Caring for our heroes

From blogger Imran Khan:

"Three questions in particular caught my attention in Michelle McDonald’s typically marathon interview with West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo:

Another perception people have is that you are all greedy and that all of this dispute is coming from sheer greed. Don’t you think it would make a statement if all the players who are contracted to the IPL decide not to go?

Wanting more money. Wanting more, why you always want more? Why you can’t just play the game for the love of the game?

Why you all so concerned about money?"

"How can even unthinking people seriously begrudge the likes of Bravo or any other West Indian player (or any cricketer or sportsman for that matter) who is attempting to maximise his earnings during what will be a relatively short career?"

Facebook at 5 - Is It Growing Up Too Fast? - NYTimes.com

From the horse's mouth. I have been telling people that FB is not a democracy, it isn't owned by us, but by Zuckerman. He and Cox provide the evidence in this NYT article.

"But while Facebook is willing to give users a voice, it doesn’t necessarily want to listen.

Users are widely opposed to terms that grant Facebook the right to license, copy and disseminate members’ content worldwide. But Facebook says it has to ignore those objections to protect itself against lawsuits from users who might blame the company if they later regret having shared some piece of information with their friends."

“It’s not a democracy,” Mr. Cox says of his company’s relationship with users. “We are here to build an Internet medium for communicating and we think we have enough perspective to do that and be caretakers of that vision.”

Read more here:

Derek Walcott joins race to become Oxford professor of poetry | Books | guardian.co.uk

Oxford Grads - vote for Walcott!!! Yes, that includes you Joanna, my beloved sis!

"The literary establishment is picking sides following the news that Nobel laureate Derek Walcott has entered the race to become Oxford University's professor of poetry. Ruth Padel had already announced her intention to run for the 300-year-old post, which is seen as the most prestigious in poetry behind that of the poet laureate."

Read more here...

Cricinfo - England face yet more humiliation

"England's batsmen imploded in dramatic style after being asked to bat first in the rain-delayed third ODI against West Indies in Barbados. In a game reduced to 45 overs a side, they looked set to be skittled in considerably fewer than that, as they slumped to 71 for 8 in the 27th, with Owais Shah's 17 from 25 balls the pick of an atrocious bunch.

West Indies, beset by off-field problems, showed an admirable ability to leave their troubles back in the dressing-room as they bowled superbly and caught everything that flew their way."

Cricinfo - Read more...

Follow my cricket tweets on Twitter

IETF to explore new routing technique - Network World

" The IETF is forming a new working group to address scalability issues in the Internet's routing system caused by companies splitting their network traffic over multiple carriers, a practice called multihoming.

The new working group will build upon a base proposal from a team of Cisco engineers to create a new tunneling mechanism that will be used by the Internet’s edge and core routers.
Ten top problems network techs encounter: Download now

The new mechanism — dubbed LISP for Locator/Identifier Separation Protocol — is designed to reduce the number of entries in the routing tables stored in the core routers operated by ISPs"

Read more here:

Twitter Tweaks Its Title Tags For Better Google Juice

Twitter Tweaks Its Title Tags For Better Google Juice:

"Minor tweak, you say? Mundane change? Perhaps, but with an undeniably big impact on how high Twitter pages will be ranked in search engines from now on.

Still skeptical? Do a Google search for your name, or try mine. For the longest time, my LinkedIn profile and now defunct blog about internet marketing used to show up as the first results, battling with other social networking profiles and websites. Today, it shows my public Twitter profile page as the number one result. The first thing anyone will click on when they do a search on my name. That’s huge."

This is definitely game changing stuff for Twitter. Didn't work for me, but will keep checking it out.

Twitter: How Small Interface Changes Are A Big Win For Everyone 03/24/2009

Facebook!!! Zuckerman!!

THIS is how to do an interface change!

