Tuesday April 8
The Second Superpower - Googlewashing
Is worldwide public opinion, or more precisely, a "Second Superpower," wielding the power to make or break international foreign policy regarding the conduct of the Iraq war? In The Register, analyst Andrew Orlowski explains that is less important than how the phrase came into general use, and was transformed, almost overnight as a result of blogging and the virtually instantaneous transmission of global information made possible by the Internet.
Saying that what started out as an Orwellian reference from 1984 has been repurposed in just 42 days from an anti-war analysis (in the N.Y Times) into a politically-neutered description of the information commons, Orlowski concludes that this sort of "Googlewashing" is permitting a relatively small handful of bloggers to "disappear" information for the masses:
So, there you have it. Not only does Google allow people to get information more quickly than ever before, it also allows people to lose information more quickly than ever before!!
Microsoft's Scary Post-War Crisis
This is from my colleague Joe Wilcox, reporter for C|Net News.com, who has provided a brilliant analysis of the several threats facing Microsoft. Most pointedly, he observes that Microsoft's exposure to open source alternatives and software piracy will likely expand after conclusion of the Iraq War -- because the company is viewed as a global symbol of American wealth and dominance. Watch out Bill Gates!