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Federal Courts Wary of Document-Sharing Plugin
Federal Courts Wary of Document-Sharing Plugin, By Ryan Singel, Wired (August 25, 2009).
Yu, a Princeton University computer science graduate student, helped code RECAP, a Firefox-only plugin that helps lawyers who use the PACER system, the government’s antiquated computer system for federal court records. With the plugin installed, the user’s browser uploads whatever documents a user looks at in PACER to an online repository hosted by the Internet Archive. Then when the next person using RECAP searches for that file, RECAP grabs the copy, sparing the user the cost for the document. Federal judiciary spokesman Dick Carelli says the courts are reserving judgement until they’ve had more time to study the plug-in. But that hasn’t stopped warning emails and warning notices to PACER users that spread a bit of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.Continue reading
FCC has a blog
The Federal Communications Commission has a new blog, blogband ("The official blog of the national broadband plan"), that is part of the FCC's broadband.gov web site.
Blogband is part of the FCC’s commitment to an open and participatory process. Blogband will keep people up-to-date about the work the FCC is doing and the progress we’re making. But we want it to be a two-way conversation. The feedback, ideas, and discussions generated on this blog will be critical in developing the best possible National Broadband Plan. As this blog demonstrates, the Internet is changing and expanding the way Americans communicate, providing them with unparalleled access to information.Make a note: 2009 and the FCC says that their one and only blog demonstrates how the Internet is changing the way we communicate. Okay. I don't want to be petty, and I'm glad they have this blog, but did they really think that "Blog Band" was a good name? And, does the FCC logo, when you look at it out of the corner of your eye, look like a frog? Maybe I've been reading too much Pynchon and am just feeling snarky today. Sorry. Congratulations to the FCC for entering the twentieth (oops, I mean 21st!) century!
- FCC (finally) joins blogosphere, By Leslie Cauley, USA Today (August 18, 2009)
NARA blog
The National Archives has started a blog, NARAtions, because, "we are hoping to talk with you about online public access to the records held by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)." (Hat tip to Kate!) Continue reading
Twitter, Facebook, and Scholarly Communication
An article in Scholarly Kitchen does a good job of comparing and contrasting Twitter and Facebook and addressing the utility of Twitter for scholarly communication. As the article says, "...a network that is open and content-centric has advantages. This is particularly true, for example, for scholarly and scientific communications." I think there is a parallel here for government information providers.
- The Strength of Weak Ties: Why Twitter Matters in Scholarly Communication, by Michael Clarke, Society for Scholarly Publishing, Scholarly Kitchen. (Aug 12, 2009).
Web 2.0 at Dept. of Defense
The Department of Defense has a site devoted to a discussion of using Web 2.0 and social media in general.
- DoD Web 2.0 Guidance Forum "We want to examine the importance and relevance of Web 2.0 capabilities to Military families and get your view of its impact."
- Signs Of Support For DoD 2.0, By J. Nicholas Hoover, InformationWeek, (August 12, 2009) "An online forum created to promote discussion about the use of social media by the U.S. military is buzzing with commentary. The White House is pointing to the forum as an example of the type of openness and transparency the Obama administration seeks to encourage among federal agencies."
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