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Three years ago this week, the Federal Communications Commission joined the Twitterverse with our handle @FCC. A few hours after sending our first Tweet, we used Twitter to announce our entry into the blogosphere: “FCC launches first-ever blog, called ’Blogband,’ to chronicle events of the National Broadband Plan. Check it out: broadband.gov/blog.” With the goal of transparency, openness and citizen engagement, this began the FCC’s efforts to connect with our constituencies through social media to keep them informed about FCC events, issues we’re working on and our ongoing efforts to provide access to government data and digital content. Three years and over 2,000 Tweets later, the FCC reaches nearly half-a-million followers on Twitter @FCC, which puts us in the top five among all government entities, behind @WhiteHouse, @NASA, @CDC and @Smithsonian.
Digital Firsts
Even the media’s had enough. The race for the White House has grown so toxic that it’s become a top topic among reporters and analysts covering the contest — and some are even calling on President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney to call a truce.
Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News and coauthor of “Bush’s Brain” said on CNN he it’s just par for the course in politics. He said that in 2000 during the GOP primary, Karl Rove directed Bush allies to suggest then-opponent Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ), fathered an illegitimate black child. “This has been going on for 212 years,” Slater said. “I think the media tries to do the job, but I do think that we get caught up in the kind of exciting, interesting and largely irrelevant name-calling that is the modern American political campaign.” He noted that in 1800 Thomas Jefferson against John Adams, “Adams was accused of being a crook, Jefferson of being a coward and an atheist.”
Media: This race is a disgrace
[Commentary] No one expected Campaign 2012 to be positive or uplifting. The country’s problems are too severe and the battle lines between Republicans and Democrats have been hardened by almost four years of conflict between the White House and Congress. But what is most striking about the campaign at this point is not just the negativity or the sheer volume of attack ads raining down on voters in the swing states. It is the sense that all restraints are gone, the guardrails have disappeared and there is no incentive for anyone to hold back. The other guy does it, so we’re going to do it too.
Negative ads are now one of the growth industries in an otherwise weak economy. How much is being spent? Romney’s campaign briefed reporters last Friday and included the following statistics. The amount of money spent on all advertising since early April in four key states is as follows: Florida, $95 million; Ohio, $92 million, Virginia, $68 million; North Carolina, $50 million. News organizations instituted fact-checking and ad watches in reaction to earlier campaigns, when candidates were getting away with half-truths and worse, with little accountability. These have become robust and increasingly comprehensive. But they are not providing much of a check on the behavior of the campaigns.
A most poisonous campaign
The federal judge overseeing the Apple-Samsung patent trial asked the chief executives of both companies to meet one last time to see if some sort of settlement might be reached. “I see risk here for both sides if we go to a verdict,” said Judge Lucy Koh. She said that if the companies were just seeking to show the world they both have intellectual property positions relative to tablets and smartphones, then “message delivered.” Judge Koh also noted that if what the parties were seeking is an external valuation of their portfolios, they are also getting that from trial courts worldwide. “It’s time for peace,” she said.
Give Peace a Chance, Judge Says, Asking Apple and Samsung CEOs to Meet One Last Time Apple, Samsung Patent Judge Asks CEOs To Talk Again (Bloomberg)
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit to force the Federal Bureau of Investigations to reveal internal memos on GPS tracking. The ACLU requested the documents, which provide guidance to FBI agents about using GPS devices to track suspects, last month under the Freedom of Information Act, but the FBI has yet to respond. The lawsuit asks the court to order the FBI to produce the documents immediately.
ACLU sues FBI for tracking memos ACLU to FBI: Tell the public how you interpret GPS tracking ruling (ars technica)
The Federal Election Commission moved forward with its plan to allow campaign giving via text message, assuring wireless carriers that they won't be responsible for verifying the eligibility of donors.
