Technology and the Public Interest

Books, essays, and commentary from John Palfrey

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Wired Wisdom

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The Connected Parent

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Born Digital

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Commentary from John Palfrey

  • Re-envisioning privacy and security online

    The combination of our conference this week on digital identity, JZ’s paper and forthcoming book on Generativity and his OII inaugural lecture, this morning’s WSJ, and all manner of other things has convinced me that we need a new framework for thinking about privacy and security in the digital world. On a plane this morning…

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  • "Our reach exceeds your grasp — deal with it"

    Doc Searls quoted Chris Locke in the last panel of today’s day 1 of the digital ID mash-up conference. We haven’t gotten to the point where customers/end-users/seats are yet treated like people, Doc claims. The issue is the creation of relationships, not just market-clearing prices. He’s focused now on the Intention Economy — which, he…

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  • ID Mash-up is on

    I think the key aspects of this conference are figuring out how to make this digital identity business 1) real and understandable to non-technical people (use case-driven, etc.) and 2) a genuine improvement over what we have today, or have had in the past (privacy-enhancing? a better online experience? better grease for commercial transactions?). Tid-bits:…

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  • Identity Mash-up!

    Tomorrow morning, we begin the digital identity mash-up conference. I have reason to expect a particularly cool demo from Louise Guay, CEO of My Virtual Model. Whether you’re in Cambridge, MA, or not, come visit and participate in the community hub. And follow along with Beth Noveck and all manner of other wonderful people coming…

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  • Mapping Internet censorship in Iran, Finding New Blocked Sites

    In partnership with the OpenNet Initiative (particularly Ron Deibert, Nart Villeneuve, and the fabulous Citizen Lab crew), Richard Rogers and Govcom have developed a cool visual of how online censorship works in Iran. The net result of a link analysis the team performed was the identification of 30 sites found to be blocked that we…

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  • Good tools in more languages = great

    Bravo to Google for making its Gmail service accessible via an Arabic and a Hebrew interface (via Khaled).  Fun to hear it, too, directly from one of the engineers. This translation step, which puts Gmail at 40 languages, is so essential to the use of Internet in a way that will improve lives generally, enhance…

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  • Farewell, Robert Scoble

    I am one of the many who have benefitted from learning about Microsoft through the work of Robert Scoble, who has announced that he’s moving on to his next gig. I will miss his take on things from Redmond, and/but look forward to listening to his clear, resonant voice from another perch, at PodTech. Microsoft,…

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  • SaudiEve says she is Banned in Saudi

    Her musings of a blocked bloggerette — whether it’s true or not that she is blocked by the ISU — is a useful tale of what it is liked to be filted in Saudi.

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  • The "How to Make Money" Session at Bloggercon

    Dave Winer has kindly (or, well, maybe…) offered me the chance to be the discussion leader for the “How to Make Money” session at Bloggercon IV. I’m delighted and honored to be taking up this challenge with the help of the rest of the unconference attendees later this month in San Francisco. Here’s a framework…

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  • David Hornik on the Web 2.0 TM Controversy

    David Hornik, famous as the VC at August Capital who made some of the first true web 2.0 investments, is actually a lawyer. And a good one. Not to mention a Harvard Law School grad. (Who now teaches at a business school.) He has the go-to post on the web 2.0 trademark controversy, in which…

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  • Hiring at the Berkman Center: Clinical Fellow

    We are hiring for a teaching position in the Berkman Center clinical program for this coming fall. The job is a fun, dynamic, interesting one — teaching Harvard Law School students the applied side of cyberlaw. You’d work closely with me, with Phil Malone (former US DOJ senior lawyer, former HLS Kramer fellow, several years…

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  • New ONI Map, Amnesty International Campaign

    Our OpenNet Initiative partners at the Citizen Lab of the Munk Centre at the University of Toronto have created a new way to view censorship online: an updated interactive map. This new visualization tool is a central aspect of Amnesty International’s recently-launched campaign against online censorship called Irrepressible.info. CBC reports, as does BBC. (Bravo to…

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