Must read, January 2014

January 22, 2014

Why the World Needs OpenStreetMap

by Serge Wroclawski

The point is that when you use any map provider, you are handing them the controls- letting them determine what features get emphasized, or what features may not be displayed at all.

We Need Viable Search Engine Competition, Now

by John J Peebles

Google is making arbitrary rules on how sites should behave, because they have a monopoly. If they didn’t have a monopoly, they might not be able to make these arbitrary rules, and others might not follow them.

David Cameron's internet porn filter is the start of censorship creep

by Laurie Penny

The category of "obscene content", for instance, which is blocked even on the lowest setting of BT's opt-in filtering system, covers "sites with information about illegal manipulation of electronic devices [and] distribution of software" – in other words, filesharing and music downloads, debate over which has been going on in parliament for years. It looks as if that debate has just been bypassed entirely (...).

Can We All Just Admit Google Is An Evil Empire?

by Joshua Rivera

We’re still actively talking about Google in light of their old mantra: "Don’t be evil."
We need to stop. Immediately.
In fact, the notion of what is meant by that phrase has always been a slippery one when used in discussion about Google, but to Google itself, what constitutes as "evil" has always been clear: Evil is what Google says it is.