MediaPost Publications Twitter: How Small Interface Changes Are A Big Win For Everyone 03/24/2009:

"At first glance, Twitter's recent interface changes seem to be relatively minor -- a 'Featured Users' option within 'Find People,' a 'Search Now' box, and a new 'Trends' section. Yet, after a more in-depth examination, it can be discerned that these are highly important feature-sets that create value for each of Twitter's constituents. These additions also provide an intriguing glimpse into Twitter's monetization strategy."

A Discussion on the Summit of the Americas

A Discussion on the Summit of the Americas:

"this is an important Summit. The Summit of Mar del Plata in many ways was evidence of some of the growing pains that are taking place in the region. I think what we’re facing in Trinidad and Tobago is a crucial moment in the history of summitry and in the broader relationships within the Americas to determine whether or not we can rebuild a forum for dialogue that would really allow us to address some of the most important issues that we face at this particular moment."

"the results of this Summit, if it’s done right, could really have a lasting impact in the Americas, especially with regard to how the different countries of the Americas relate to each other. And also the ability of our hemisphere to act in some coordinated fashion to face some of the biggest challenges that this hemisphere has faced in quite some time."

Un cordob�s habla por los usuarios de la Web

Un cordob�s habla por los usuarios de la Web: "

�Sab�as que hay gobierno en Internet? �ste recae en un organismo que se llama Icann. Sus decisiones importan mucho en la configuraci�n del escenario virtual donde muchos nos informamos y comunicamos todos los d�as. La buena noticia es que un cordob�s empez�a formar parte de ese gobierno, y tiene la tarea de representar el inter�s de los usuarios: dar voz y voto.

Se trata de Andr�s Piazza (26), un abogado con un perfil acad�mico y de investigaci�n, especializado en nuevas tecnolog�as, que fue nombrado Secretario de Lacralo (Regional At Large Organization), la asamblea que nuclea a las 32 organizaciones representantes de los usuarios de internet de la regi�n en Icann.

La elecci�n se hizo la semana pasada en M�xico, durante la primera Cumbre Mundial de Usuarios de Internet."

Why are children starving in a booming India?

globeandmail.com: Why are children starving in a booming India?:

"India has a booming information-technology industry, an exploding middle class and cities with sleek subway lines, neighbourhood sushi restaurants and rickshaw drivers who use cellphones. Last year it sent a rocket to the moon. But there is one thing that has not changed – the rate of childhood malnutrition, which still affects one in five children here and causes 3,000 infant deaths each day."

Twitter, the Most Important Website Since Google?

� Twitter, the Most Important Website Since Google?:

"I will be the first to admit while it didn’t take me a long time to sign up and start networking with friends on Twitter, it has taken me a long time to understand the true power of the website. When I first started using it I saw it as a networking and communication tool. The more I come to use it and the more I watch people from all walks of life using it I am starting to see why Twitter may possibly be the most important website since Google. To help you understand my logic I want to start with some thoughts on Google."

.Tel Domains Opening to All Next Week - AppScout

.Tel Domains Opening to All Next Week - AppScout: "Telnic Limited announced this week that it will finally be making available top-level .tel domains available to the masses. The TLD, which has been tied up with ICANN for more than eight years, will finally be available to the public at 3.00 P.M. GMT on March 24th."

"My Life With Cables"

Abstract City Blog - NYTimes.com:
This is way cool. I love the illustrations, and the commentary is spot on!

What Bruce Sterling Actually Said About Web 2.0 at Webstock 09

Hilarity made more so by the truth and accuracy of the commentary!

"Web platform," of course -- that one really ranks with 'wireless cable,' there's something sublime about it...

"Business revolution." Web 2.0 was often described as a "business revolution." Web 1.0 was also a business revolution -- and it went down in flames with the Internet Bubble. That was when all the dotcom investors retreated to the rock-solid guaranteed stability of real-estate"

Read the full post here - What Bruce Sterling Actually Said About Web 2.0 at Webstock 09 | Beyond the Beyond from Wired.com