[LINK] Fwd: What Google and Facebook are hiding

[Jan Whitaker]

[for Linkers and Padvocates not subscribed to MoveOn - others hit delete]

>Dear MoveOn member,
>
>MoveOn wouldn't be possible without the open 
>Internet. But according to our own Eli Pariser, 
>the Internet itself is changing. His book on the 
>topic, The Filter Bubble, comes out this week 
>(you can 
><http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208553&id=27429-7221053-OzW9HNx&t=1>check 
>it out here). [JW: the cover is worth a look as 
>well as the Q&A in the Editorial Reviews section -- This one is a bit scary:

Q: Is there any way to avoid this 
personalization? What if I’m not logged into a site?

A: Even if you’re not logged into Google, for 
example, an engineer told me there are 57 signals 
that the site uses to figure out who you are: 
whether you’re on a Mac or PC or iPad, where 
you’re located when you’re Googling, etc. And in 
the near future, it’ll be possible to 
“fingerprint” unique devices, so that sites can 
tell which individual computer you’re using. 
That’s why erasing your browser cookies is at 
best a partial solution—it only partially limits 
the information available to personalizers.]

>In March, the TED conference invited him to 
>preview the argument. When I talked to Eli 
>beforehand, he was really nervous­in the 
>audience were top executives from Google, 
>Facebook, Microsoft, and a number of other 
>companies he critiques. But his call for an 
>open, ethical Internet­he actually called out 
>the Google founders and Bill Gates in the 
>audience by name­got a standing ovation. And 
>it's been burning up the TED website ever since.
>
>We're sharing it today because we think it's a 
>really important point. Increasingly, the 
>Internet is hiding things from us, and we don't 
>even know it. Take a moment to watch Eli's TED talk today:
>
><http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208521&id=27429-7221053-OzW9HNx&t=3>Click 
>here to see the talk  [JW: Worth watching]

>
><http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208553&id=27429-7221053-OzW9HNx&t=4>The 
>Filter Bubble, Eli's book, has been getting good 
>reviews, too. Here's a particularly good one 
>from author and 350.org organizer Bill McKibben:
>
>"You spend half your life in Internet space, but 
>trust me­you don't understand how it works. Eli 
>Pariser's book is a masterpiece of both 
>investigation and interpretation; he exposes the 
>way we're sent down particular information 
>tunnels, and he explains how we might once again 
>find ourselves in a broad public square of 
>ideas. This couldn't be a more interesting book; 
>it casts an illuminating light on so many of our daily encounters."
>
>If you're interested in the book, you can check 
>it out by clicking on the image to the left or 
><http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208553&id=27429-7221053-OzW9HNx&t=6>this 
>link­all of Eli's profits from this email will go to MoveOn.org Civic Action.
>
>It's not a given that the Internet will remain 
>fertile ground for democracy. We need to make 
>sure it does, and Eli's argument is an important part of that fight.
>
>Thanks for all you do.
>
>–Daniel and the MoveOn.org Civic Action Team


Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the 
world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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