AlwaysRightOn

I've got to hand it to Tony Perkins and his team at AlwaysOn, this conference was a hit (despite a bit of a weird start). Last year was good, this year positively grooved. If Gnomedex is Woodstock for geeks, this is the Playboy Jazz Festival's NorCal roadshow. Steve Gillmor nails it, and you can add passes and tables for press and bloggers alike, hiccup-less WiFi, and provocative programming to the list of things well done. Definitely take advantage of the archived video and chat (too bad the two aren't synched when they're re-played, some of the chat will make no sense if you can't tell what it's reacting to; something to work on for next year perhaps). Anyway, thanks to all for an intriguing good time!

[Technorati tag: AlwaysOn2005]

Catch A Rising Podcaster

If you haven't met John Furrier, chances are you will. I say this because his energy and enthusiasm are irrepresible, his charm is prodigious, he loves talking to people — and if you haven't done a podcast with him, he is probably, even now, tracking you down. If you haven't listened to his InfoTalk Podcast, you should. He has grabbed interviews with lots of the people here, and did the same at Gnomedex.

[Technorati tag: AlwaysOn2005]

Annotators' Rights

C|Net has this report on a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday about a proposed media shield law, and whether bloggers should and will be covered by the statute is on the legislative radar: "'The fact is that there are new and different types of people reporting and making information available to anyone around the world,' Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said at the two-and-a-half hour hearing." [Via Genie Tyburski]

There are undeniably differences between bloggers and journalists (and the degree of difference varies from blogger to blogger), but people who make time to annotate their lives and the contents of their heads serve a new and societally important role. What's the best argument for ensuring they are subject to protections traditionally reserved for traditional journalists? And is the "should they be?" question capable of answer in the aggregate and in advance? There's a blogging session this afternoon at AlwaysOn, maybe this is something they can take up.

See also the EFF's FAQ on the Reporter's Privilege.

[Technorati tag: AlwaysOn2005]

And Elsewhere At Stanford

Cathy Kirkman has excellent coverage of the Grokster program that took place July 11.

Gender In Color

Lisa Stone has color-coded the AlwaysOn speaker list by gender: "When you read this list of Always On speakers below, do you see the value in BlogHer ... ?" Gives new meaning to having the Blues (though there are many, many more women attendees here than there were, for example, at Gnomedex).

Dave Winer understands (cough cough cough!).

[Technorati tag: AlwaysOn2005]