Far too many people are walking around with their heads immersed in their tiny mobile devices, or communicating affectionately with their tiny smart phones while out in public with perfectly […]
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The Social Security program, Rick Petty reiterated the other day, is “a Ponzi scheme for these young people.” The notion that Social Security pensions will be available for today’s younger […]
Carl Scott is probably the blogworld’s leading expert on the content of rock music (both words and music). He calls that content, once in a while, its ideological dimension. Carl both is […]
I’m hungry. I head to the fridge—but first, I shake my head and say mournfully to myself, there’s nothing to eat. I’m not looking forward to the process of choosing […]
Amanda Marcotte, Matt Yglesias, and Atrios are debating the concept of “guilty pleasures” in pop culture. Here’s my theory of what guilty pleasures are. For people my age, taste is […]
On September 18, Jane Goodall will be hosting a town meeting on international peace at American University in Washington, D.C. Details are below from a web story at the School […]
The use of social networks has became increasingly complicated over time. In the beginning, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter were all basically closed networks of early adopters and therefore filters were […]
The few items I’ve seen in the last couple of days about a possible national refinance stimulus plan look an awful lot like the other trial balloons the Obama Administration […]
Probably not. But the virtual currency bitcoin could be a real alternative to government-issued money—only if it survives hoarding by speculators, says James Surowiecki.
Mark Gorton, perhaps best known for founding the peer-to-peer service LimeWire, wants to use technology to create bicycle sharing programs and make cities more livable places.
At the year’s biggest annual television conference, Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt was invited as the keynote speaker. He explained his vision for a hybrid TV-Internet industry of the future.
I originally had this information in today’s first post, but it likely deserves it’s own post, so here it is. Eruptions reader Martin pointed out an new report (Indonesian) from […]
The start of the semester always surprises me. No matter how much I think I might be prepared for it, the first day of class ends up being a maelstrom. […]
A new project organized by search-engine providers Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo promises to improve Semantic Web adoption by building a standard set of data specifications.
In a study of recent protests across the Arab world, Yale researcher Navid Hassanpour found that crowds became more active when access to social media was cut by the government.
The economic crisis is proving useful for those who want to see the European Union make the final and logical leap to becoming a unitary state, with a single currency […]
While satellites and infrastructure crumble, we are also witnessing an explosion in space tourism that is exposing the gap between the Haves and Have-Nots in space.
“[This is] really a most imaginative way not just to map, but also to empower,” writes Thomas Theis Nielsen of the HarassMap, which plots the incidence of various types of […]
In the wake of the Dr. King Memorial kerfuffle, I’ve been thinking more and more of how public art is a state of mind as much as a physical thing […]
Interesting fact about Alan Krueger, Obama’s pick to head the Council of Economic Advisers, Alan B. Krueger. His research showed that raising the minimum wage doesn’t destroy minimum wage jobs, […]
What’s the Big Idea? Larry Summers, Eric Schmidt, Skip Gates, Dean Kamen, Rahm Emanuel, Craig Venter and many other thought-leaders and innovators will convene on Nantucket this Fall. Those are […]
Symphonic music has been written off by a generation as cloistered and irrelevant. Can the classically-trained musician ever return to mass appeal?
As many people as were harmed by Hurricane Irene, many – from the safety of looking back – were also disappointed that the storm didn’t put on a more […]
I just read this great essay by Ari N. Schulman in that indispensable journal THE NEW ATLANTIS with the telling title “GPS and the End of the Road.” One of Schulman’s […]
Don’t just kill that guy, says Paul Rubens in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “Kill him a lot.“ It’s a funny line (a great line, really) because it plays with the […]
In a few weeks, Obama will ask the Congress to give the economy another boost but what, if anything, should the American government do to help spur national economic growth?
Viral content is defined by authenticity, humor and controversy; NYU Stern Business School professor Scott Galloway wrote an email to a student that hit the trifecta. He now uses the experience as a digital media strategy lesson.
Inflation is Europe’s phantom menace. Its Central Bank’s obsession over rising prices has determined its fiscal and monetary policy to the detriment of overcoming the recession.
So, how did you spend your weekend? If you were in an area that was bracing for a hurricane my guess is that you weren’t cuddling up with your significant […]
The N.A.T.O. intervention in Libya which emphasized airstrikes to protect civilians may become a model for how the U.S. wields force in other countries where its interests are threatened.