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March 27, 2005

Legal Issue

Legal Issue:
The Federal Election Commission is in the process of including blogs and websites in campaign finance rules that are expected to be in place by the end of the year. These rules, created before the Internet became a political tool, would govern everything from bulk political-emails to the question of bloggers as journalists.

Political Background:
On March 27, 2002 Bush signed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and the FEC began the process of clarifying how the law would work. During their deliberations, the FEC ruled that "public communication" did not include Web advertisements.
The FEC concluded that "unlike media such as television and radio, where the constraints of the medium make access financially prohibitive for the general population, the Internet is by definition a bastion of free political speech, where any individual has access to almost limitless political expression with minimal cost."

The regulations for political communication are complicated and tedious. Ambiguity from Congress on the definition of public communication, does not help to clarify this matter. Congress defines public communication as any "broadcast, cable or satellite communication, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mass mailing or telephone bank to the general public, or any other form of general public political advertising." This definition fails to specifically mention the Internet.

With this loophole, it was expected and we saw, political candidates moving from traditional broadcast mediums to the Internet to avoid the communication regulations for the 2004 elections.

During the 2004 elections advocacy groups and wealthy individuals could coordinate online advertising without having it count as a contribution, an act expressly prohibited for traditional media: television and newspapers.

However, a ruling in September by US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly which said the FEC’s exclusion of the Internet from other regulated coordinated communications undermines the law’s purpose has caused the FEC to reexamine their stance.

The Politics as it Applies to Bloggers:
Earlier this March in an interview, Bradley Smith discussed the implications the new regulations would have on bloggers. For Bradley Smith, one of the six commissioners at the FEC, it boils down to a question of contributions. Can a link to a politician’s website be considered a contribution? If yes, then what is the value and what happens if the linker has already contributed the legal maximum?

Another issue at stake is whether or not to give bloggers the press exemption, which currently covers broadcasting stations, newspapers, magazines or other periodical publications. The press exemption does not cover bloggers because the Internet is not clearly defined as a periodical or broadcast medium. Additionally, there is no standard for becoming a blogger.

Earlier this week, the FEC proposed that all bloggers should be given press exemption making them immune from laws that would count their political endorsements as contributions.

The FEC is looking for a way to "ensure that political committees properly finance and disclose their Internet communications, without impeding individual citizens from using the Internet to speak freely regarding candidates and elections."

Most bloggers and politicians are happy with these draft rules, but they realize that they raise more questions than offer answer.

Additionally, bloggers are finding themselves in unique predicament. Growing numbers of bloggers are incorporating to protect themselves from civil suits, which would then prohibit them from political activities, unless they can qualify as legitimate journalists.

What’s Next:
We are at a point where the government is beginning to define the Internet and the way we can legally use it. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed regulations, and the FEC will accept comments by email (Internet@fed.gov) as well as hold a public meeting on June 28th.

Additional Information
The FEC's proposed regulations also say:

Political spam must be labeled, a relaxation of a current regulation that requires disclaimers when more than 500 bulk messages endorse or attack a political candidate. Now only such e-mail sent to addresses purchased "through a commercial transaction" must sport disclaimers.

Linking to a campaign's Web site will not be counted as an "expenditure" that could trigger campaign finance law unless money changes hands. Also exempt are "distributing banner messages" and "blogging."

Someone simply running their own Web site from their own computer or hosted on a service like Blogger.com does "not make a contribution or expenditure" that must be reported as a campaign contribution.

Forwarding e-mail from a political candidate "would not constitute republication of campaign materials," which could have triggered another complex section of campaign finance law.

Posted by arosenst at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)

March 09, 2005

Bibliography

Bibliography

This is a working Bibliography for my research paper: Our Relationship with Information in the ITR - Out of control or not? I am confident that I will find additional sources of information to add to this list.

In addition to the guidelines set fourth in our course’s Study Book and the APA manual, I used the UNC-CH Libraries Citing Information.

BOOKS

Brown, John Seely & Duguid, Paul. (2002). The Social Life of Information. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

This book provides an excellent insight into the limits of information and discusses the aspect of tunnel vision.

Shenk, David. (1997). Data Smog: Surviving the information glut. London: Little, Brown and Company.

This book provides the foundation for my discussion of Data Smog. Shenk provides statistical information about the jump in average word read over the years (although dated) as well as information on how society as a whole handles Data Smog.

LEXISNEXIS

Getting a grip on our information overload. (2004, August 9) Investment News, p. 8. Jim Pavia. Retrieved March 6, 2005 from LexisNexis Academic database.

This article has some interesting statistical information that should be useful in my research.

How to prevent information overload. (2004, May 1) Direct. p. 6. Paul Bradley. Retrieved March 6, 2005 from LexisNexis Academic database.

