Two bits for those who like to think about the shape of this medium:
- The New Scientist looks at the culture of forwarding, concluding that the sharing of links and other internet tidbits has become a key aspect of how we stay in touch and express the value we place on our friendships.
Forwarding a quirky email or an amusing link or video attachment to colleagues may seem innocent enough, but it is the modern equivalent of ritual gift exchange and carries with it similar social implications, say US researchers.
- Meanwhile, the international community isn't sure that the US should maintain its primacy in control of the Internet (spawn of NSF or not), and is likely to recommend a new oversight board under the auspices of the U.N.
At issue is who decides key questions like adding new top-level domains, assigning chunks of numeric Internet addresses, and operating the root servers that keep the Net humming. Other suggested responsibilities for this new organization include Internet surveillance, "consumer protection," and perhaps even the power to tax domain names to pay for "universal access."
Unsurprisingly, this suggestion has gone over like lead bricks with the Bush Administration...
(via boing boing)
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