Today, Dharun Ravi begins his thirty day prison sentence for his conviction on crimes relating to using a webcam twice to spy on his Rutgers roommate Tyler Clemente. Clemente committed suicide a day later. (For background, The New York Times has a topic page on the case.)
I’ve been thinking a lot about the case over the past couple of years, especially since Ravi’s conviction in March. And especially given what he was actually sentence for.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 31, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/31/dharun-ravi-tyler-clemente-and-how-we-accept-blatant-spying/
Ok. So the name is pretty rude. But the concept is pretty interesting.
Introducing Parking Douche, an app for the Android (GOOG) and iPhone (AAPL) which allows users to take photos of offending parkers’ license plates and detail the make and model of the vehicle. From there, the information is sent to a database where a digital mockup of the vehicle is made and featured in banner advertising on the web — but only those in the vicinity of the bad parking job will see the ad, offering a more localized attack.
There are some crazy and problematic bits to the ad model involved, and, for now, it is only available in Russia. But the idea of using the crowd to exert pressure on people to think about the effect of their actions on others is intriguing. (The article by Mike Schuster, Park Like A Jerk? This App Will Shame You Into Submission, is worth a look.)
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 29, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/29/park-like-a-jerk-social-media-for-the-insensitive-city/
News of love, via The Atlantic Wire.
As you probably know by now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg married his college sweetheart, Priscilla Chan, this weekend; just one day after becoming a billionaire 19 times over. The surprise backyard ceremony also happened to take place just days after she graduated from medical school, providing the perfect opportunity for the couple to officially launch the next chapter of their lives together.
Congrats to them. Very cool. And amidst such success for each of them, it has to be a really wonderful time.
But wait,
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 26, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/26/the-curious-timing-of-mark-zuckerbergs-wedding-business-the-atlantic-wire/
From PhysOrg:
Somalia’s war-ravaged capital Mogadishu will host Thursday its first ever TED talks as part of efforts to showcase improvements in development, business and security, organisers said.
Cool. I love technology, but by no means am I on the “tech will save the world” bandwagon. That being said, the health of any community—be it a neighborhood, a city, or a nation—depends upon the strength of the social ties that bind it together and make possible the various kinds of exchange we need in order to live. These ties are both informal (like friendships) and structural (like stable banking and waste removal). Things like TEDx can go a long way both in building up social ties and letting people know that institutions are returning.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 18, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/18/tedx-in-somalia/
Was a time, not so long ago when electronics where pretty much a guy thing. Even a few years ago, electronics manufacturers had a hard time figuring out how to sell anything but a television to women. But now, the tide has turned. Nielson released a new survey of American mothers that shows moms are pretty solidly wired.
(more…)
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 13, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/13/happy-mothers-day-dont-forget-to-post-on-your-moms-wall/
Just read a story at Slate by Daniel Wilson with the creepy heading of “Robot sex and marriage: Will society accept it?” The discussion of robot prostitution was interesting, but not too thought provoking. We’ve pretty much removed the human-ness of the other activities that we do relating to the physical passions. Here in America, you can eat and drink yourself to a stupor for very little money, and do it in complete social isolation if you prefer. Why not sex? Temperance is not an American strong suit.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 8, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/08/news-people-are-a-challenge/
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