archive/ 2009 December
Testing the power of the medium – my final case for a web-only thesis
Participation is fundamental to the framework of any democracy. Increasing the number of participants is a vital component if we are to truly have a “government of the people by the people for the people [that] shall not perish from the earth”.
Technology has consistently been used to accomplish the necessary expansion of political engagement. Old printing presses were relied upon to distribute the founding documents of the United States. Presidential debates were televised to take advantage of the new medium once television became widespread. Streaming online video became a reality and debates were broadcast on YouTube where viewers were able to record and ask questions.
Technology is at the heart of all three of these advances in political participation. Without technological advances United States politics would still be in the age of paper broadsides and lengthy debates that were only seen if one had the luxury of leaving home and traveling to the candidates. What technology has allowed for is the dissemination of knowledge and an opening in the tools of political participation to an ever broadening portion of the voting public.
AT&T Takes the Fall for the iPhone’s Glitches
Yeah, I’m sure everybody want’s this to happen:
AT&T, send some engineers to redesign the iPhone to make better use of the country’s fastest wireless network.
From the New York Times of all places.
Theres no speed limit
In defense of going at your own pace, even if it means blowing by everyone else:
Kimos high expectations set a new pace for me. He taught me “the standard pace is for chumps” – that the system is designed so anyone can keep up. If youre more driven than “just anyone” – you can do [...]
Transportation costs and student achievement
Growing up in a rural school district (I lived 20 minutes outside of a town of 1,700 people) I always wished that I didn’t have to spend a half hour on the bus every morning. I knew that I was lucky though because in middle school and high school some students spent well over an [...]
In short – What Dieter Rams can teach us about news design
There are a couple recently released interviews with legendary Braun designer Dieter Rams. The video below is a short discussion between the director of London’s Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic, and Rams. It is a short piece and I encourage you to watch the entire thing. In particular pay attention to the bit starting around the [...]