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Berkman Buzz: October 7, 2011

A look at the past week's online Berkman conversations

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

* Dan Gillmor writes about Steve Jobs' legacy
* David Weinberger respects the Internet
* CMLP posts a guide to citizen journalism from #OccupyWallStreet
* Ethan Zuckerman recaps Ramesh Srinivasan's talk on Digital Diversity
* Herdict discovers an interview with an Internet censor
* Wendy Seltzer discusses how to keep Android open
* Weekly Global Voices: "Slovakia: New Draft Law Threatens Internet Freedom"

Note: the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-Lab) will be holding an information session on Wednesday, October 12 from noon-1pm on the Harvard Law School campus.

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The full buzz.

"Steve Jobs led a company that became one of the world's most valuable enterprises, and easily the most beloved by its customers, with a series of innovative and always elegant products that brought value and pleasure to people's lives. This is why you are seeing an outpouring of genuine sentiment at his passing."
From Dan Gillmor's article for The Guardian, "Steve Jobs: a man of contradiction and genius"

"I want to ask why the Net is such a weird and different medium. Answer: The Internet is not a medium. We are the medium. Because the Net is interest based, messages (memes, links, poems, whatever) move through us: I send you that link because I think you’ll like it, and I have something invested in your liking it when I pass it along. We are literally the medium. So, that’s why marketers should respect the Internet. The Internet is ours."
From David Weinberger's blog post, "Respect the Internet"

"We at the Citizen Media Law Project have taken great interest in the ongoing 'Occupy Wall Street' protest in New York. Much of what we know about the protest has come from independent reporters and citizen journalists covering the story from the ground. Knowing this, we are alarmed to hear reports of police arresting reporters during the protest. This, of course, could greatly discourage press coverage of this story."
From "A Citizen's Guide to Reporting on #OccupyWallStreet"

"To study technological diversity, we may need to look at how cultures create, mobilize and design technologies, and how we might engage in codesign with them. One of Srinivasan’s early experiments brought video cameras into Andhra Pradesh to see how people would use the equipment to tell their own stories. He notes that stories are important – Amartya Sen has described poverty as a “ritual”, a circumstance that’s repeated fatalistically, limiting people’s ability to escape from their circumstances. Given a way of telling stories differently, would communities find different solutions and escape existing paradigms? Would they increase consensus around controversial issues?"
From Ethan Zuckerman's blog post, "Ramesh Srinivasan on Digital Diversity at Center for Civic Media"

"A recent Reddit interview with an anonymous Internet censor from an unnamed Middle Eastern country offers a surprisingly candid look behind the scenes of Internet censorship and monitoring in the Middle East. While the identity of the self-proclaimed censor is (as of yet) unverified and unknown, the information provided during the interview seems plausible, considering the Middle East is well known for its strict policies on Internet control."
From Matt Lavigueuer's blog post for Herdict, "Interview with an Internet Censor"

"I also appreciate Android’s openness at the practical level of the individual user. This weekend I put the CyanogenMod firmware on my Android phone, in response to security warnings about recently introduced logging functions, and so as not to lose root access with a stock upgrade. The process was simple, well-documented, and gives me the level of control I expect over a device that can track all my movements and communications."
From Wendy Seltzer's blog post, "Keeping Android Open"

"The Slovak Ministry of Finance has published a draft law that would allow blocking web servers that provide online gambling without a Slovak license. Internet providers would have to block web sites from a list updated twice a month - not by the court, but by the Tax Office."
From Tibor Blazko's post for Global Voices, "Slovakia: New Draft Law Threatens Internet Freedom"

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Compiled by Rebekah Heacock.

The Berkman Buzz is selected weekly 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 buzz@cyber.harvard.edu.