K Street Cafe

4 Predictions for the Future of Politics and Social Media (Mashable)
While no major U.S. elections will occur next year, this article looks at social media’s impact on the long term future of American civics.

SEC Probes Trading in Private Companies Including Facebook and Twitter (Mashable)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into trading with shares of privately owned companies, including Facebook and Twitter.

Clooney, Google, UN Team Up to Watch Sudan Border (The Washington Post)
A group founded by Clooney teamed up with Google, a U.N. agency and anti-genocide organizations to launch satellite surveillance of the border between north and south Sudan.

Americans Don’t Want the FCC to Regulate the Internet [STATS] (Mashable)
A new survey reveals that just one in five American voters want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the Internet.

Social Media Records Prove Tough to Preserve
(Federal Computer Week)
Federal records management of social media is fragmented, difficult to define and inadequately funded.

FCC Launches Apps Challenge to Keep Open the Internet
(Tech President)
FCC contest encourages Americans to develop apps and research highlighting where the “open Internet” is breaking down in the U.S.

The Fireside Chat Returns to the White House
(The New York Times)
The White House press secretary is answering questions  from the public via Web cam in front of a crackling West Wing fireplace.

Selling the Census (Tech President)
The Census Bureau, this year, has turned to new media again and again to deliver its message to Americans.

FCC to Vote Tuesday on ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules (CNN)
The FCC is set to vote on a set of regulations designed to ensure that internet providers grant everyone equal access to the Web.

Silencing WikiLeaks A Free Speech Challenge For U.S. (NPR)
Critics say efforts to silence WikiLeaks don’t square with the U.S. commitment to expanding the free flow of information online.

Meet ForeignAssistance.gov (Tech President)
The newly launched site tracks the $37 billion or so in foreign assistance managed through State and USAID each year.

Holiday Tweet Drive Brings Toys and Food to Disadvantaged Kids (Mashable)
The Holiday Tweet Drive is underway, using social media to gather toys and clothing for less-fortunate children.

A Call for a Federal Office to Guide Online Privacy
(The New York Times)
A Commerce Department task force called for the creation of a “Privacy Bill of Rights” for online consumers.

5 Ways Cities Are Using Social Media to Reverse Economic Downturn (Mashable)
Local economic development agencies have turned to social media tools and tactics to enhance their efforts nationally and locally.

Earlier in the week, AdWeek published a piece I wrote about the impending death of the newspaper. I was responding to an earlier article, in which Ross Dawson predicts the global demise of the newspaper industry in a country-by-country timeline. But while Dawson believes that the news industry will survive in a transformed state, it’s my opinion that the newspaper business model is simply unsustainable. Let me know what you think.

Cross-posted from Ad Week

Newspaper Business Model: Unsustainable in Any Form
The ‘newspapers are dying’ story line is hardly novel

U.S. newspapers as we know them will be extinct by 2017.

So says Ross Dawson, a self-proclaimed “futurist” from Australia who released a global newspaper extinction time line in October. Dawson’s latest time line makes country-by-country predictions based on factors including a nation’s demographics, consumer behaviors and technological capacities. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. newspaper empire is predicted to crumble first, given Americans’ widespread adoption of handheld technology and the declining state of the nation’s newspaper industry. The newspaper will apparently endure a slow and painful death around the globe, spanning from 2017 to 2040—and, perhaps, beyond. (He predicted that Australian newspapers would meet their demise by 2022.)

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Daschle Leaving DGA to Start a Social Platform
(Tech President)
Nathan Daschle is leaving the Democratic Governors Association to start up a new political social network.

Congress May Get Tech Overhaul (Politico)
IPads have become increasing popular with Congress and members hope the gadgets will be formally allowed on the historically tech-free floor.

State Dept. Spokesman Heavily Uses Twitter to Battle WikiLeaks Fallout (The Hill)
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has been employing Twitter to hit back at the latest WikiLeaks document dump that began nearly two weeks ago.

Networks and Hierarchies: A Typology of Digital Activism Today (Tech President)
A typology of how networks affect hierarchies in the digital world.