Internet

"Just in Time" Censorship

by Diane Farsetta — October 4, 2007 - 1:44pm

It isn't just Burmese pro-democracy activists who have been denied Internet access by heavy-handed government censors. "OpenNet Initiative, which tracks Internet censorship, has documented signs that in recent years several governments -- including those of former Soviet republics Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- have closed off Internet access, or at least opposition Web sites, during periods preceding elections or times of intense protests.

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New York Times, October 4, 2007

Chevron Taps "Human Energy"

by Diane Farsetta — October 2, 2007 - 3:05pm

While ExxonMobil and BP have "spent lavishly on image ads," Chevron's new "power of human energy" campaign is a particularly ambitious "bid to recast itself as an environmentally responsible corporate citizen." Advertising Age reports that its first ad, a 2 1/2 minute spot from the ad agency McGa

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Washington Post, September 28, 2007

Burmese Citizen Journalists Defy Military Junta to Tell Story of Protests

by Judith Siers-Poisson — October 1, 2007 - 9:37am

Despite the danger of defying a military junta that is determined to quash the current wave of protests, and Internet penetration of only 1%, Burmese citizen journalists, activists, and former professional journalists have shared news and images with the res

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Wall Street Journal, September 28, 2007

U.S. Invades Cyberspace

by Diane Farsetta — September 26, 2007 - 4:34pm

The U.S. State Department is upgrading "foreign policy to Web 2.0 interactivity for the new electronic information age," with its first-ever blog, "Dipnote." The department "has already vastly expanded its Web presence and ...

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Associated Press, September 25, 2007

Animated Paper Clip Seeks Help in Establishing Front Groups

by Diane Farsetta — September 24, 2007 - 2:09pm

Alarmed at its rival Google's proposed purchase of the internet marketing firm DoubleClick, Microsoft is seeking to stoke opposition to the deal through its PR firm, Burson-Marsteller (B-M).

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The Observer (UK), September 23, 2007

Whiteout for the Web

by Sheldon Rampton — September 12, 2007 - 2:26am

Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, recently had firsthand experience with search engine optimization (SEO) techniques that companies are using to suppress negative stories about themselves on the Internet. A company called "DONE!

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The Red Tape Chronicles, September 11, 2007

Did Marlboro Man Edit Wikipedia?

by Bob Burton — September 5, 2007 - 1:23pm
  • Topics: Citizen Journalism, Internet, Corporate Social Responsibility, Issue Management, Health, Public Relations, Tobacco

    • Philip Morris (PM) has long been a past master at funding front groups and organizing scientists to deny the obvious. Now it is apparent that someone at PM tried puffing the entry in Wikipedia on the Marlboro cigarette.

    Flacks Get a Chill Up the Spine

    by Sheldon Rampton — September 5, 2007 - 1:20pm

    James L. Horton of the Robert Marston & Associates PR firm is worried about Wikileaks, a new website that provides a means for people to share information about unethical behavior by governments and corporations. Wikileaks says it "is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and participatory analysis.

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    Online Public Relations Thoughts, September 5, 2007

    Wikis Prove Tricky for PR Firms

    by Diane Farsetta — September 4, 2007 - 4:15pm

    Thanks to WikiScanner, more PR firms are coming under fire for making anonymous edits to Wikipedia that favored their clients. "Freud Communications' London office was caught making edits" on articles about Pizza Hut and Carphone Warehouse, reports PR Week.

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    PR Week, August 31, 2007

    A Visit to OhmyNews

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — September 4, 2007 - 1:32pm
  • Topics: Citizen Journalism, Activism, Internet, Journalism, International, Media

    • On my way home from conferences in Malaysia, I unexpectedly ended up spending a few days in Seoul, South Korea. Thanks to Dan Gillmor, who described OMN as the best manifestation of "journalism-as-a-conversation" model, I was able to connect with OhmyNews (OMN), and fortunate to meet with Mr. Jean Min, the director of OhmyNews International (OMNI), on August 22, 2007.

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