DISQUS

Hope this makes sense. It was written quickly at the end of a long week. But, then again, that's kind of the point isn't it?

I think Lala is the rare kind of great idea that's shockingly well-implemented and embraced by the traditionally buzz-killing music labels. I'm hooked, and I'm buying more music as a result of the flexibility (full preview listens, $.10 web songs, etc).

James, its an angle I wasn't thinking about and I think you're right on. I'm glad the benefits in the armed services are so desirable (despite the horror stories we hear too often about wounded vets not receiving the care they deserve) that they would serve as an incentive, but that incentive does limit the mobility of talented and creative soldiers who have latent aspirations beyond the military.

NY Times article this morning on the number of people (and spouses and children) left without health insurance when unemployment rises:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=267106&...

I'm so pumped for this movie. I geeked out when the preview came on before Bond. That said, I'm pretty sure my wedding will not be on the bridge of the Enterprise....

You presume a lot of points here that I'M NOT MAKING. For instance, I've never claimed that:

a) the US is really lagging in start-up companies or should really catch up with country X, Y, or Z in terms of entrepreneurship

b) nationalized health insurance is the only--or even the most important--step to encouraging more start-up and small businesses

c) a nationalized health plan is even the answer.

As I said, health is NOT my issue. There are fortunately a lot of smart people who are working on this issue, and a lot of good arguments for and against a nationalized plan. I EXPLICITLY acknowledged that and I'm not advocating either side. Here's the ONLY point I'm making (it's a short post...dangerous I guess since you managed to put twice as many words in my mouth):

It's a limiting, and I would argue uncomfortable, thing that (for a large number of us) our health insurance is intimately linked to our employer. Does it stop everyone who wants to start a business from starting one? OBVIOUSLY not. But could it be a factor preventing creative and talented individuals from freely pursuing their ideas? Absolutely. I'm an example: after experiencing truly excellent health insurance under my employer, I'm now more concerned than ever about paying for that level of care without working for a larger organization that would cover some or all of the costs. Start-up businesses face an enormous number of risks, and some of those risks are necessary and even healthy (you don't want just anyone starting a company without consequences for failure). But, and I think we agree on this Eric, I want as many good start-ups as possible. And I think the current health insurance system is biased against career flexibility. When people face enormous trade-offs that could possibly impact their health or the health of their children, simply by changing jobs/careers, you're inevitably going to lose people who would otherwise make that change.

I don't have the answer, and AGAIN I'm not arguing for a nationalized system. I'm just making the observation that dependence on employers for affordable health insurance seems like a bad idea if we want to inspire creativity, opportunism, innovation, and career flexibility.

75% Digital Native. Boom.

10% Legitimate Blogger. [tear]

@ Michael--I think you bring up a good point, and I think the "know it all" and "status symbol" labels that immediate access to information can bring are risks AND what I find grates on older people the most.

I've been mulling and discussing the question all day, and one of my coworkers brought up a good point. If we lose anything, maybe it's the context and secondary learning that takes place en route to an answer. I can think of many times when, in the quest for knowledge, I learned more from the things I read along the way than from the ultimate answer. Maybe the INefficiency of searching through books, for instance, leads us on valuable tangents that a targeted Google search will not.

I can see both perspectives clearly, but I think I ultimately cherish my access to information too much to let go.

@ Rebecca--Thanks for reading (and the kind words)! Feel free to chime in anytime!

To be fair, this isn't really about one individual. I know nothing about this background, and he could well be a fraudster with shady parents. But as an idea it's worth exploring (the point of the post), no? I certainly don't think Jarred is advocating that folks drop everything and invest in this questionable scheme, but it's an interesting story that makes us consider alternative funding models in publishing. As such, it's worth talking about and altogether irrelevant to focus on this one guy, his parents, and their legal record.

Sounds like you have an axe to grind with Tao Lin. That's your prerogative, but why not focus instead on the very interesting question of whether a scheme like this--done in a legitimate way--could be possible or preferable to the current publishing system? I look forward to that (far more interesting) discussion.

It was founded by two Duke students (strike one) and is, in fact, headquartered in 'Bama (strikes 2-6). But their stuff is great.

Sam/'Mike'--thanks for the thoughtful comment and the suggestion. Cross-posted here.

Thanks Nisha! I really admire the work of Sunlight. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm putting words in his mouth (keyboard? comment box? whatever) but I think when Jarred writes discusses our generation's "abilities to quickly digest, compare, and make choices and judgments about information," he's not just talking about information intake. There's an inherent, as you put it Ashish, "synthesis" toward a "purposeful conclusion." Won't I make a more informed judgment about Roe V. Wade (or abortion in general) by reading expert opinion than by memorizing the case detail or forming an opinion without looking to all of the facts?

A very solid point Jrod.

Ashish, I think your first point is fair: these tools are slick and impressive at first blush, but what's the ultimate use to the average voter (or non-voter for that matter). I think my answer has a lot to do with your second statement:

"I’d much rather a smaller group of wonkish and thoughtful people made decisions for the country than a large group of superficially informed dilettantes."

