Category Archives: Social Impact

Before the Internet

Image | Posted on May 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

The Best and Worst of Moving Pictures

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

One hundred and twenty years ago today (May 9, 1893), Thomas Edison presented the Kinetoscope, the first film-viewing device, at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. The first film publicly shown on the system was Blacksmith Scene, the earliest known example of actors … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Social Impact, Television, This day in information | Leave a comment

What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (Animation)

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

See also my interview with Nicholas Carr about his book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

Posted in Internet, Social Impact, World Wide Web | Leave a comment

World Press Freedom Day

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

Twenty years ago today, May 3rd was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as World Press Freedom Day, “a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their … Continue reading →

Posted in Press, Social Impact, UNESCO | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Surui Cultural Map: Digital Preservation

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

The Surui Cultural Map shows the Surui tribe of the Amazon’s vision of their forest, including their territory and traditional history. To create this map, Surui youth interviewed their elders to document and map their ancestral sites, such as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Digitization, Maps, Mobile, Preservation, Social Impact | Leave a comment

Data-ism and Data Mania, 2013 and 1971

Posted on March 20, 2013 by

“If you asked me to describe the rising philosophy of the day, I’d say it is data-ism. We now have the ability to gather huge amounts of data. This ability seems to carry with it certain cultural assumptions — that … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Data, Social Impact | Leave a comment

Big Data in the Age of the Telegraph

Posted on March 12, 2013 by

Caitlin Rosenthal writes in “Big Data in the Age of the Telegraph,” McKinsey Quarterly, March 2013: “In 1854, Daniel McCallum took charge of the operations of the New York and Erie Railroad. With nearly 500 miles of track, it was one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Data, Business history, information organization, Railroads, Social Impact, Social Networks, Telegraph | Leave a comment

Race Against the Machine Watch

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

Today in 1811, the first Luddite attack in which knitting frames were actually smashed occurred in the Nottinghamshire village of Arnold. Kevin Binfield in Writings of the Luddites: “The grievances consisted, first, of the use of wide stocking frames to produce … Continue reading →

Posted in Automation, Race Against the Machine, Social Impact, This day in information | Leave a comment

Technology in the Classroom

Posted on March 7, 2013 by

Teaching 2.0: Is Tech In The Classroom Worth The Cost? (Podcast) “[Skype] enables me, as a writer based in New York, to get to places I’d otherwise never be able to get to. I’ve seen teachers completely dedicated to making their … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Internet, Internet access, Social Impact, Statistics | Leave a comment

First Photo Studio

Posted on March 4, 2013 by

Today in 1840, Alexander S. Wolcott and John Johnson opened the first commercial photography studio in New York.  Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine described Wolcott as having “nearly revolutionized the whole process of Daguerre… [who] as is well known, could not succeed in taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Social Impact, This day in information | Leave a comment