This article briefly describes the importance for companies to data mine - a set of techniques and methodologies that can detect patterns and trends in large data sets. The idea being that if companies have technology to help them organize their date, they can use it more effectively.

Information overload: understanding the type of learner you are to better handle the day-to-day barrage of information effectively. (2004, May 22) Edmonton Sun Alberta, Canada. p. 68. Anita Bruzzese. Retrieved March 6, 2005 from LexisNexis Academic database.

This article is helpful in defining how different learners can deal with information overload.

So many pages, such feeble search; Microsoft is just the latest tech outfit to tackle the info-overload problem. It's joining a host of others that have miles to go. (2004, July 16). Business Week Online. Steve Hamm. Retrieved March 6, 2005 from LexisNexis Academic database.

This article describes the need for Microsoft and Google to do more to put the information individuals look for in their hands quickly. I do not anticipate using this article, but it has some interesting statistics on how much money organizations spend on trying to create a system that more effectively gets relevant information into users.

Turn it off. (2004, April 25). Sunday Mail Queensland, Australia p. 4. Joanna Bounds Retrieved March 6, 2005 from LexisNexis Academic database.

This newspaper article has interesting statistics on the amount of new webpages are added to the Internet. It also discusses the need people have to process information, even if it is an overwhelming amount of information.

Unplugging the addiction to information overload; professor urges protection of psychic space, quiet time. (2004, May 10) The Washington Post, p. A03. Anonymous. Retrieved March 6, 2005 from LexisNexis Academic database.

This article might be helpful as an example of a person who tries to balance Information Overload and life. The specific example here is the subject’s observance of the Jewish Sabbath – when he is not allowed to use the computer.

WEBSITES

Anonymous. (2004, May 1). Managing Information Overload -- A conversation with Erik Brynjolfsson of the MIT Center for eBusiness. Retrieved March 8, 2005, from CMP Optimize Online Magazine Website: http://www.optimizemag.com/article/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=ZGIYZVT3WEDW0QSNDBCSKHSCJUMEKJVN?articleId=19502343&pgno=2

This interview with Erik Brynjolfsson discusses the how business can manage Information Overload without loosing productivity by discussing his research. Erik studied the communication between headhunters and executive recruiters over a two years by tracking their emails, questionnaires, and interviews.

David Shenk. (date unlisted). David Shenk. Retrieved March 8, 2005. Website: http://host190.ipowerweb.com/~davidshe/index.html

This website lists all of Shenk’s publications and interviews and will be useful as a secondary source for his Data Smog book.

Peter Lyman, Hal R. Varian. (2003, October 27). How Much Information? 2003. Retrieved March 8, 2005, from The University of California Website: http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/

This site offers a number of statistics that will be useful in illustrating the jump in formation we process. Also, I can use this site as an example of a research project that effectively uses hyperlinks and is appropriately laid out on a website.

Posted by arosenst at 08:25 AM | Comments (1)

March 08, 2005

Vacation

This week I am in Winter Park CO with my family for our annual ski vacation. It is beautiful! The snow is falling, the skiing is great, and I have not fallen once (which I think is amazing because this is the first time in three years I’ve been on skis - keen surgery).

One thing that I can’t seem to let go if is my computer and the Internet, which is ironic because in addition to work issues keeping me glued to the Internet is my research for this class on Data Smog and Information Overload.

One of the things my research brings to light is the importance of balancing information with life. I hope this week I can be successful at it, because I haven’t done all those lunges and squats to strengthen my legs to sit inside and email!

Posted by arosenst at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2005

How Semiotic Analysis helps to plan web pages, sites, and blogs.

“The important goal of a website is communication, and metaphor is a significant component of successful communication using a computer interface, and yet it does not appear to have been adopted.”
Grant Sherson The Relevance of Semiotics to the Internet: How Web Designers use Metaphors in Web Development

When creating and planning webpages, sites, and blogs, it is essential to keep in mind the ways audiences understand the signs. Iconic Metaphors are helpful in the process.

We store signs and metaphors in our minds and can apply their meanings effectively when prompted. For example, two browsers Netscape and Explorer both use similar interface designs that make good use of metaphors.

• Both use ‘home’ buttons to take the user back to their homepage.
• Both us a stop symbol to allow the user to stop a page from loading.
• Both use colorful moving icons to show the user that a page is loading.

However, the interface design between websites and blogs is not always this similar and does not always effectively use iconic metaphors. This is to be expected on some level as different sites and blogs strive to be unique. However, the lack of memorable metaphors slows down communication while the user is forced to learn another set of buttons or tries to remember the sites metaphors.

Webpages within the same site and blogs should be homogeneous. The repetitive use of metaphors within a site reminds the user where the and helps to create better communication between the site and the user.

Posted by arosenst at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)