K Street Cafe

State Department Launches Arabic Twitter Feed
(The Washington Post)
The State Department is now using Twitter to transmit its thoughts to the Arab world in Arabic.

The FCC Wants You to Get Your Map On (Tech President)
IssueMap, a new “copy, paste, map” online platform introduced by the FCC lets you paste in or upload geographic data to create an interactive map of the U.S.

Comcast-NBC Universal Deal Gets Thumbs Up From FCC and Justice Department (Los Angeles Times)
The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department have approved Comcast Corp.’s deal to take a majority stake in General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal.

A Virtual Congress Would Put its Members Back in Their Home States (The Tennessean)
Opinion piece on how we can save our political system by creating a virtual Congress, where members would telecommute from their home districts and states to Washington.

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.

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.

Lobbying War Over Net Heats Up (Wall Street Journal)
Big phone and cable companies are doing last-minute lobbying to shape a pending FCC proposal to prevent Internet providers from interfering with web traffic.

Zuckerberg and Icahn Join Buffett and Gates on Giving Pledge List (The New York Times)
Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, is pledging to give away most of his wealth.

Inside the White House Email Program (Tech President)
A quarter of the people that get emails from the White House also use social sites like Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis, according to a White House survey.

F.C.C. Chairman Outlines Broadband Framework
(The New York Times)
The Federal Communications Commission chairman will try again on Wednesday to devise a new strategy for regulating broadband Internet service providers.

How the White House is Using a White Board to Communicate + Advocate (Advocacy 2.0)
White House video uses whiteboard to discuss the President’s trip to Asia promoting the National Export Initiative.

F.C.C. Investigates Google Street View (The New York Times)
The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether Google violated laws when it collected Wi-Fi data as part of its Street View photo project.

Industry, FCC Coming Close to Agreement on Net-Neutrality (NextGov)
Talks between FCC officials and industry stakeholders regarding Internet regulation to wrap up with Thursday meeting.

Charity Just Got More Daring with New Website (Mashable)
Startup site MyDunkTank shows the lighthearted side of charity by allowing supporters to vote on dares for fundraisers to perform.

Political Ads Off Limits, Goldman Promises (The New York Times)
Goldman Sachs vows not to spend any money on political ads, bending to pressure to limit their influence on elections.