POLITICAL DISCOURSE
E-Mail Part of the Effort To Turn Out the Voters (NYT)
Soft Money Spending on TV Ads (EPN)
All News, All the Time, Even if There Isn't Any (NYT)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Dishing Up a New Link to the Internet (WP)
Falling Through the Net, Toward Digital Inclusion (NTIA)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
Intelligence Authorization Act for 2001 (EPIC)
MERGERS
F.T.C. Review Of AOL Deal In Final Stage (NYT)
ECOMMERCE
Internet Service For Apartments Draws Funding From Big Firms (WSJ)
INFO TECH
Spotty Service Irks Cell Phone Users (USA)
Firms Use Net to Alter Devices After They Are Taken Home (WSJ)
Ask Jeeves To Begin Fielding Questions That Are Spoken (WSJ)
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
E-MAIL PART OF THE EFFORT TO TURN OUT THE VOTERS
Issue: Online Activism/Political Discourse
"Last-minute campaigning via the Internet is sort of like an iceberg," said
Phil Noble, president of Politics OnLine, an Internet firm. `'You only see
about 10 percent of what's above the surface. Most of what exists, you
don't see. And that's what's happening with e-mail -- the cost is zero but
the impact is exponential." E-mail has taken its place alongside more
traditional get-out-the-vote media like phone banks, stump speeches and
yard signs. And, for many campaigns, e-mail might be replacing phone calls
as a way to line up volunteers for election day or spreading the word about
last-minute rallies, rebutting attacks, sharing a newspaper endorsement or
helping people to register to vote online. "This is all happening under the
radar screen," said Christopher Hunter, a research fellow at the Annenberg
Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. "E-mail is becoming
one of the most important tools in campaigning."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: Leslie Wayne]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/06/technology/06MAIL.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
CAMPAIGNS USE E-MAIL TO GET OUT VOTE
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cti761.htm)
SOFT MONEY SPENDING ON TV ADS
Issue: Political Discourse
Brennan Center for Justice study finds "soft money" spending on TV ads
continues to dominate both presidential and congressional contests. See
Press Release at (http://www.brennancenter.org/tvads2000.html).
[SOURCE: Electronic Policy Network]
(http://www.epn.org/whatsnew/full_cite/553.html)
ALL NEWS, ALL THE TIME, EVEN IF THERE ISN'T ANY
Issue: Journalism/Political Discourse
The battle ground cable news channels were going all out this last weekend
before the election. Although there was little new stories to cover (Gov
Bush's DUI story did not poll very well), the channels came up with
features like "Weather Effect on Expected Election Turnout."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A20), AUTHOR: Peter Marks]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/06/politics/06MEDI.html)
(requires registration)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
DISHING UP A NEW LINK TO THE INTERNET
Issue: Satellite Broadband
Today Starband, a satellite concern, is launching nationally a two-way,
satellite-delivered, high-speed Internet delivery service. Having pioneered
their service on remote Indian reservations, the company is set on
establishing satellites as a leading route for high-speed Internet access.
Starband is targeting the nearly 50 million homes, nationally, that do not
have high-speed Internet access either because of a lack of broadband cable
service or they are too remote for DSL connections. The new service will
come up against heavyweight Hughes' DirectTV system, which is set to also
become a two-way satellite service by year's end.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A01), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20175-2000Nov5.html)
FALLING THROUGH THE NET, TOWARD DIGITAL INCLUSION
Issue: Digital Divide
Now available online in HTML format. The report measures the extent of
digital inclusion by looking at households and individuals that have a
computer and an Internet connection.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR 2001
Issue: Access to Government Info
President Clinton vetoed act that would criminalize leaking of government
secrets. President says legislation might "chill legitimate activities that
are at the heart of a democracy." See the President's statement at
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/library/hot_releases/November_4_2000.html)
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
MERGERS
F.T.C. REVIEW OF AOL DEAL IN FINAL STAGE
Issue: Mergers
The proposed merger of AOL, the world's largest Internet company, and Time
Warner, the nation's largest media and entertainment conglomerate, has
forced regulators to confront a thicket of issues involving the convergence
of new and old technologies; the sweeping consolidation of the
telecommunications industry and the emergence of a new medium --
interactive television -- which holds the promise of transforming the news
and entertainment businesses. The decisions made by the Federal Trade
Commission and the Federal Communications Commission in the next couple of
weeks could set the government's competition policies for the largest
Internet and telecommunications players for years to come. "The policy
decisions in this case are every bit as significant as the Microsoft case,
if not more so," said Gene Kimmelman, co-director of the Washington office
of Consumers Union. "High-speed Internet will be the information and
