One Company Rules the Numbers

I'm old enough to remember when there was one company that ruled the phone system in the US. Since it's break up there certainly have been some ups and downs in the world of phones, but almost everyone would agree that prices have come down. But did you know that there is company that serves as the digital directory for all the rest? NeuStar is the carriers' digital directory for all phone calls in North America. More than 800 telephone companies have numbers in the database. NeuStar assigns blocks of available telephone numbers to carriers. It also manages the directory for common short codes: five- or six-digit codes that people punch into their cellphones to take part in sweepstakes or to vote for game-show contestants, for instance. And about one out of every four Internet transactions is routed using a NeuStar database, as NeuStar handles traffic for domains that include .biz, .us, .org and .info.

NeuStar's databases are so powerful that the FBI a few years ago sought direct, unfettered access to one containing 310 million phone numbers in the United States and Canada. The telephone companies that pay NeuStar to run the database denied the FBI's request, but they did allow NeuStar to create a site where authorized law enforcement officials with court orders can obtain carrier information on telephone numbers. That's some kind of little black book, eh?

(This entry is linked to the Washington Post, where you can read the article for free but you will have to register.)

Is the Concept of Copyright Changing?

Pat Moser, Sidwell Friends School, asked a group of educators, "What's a librarian to do?" and we could stretch that to add teachers and students as well. The confusion over copyright and Fair Use seems to be growing as more and more content is available digitally. Moser wants to know "if copyright laws are destined for oblivion", "if we should feel free to copy and adapt", how authors will be compensated for their work, and "what DO we tell our students about copyright?" She suggests we check out Joyce Valenza's Fair Use and Transformativeness: It May Shake Your World and Harvard's Opt Out Plan as we think about where we are heading. Renee Hobbs, Temple University says, "Copyright is designed not only to protect the rights of owners, but also to preserve the ability of users to promote creativity and innovation." What does that mean to those in the classroom and what does that mean to those producing writing, film, photographs, and other works that may be copyright protected?

Where Are We in Internet Safety?

It seems as if we've been writing about online safety on the Web forever, and even before the Web became so popular we were writing about safety on online services. Are we getting anywhere with keeping our children safe online? Certainly there are more programs to keep kids safe today, but there are also more problems-probably because so many more people are online and kids have learned to get around the safety nets we put out for them. Like drugs, smoking, and alcohol abuse education, we've tried scare tactics, monitoring, and reasoning. With technology, we've also tried filtering. Through it all, we've learned that we (teachers and parents) are the best Internet filters, monitors, and guides for our children-better than any program. One of the problems we face is that kids think they know so much more than we do about the Internet and think we are overreacting when it comes to their safety online. So what do we do? Because we can't watch our students all the time, we have to educate them and hope that they'll make the right decisions when we are not there to watch. What else can we do? Ideas?

Cyber Warfare – Not Fiction Anymore

Don't think that cyber warfare is merely fuel for novel writers. Cyber attacks are being waged in increasing numbers - and not by geeky hackers sitting in their bed or dorm rooms either. Computer network attacks are often perpetrated by gangs of professional criminal hackers attempting to break into a system for financial gain. But now there is an even new twist. Some criminal hacker groups are starting to test the same strategies on government agencies. Though political attacks haven't been as common as those seeking personal and corporate information, cyber attacks for political purposes could just as easily be used as a weapon against governments. A country's national security could be severely threatened by a team of hackers successfully cracking certain computer systems run by government agencies. Case in point - Estonia.  Last April, Estonian government and corporate Web sites were under constant attack by about 1 million computers worldwide. Over a three-week period, the attacks swamped Estonia's computer network with so much traffic that the government there was forced to shut them down. The Estonian government reportedly traced much of the attacking traffic to Russian computers and found instructions in Russian on the Internet on how to carry out the attack. The Russian government denied any involvement. No mater why the attacks happened it has served as a wake up call to governments world-wide.

