By Laura Woodhead – Talk Radio News Service

The Iranian protester’s that are using social networking sites such as Twitter are demonstrating “the empowerment of e-democracy for the first time” according to Ravi Singh, CEO and founder of ElectionMall Inc.

Singh, whose technology company provides, as he describes it, a “one stop shop for political campaigns to generate awareness over the web”, feels that the use of social networking as a tool for political change is a “historic development” that shows the “merger of technology, social media and politics.”

“What we are seeing right now is a phenomenal behavior where people have become educated with these new tools, ” said Singh. He added that this new form of media is “in essence the new weapon for democracy, literally causing an e-revoloution on the ground.”

“A true internet revolution can only happen when we actually see a grassroots participation in those countries, and what we are seeing is a new kind of grassroots which is basically being empowered by the internet.”

Responding to a question regarding the authenticity of some social networking media, Singh acknowledged that this is a concern.

“Content is being questioned because we have no kind of validation…there has to be some kind of third party validation and I think what we will have to do is not ‘best practices’ but some kind of ethical standards on what we will take as true and right in real time”

“I would encourage the founders of Twitter to think of authenticating some of the content that is going on as well as the validity of the profiles. Unfortunately technology companies do not really think about how there applications will change the world” he said.

You can listen to an clip from Talk Radio News Service’s interview with Ravi Singh by clicking the audio link. (0:34)

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

In response to a question by Congressman John Culberson (R-TX), at the House Appropriations Committee Meeting on the Supreme Court budget for the fiscal year 2010, about whether the Supreme Court would consider showing posting video of their oral arguments on their website for the public to see, Justice Clarence Thomas said, “We have discussed that, and discussed it and discussed it.” In concluding his point he hinted that their was disagreement amongst the Supreme Justices’ on whether this change would be harmful to the institution.

 

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by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Robert Laurence “Bob” Barr, Jr., the 2008 Libertarian Party nominee for President and former U.S. Congressman (R-Ga.) , talks about today’s “tea bag” protests and how the use of the internet can educate and organize citizens. (00:34)

 

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The National Press Club hosted a discussion about online safety, with a focus on protecting kids on the Internet. The discussion outlined the challenges of trying to protect children from inappropriate content, yet, at the same time, respect free speech.

Internet service providers (ISP) need to take a proactive role in reducing offensive content on the Internet since they do not have the same constraints that the government has, said Christopher Wolf, an attorney. He suggested that ISPs expand their terms of use to allow them to remove or restrict offensive and inappropriate content that their users post.

“The best way to deal with hate speech on the Internet is through counter speech,” said Wolf. We need to explain to children “why the lies that are on hate sites are in fact lies, and explaining why tolerance and diversity and respect for human beings should be the model both online and offline.”

Stephen Balkham, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, said that the new challenge in online safety is to also prevent kids from creating objectionable content. He named instances in which kids would take pictures of themselves in the nude, then post them on the Internet. He emphasized a “Three C’s” approach to deal with these issues: Content, Contact, and Conduct. Parents and lawmakers needed to take a cool, calm analysis when trying to come up with solutions, and there needs to be a high level of government leadership.

“While the issue is daunting and constantly changing, I remain optimistic” said Balkham, “I think our kids can be safe at any speed provided we continue to provide them with the tools, the rules, and the public policies to keep them that way.”

Christopher Wolf, an attorney who spoke at a discussion on online safety, discusses the need for websites that host content to play a proactive role in regulating hateful and offensive content. (1:04)

 

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Stephen Balkham, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, discusses the lack of leadership in the last eight years to promote online safety, and he outlines the challenges and goals for protecting children on the internet. (1:16)

 

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Executive Director of Free Press Josh Silver gives an exclusive interview with Talk Radio News Correspondent Elia Herman about the role of free press, social media and new media, which he says is not substantial enough. Silver says that roughly 45 percent of Americans still do not have access to the internet, and that cable and phone companies control 98 percent of internet access. He concludes by stating Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) support for internet neutrality, and speaks out against the consolidation of media ownership. Conversely, Silver says Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is a “telephone company whore”, and that he does what he can to please these companies without question (6:14).

 

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David C. Drummond, Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer for Google, says that the Yahoo!-Google deal on search advertising will increase competition by strengthening Yahoo. The competition would then spark innovation that is good for consumers, the Internet, and the economy.(0:28)

 

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Ray Ramsey, CEO of One Economy Corporation, highlights his three main points about the supply and demand side of universal service. Ramsey says that connectivity, public purpose content, digital literacy, and human capital are the key tools for achieving this goal. (2:14)

 

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At a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, George Lucas describes Edutopia, which is his deal learning environment, and the rapid growth of broadband technology throughout the world. The U.S. has fallen to 15th in broadband ranking. (1:14)

 

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