INTERNET
What's OK For Dot-Kids Domain?
Americans Believe Net Is The Coolest Medium
The Post-9/11 Rise Of Do-It-Yourself Journalism
INTERNATIONAL
Nigeria Pledges Support For IT Development
Google Mirror Beats Great Firewall Of China
INTERNET
WHAT'S OK FOR DOT-KIDS DOMAIN?
After several unsuccessful attempts to regulate online sex, violence and
other material inappropriate for children, U.S. lawmakers have proposed
setting up a kids-only area within the dot-us domain. NeuStar, a
Washington-based domain management company, plans to establish the dot-kids
subdomain, where pornography, hate speech and other forms of adult content
would be banned if enacted into law. Developers would have to follow
existing legislation that require some educational content for the use of
the subdomain and forbid the use of sex, violence and profanity. The company
will seek public input until Oct. 11, and invites commenters to suggest
means of defining a "bright-line test" for determining when violent content,
or any other content, might be inappropriate for children 12 and under. The
U.S. House of Representatives passed the dot-kids bill in May; a similar
bill has been introduced in the Senate.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,55032,00.html)
AMERICANS BELIEVE NET IS THE COOLEST MEDIUM
One out of five Americans feel that the Internet is the 'most essential'
medium to their lives, according to a new study by Arbitron and Edison Media
Research. According to the study, 34 percent of Americans chose the Internet
as the most 'cool and exciting' medium; among 12-to-34-year-olds, 46 percent
of respondents chose the Internet as the best medium. According to the study
findings, residential broadband adoption in the US has doubled in the last
18 months, from 13 percent in January 2001 to 28 percent in July 2002.
However, access to the Internet has leveled off at approximately 70 percent
of all Americans.
[SOURCE: NUA.com]
(http://www.nua.com/surveys/?f=VS&art_id=905358358&rel=true)
THE POST-9/11 RISE OF DO-IT-YOURSELF JOURNALISM
One result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was an increase in the practice
of do-it-yourself journalism on the Internet, according to a new study by
the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Most notable, the study said, was
the widespread emergence of first-person accounts, which most frequently
appeared on personal Web logs and a wide variety of Web sites -- even on
sites that usually don't publish news. In addition to providing a platform
for amateur journalists, the Web also made it possible for Americans to go
directly to primary sources, such as the Department of Defense, the FBI and
the Red Cross, to get information on the attacks. "This democratization of
journalistic sources... provided new opportunities for individuals to
explore the space of news and information more extensively," the University
at Buffalo's Alex Halavais says in the study. He adds, "It also provided new
sources of error, rumor, and propaganda."
[SOURCE: CyberJournalist, AUTHOR: Jonathan Dube]
(http://www.cyberjournalist.net/features/pew0209.html)
INTERNATIONAL
NIGERIA PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR IT DEVELOPMENT
Nigeria's Minister of State for Science and Technology made a pledge to the
federal government and members of Digital Peers International, an NGO on
information communications technology development, to support and promote
any initiative that develops communication and inculcates IT knowledge in
children. Minister Pauline Tallen pointed out that the investment is
strategic because children easily assimilate information at a young age. The
government hopes that successful technology initiatives like Digitest,
developed by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Information, will generate
wealth and better living conditions for Nigerians, while empowering children
to use technology to become better leaders.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com, AUTHOR: Yemisi Ezekiel]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200209090044.html)
GOOGLE MIRROR BEATS GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA
A new Web site called elgooG provides a way around China's widely criticized
blocking of the Web's most popular search engine, Google. Quite literally a
"mirror" site, the text on elgooG has been reversed in order to fool Chinese
Net filters, and all searches must be entered in reverse. The site then
returns all the same hits as Google. Viewing the page using a mirror makes
it somewhat easier to read. China has recently blocked both the Google site,
as well as the search engine Altavista. The specific reason for the latest
restrictions is not clear, but observers have speculated that government
elections in November could have prompted a crackdown on access to
information via the Internet.
[SOURCE: NewScientist.com, AUTHOR: Will Knight]
(http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992768)
----------------------------------------------------------------------