Social Networking Takes on Fund Raising

If big business suddenly understood that the world - especially the world of young people - is moving online, than non-profits were sure to follow. Nonprofit groups are increasingly looking at social networking sites as avenues to raise money and promote their causes. There are also philanthropy-centric social networks, such as YourCause.com, HopeEquity.org and actor Kevin Bacon's SixDegrees.org. All are testing ways to raise money through these networks, betting that the Internet's viral nature will open fresh avenues for fund-raising and marketing. This is leap of faith for nonprofits as they shift from direct mail campaigns and relying on the checkbooks of older givers to the unpredictable whims of Web popularity.

What to Do With Old Slides

Do you have boxes or carousels of old slides around but your old slide projector gave it up some time ago? Friends have probably mentioned that they've managed to scan their slides into their computer, but maybe that seems like an impossible task. Now you can get someone else to take on this job for you at about 27 cents a slide. ScanCafe will not only transform your slides into digital images on DVDs, but will also take on negatives, photos on paper, and photo restoration. You send in your images by UPS, ScanCafe scans them, sends you a link online so you can look at them and delete the scans you don't want, and then you pay only for the ones you want. (A 50% deposit is required)  Once you have them on DVD you won't need to worry about finding someone who can loan you a working slide projector. One thing - ScanCafe has proven to be such a good service that it will take some time to get your pictures back - so be sure to add that time factor in if you need the pictures back for a reunion, scrapbook project with a deadline, etc.

What Exactly Is Cyberbullying?

As we've watched how kids interact online, we've found that behavior online is much like kids' behavior in school and in the community. They try out words they consider "bad", tease friends, make sexual jokes and references, ignore some kids, and make fun of other kids. Those who've been in education a long time, remember the sadness brought about by slam books (books where kids wrote nasty reviews of others in a class). We also know that kids exclude others from lunch tables, parties, and friendship groups. Although none of this could be considered nice or kind, it's what some kids do. As teachers and parents, we try our best to stop it, but much of it happens when it's impossible for us to notice. It's the same with online communication. So how can we tell the difference between normal kid behavior that is inappropriate and bullying or cyberbullying?  Bullying and cyberbullying are when the teasing, "bad" words, etc. isn't among friends who are just having fun trying out inappropriate behaviors. It's inappropriate behavior that continues and sometimes escalates into threatening behavior. It's using the anonymity of the Web to hurt others by posting unattractive or revealing images/video and/or inappropriate and/or inaccurate comments. It's not normal kid behavior that parents and teachers must deal with and correct. It's much more. But be careful that you know the difference - overreacting can be as bad as not reacting at all. Another dilemma of parenting in the digital age.

Trouble Brewing Over Online Behavior Tracking

Trouble with a capital "T" is coming over behavioral tracking.  This is the tracking of consumers online by marketing companies and advertisers so they can serve them later with targeted advertisements when they're on the Web. A pair of consumer groups is calling for a "Do Not Track" list that Web users can join, while the Newspaper Association of America contends it has a First Amendment right to collect information about its audience. Where do you come out on this issue? What about your kids? One of the great advantages of the Internet is linkages, but do you want people spying on your every online move?

A Quiz on Taking Pictures in Public

Do you or your kids take pictures on a regular basis with your cell phone or camera? Ever given any thought to what's legal to snap shots of and what isn't? Probably not, eh? Well just for your own information - and because this is very liable to become an issue down the slippery digital slope of modern life - try taking Kim Komodo's quick quiz on the subject on the USA Today site. You may be surprised to find out how many laws you (and your kids) have (or haven't) broken.

New Site, Same Password Opens Door to Hackers

It's so easy to do in the whirl of everyday life - use the same password on every site you shop on, to open you Facebook page, for your email and who knows what else. But using the same password for multiple Web pages is the Internet-era equivalent of having the same key for your home, car and bank safe-deposit box. While people seem to understand this is a no-no - 88 percent of the 800 people interviewed in the U.S. and the UK for a survey on the subject said personal irresponsibility is the key cause of identity theft and fraud - nearly half of these 800 interviewees still said that they use just one password for all their online accounts. Researchers say the findings suggest that many users underestimate the growing threat from organized cyber-criminals who reap big profits from selling stolen identities. The result costs consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year in higher security costs.