Tuesday, March 22, 2005



Tina Brown: We are in the Eggshell Era

The Blog, The Press, The Media: We're not the Stasi. We're the people

We are in the Eggshell Era, in which everyone has to tiptoe around because there's a world of busybodies out there who are being paid to catch you out -- and a public that is slowly being trained to accept a culture of finks. We're always under surveillance; cameras watch us wherever we go; paparazzi make small fortunes snapping glamour goddesses picking their noses; everything is on tape, with transcripts available. No matter who you are, someone is ready and willing to rat you out. Even the rats themselves have to look over their shoulders, because some smaller rat is always waiting in the wings. Bloggers are the new Stasi. All the timidity this engenders, all this watching your mouth has started to feel positively un-American.


• Bloggers are the new Stasi Hungry Media Fill Up on Rice [ The Second Rule Of AdSense Is That You Can Now Talk About Earnings ; Google code-innovations ; Google AdSense ]
• · The federal government has set up a committee to pave the way for more Australians to live the telecommuter lifestyle. However the move won't go as far as recent legislation in the United States which requires government departments to support teleworkers Thou shalt telecommute ; It's crazy knowing you are part of this exchange of ideas with people all over the world. Xeni Jardin is one of four bloggers from around the world behind Boing Boing, last week voted the best overall weblog. All four of us are eccentric people, with odd sets of interests that mesh together - (Say that again Xeni ;-P) Boing - best of the blogs ; FEC Considers Restricting Online Political Activities
• · · Media bashing is still primarily a right wing phenomenon My Bias for Mainstream News ; Under the Federal Government's model it will be a judge rather than a jury who will decide whether an opinion is "reasonable". Defaming the dead ; Down in the depths of the netherworld: Requiem for the Gingrich Revolution — David Brooks drives a stake through the Class of '94's cheatin' heart. Masters of Sleaze
• · · · Should the FEC Regulate Political Blogging? ; Government Funds Color Press Group’s Objectivity Astroturf politics: If a political gaffe consists of inadvertently revealing the truth, then Sean Treglia, a former program officer for the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts, has just ripped the curtain off of the "good government" groups that foisted the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill on the country in 2002 John Fund's excellent piece today tells the story of how liberal foundations managed to slide under anemic media radar
• · · · · Michigan State Police warn: blogging could mean jail time ; Via Blog Herald ; Before it took up marketing, the labour movement held some considerable political assets in its organisational structures and the sense of belonging to a movement with a cause to promote that many Australians felt Politics and community-building online
• · · · · · A lot of commentary has pointed to the ability of the right to mobilise on a grassroots level as well as a more academic level with things like right-wing think tank Right-wing mobilisation and left-wing conscience raising ; Slaughter At The BBC BBC to axe nearly 4000 jobs