odds and ends

Digg users are in open revolt over the site's censorship of some submissions. The site's down, but I managed to grab a couple pics of the feed:

For more context, see this related Slashdot article. Digg's Kevin Rose attempted to explain what was going on.

Now, Digg's community certainly isn't perfect, and I disagree with the consensus they reach on a broad range of political issues (seriously, how do you go from supporting Ron Paul one day to Mike Gravel the next?). However, I do enjoy Digg and I think that this development is significant and encouraging.

We're constantly being told that social media - and internet political communities in particular - aren't about the figureheads. They're about the users. In theory, if kos shut down Daily Kos or displeased his users, DKos users would go elsewhere and another community would take its place.

That theory was put to the test today on a massive scale, and the users won. Without the support of its users, one of the most powerful community-based websites was rendered useless.

Christine is probably right -- the MDP and elected democrats are trying to co-opt Michlib because it is in their strategic interest to do so. But so what? If it starts to suck, we can always take our business somewhere else.

I have some amazing friends.

Don't just take my word for it -- see it for yourself:

UPDATE: Consider the first in a "clip of the day" feature.

With all of the recent chatter about C-SPAN's new clip use policies, this compilation seems relevant:

You may have heard of the case of Rex Baum, a homeless man who was killed by a few teenagers in 2004.  This killing was sensationalized in part because the teens who were involved blamed their behavior on violent video games.

Penny Arcade has a copy of a heart-wrenching letter from the step-mother of the child.  It is worth a read.  I personally believe that everyone has the potential to do good if raised in a healthy environment, but this certainly shakes that conviction.

People are quick to try and attribute blame for these things, whether it be video games or the parents.  This seems to be an example where neither one is really at "fault."  Instead, we need to ask ourselves what about our society allows this to happen at all?

We live in a sick world.

Yet another writer at my school newspaper, the Michigan Daily, has been caught stealing from other articles.  Since I've been at the University of Michigan, at least three Daily writers have been found guilty of this behavior.

Why are reports of plagiarism becoming increasingly prevalent?  Is it because increased access to information online makes it easier to steal content?  Or is it because plagiarism is easier to discover than it was before?  Are there different kinds of pressures and systemic factors that increase the incentives for plagarism?

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a crappy writer, and I am in no place to judge professional journalists for their writing.  Still, I don't understand the desire to plagiarize.  Writers with an audience enjoy a unique opportunity to exert an influence on their readers.  If they truly care about the subjects that they are writing about, they should relish the opportunity to communicate their viewpoint to others.  If they don't have a passion for their subject matter, then why write at all?

I wish I had known about some of these resources my freshman year.

Even though Gmail is now out of beta, they're still requiring invites to sign up.  I've still got a ton of them.  Give me a shout if you want one.

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Okay, I'll admit it. I just wanted to post the video.

I caved in and got a MySpace. So far I just added some random rappers and the cast of The Office, so please add me!!!

Dear lord, this interface is terrible. And I thought my website was bad...

I just found out that my sister is the valedictorian of her class of 380 - 400 people.

Congrats Amrita!

Because of these guys, I'm proud to be from Saginaw.