john – Page 106 – Thinking Out Loud, aka The Broad Gaze

E-tracking, coming to a DMV near you | Perspectives | CNET News.com

Declan is concerned about the privacy implications of tracking cars on the road. This is a valid concern, but a little-researched knee-jerk reaction of mine is that efforts such as this may compromise one of our greatest assets: the open network of roadways.

When you think of it, roads are a lot like the Internet. Once you pay for a car and gas (or public transporation) you have subsequent free access to the entire network. This is a good analogy to the Internet, where once you have a computer and pay for net access, you have unbiased access to the network. Sure, there are pay sites, toll roads, speed traps, and carnivores along the way; but the point is that the majority of the network is free (as in beer), and that we all (individuals and corporations alike) benefit from the network.
I think it deserves to stay that way.

Edit

Another opinion in favor of “toll roads.”

Attack of the Career-Killing Blogs – When academics post online, do they risk their jobs? By Robert S. Boynton

Here’s a rather pessimistic view of blogging in academia (better read it before it expires)…stories of blogging assistant professors being denied tenure, arguably because of things said online.

Free Speech: I’ve been hearing lately about the lack of protection for the speech of untenured educators. It seems odd that a few years of proving oneself earns them the right of free speech.
Identity: Blogging and other means of creating online identity are becoming the norm (rather than an exception…take a look at the latest Pew Report). It may be that Google offers the means to more efficiently get to know someone, but this could have been also done by spending time together in the real world. This hasn’t traditionally happened, so why change because of efficiency.
Education: Good thinkers who aren’t afraid to take an intellectual risk (and who aren’t shy when it comes to technology) may be an asset to an institution. Having the courage to think on your feet and put words out for the world to see shouldn’t be considered a weakness.

These are more fleeting thoughts than firm arguments, I realize. Perhaps it’s time to start editing blog posts more closely.

Are U.S. Innovators Losing Their Competitive Edge? – New York Times

Inventors have always held a special place in American history and business lore, embodying innovation and economic progress in a country that has long prized individual creativity and the power of great ideas. In recent decades, tinkerers and researchers have given society microchips, personal computers, the Internet, balloon catheters, bar codes, fiber optics, e-mail systems, hearing aids, air bags and automated teller machines, among a bevy of other devices.

Mr. West stands firmly in this tradition – a tradition that he said may soon be upended. He fears that corporate and public nurturing of inventors and scientific research is faltering and that America will pay a serious economic and intellectual penalty for this lapse.

This is an issue I’ve been thinking about for quite some time: the structure of creativity and innovation in America. My wife recently had to read the article version of Thomas I. Friedman’s book The World Is Flat, which as I understand (I need to read this one) explains the consequences of outsourcing in a global networked economy. If anyone actually read this blog, they would know that I am concerned with the creative process… this article does a great job of explaining some of the structural components of innovation in Corporate America.

While I’ve never worked in any creative capacity in a corporation, I’ve often wondered about how much R&D is being fostered in organizations which are so focused in the short-term bottom line. It seems to me that if innovation is not supported in a focused way, we put ourselves (as a society) at risk for stagnating or “resting on our laurels.” If intelligence or jobs can now be moved anywhere in the world, what are we left with in American society. I would like to think that we have, and still can, corner the market in creativity and innovation.

In the end, it’s all about progress.

Protecting Parody

The white house has asked the Onion to not use the presidential seal on its website. Evidently, there’s a law (signed by Nixon, I believe) that the presidential seal can only be used:

Use by way of photographic or electronic visual reproduction in pictures, moving pictures, or telecasts of bona fide news content

…among other accepted exemptions.
This seems to be an exceptionally odd case, as parody and the use of government materials is permitted in cases where there isn’t a law like this. It sounds like the Onion is playing along for now, but I for one think this would make an excellent First Amendment case–at least it might make a fun hypothetical to discuss in class. There are just so many interesting ways to look at this case:

does the Onion contain bona fide news content?
What is the role of First Amendment exemptions for laws like this…is it news or parody?
(What context was this law passed in the first place)