Category Archives: Social Impact
Triumph of the Robots
Today in 2004, Dan Pulcrano of the Metro published “Triumph of the Robots: When Google tweaks its search rankings, whole economies tremble in fear”: The rapid ascent of invisible robots is a unforeseen twist in the sci-fi playbook. The theme of … Continue reading
The PC: Machine of the Year
Today in 1983, Time magazine put on its cover the PC, calling it “machine of the year.” Roger Rosenblatt wrote: “Inventions arise when they’re needed. This here screen and keyboard might have come along any old decade, but it happened to pop up when … Continue reading
Evan Williams: “The Internet makes human desire more easily attainable” (Video)
Evan Williams on the democratization of knowledge and the organizing principle of the Internet. “For the last 15 years, Evan Williams has made it easy for non-geeks to find their voice online. He cofounded Blogger in 1999, Odeo in 2004, Twitter … Continue reading
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Information diffusion, Internet, Social Impact, Social Networks, Twitter
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History of Cyber Monday (Infographic)
Source: Infographiclist.com Cyber Monday 2013 was the biggest online shopping day in history, with 18.2% increase in online sales compared to Cyber Monday 2012.
Posted in eCommerce, Infographics, Social Impact
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Robotics and the Birth of Silicon Valley
“The life of William Shockley—Nobel Prize winner, inventor of the junction transistor, and founder of the seminal silicon electronics laboratory—has been well chronicled. But recently, while digging through the Shockley archives at Stanford University, researcher David C. Brock made a … Continue reading
Posted in Automation, Business history, Computer history, Robots, Social Impact
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Technology Making Us Antisocial
So good: “All this technology is making us antisocial. Before everyone used to talk to each other.” Via @M_Ullah pic.twitter.com/EQYS4GzLh7 — Nick Bilton (@nickbilton) November 28, 2013
Posted in Social Impact
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Lifecycle of a Twitter Rumor (Infographic)
Source: World Economic Forum
Posted in Infographics, Social Impact, social media, Social Networks, Twitter
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XKCD: Answers to Questions Asked about New Technologies
Source: XKCD
Posted in Social Impact
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Kids of the Past vs Internet Generation (Infographic)
Posted in Infographics, Internet, Social Impact
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First Computer-Based Predictions of Presidential Elections
Today in 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected U.S. President, taking over 55% of the popular vote and winning 39 of the 48 states. It was the first time two of the major television networks used computers to predict the … Continue reading
The Story of Information 