entertainment highway of the future. Eliminating the competitive dangers of
AOL TV dominance and the threat of discriminating practices is as important
as the consequences of Microsoft." [See more at the URL below]
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/06/technology/06AOL.html)
(requires registration)
See Also
U.S. MOVES TOWARD A DEAL WITH AOL, TIME WARNER FOR LIMITED OPEN ACCESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB973462260885742486.htm)
(requires subscription)
ECOMMERCE
INTERNET SERVICE FOR APARTMENTS DRAWS FUNDING FROM BIG FIRMS
Issue: Ecommerce
Seven of the nation's largest apartment owners are turning to the Web to
increase their marketing efforts to secure tenants. The group is expected to
announce as early as Monday that it is leading an investment totaling $17.3
million in Viva Group Inc., an Internet-based apartment-leasing service. At
its viva.com site, prospective tenants can pinpoint exactly what type of
apartment they want in a particular neighborhood and price range, and then
receive responses from landlords with offers of vacant properties. The
apartment owners have been using Viva since its launch in the spring. The
system differs from other Web-based listing sites in that it lets tenants
communicate directly with the leasing agents of apartment complexes, rather
than searching an inventory of listings posted to the Web site. Viva Group
makes money by collecting from the property owner a fee equal to 25%
to 32% of the first month's rent. Viva is substantially cheaper than more
traditional apartment locator or brokerage services, which charge as much as
200% of the first month's rent.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B14), AUTHOR: Motoko Rich]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB973465830723098564.htm)
INFO TECH
SPOTTY SERVICE IRKS CELL PHONE USERS
Issue: Wireless /Consumer Issues
Last year, the Federal Communications Commission registered nearly 8,000
telephone inquiries about wireless service, and it has told Congress it
expects that number to double this year. The industry's success in signing
up new subscribers -- and getting them to use their phones more frequently
-- is causing the difficulties. Nearly a third of 3,000 mobile phone users
surveyed recently by the Yankee Group consulting firm say they often or
very often experience poor service. A few dissatisfied customers have even
sued their phone companies, and at least one subscriber was awarded more
than $1,000 by a judge in small claims court. Read more about the problems
with wireless -- and what consumers are doing about it -- at the URL below.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Salina Khan]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cti765.htm)
FIRMS USE NET TO ALTER DEVICES AFTER THEY ARE TAKEN HOME
Issue: InfoTech
While watching ReplayTV, a $500 "personal video recorder", a few weeks ago,
Donald Youngner found ads on his television instead of the video recording
he wanted to see. The reason was his home television system, now connected
to ReplyTV, had been 'tweaked' in the middle of the night. ReplayTV
engineers, through the telephone line that connects the system to the Net
had installed a software "upgrade" that caused promotional messages to appear
where they had never been before. "It's a different machine now," says Mr.
Youngner. Phones, TV sets, even cars contain software, and as they become
connected to the Net, it is more and more likely that they will undergo
software upgrades on the fly without the owner's awareness. While this
capability promises great conveniences, it also brings up questions of
consumer's ability to choose. While ReplayTV's most recent upgrade added
consumer-friendly features, such as the ability to program the device
remotely via the Net, what would happen if the service eliminated the Quick
Skip commercial-skip button on the next upgrade. "It's impossible to say we
will never do something or we will always do something," says Jim
Hollingsworth, a ReplayTV senior vice president, who adds that the company
surveyed users before introducing the pause-screen ads.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: THOMAS E. WEBER]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB973463700515518082.htm)
[Requires Registration]
ASK JEEVES TO BEGIN FIELDING QUESTIONS THAT ARE SPOKEN
Issue: InfoTech
AskJeeves, a company known for answering typed-in questions, plans to
begin fielding spoken ones with help from Nuance Communications and
General Magic. The three companies Monday will announce an alliance to
help corporations make Web-based information available to callers over the
telephone. They are developing technology that responds to complete spoken
sentences rather than single-word commands or requiring users to navigate
among information options using the telephone keypad. If it works as
expected, the system could help reduce the need for human operators for
customer service, e-commerce and other tasks that require call centers, a
major expense for companies world-wide. One research firm, International
Data Corp., estimates that companies spent $23 billion on call-center
services in 1998 and will spend $58.6 billion in 2003. "This is such a huge
expense," said Rob Wrubel, AskJeeves's chief executive. "It's a clear
opportunity for us."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B14), AUTHOR: Don Clark]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB973463641664925109.htm)
--------------------------------------------------------------