Friday, January 3, 2014

The Top 70 Most Social U.S. Federal Technology Pros On Twitter



Alex Howard

Steve Ressler

Beth Beck

Casey Coleman

David Bray

Rick Holgate

Erie Meyer

Kevin Baron

Aneesh Chopra

Goldy Kamali

Gwynne Kostin

William Eggers

Steven VanRoekel

Eric Chabrow

Justin Herman

John Michel

Chris Dorobek

Todd Park

Marina Martin

Cameron Brenchley

Jimmy Daly

Brett Bobley

Matthew Burton

Alice Lipowicz

Jason Miller

Joseph Marks

Mary Davie

Jeanne Holm

Mike Kruger

Wyatt Kash

Bryan Sivak

Andy Blumenthal

Sonny Hashmi

Camille Tuutti

Bill Marion

Claudia Hosky

Andrea DiMaio

Amber Corrin

Frank Konkel

Bob Brewin

Naba Barkakati

Tim Fullerton

Ward Walker

Brittany Ballenstedt

Vanessa Roberts

Molly Walker

Troy Schneider

Colby Hochmuth

Adam Mazmanian

Nicole Johnson

Frank Baitman

Ryan Petersen

Shawn McCarthy

Matt McLaughlin

Thomas Sasala

Rutrell Yasin

Peter Tseronis

Greg Poersch

Stan Buch

Zach Rausnitz

John Bicknell

Xavier Hughes

Nishant Shah

Rory Schultz

Heather Kuldell

Reid Davenport

Shawn Kingsberry

Deborah Diaz

Steve Watkins

Scott Maucione



 



Information flow and interactive communication with our elected and appointed representatives is vital for government to function. It's unfortunate that frenzies such as the roll out of HealthCare.gov can overshadow the positive changes and developments going on in this area. One especially positive development is that technology leaders in federal government are becoming active in social networking, driving an ever-improving customer experience for citizens. While the process of social business transformation is important to all industries, it has a critical role in government. According to the PEW Research Center, only 43% of Americans believe that our elected officials are "able to get things done." Better communication on the part of his team to his constituency can improve that standing.



Here's the list of the most socially innovative federal government technologists in the US. This list includes federal CIOs, CTOs and key IT staff members, as well as federal media and analysts who work closest with the US federal government. These individuals actively engage on social media. The ranking is based on several factors including the number of tweets, size of the network, number of lists, Klout and Kred scores, and regular thoughtful interactions and engagements. I invite you to join me in applauding the technologist on this list for their commitment to inform and better educate their networks.



I plan on researching and sharing a list of socially innovative technologists in state and local government, as well as global government social innovators shortly. As always, I welcome suggestions on other brilliant federal CIOs/CTOs/CDOs, analysts, editors and curators to include on the list.






 
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Thursday, January 2, 2014

The Lawless Internet? Myths and Misconceptions About CDA Section 230

The recent arrest of revenge porn site operator Kevin Christopher Bollaert and the defamation ruling against the gossip site The Dirty have brought a 1996 federal law called the Communications Decency Act Section 230 into the media spotlight. The popular narrative of §230 is that it is the essential building block of online freedom of expression, and that attempts to alter it will spell the death of the Internet. Whether the Internet really does protect freedom of expression for all -- as opposed to protecting the freedom of expression for certain groups at the expense of silencing, abusing and inhibiting other groups -- is open to debate, but the need for a correct understanding of §230 is clear.

Unfortunately, the popular understanding of §230 is at best imprecise. Most of what is written about §230 focuses on one isolated passage: "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." This portion of §230 is often characterized as granting website owners complete immunity regarding any content posted by users. This characterization is incorrect in two respects.

First, §230 expressly states that no Internet entity has immunity from federal criminal law, intellectual property law or communications privacy law. This means that every Internet service provider, search engine, social networking platform and website is subject to thousands of laws, including child pornography laws, obscenity laws, stalking laws and copyright laws.

Second, §230 immunity only applies to online intermediaries of third-party content. Individuals who directly engage in unlawful online conduct or co-create online unlawful content are not protected. The CDA distinguishes providers of "interactive computer services" from "information content providers." An interactive computer service "provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server," whereas an "information content provider" is any person responsible "in whole or in part... for the creation or development of information." In other words, §230 protects intermediaries from liability for the actions of others, not individuals from liability for their own illegal conduct.

The distinction makes sense: Most of us would probably agree that Facebook, for example, should not be held liable for the posts of its (over) one billion users. Policing such massive content would not only be impractical, but would discourage platforms like Facebook from existing at all. Additionally, it would not be fair to treat Mark Zuckerberg as the speaker of every Facebook post a user makes. But a website owner who directly engages in illegal behavior is very different. A person cannot claim immunity for unlawful conduct simply because he engages in it online. Illegal conduct is not magically rendered legal simply because it happens online instead of offline.

