Concerned Citizens

This past weekend if you surfed the NY Times website Sunday morning looking for information on the “Tea Party” march in Washington you probably were surprised to have a fake antivirus malware popup hit you warning you of virus problems. Many of us who saw the popup were shocked that a site with the reputation of the NY Times would have such a situation happen. Fortunately my browser, Google’s Chrome, prevented the malware from being loaded and installed on my computer and saved me hours of painful removal process. The NY Times did respond to the issue and removed the malicious ad from the site. But how could this have happened? Furthermore, how could a fake picture about the march in Washington be posted as legitimate? Ah, the false reality of the Internet. Read more…

In an opinion piece in today’s Express-News Bruce Davidson cites the track record that Mayor Hardberger had with shunning the influence of lobbyists at City Hall and asks if the next mayor can continue that practice. He cites a few things that might help including the extension of term limits voters recently approved, helping provide more experienced council members in decision making. I agree that it is time for council to take back the process and bring more accountability to our city government. It really is in their best interest to demonstrate that our local government cannot be bought. But what steps should be taken to carry this forward? Read more…

Last night two of the major mayoral campaigns in San Antonio had social media events. Julian Castro hosted a Blogger Summit engaging several of San Antonio’s bloggers as well as main stream media writers. The event was webcast and had a chat room running for listeners to comment and ask questions. Trish DeBerry-Mejia hosted a Tweetup gathering that was also webcasted and had a chat room. Both were experiments in engaging voters in a new way. Based on reports coming in it appears both were a success but it seems some people saw it as more of a competition than an experiment. Maybe that’s not a bad thing after all. Read more…

Sunday Randall Stross wrote in the New York Times about the changing view of privacy in the age of Facebook. In the article Stross talks about how comfortable the younger generation is with sharing details about their life with others. “It’s the older members — those who could join only after it opened membership in 2006 to workplace networks, then to anyone — who are adjusting to a new value system that prizes self-expression over reticence,” writes Stross. As I’ve watched more and more of my over-40 friends joining Facebook I’m seeing a general shift in that attitude. The question becomes how far that shift in transparency will extend into society. Read more…

State Rep. Joaquin Castro (R-San Antonio) is proposing that Texas has its own version of C-SPAN in a letter sent to Texas cable and satellite providers. In a posting at the Burnt Orange Report the details of the proposal are outlined. Currently this option is only available to residents of Austin. Americans have the ability to follow the federal goverrnment through C-SPAN. Local municipalities can follow their city government also. Castro feels broadcasts of the Texas legislature should be available to all Texas residents. “Watchful public eyes make for a more accountable government,” Castro said. Read more…