Friday, 4 July, 2003

Damn wobblies over at the ALA. Libraries Planning a Meeting on Filters. Officials plan to meet with makers of Internet filtering software next month to voice concern over a law that requires libraries and schools to use Internet filters. By John Schwartz. [New York Times: Technology] ._._. pb _._ Working in a library I have been following links and reading up on this situation in hopes of trying to put it in some sort of perspective or frame. Something at the bottom of this article from hte Times caught my eye. The problematic aspect of using filtering software is you don't know what its filtering. The word lists, the algorithms are propritary to the software companies making these products. They don't share even when you buy. Some, well, most of these companies have a highly developed sense of what they consider objectionable. Testing and reverse engineering some of these, particular the first generaton ones, before they had an idea people were looking over their shoulders provided some real eye openers. Much of the contest here is over the matter of empowering this set of watchdogs. Folks over at the ALA, had a potenial solution to that one: "If we can't get what we want from the filtering companies, I say let's make our own," M[s]. Krug, director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association, said. 4:11:21 PM    comment []; That blob, it it it's - alive! Its just to hard to pass a story with the words Giant Blob without pointing to it. Judging from the accompanying picture to this story it is a truly large blob. Well I'm hoping it turns out to be a giant killer jelly fish from outer inner space. 3:14:23 PM    comment []; Boy about Town Ah well they should have known better. BBC 2 Organized a debate on the future of the single, and they invited the occaisionally testy Paul Weller to take part. And he calls the head of EMI 'Scum'. It was unclear from the article whether they were discussing a particular physical format ie vinyl or rather the concept of a single song sold alone, in some digital format or however. For the latter I take Weller's point. One song by itself has a greater chance of living or dying on its merit alone - being a good song. Beyond that and you begin to move in to the realm of marketing. Which tends to be more packaged and artificial, and which can't be fixed by picking up your pen and guitar and writing a better song. Record Companies either perceive your b[r]and as co imminent with the public or not and you're out of their office. The pop manufacture syndrome is so strong in the music industry the marketers figure they're responsible for the worth of any act and discard anything they figure isn't just so out of the box. ._._. pb _._ Paul Weller hits out over singles chart. Media: Former Jam frontman brands record companies 'scum' as BBC poll shows pop single is in serious decline. [Guardian Unlimited] Ah well they shou 2:59:02 PM    comment [];

© Copyright 2003 Paul Bushmiller. Last update: 8/01/03; 01:35:53.