I would echo your sentiment, but I would say that I'd much rather a small group of wonkish and thoughtful people made decisions for the country than a small group of extremely influential, wealthy, and profit-driven individuals/corporations. I'm not scared about the average voter, apathetic and uninformed as he or she may be. I think the lack of engagement you describe is a call to action for those of us hoping to make this a more participatory nation. Not a reason to confine decision making to the existing halls of power and influence. BUT I'm much more optimistic that people can become informed....I'm not as optimistic that powerful individuals with interests that differ from the country's will voluntarily give up that influence.

That's where I see these tools coming in. Ideally (and maybe eventually) tools like these will help connect individual voters to the governing process. But in the interim, they at least open up the policymaking space to more of your "wonkish and thoughtful people" who don't happen to work on Capitol Hill or for a lobbying firm with influence. The power of the web, introduced into this governance equation, is that the diverse and dispersed expertise of many people can be concentrated and included in policy debates. While this will still naturally cater to the online-politically-engaged crowd, at least we're hearing viewpoints from beyond the halls of congress or X, Y, Z powerful industry. At least the information's there, to be used by wonks at think tanks and advocacy organizations; to be used by Average Joe, Jane or Jose to follow an issue (like unemployment, in my example above) that impacts their life directly.

What excites me about these tools is that they're open. The issues of engagement you mention are real and troubling; but if we can make progress on that front, the tools are increasingly available to allow that engagement and participation to matter more than ever. In the meantime, we can at least rely on those smart wonks to use this unprecedented access to information (which will only improve) to inform the rest of us about what's going on.

Even engaged people rely on shortcuts like Pat mentions. I know next to nothing about health policy, but if I hear that the Senate is voting on a plan in line with recommendations from the Center for American Progress I might call my Senators in support (good luck there, but that's another story). These open platforms for information allow the possibility (I recognize, despite my "feverish hopes," that these are lofty dreams) of broad-based civic engagement in government...BUT (and perhaps more importantly) they also open the gates to a more diverse and, frankly, better group of experts to help keep politicians honest.

As the bouncer in this here bar, I think it's time for you fellas to take your squabble elsewhere...namely, email.

I hear your points, but I still fall back into the "whoever invents this battery is going to receive the credit, fame, and fortune they well deserve" camp.

I like that McCain's signal with this prize idea is at least "I think these technologies matter," or "we need next generation battery technology to move forward on clean energy for automobiles," but the difference between the space X-Prize and this idea is (and this is arguable, but I think it's true) that nobody needs to light a fire under would-be battery inventors. I think the pace of change in aerospace technology HAD declined a bit prior to the X-Prize, and you're absolutely right that it produced a great deal of positive investment well beyond the prize amount. Whether that's needed here is unclear.

Bottom line: I'm not opposed to the battery prize per se, I'm just not convinced that it's necessary and I worry that it'll be seen as the end-all, be-all. In other words, I fear the attitude of: "we can't make any progress on clean energy until somebody solves that battery problem...guess we should go drill for oil off the coast."

As an interesting corrollary, many in philanthropy are aflutter about "prize philanthropy" exemplified by the x-prize. It's a cool model for change and something to watch for. The X-Prize Foundation, the organization that administered the space x prize, has a few other open "contests":

"The $10 million X PRIZE for Genomics prize purse will be awarded to the first Team that can build a device and use it to sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less, with an accuracy of no more than one error in every 100,000 bases sequenced, with sequences accurately covering at least 98% of the genome, and at a recurring cost of no more than $10,000 per genome."

"The Google Lunar X PRIZE is a $30 million international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to the Earth."

And the still-developing Progressive Automotive X Prize: "To inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change."

Ashish, I was merely re-publishing what I considered to be a thoughtful letter, from a friend, about a man who just died tragically young of cancer. You may feel that an official representative of the president should openly criticize that president's policies, but I don't really hold that against him, despite my own political disagreements with said policies. Regardless, the fact of the matter is that the letter addressed Mr. Snow's personal kindness...something you, and I, did not directly experience. Nor did Tony Snow personally wrong you. Let it go--I'm not sure who you expect to read your attack on the recently deceased and say "A-ha! He's right!"

I understand what you're saying but I'm not sure I buy it. I think this type of campaign (that Ezra also wrote about) is very effective:

http://pbjcampaign.org/

With those shades and a luther on your lunch plate....


....California, here you cooooooooooooooooooooome

So I hesitated to share this, but now that Rachel has outed herself as a white-noise sleeper I think I need to come clean too. I don't sleep very well unless I have a fan or other white noise...so much so that I too have a white noise sound machine I use occasionally at night.

I mostly listen to music while I work, though I'm going to give the white noise generators a try.

Huzzah!

Mountain View, CA

I have to say, I completely agree. Facebook Chat is pointless. It feels voyeuristic to see when all these distant high school acquaintances are online, and the whole beauty of Facebook is that I DON'T have to talk to loose connections in any kind of interactive way....we can just mutually and casually stalk each other through profiles. That's how it's supposed to be.

@ Chris: let me know if any of the recipes are tasty...their methods might be great, but there's no telling what recipes for engineers taste like.

@ Sam: you should start the momentum now for a bloggers' beer tent at the next NC Dem Party Convention. I'm thinking NC beers...Carolina Blonde, Red Oak, Highland Ale, it'd be great.