tag:dreamwidth.org,2010-03-05:481346UnjapanologistIn your texts, interrogating them from the wrong perspectivesunjapanologist2012-10-02T01:12:06Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2010-03-05:481346:60984On-the-ball tech reporting from the BBC2012-10-01T02:13:32Z2012-10-02T01:12:06Zannoyedpublic2Addendum to that recent whine about how <a href="http://unjapanologist.dreamwidth.org/59191.html">politicians have a responsibility to get educated about the internet</a>: "mainstream" media need such education at least as badly. The internet has become crucial not just to many people's personal lives, but to the functioning of whole societies. There are very many people who don't have the time or the inclination to read a slew of tech news RSS feeds, and established news outlets have a responsibility to bring their audiences comprehensive and correct information about important internet-related events.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://unjapanologist.dreamwidth.org/60984.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br type="_moz" /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=unjapanologist&ditemid=60984" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2010-03-05:481346:43438Tech news sites "stunned" by women using Pinterest, decide it's about "social shopping experiences"2012-02-17T05:30:17Z2012-02-17T07:16:06Zbusypublic14About a week ago, The Mary Sue <a href="http://www.themarysue.com/pinterest-a-shocking-example-of-women-using-the-internet/">reported</a> that some major tech news sites are apparently using the fact that <a href="http://pinterest.com">Pinterest</a> has a majority of female users as an excuse to write sexist copy:<span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://unjapanologist.dreamwidth.org/43438.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I'm not on Pinterest myself yet, although several people have recommended it and it looks quite shiny. But I already feel so terribly behind for not having a tumblr. People on tumblr, why is Gizmodo saying that <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5878947/pinterest-is-tumblr-for-ladiez">Pinterest is Tumblr for Ladiez</a>, aside from that they're dumb? Is tumblr that dominated by male users? Just from browsing around on it, I never got the impression that tumblr is heavily skewed towards one topic or another. There are lots of porn tumblrs, apparently, but there are lots of porn everythings. I was half considering making a porn tumblr myself for the more mature A:tLA art that I'm too embarrassed to post under any of my existing handles.<br /><br />ETA: More links and analysis at <a href="http://clevergirlscollective.com/kristy-sammis/pinterest-sexists/">How to stop being a Pinterest sexist</a>.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=unjapanologist&ditemid=43438" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2010-03-05:481346:43069Today in quality ACTA reporting from Real Newspapers: the true meaning of those Guy Fawkes masks2012-02-16T13:50:10Z2012-02-17T02:06:45Zamusedpublic4Things may be going in a hopeful direction regarding the EU ratification of ACTA. <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120215/10314317770/eu-member-bulgaria-halts-acta-minister-economy-offers-resignation.shtml">Bulgaria</a> is the latest individual country to halt ratification procedures, and after the Greens and the Socialists, the Liberal political block in the European Parliament finally <a href="http://www.alde.eu/press/press-and-release-news/press-release/article/parliament-must-carefully-listen-to-citizens-concerns-over-acta-37926/">seems to be getting worried</a> as well (though it remains to be seen what they will actually do when it comes to a vote - they are associated with <a href="http://www.laquadrature.net/en/acta-commissioner-de-gucht-lies-to-the-eu-parliament">this individual</a>). By contrast, the extremely large and therefore important Christian Democratic block is <a href="http://www.eppgroup.eu/press/showpr.asp?prcontroldoctypeid=1&prcontrolid=10971&prcontentid=18391&prcontentlg=en">clearly not listening</a>.* Stop ACTA now has a very handy letter-sending form <a href="http://www.stopacta.com/">right at the top of its homepage</a>.<br /><br />In other good news, the self-styled Flemish 'quality' newspapers, which I've largely been boycotting since their disgraceful reporting about the 3-11 disasters in Tohoku last year, have finally begun informing the populace about ACTA after <strike>weeks</strike> <strike>months</strike> years of saying basically nothing at all about it. They put out some very <a href="http://destandaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20120211_065&pid=1491209">interesting</a> <a href="http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/5403/Internet/article/detail/1393317/2012/02/11/Ook-Europeanen-betogen-tegen-Verdrag-tegen-Namaak.dhtml">articles</a> that are masterpieces of contradictions, misinformation, and hilariously incoherent nonsense. The articles are also nearly identical and clearly copy-pasted from a press agency text, but I suppose that's the least of their imperfections.<br /><br />My absolute favorite bit: anti-ACTA demonstrators "wear masks out of fear of reprisals". <br /><br />That is seriously in there (<a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=destandaard.be%2Fartikel%2Fdetail.aspx%3Fartikelid%3DDMF20120211_065%26pid%3D1491209">Google translate</a>). Every time I hear somebody bemoan the evils of unreliable citizen journalism and blow trumpets about how "professional" reporting needs to be protected and respected, I laugh and laugh.<br /><br /><br /><br />*In a lovely example of them not listening: one of their members, Ivo Belet, just replied to a mail I sent him containing a link to a <a href="http://www.edri.org/ACTAfactsheet">debunking</a> of much of the contents of a document called <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2012/january/tradoc_148964.pdf">"Ten myths about ACTA"</a> that the European Commission has been sending around. Mr. Belet tried to assuage my fears by sending me a link to the "Ten myths about ACTA" document. I realize that it's absolutely impossible for EP members to follow links in and give personalized responses to all the mails they get, but this sort of thing doesn't make them look concerned with citizen's opinions. Or very bright.<br type="_moz" /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=unjapanologist&ditemid=43069" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments