Berkman Buzz: Week of January 17, 2011

What's being discussed...take your pick or browse below.

* Stuart Shieber wonders if open-access fees disenfranchise authors with fewer financial resources
* Dan Gillmor discusses changes in Google's leadership
* Herdict explores how unrest in North Africa is affecting online censorship
* Ethan Zuckerman will be publishing his first book
* The OpenNet Initiative reports on the Federal Communication Commission's new proposal on net neutrality
* Weekly Global Voices: "DR of Congo: Discreet Commemorations of the 50th Anniversary of Patrice Lumumba's Assassination"

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The full buzz.

"I had an interesting discussion over coffee at the recent SOAP Symposium about the question of whether the article processing fee revenue model for open-access journals disenfranchises authors with fewer financial resources. It prompted me to write up a fuller explanation of why this worry is misplaced."
From Stuart Shieber's blog post, "Are open-access fees disenfranchising?"

"In one sense Google is going back to the future. Page was the initial CEO before Schmidt came aboard as chairman and then later as CEO. It's important to remember, however, that Page's days in the top job were nothing like what he'll face now."
From Dan Gillmor's post for Salon, "Google's executive shakeup, or evolution"

"As riots continue in North Africa from December into the new year, changes to regimes in Algeria and Tunisia are also bringing changes to censorship practices in the region."
From Qichen Zhang's post for Herdict, "Recent Unrest in North Africa May Change Approaches to Censorship"

"My book asks whether the internet is leading towards more contact across boundaries of language, nation and culture and, if not, how we could rewire the tools we’ve built to increase international connection. The ideas will be familiar to many of the readers of this blog – the book is a chance to explore ideas like cultural bridging, pervasive translation, structured serendipity and xenophilia at length."
From Ethan Zuckerman's blog post, "Rewire: Rethinking Globalization in an Age of Connection"

"Today, Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn slammed Federal Communication Commission's new proposal on net neutrality and argued against the government's attempts to regulate the Internet. During the State of the Net conference, the Tennessee representative who also serves on the House's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, argued that Congress should stop trying to place restrictions on ISPs and online content."
From Qichen Zhang's post for the OpenNet Initiative, "Republican Rep Opposes FCC's Net Neutrality Proposal in Congress"

"January 17th 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Patrice Lumumba's assassination, first elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire. In 1997, with Laurent Désiré Kabila coming to power, this date has become a public holiday in the country. The irony of this morbid calendar is that January 16th 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of the same Laurent Désiré Kabila's assassination, head of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (ADFLC)."
From Julie Owono's post for Global Voices Online, "DR of Congo : Discreet Commemorations of the 50th Anniversary of Patrice Lumumba's Assassination"

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The weekly Berkman Buzz is selected from the posts of Berkman Center people and projects and sometimes from the Center's wider network.

Suggestions and feedback about the Buzz are always welcome and can be emailed to rheacock@cyber.harvard.edu.