Now the harder questions: Many websites and web platforms offer some mix of content created by users and owners. At what point does a site or service cross the line between being a facilitator of third-party content to being a co-creator of that content? While courts have generally been very generous in granting §230 immunity to online entities even when they play some role in the creation of illegal content, two federal appellate cases have been more exacting. In a 2008 Ninth Circuit case, Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, a roommate-matching website was sued for allegedly engaging in housing discrimination. The site raised a §230 defense, arguing that the offending content was created by users, not the site itself. The site required subscribers to disclose information such as gender, family status and sexual orientation, as well as their preferences as to these categories for potential roommates. The site used this information to develop subscriber profiles that displayed these preferences for potential roommates. The court held that the site was an information content provider with respect to the questions it required users to answer, and thus did not have §230 immunity with regard to that content.

Similarly, in the 2009 case FTC v. Accusearch, Inc., the Tenth Circuit denied §230 immunity to a website offering the sale of personal telephone records. The court found that exposing confidential information to public view was "development" of that information for the purposes of §230, making the website an information content provider (subject to liability) rather than an interactive computer service provider (immune from liability).

This brings us back to Nik Richie and Kevin Bollaert. Nik Richie's gossip website The Dirty published defamatory posts about ex-Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones. The posts were submitted by third-party users, but Richie decided which posts to publish and added his own commentary to one of the defamatory posts. The court denied Richie's §230 claim. In upholding the defamation ruling against the website, the court found that it "did far more than just allow postings by others or engage in editorial or self-regulatory functions."

Bollaert, the revenge porn site owner, has been charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion for soliciting sexually graphic images of women without their consent. Bollaert's site required users to provide personal identifying information of the women depicted, and Bollaert allegedly also ran a separate website that offered to remove the images for a fee. According to the arrest warrant, Bollaert's solicitation of the images violated California's identity theft laws, which makes it illegal "to willfully obtain someone's personal identifying information, including name, age and address, for any unlawful purpose, including with the intent to annoy or harass." Bollaert will likely raise §230 as a defense to the identity theft charges (It will be more difficult for Bollaert to raise a §230 defense to the extortion charges, as he allegedly engaged in that conduct directly), arguing that he personally did not use the information to harass or invade the privacy of the victims.

It isn't clear what the ultimate outcome of either case will be. The ruling against The Dirty may well be overturned; the identity theft charges against Bollaert may not stick. Both cases present interesting and difficult questions about line-drawing with regard to Internet immunity.

Stepping back, it is also important to consider Congress's goals in passing CDA §230. Popular rhetoric is selective on this point as well. It is true, as so often proclaimed, that the policy goals of §230 include the promotion and protection of free speech principles. Such principles are not self-evident, however. The law states that it is the policy of the Unites States to "preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet... unfettered by Federal or State regulation." As an initial matter, whether the Internet really offers a "free market" for the exchange of ideas is a matter of considerable dispute, and the claim that the Internet is "unfettered by regulation" is demonstrably false (see above re: the thousands of laws that currently govern Internet activity).

Moreover, free speech is not the only value protected by §230. The other, often overlooked goals of §230 include the development of technologies that "maximize user control over what information is received" by Internet users, as well as the "vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking and harassment by means of computer." In other words, the law is intended to promote and protect the values of privacy, security and liberty alongside the values of open discourse. Section 230 is an important and complex law, and it is both dangerous and inaccurate to treat it as a blanket license for online abuse.
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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

10 Best Video Games Of 2013

2013 may have been the year that gaming finally entered its next generation after the longest-ever run of the current console tech, but it went out with some next-level ambition.

While the PS4 and Xbox One struggled a little with their launch games (as all systems do), the still-struggling Wii U, released last season, nailed a new Super Mario classic over three decades after the character's debut and the PS3 and Xbox 360 planted their final flags with pride.

Faded icons were revived and forgotten genres were re-animated while open worlds were built ever more alive and interactive narratives delved into deeper, darker themes.

And so here are the 13 best games I played in 2013.

1. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Level 5 and Studio Ghibli / Namco Bandai; PS3

Hayao Miyazaki is known as the Japanese Walt Disney and his Studio Ghibli has amassed a similarly beloved catalogue of classic animated films. Ni No Kuni is their first foray into gaming. Though their famously game-averse boss reportedly played little role here, the result is nonetheless the most gorgeous of the year (even though it came out in Japan in 2011).

It may lack the hyperrealism of the new next-gen consoles, but it literally feels like you're playing a hand-drawn film -- and the epic musical score by Ghibli collaborator Joe Hisashi and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra only amplifies that cinematic feeling.

The art direction, character design, and world building demonstrate an incredible imagination while the epic yet intimate story is boldly melancholy. The mother of the lead, a young boy named Oliver, dies at the beginning and his tears lead him from his 50s Americana town into a fantasy realm ("Ni no Kuni" translates to "another world") where he hopes to find out how to bring her back to life.

