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U.S. Confirms That It Gathers Online Data Overseas

June 7, 2013 Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The federal government has been secretly collecting information on foreigners overseas for nearly six years from the nation’s largest Internet companies like Google, Facebook and, most recently, Apple, in search of national security threats, the director of national intelligence confirmed Thursday night. The confirmation of the classified program came just hours after government officials acknowledged a separate seven-year effort to sweep up records of telephone calls inside the United States. Together, the unfolding revelations opened a window into the growth of government surveillance that began under the Bush…

Interruption-driven Content Consumption

April 16, 2013April 16, 2013 Staff Writer

Where you sit defines what you know I recently moved my desk from a plum spot near the windows with lots of natural light to the other side of the newsroom. I did this for a couple of reasons, but first, let me explain why I sit in the newsroom with the devs, designers, and editors instead of in an office. When I sit an office I feel isolated and it becomes a big ceremony for someone to chat with me. Since communication is the number one problem in any…

Facebook and Google Create Walled Gardens for Web Newcomers Overseas

March 25, 2013

With more than half the people in the world still not online, Facebook and Google are waging a battle to make sure that Internet newcomers get their first tastes of the Web from them. Each company is persuading wireless carriers in poor countries to offer customers free or very cheap online access that is limited to stripped-down versions of the Web giants’ sites. The idea is that once these new users get some experience in a walled garden of Facebook or Google, they will want more Internet access and pay…