:: LNR Journalism ::

Amnesty International, Harvard professors sign Declaration of Internet Freedom

CBC :: More than 100 tech innovators, startup founders, activists and academics have joined as signatories of the newly formed Declaration of Internet Freedom. Announced Monday, the document is a massive collaborative effort pioneered by the likes of The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Free Press, an internet and media advocacy organization.

Continue to read Lauren O'Neill, www.cbc.ca

IBM launches augmented reality app for grocery stores

Venture Beat :: Attention, shoppers. IBM has unveiled an augmented reality mobile app that lets you pan store shelves with your smartphones to receive personalized product tips, recommendations, and coupons.

Continue to read Dean Takahashi, venturebeat.com

Hillary Clinton adviser Alec Ross: Governments will start 'lashing back' as internet grows

BBC News :: Governments pose the biggest threat to global innovation, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton has warned. Speaking at LeWeb London, Alec Ross said the "hierarchy of control" is being taken from those in power and onto citizens.

Dave Lee, www.bbc.com

Faster than real-time: When apps predict your next move

CNN :: "We've arrived in the future," Loic Le Meur told me. Online apps are getting to know us so intimately, he explained, that we can know things before they happen. To illustrate his point, Le Meur told me about his use of Highlight (App Store link), a social location app which offers illuminating data about nearby people who have signed up for the network like -- you guessed it -- the digitally omniscient Robert Scoble. Highlight enabled Le Meur to literally know the future before it happened because, he says, it is measuring our location all of the time. "I opened the door before he was there because I knew he was coming," Le Meur told me excitedly about a recent meeting that he had in the real world with Scoble.

Online apps are getting to know us so intimately ...

Continue to read Andrew Keen, edition.cnn.com

The 'Fast Web' is the web 'out of control,' but what is the 'Slow Web'?

Jack Cheng :: The Fast Web: It’s the out of control web. The oh my god there’s so much stuff and I can’t possibly keep up web. It’s the spend two dozen times a day checking web. The in one end out the other web. The web designed to appeal to the basest of our intellectual palettes, the salt, sugar and fat of online content web. It’s the scale hard and fast web. The create a destination for billions of people web. The you have two hundred twenty six new updates web. Keep up or be lost. Click me. Like me. Tweet me. Share me. The Fast Web demands that you do things and do them now. The Fast Web is a cruel wonderland of shiny shiny things.

And the Slow Web in contrast?

The Slow Web - Continue to read Jack Cheng, blog.jackcheng.com

China is at forefront of connected TV trend in emerging markets

NPD Display Search News :: Over one-quarter of TVs shipped during Q1’12 were equipped with internet connectivity, as reported in the new NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Smart TV Shipment and Forecast Report, which tracks connected and smart TV shipments by brand, region, display technology and screen size.

Approximately 27% of TV sets shipped worldwide had internet connectivity, led by Japan, where 46% of sets had networking capability, and Western Europe with 36%. In a good example of how internet entertainment is developing rapidly in emerging markets, China followed closely behind Western Europe with 32% of sets that shipped having internet functionality.

Near-Field Communication is shifting marketing in Japan

AdAge :: In one innovative use of Near Field Communication (Wikipedia), two Gap stores in Tokyo, Japan, this month started a "Like with a high-five" Summer T Coordinates campaign in which a customer connects the app to her Facebook account, then gets a bracelet in-store to act as an identifier. When the customer sees a staff member wearing an outfit she likes, she "high-fives" to show approval by touching the bracelet to her smartphone. The phone makes a cheering sound and sends the outfit to her Facebook feed.

[Michael Keferl:] Brands from Revlon to Gap and Sony are using (Near Field Communication) for payments, identity verification

Continue to read Michael Keferl, adage.com

KPCB: The era of re-imagination of everything (tell me when it's here)

TechCrunch :: According to Meeker, society is currently going through a phase of innovation that will inevitably result in an evolution of almost all products and services, a phase which is being fueled by an explosion of new mobile devices, easier connectivity, a renewed focus on UI and design and a “what do I have to lose?” economic environment.

[Alexia Tsotsis:] It’s almost if we live in some sort of hybrid dystopia, with innovation only accessible to a wealthy, fortunate few, who even then have to slog through piles and piles of receipts to complete an expense report.

KPCB the Reimagination

"The future’s not here fast enough," argues Alexia Tsotsis, techcrunch.com

Australian Pirate Party sets course for parliament

TorrentFreak :: Since its founding half-a-decade ago, the influence of the Pirate Party has been felt across the globe. Now the file-sharing movement has touched down downunder and while it fights for recognition and acceptance, Australia’s capital city presents the party with a unique opportunity to gain seats in a parliament election.

Continue to read Myles Peterson, torrentfreak.com

Fact checking: The Atlantic introduces 'trend checking'

The Atlantic :: Several institutions exist to check the veracity of political statements: FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, The Washington Post's Fact Checker, and the classic Snopes. Now, The Atlantic Wire would like to inaugurate a fact-checking apparatus to cover the only assertions more hotly disputed than political claims: trend pieces. These sorts of stories (about how we raise kids, drink, dress) are always controversial, because they're about how we live, which makes everyone an expert. And a critic.

Continue to read Elspeth Reeve, www.theatlanticwire.com