Privacy: The evolving meaning of a single word for our networked news and information economy

Privacy. It’s hard to think of another word that is simultaneously at the center of journalism, technology and Internet policy. Privacy is increasingly thought of broadly, and encompasses trust and networks. It’s a big story now, involving the White House, Edward Snowden, data breaches and research. Balancing identity, marketing and privacy is a quagmire for … Continued

Spot.us and Public Insight Network — nuancing support for civic journalism; exploring “persona”

The combination of crowd-source journalism payment pioneer Spot.us with the non-profit Public Insight Network (PIN) — which is testing the waters of what could become a news-focused sharing service — is intriguing for the possibilities. Look to St. Paul, Minn.-based American Public Media — which owns PIN — to start innovating and testing. There are … Continued

A CALL TO ACTION: Time to make the marketplace for privacy, trust, identity and information commerce

“A non-profit collaboration to share technology, users and content could help news organizations find new revenues and become better at serving the public, according to a report from the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri.”— excerpt from Aug. 4 announcement. This week I’m relieved and grateful to report the publication of … Continued

From paper to persona

“From Paper to Persona: Managing Privacy and Information Overload; Sustaining Journalism in an Attention Age,” explains how a new public-benefit collaboration could help slow the shrinking of American journalism. Because of Internet technology, mass-market advertising and the news have come unglued. For the public, information is accessible, but not always trustworthy. Because it is abundant, … Continued