nearly as many plant and animal species as in Latin America and Africa.
That's beginning to change, though, said Conrad Savy, a conservation science adviser at Conservation International.
"It's gaining steam," he said of the global citizen-science movement. "It's working very well and it's a great way also to engage the community in conservation issues."
As photo-taking cell phones become more popular in developing countries, a more diverse group will join the efforts, said Kress, the Smithsonian botanist.
Jirachareonkul's group devoted to the Western Leopard Toad now works with the South African National Biodiversity Institute to promote understanding of the endangered species.
Dr. John Measey, a researcher with the institute, said by e-mail that some research on the toad would be possible without the volunteer efforts. But the "Toad NUTS" raise awareness and help scientists "obtain usable accurate data from a much wider area than we could possibly manage or fund," he wrote.
When Jirachareonkul started the project, she didn't know much about the toads -- they were just a creature she found squashed in front of her house.
Now she has a personal connection to them.
She said citizen science is a way for people to connect with their local environment -- and to make a difference.
"There are so many problems in the world, but I think the main problem is that everybody is worried about everybody else's problems that they don't focus in on their little areas," she said.
As a hobby, Suzie Jirachareonkul, a teacher and mother of two, spends many of her nights searching for endangered toads on the country roads near her home outside Cape Town, South Africa.
Volunteers in South Africa are collecting data on the Western Leopard Toad, which is endangered.
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She often finds them flattened on the street.
"They're so beautiful and it's just really hard to live with, especially when you're living on the road right here," the 33-year-old said of the toad deaths. "So we started doing something about it. We started saving them off the road in the middle of the rain."
When a scientist caught onto her efforts, Jirachareonkul and a friend assembled about 20 volunteers -- a group she calls the "Toad NUTS" -- to collect data on the endangered Western Leopard Toad.
The information they collect is being used in scientific research.
Each time Jirachareonkul comes upon one of the spotted, faintly iridescent creatures, she springs into action. She marks down GPS coordinates, measures the toad, makes notes on its behavior (Is a mate stuck to its back? Is it headed toward a pond?) and uploads the information so scientists can use it.
Oh, and she moves the toad out of traffic's way, too.
While her nighttime hobby may sound a bit strange, Jirachareonkul is far from alone in her efforts to collect amateur scientific data.
At a time when climate change and urbanization are poised to set off a new wave of extinction, some members of the scientific community are turning toward backyard biologists for the data they need to monitor ecosystems and protect struggling species.
Don't Miss
In Depth: Planet in Peril
Ninety years of birdwatchers' notes going online
SciTechBlog: more on citizen science
'Toad NUTS' online community
This "citizen science" movement is not exactly new, but it has grown fresh legs as the Internet and social-networking sites help people with uber-specified and often bizarre interests gang up for a cause.
Amateur-produced Web sites now serve as data hubs for squirrel sightings, bird photos, ant anthologies, snapshots of leaves, flowers and trees, water quality info, beetle hunts and firefly tracking, among others. Find links at CNN's SciTech blog
"It's pretty random," said Cyndy Parr of the Encyclopedia of Life. "There's a lot of charismatic things that won't surprise you -- backyard birds, that sort of thing. But there are also thriving communities of people who like to take pictures of butterflies, centipedes, wildflowers, plants."
Some of the sites have sweeping goals. The Encyclopedia of Life, which seeks to gather online information on all known species, has started taking public submissions through a public Flickr group. Some individual users have uploaded more than 2,000 photos.
Project BudBurst, out of Boulder, Colorado, aims to collect so much amateur data about plant species that scientists will be able to tell how climate change is altering the seasons in North America.
The venture, managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, gathers "data that would not otherwise be collected," said Sandra Henderson, the project's director. "We have these additional sentinel eyes on the landscape, if you will. There aren't enough ecologists to be making all of these different plant observations."
National Science Foundation funding for citizen science dropped off significantly in 2002 but generally has been on the rise since, according to budget numbers compiled for CNN. Since that year, funding in the United States has increased more than 240 percent, to more than $3 million for 2008.
Several of the Web projects receive government funding, but others survive on their own merits.
In Spain, Josep del Hoyo founded the Internet Bird Collection, an international compilation of bird videos, sounds and photos that's funded solely by his company. He said the intense passion of birders around the world, plus some money from his publishing company, keep the site running.
Amateurs have posted video of never-before-seen birds on the site, he said, and some of the work has been the foundation for scientific articles.
Technology is amplifying this passion for citizen science, which has been around since scientists started cataloging species. Researchers at several universities are working on iPhone applications and computer programs that could analyze digital photos of plant leaves and automatically identify the plant's species.
When those photos -- from ordinary people all over the world -- are paired with the photographer's location and uploaded to a database, the information would be more valuable than anything scientists could come up with on their own, said John Kress, a botanist and research scientist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
The information could help scientists know if a species is going extinct or dying off in certain regions as the climate warms.
Identifying a plant species can be tricky, Kress said, so these technologies also would ensure that nonprofessional data is good enough to use for scientific research.
"When people do these things as citizen scientists you're always a little suspect as to, 'Are you getting it right?' " he said. "There's some plants out there that are maples and look like oaks -- and only I would know they're really maples. But with this system we would have a standard way of identifying the accuracy of this information."
Some scientists said they're excited about the trend toward citizen-submitted data because it is impossible for scientists to document all of the changes going on around the world.
"At some point it will really lead to almost a democratization of science, where the amateurs and the volunteers are having just as much of an impact on science as the professionals are," said Rick Bonney, who started a citizen science project with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 1987. "It's just going so fast I can't keep up with it anymore."
Others find the movement limited or controversial.
The relationship between formal science and citizen science is similar to that between professional news reporters and bloggers; some scientists worry that the information coming in from nonprofessionals will be inaccurate, said John Musinsky, a senior director at Conservation International.
The citizen efforts are also limited in the sense that, at least for now, they're largely concentrated in North America and Europe, where there aren't nearly as many plant and animal species as in Latin America and Africa.
That's beginning to change, though, said Conrad Savy, a conservation science adviser at Conservation International.
"It's gaining steam," he said of the global citizen-science movement. "It's working very well and it's a great way also to engage the community in conservation issues."
As photo-taking cell phones become more popular in developing countries, a more diverse group will join the efforts, said Kress, the Smithsonian botanist.
Jirachareonkul's group devoted to the Western Leopard Toad now works with the South African National Biodiversity Institute to promote understanding of the endangered species.
Dr. John Measey, a researcher with the institute, said by e-mail that some research on the toad would be possible without the volunteer efforts. But the "Toad NUTS" raise awareness and help scientists "obtain usable accurate data from a much wider area than we could possibly manage or fund," he wrote.
When Jirachareonkul started the project, she didn't know much about the toads -- they were just a creature she found squashed in front of her house.
Now she has a personal connection to them.
She said citizen science is a way for people to connect with their local environment -- and to make a difference.
"There are so many problems in the world, but I think the main problem is that everybody is worried about everybody else's problems that they don't focus in on their little areas," she said.
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