The wireless industry trade group CTIA sent a letter to the FEC last month expressing concerns that the donations would impose new burdens on carriers by forcing them to ensure that the donations are legal. The carriers, which included Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, argued that requiring them to verify the eligibility of a donor is "simply neither practicable nor workable." In response, the FEC has issued an advisory opinion clarifying that the campaigns — and not the carriers — will be responsible for reviewing whether the donations are proper. The FEC determined that normal texting charges can apply to text donations, but said special deviations from texting charges could qualify as "in-kind" contributions to a campaign. The campaigns of both President Obama and Mitt Romney support text donations, but the FEC cannot force wireless carriers to offer the service.
FEC moves ahead with plan for campaign donations by text Press release (FEC)
Video hasn't yet killed the radio star after all, although YouTube has taken over as the place where most teens listen to music, according to a report released by Nielsen.
Nielsen's Music 360 report found that radio is still the place where most people (48 percent) discover new music, compared to just 7 percent for YouTube. But once they have found it, 64 percent of teens listen to music through YouTube. The report found that 56 percent of teens listen to music on the radio while 53 percent use Apple's iTunes music player and half of teens still listen to music on compact discs, or CDs. Despite the plethora of social networking, blogs and endorsements, 54 percent of the 3,000 Americans surveyed for the report said they are more likely to buy music on the recommendation of a friend than the endorsement of a music chat room or blog.
Radio still turning Americans on to new music
Dish Network is preparing to introduce a nationwide broadband-Internet service using a satellite from sister company EchoStar, according to three people familiar with the situation.
The EchoStar 17 satellite, launched into orbit July 5, can support download speeds of 15 megabits per second, although introductory nationwide packages will probably offer rates of 5 megabits so the system can take on more capacity. Dish and EchoStar can handle about 2 million new Internet customers with the service. The move is the result of technological advancements for the U.S. satellite industry, which can now use higher-frequency bands to offer faster broadband to more people. The capacity for these kinds of services has climbed “by an order of magnitude,” said Deepak Dutt, vice president of investor relations at EchoStar. Dish expects to formally offer the service in late September or early October, mainly to subscribers in rural areas who may not have access to cable broadband.
Dish Network Said To Plan Nationwide Satellite Broadband
China had the biggest online audience worldwide for the London Olympics. 485 million users followed CNTV’s coverage of the games via PCs, mobile and connected devices. Even more impressive: CNTV served a total of 610 million streams to mobile phones, tablets and connected devices alone. China’s online video viewing has traditionally been dominated by PC usage, and Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes are still a rare sight. However, smart phone and tablet ownership is growing quickly. CNTV addressed this new audience with a dedicated premium offering for the 2012 Olympics that was facilitated by U.S. streaming platform provider Neulion.
China’s online Olympics audience breaks records
In a memo filed with the Southern District of New York, Apple argues that the Department of Justice’s proposed settlement with three book publishers forces Apple to tear up existing contracts. That is “fundamentally unfair, unlawful, and unprecedented,” Apple says: It’s not settling, so it’s entitled to a trial.
“Apple is taking a bold stance by ignoring the Judge’s admonition to the parties not to oppose the settlement, other than submitting comments,” said attorney and RoyaltyShare CEO Bob Kohn, who is seeking permission to file an amicus brief in the case. “Apple makes a good point that the proposed settlement terminates Apple’s agency contracts without a trial and that would be an unprecedented violation of Apple’s right to due process.” Apple also says the most favored nation clauses in its contracts have not “forced any publisher to adopt agency with other retailers,” and notes that “many independent publishers” — not mentioned by name here, but they include Sourcebooks and Scholastic — have agency pricing agreements with Apple and wholesale agreements with Amazon.
Kohn objects to this. If the settling publishers were to terminate their agency agreements with Amazon, he says, “that would (a) allow Amazon to resume predatory pricing (i.e., selling below its marginal cost) and (b) allow Apple, under its agency agreement with the publishers, exercise its MFN clause to match Amazon’s discounts. Since the publishers get 70 percent of what Apple charges, this could really hurt the settling publishers. I don’t think the Apple lawyers intended this, but it does seem an unfair result to the settling publishers.”
Apple bashes Amazon and proposed e-book settlement