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An interesting case of the big three search engines striking an agreement on structured markup data on web pages. If you really pay attention, you can watch the Internet evolve before your very eyes. (Internet Evolution sounds like a nice topic, huh?)

Here's a couple or articles/op-eds on the announcement of Schema.org. One posits it may be a movement toward monopolization of markup data by Google: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/is_schemaorg_really_a_google_land_grab.php ; the other that it's a boost for structured data: http://www.mkbergman.com/962/structured-web-gets-massive-boost/.

Thanks, Rebecca. The first document you listed made my head spin a little bit. I wasn't totally familiar with the importance of a competitor to W3C markup data (I just assumed that Google et al.'s innovation would mean progress), but the polemical suggestions of "land grabs" made me think... wow, this is something to really pay attention to. Now that I'm reading Amanda's latest posts on Google vs. Facebook in a business context, I'm wondering if the big three move to Schema.org represents something like a defensive strategy (maybe even a land grab!) against Facebook jumping into the market. Maybe social media can do a better job of searching the web for relevant documents - an operation, as I'm beginning to understand, depends so much on markup standards (it's news to me that so many different options exist). I'm not sure I really understand what's going on here... but thanks for pointing out the complexities!

Case Study: Implementing Database Activity Monitoring for a Major International Telecommunications Company Business need: A leading international telecommunications organization needed a cost effective means to protect the privacy of its customer data and comply with regulatory requirements. Solution: The customer's systems are managed by a well-known global systems integrator. After inquiring with Gartner and Forrester Research, the systems integrator evaluated multiple database auditing vendors (including Oracle) and chose the InfoSphere Guardium solution. InfoSphere Guardium's appliance-based technology allows companies to secure their enterprise data and rapidly address compliance requirements without affecting performance or requiring changes to databases or applications. Benefits: InfoSphere Guardium provided a fine grained audit trail of all sensitive data access, along with automated reporting and compliance workflow, satisfying the needs of auditors. Real-time blocking and alerts ensured privacy policies were strictly enforced. .

Commentary from Jessamyn West: "What we do know is that the US Government has indicted Aaron Swartz [who you may know around the internet for any number of things] for, apparently and allegedly, downloading 4mil articles from JSTOR without (I think?) the proper credentials. Aaron turned himself in. At issue are many points of JSTORs terms of service and what sort of access is given to guests of the university. As Aaron is a net activist, I'm certain this is some level of intentional move on his part, I'm quite curious to see where it goes."

Why Google should be afraid of Facebook -- what I really got out of this article was that Google guesses what people like / want / need based on what they search -- Facebook knows because the user enters it, from people posting on each other's pages to what "like" buttons they click (making interests pages instead of just search terms was a huge change since now companies that own a product people like can now interact with their users on a way more personal basis.)

I'm not sure about this either, Amanda, Isn't the internet big enough for both types of companies (and many more).

The internet is big enough for all sorts of companies, but in a competition to figure out your customer base as quickly and as detailed as possible, Facebook definitely has an edge that Google is lacking right now. Well, outside of scanning your Gmail for keywords to apply to the ads they show you...haha

I have now become fascinated with how celebrities use social media. As with anything, they aren't like us and really have to take some sort of precautions when posting tweets and photos...Well, they should anyway...I'm looking at you Courteney Love! Seriously though, there is now an actual business called WhoSay that helps celebrities control their online images. The article says, "A company called WhoSay - a little-known start-up with a clientele that is anything but little known - offers similar services, but grants ownership of the images to the stars themselves." It's another interesting facet of how social media is changing even the way celebrities must handle their image. Operating in "stealth mode" since last year, WhoSay runs from the Los Angeles office building of the Creative Artists Agency, which represents a Rolodex of household names, including Mr. Hanks. His WhoSay site includes "copyright Tom Hanks" branding and a stack of fine print at the bottom asserting his legal ownership of all content, placed against warnings of "fines and imprisonment" for improper use.

This is fascinating. Brings to mind things like "trending" and data mining." Is that what this company is doing?

Politicians should be all over this company.

The article is kind of long, but it talks about some interesting issues that might arise for companies thinking about moving to cloud storage. The price is right, but the risk is high. Introduces possible solution of a hybrid cloud, where sensitive data is still stored internally.

I attended a virtual presentation a few days ago through SJSU on Cloud Computing. The speaker, who works as State Archivist for Oregon, was speaking of the cost savings for using a cloud for storage of government records. It was interesting to hear her points on the benefits she found in using the cloud...The session will be archived and posted for later view soon if anyone is interested. Her presentation will be available to the public at: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/colloquia/2011/colloquia11su.htm I liked the related article linked at the bottom of the site you posted about the Dallas-based iCloud company suing the new Apple iCloud for using their name. You would've thought Apple would've done some research there...

Comparing giving up a computer's password to giving up a key to a safe. No court precedent exists. Encryption, is it a legal barrier that can be created to protect potentially illegal data?

I came across this new Droid app that enables users to obscure the faces of individuals in photos or videos they've taken on their mobile devices. The app creators are involved more generally in developing technologies and technology policies for human rights defenders, especially ones that document abuses, protests and other demonstrations and share the videos/pictures through various media channels and see a need to hide identities from repressive governments. I think it ties our discussion last week of Evgeny Morozov's research into the Internet and government oppression into the issue of privacy.

In 2006, Harvard sociologists struck a mother lode of social-science data, offering a new way to answer big questions about how race and cultural tastes affect relationships. The source: some 1,700 Facebook profiles, downloaded from an entire class of students at an "anonymous" university, that could reveal how friendships and interests evolve over time.

And now the fun begins.... very timely topic

This was the website Christine Borgman mentions in the lecture that can be searched for publisher's copyright conditions for authors archiving their work online.

SEOUL | Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:48am EDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Apple Inc's Korean unit has paid compensation to a user of its popular iPhone after collecting location data without consent, lawyers and court officials said, the first payout by the company over these complaints.

The lawsuits have begun...

Yes, they have!

Great example of digital divide narrowing.