Posts by Nick Judd | TechPresident

So Long for Now

BY Nick Judd | Friday, August 2 2013

Today will be my last day at techPresident, and among my last days, for now, in New York City. After taking some time off in August, I plan to begin studies this fall at the University of Chicago. I've been accepted into the university's graduate program in sociology. Read More

First POST: Open to Suggestions

BY Nick Judd | Friday, August 2 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: What President Barack Obama wants to hear about NSA surveillance; what really sent law enforcement to the home of someone who searched online for "pressure cookers;" and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

First POST: On the Move

BY Nick Judd | Thursday, August 1 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: Snowden's on the move; "your" phone might become your actual phone; and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

What Edward Snowden Could Have Guessed About Bradley Manning's Verdict

BY Nick Judd | Wednesday, July 31 2013

Photo: Ben Sutherland / Flickr

For the one man with the single biggest reason to follow the verdict issued Tuesday in the case of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, the ruling will offer very little he did not already know. Read More

First POST: Busy Day

BY Nick Judd | Wednesday, July 31 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: What's being discussed this morning in a Senate committee hearing on NSA surveillance; a new way to understand federal law; and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

First POST: Judgment Day

BY Nick Judd | Tuesday, July 30 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: An expected verdict in the Manning trial; new facts may be coming to light about NSA surveillance; and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

First POST: Premonitions

BY Nick Judd | Monday, July 29 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: Ron Wyden suddenly makes more sense; White House staffers, guard your passwords; an Instagram for drones; and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

First POST: Insecurity

BY Nick Judd | Friday, July 26 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: Criticism of National Security Agency surveillance of Americans gains traction on Capitol Hill; security flaws in Silicon Valley's shiny future threaten personal privacy; and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

First POST: Awkward

BY Nick Judd | Thursday, July 25 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: Edward Snowden's itinerary, Rep. Mark Sanford's exercise clothes, Anthony Weiner's social media habits and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

First POST: Decisions

BY Nick Judd | Wednesday, July 24 2013

Exclusively for Personal Democracy Plus subscribers: Understanding the history behind today's expected, and weighty, vote in Congress on NSA surveillance; the GOP's new "50-state strategy," a la Howard Dean's Democratic Party; and more in today's round-up of news about technology in politics from around the web. Read More

News Briefs

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Another Co-Opted Hashtag: #MustSeeIran

The Twitter hashtag #MustSeeIran was created to showcase Iran's architecture, landscapes, and would-be tourist destinations. It was then co-opted by activists to bring attention to human rights abuses and infringements. Now Twitter is home to two starkly different portraits of a country. GO

What Has the EU Ever Done For Us?: Countering Euroskepticism with Viral Videos and Monty Python

Ahead of the May 25 European Elections, the most intense campaigning may not be by the candidates or the political parties. Instead, some of the most passionate campaigns are more grassroots efforts focused on for a start stirring up the interest of the European electorate. GO

At NETmundial Brazil: Is "Multistakeholderism" Good for the Internet?

Today and tomorrow Brazil is hosting NETmundial, a global multi-stakeholder meeting on the future of Internet governance. GO

Brazilian President Signs Internet Bill of Rights Into Law at NetMundial

Earlier today Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff sanctioned Marco Civil, also called the Internet bill of rights, during the global Internet governance event, NetMundial, in Brazil.

tuesday >

Ruck.us Reboots As a Candidate Digital Toolkit That's a Bit Too Like Democracy.com

Ruck.us launched with big ambitions and star appeal, hoping to crack the code on how to get millions of people to pool their political passions through their platform. When that ambition stalled, its founder Nathan Daschle--son of the former Senator--decided to pivot to offering political candidates an easy-to-use free web platform for organizing and fundraising. Now the new Ruck.us is out from stealth mode, entering a field already being served by competitors like NationBuilder, Salsa Labs and Democracy.com. And strangely enough, Ruck.us seems to want its early users to ask Democracy.com for help. GO

Armenian Legislators: You Can Be As Anonymous on the 'Net As You Like—Until You Can't

A proposed bill in Armenia would make it illegal for media outlets to include defamatory remarks by anonymous or fake sources, and require sites to remove libelous comments within 12 hours unless they identify the author.

Founder Durov On Being Ousted From "Russian Facebook": "Some of What We Managed Is Already Impossible to Undo"

On Monday Pavel Durov, the founder of “Russian Facebook” VKontakte, announced that he was fired—and that he learned of the dismissal from the news media.

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The Good Wife Looks for the Next Snowden and Outwits the NSA

Even as the real Edward Snowden faces questions over his motives in Russia, another side of his legacy played out for the over nine million viewers of last night's The Good Wife, which concluded its season long storyline exploring NSA surveillance. In the episode titled All Tapped Out, one young NSA worker's legal concerns lead him to becoming a whistle-blower, setting off a chain of events that allows the main character, lawyer Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), and her husband, Illinois Governor Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), to turn the tables on the NSA using its own methods. GO

The Expanding Reach of China's Crowdsourced Environmental Monitoring Site, Danger Maps

Last week billionaire businessman Jack Ma, founder of the e-commerce company Alibaba, appealed to his “500 million-strong army” of consumers to help monitor water quality in China. Inexpensive testing kits sold through his company can be used to measure pH, phosphates, ammonia, and heavy metal levels, and then the data can be uploaded via smartphone to the environmental monitoring site Danger Maps. Although the initiative will push the Chinese authorities' tolerance for civic engagement and activism, Ethan Zuckerman has high hopes for “monitorial citizenship” in China.

The 13 Worst Bits of Russia's Current and Maybe Future Internet Legislation

It appears that Russia is on the brink of passing still more repressive Internet regulations. A new telecommunications bill that would require popular blogs—those with 3,000 or more visits a day—to join a government registry and conform to government-mandated standards is expected to pass this week. What follows is a list of the worst bits of both proposed and existing Russian Internet law. Let us know in the comments or on Twitter if we missed anything.

thursday >

Mastercard Funding New Mobile-Based Financial Services in Kenya (Updated)

MasterCard is funding a Grameen Foundation initiative to bring financial services to the poor and the unbanked in Kenya.

Transparency and Public Shaming: Pakistan Tackles Tax Evasion

In Pakistan, where only one in 200 citizens files their income tax return, authorities published a directory of taxpayers' details for the first time. Officials explained the decision as an attempt to shame defaulters into paying up.

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