First POST: Shredding
BY Micah L. Sifry | Friday, March 13 2015
Official net neutrality rules are here; Governor Andrew Cuomo 90-day deletion policy is an "electronic shredder"; the FBI's Terrorism Task Force was tasked with a #BlackLivesMatter protest; take this stop-and-frisk data and run with it; and much, much more. Read More
First POST: Moneyballed
BY Micah L. Sifry | Friday, January 23 2015
The Gates Foundation's new "global citizens" email database, and why it's a terrible idea; why young people like the NSA more than older people; using open data about NYC taxi drivers to ID Muslims; and much, much more. Read More
Civic Hall Launch: City Officials, Corporate Reps & Civic Technologists Offer Best Wishes
BY Jessica McKenzie | Wednesday, January 21 2015
A whopping 23 guests spoke at a packed Civic Hall launch event last night, beginning with New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and closing with the CEO of Do Something, Nancy Lublin. Speakers included representatives from financial supporters Microsoft, Google and the Omidyar Network, as well as from Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo's administrations.
Read MoreFirst POST: Listicalization
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, December 10 2014
The FCC warns police agencies that jamming cell phones is illegal; Emily Bell chides the journalistic elite for piling on Chris Hughes; Change.org pulls in funding from some of Silicon Valley's richest; and much, much more. Read More
First POST: Scary Monsters
BY Micah L. Sifry | Friday, October 31 2014
Facebook opens up about its experiments on tweaking voting behavior; breaking news in the FCC net neutrality battle; getting hard data on civic tech's impact on political efficacy; and much, much more. Read More
First POST: Gimme Shelter
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, October 29 2014
The link between intimate partner violence and surveillance tech; the operational security set-up that connected Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden; how Senate Dems are counting on tech to hold their majority; and much, much more. Read More
Civic Tech and Engagement: With Waze, Who's in the Driver's Seat?
BY Micah L. Sifry | Tuesday, October 21 2014
Can you be a "connected citizen" if you don't know that you are connected to government? That's the question that's been on my mind since Waze, the crowdsourced traffic data company recently acquired by Google, announced a major new partnership with ten local cities and governments around the world called "Connected Citizens." Under this program, Waze will be giving city, state and county authorities like the New York Police Department and Rio de Janiero's Operations Center real-time traffic incident data (aggregated and anonymized) and in turn getting timely and relevant data from the authorities about scheduled events (construction, marathons and the like) that can also cause traffic problems. Since the program's announcement, dozens more governments have been applying to join in. At first glance, this can only be seen as a net plus good where everyone wins. But upon further inspection, Waze's new "Connected Citizens" program can teach us a lot about the potential, and limits, of tech-empowered civic engagement when the users aren't really in the driver's seat (pun intended). Read More
First POST: Wartime
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, September 24 2014
A bizarre online marketing effort targets actress Emma Watson; why the news media needs to defend the privacy of its online readers; Chicago's playbook for civic user testing; and much, much more. Read More
NYC Politicians and Advocacy Groups Say Airbnb Misrepresents Sharing Economy
BY Miranda Neubauer | Friday, September 12 2014
A coalition of New York election officials and affordable housing groups have launched an advocacy effort targeting Airbnb called "Share Better" that includes an ad campaign, a web platform, and social media outreach. Read More
First POST: Emergence
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, September 10 2014
Evaluating the Teachout-Wu challenge; net neutrality defenders invoke an "internet slowdown"; NYC's first CTO; and much, much more. Read More