Tag: <span>Online Communities</span>

Question 292 of 365: When can we speak freely?

US Military protocol is almost entirely unappealing to me. The hierarchical structure and the chain of command really don’t adhere to my ideals of hyperlinked networks and free communication. The idea of classified documents or need to know information is counterintuitive in an era of Open ID and Web Search. And yet, there …

Question 272 of 365: What are we not paying for?

In thinking about budgets in tight times, it may be easiest to think about all of the things that we are paying for and then see exactly what it is that we can cut back on. It makes sense that we wouldn’t spend much time at all agonizing over what …

Question 267 of 365: How much are we willing to share?

Image via CrunchBase My first email address that wasn’t tied to a major online provider like AOL was pacer@cyberdrive.net. It came from this local ISP in my home town. It was this cute all you could download on a 14.4 modem affair for about $25.00 a month. The reason that this …

Question 244 of 365: Why do users revolt?

Image via CrunchBase Over the past week, something strange has been happening on Digg. Ever since they changed over to a new format for the website and a different submission process, an absolute torrent of users have decided that this site no longer has their best interests in mind. Whether …

Question 237 of 365: Is the username dying?

Image via Wikipedia I remember Hackers, the awkward mid-90’s movie, fondly. It represented a do-it-yourself future in which those who understood computers could game everyone else. And, for the most part it got that right. It also figured out that the hacker culture was going to drive an open source …

Question 226 of 365: What speaks to us?

Image by GDS Infographics via Flickr I have a web alert set up for “social media” in my local area. Anything, whether it is a job or blog post or simply a quiet mention on the local news sends me an e-mail calling my attention to it. Usually, it turns up …

Questions 222 of 365: How gullible are we?

Image by IpUrBeLtZ via Flickr Gullibility is an ironic joke to those who are young. We tell each other that the word isn’t in the dictionary or that it is written on the ceiling. We prove ourselves gullible nearly every chance we get because we get so excited about the …

Question 213 of 365: Where is the asterisk?

Image via Wikipedia I have never understood infomercials. While they may be fun to watch or poke fun at every once in a while, I have never for a moment wanted one of those products bad enough to want to “call and order right away.” I know that there probably …

Question 191 of 365: What is the skeptic's option?

Image by wburris via Flickr Everyone who asks questions is a skeptic in one way or another, which is to say that everyone is a skeptic. I once found my bicycle up in a tree in the woods. It had been placed there by some naughty older kids. They wanted …

Question 184 of 365: When can we have patches?

Image via Wikipedia I was in the boy scouts for a total of a few months. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the things that happened there, I’m just not sure I ever figured out the idea of someone else giving you a badge when you have done something they …