The Filter Bubble: Web Outlets Are Controlling What You Know

You are probably aware that things like Google search results and Yahoo! news items are somehow targeted to specific internet users. Like me, you may have thought this was a good thing. I mean, I like to have some local news links provided by Yahoo! and if classified ads on Google or Facebook are for products that I like, then what is the problem?

In a recent presentation (embedded below), Eli Pariser explained that the thing he calls "The Filter Bubble" is limiting the free flow of information that the world wide web was supposed to be providing for us.

Part of the problem is that most of us are tempted by "mind candy" at times. This mind candy, of course, is available via many, if not all forms of modern media. But the internet may be allowing us more than ever to focus on things that are trivial. I'm reminded of a young man reporting his embarassment at learning that Osama bin Laden was killed over Kim Kardasian's Twitter feed. He promised himself that he would re-evaluate his news sources. You know, I think that is something we should all do on an ongoing basis.

Having trouble downloading large files? BitTorrent can Help

Most of us computer users have at one time or another got impatient waiting for a large multimedia file to download.

BitTorrent is a free tool that will allow you to download large files faster. The video embedded below explains how to use BitTorrent and how it works better than I possibly could.

BitTorrent, Explained. from BitTorrent, Inc. on Vimeo.

Visit bittorrent.com to download Bittorrent.


You can get tips and updates on BitTorrent via Twitter.

Protect Yourself Online with OnGuardOnline

OnGuardOnline is your safety net for everything related to the internet. This website features practical tips both from the technology industry and the federal government. It features videos about online safety, interactive quizzes, and games like "Invasion of the Wireless Hackers", "Invest Quest", and "Phishing Scams"

Check out OnGuardOnline, our Website of the Day!

Web Site of the Day

Pew Internet: Future of the Internet
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/270/report_display.asp
This report brings together findings from a survey of internet leaders, activists, and analysts about the future of the internet.  Among the findings were the following: mobile devices will be the primary connection tool to the internet by 2020, voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020, and divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected.

Web Site of the Day

The Internet Archive is a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts, such as music performances, videos, images, and texts. The site's Wayback Machine allows users to visit a specific Web site at various points in time and development.

http://www.archive.org/index.php