The gameplay, handled by Dragon Quest icons Level-5, is a traditional turn-based Japanese RPG, making the combat slow, strategic and admittedly sometimes frustrating, but it fits with a game which, just like Ghibli films, unrolls at a measured pace, confident that its quality will carry you along.

2. Bioshock Infinite
Irrational Games/2K Games
Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Mac

This spiritual sequel to 2007's anti-Objectivist classic Bioshock by philosophizing developer Ken Levine is set in a floating "utopian" cloud city called Columbia in the year 1912 that satirizes the idealized past as imagined by the likes of Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and the Tea Party.

The gameworld functions as a critique of of American Exceptionalism, religious fundamentalism and endemic racism as well as skewering the ideologues on the left once the rag-tag revolutionaries rise up against the theocratic dictatorship and prove to be similarly brutal.

Admittedly some of these deep thoughts are undercut by the reductive first-person shooter gameplay which eventually turns you into a mass murder rampaging through a charnel house, and which eventually sparked an online backlash, but even that felt true to the subtext that ideology corrupts absolutely. Still, the game wasn't just a poli-sci paper, it had a quantum physics-inspired narrative about parallel universes, too, that made your head hurt long after the gunfire died down.

3. Super Mario 3D World
Nintendo; Wii U; Rating: E

No matter how old you are, if you're a gamer you probably grew up on Super Mario. So this follow-up to the Italian plumber's first foray into 3D gaming from the Super Nintendo days -- as well as a direct sequel to 2011's Super Mario 3D Land on 3DS -- should tickle your nostalgia bone even as it wows you with its gorgeous graphics and clever combination of free-roaming and side-scrolling gameplay.

But ultimately, the reason it works now is the same reason it worked back in 1991-- it is an ingeniously designed virtual playground that focuses on fun and creativity above all other things. Not only is the new game a worthy successor, but it's perfect for friends and families, because it's built to be a four-player co-op game for everyone can play together.

Even if you play solo, the multiplayer aspect means that you can pick and choose from Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach. The latter is the real boon here, as the damsel in distress trope is easily the worst part of the series, and it's a pleasure to play as said damsel finally kicking Koopa Troopa butt. It's a game that quite simply never feels flat.

Blog continues below slideshow...


4. The Last of Us
Naughty Dog / Sony
PS3

Games have long aspired to be respected as art, or at least as much as cinema, but their biggest hurdle has always been narrative. Well, that achievement has been unlocked with this unexpected epic from the folks behind the fun but far less-ambitious Uncharted games. TLOS takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has essentially been turned into zombies (they're actually infected by a mutated fungus) with most of the survivors turning out to be even worse.

As a father who lost his daughter in the chaos and became a ruthless gun-runner, you must regain your own humanity by helping escort a young girl across a ravaged America to a resistance group that may be able to use her to create a vaccine. While there's plenty of combat on hand, it's the sharp writing, impressive acting (both voice and motion-capture), organic art direction and bleak storytelling that set this game above its peers and earned its ream of near-perfect reviews. And that ending, oh, that ending.

5. Grand Theft Auto V
Rockstar North / Rockstar Games
PS3, Xbox 360

Rockstar has been making Grand Theft Auto games for forever now and yet they still manage to surprise us with their quality. Once again, you play a criminal in a sprawling storyline that will take you from one end of a seemingly living, breathing city to the other. But it's so much bigger this time. In fact, you're actually playing three criminals whose stories intersect, and this new version of Los Santos, a thinly veiled L.A. first introduced in the sprawling PS2 game San Andreas, is so much more alive.

The satire still has bite, the music has kick and there's even a free online component that turns it, for the first time into a massively-multiplayer game in the vein of World of Warcraft, albeit one inhabited by metaphorical trolls rather than real ones. GTA V will be remembered as the game that made a billion bucks in three days, but it should be remembered as the most fully realized open-world that gaming has yet produced.

6. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Ubisoft Montreal
Multiplatform

Is there a better bait-and-switch history lesson than virtual assassinations? Perhaps not. The Montreal-made Assassin's Creed series has always combined historical high-brow with visceral low -- it's right there in the title -- and this latest entry is no different. What is different is the new focus on piracy. Naval battles were a minor but much-loved feature of AC III, set during the American Revolution, and they've taken centre-stage in this 1715 sequel starring you as proper pirate of the Caribbean.

Though Havana, Kingston and Nassau are fascinating, historically accurate simulated cities well worth exploring, the best part of the Black Flag takes place on the high seas.

7. Tearaway
Media Molecule / Sony Computer Entertainment; PS Vita;

British studio Media Molecule first made their name with the award-winning LittleBigPlanet, a side-scrolling platformer rooted in a handmade arts and crafts aesthetic. For their first excursion outside that acclaimed franchise, their signature style has evolved from textiles to the equally beguiling and whimsical world of papercraft. Each and every single thing on screen appears as if were constructed out of paper.

Innovatively, they've taken advantage of the Vita's touchscreen, rear touchpad and two cameras to bring the player (adorably referred to as "the You") directly into the game's meta narrative -- your face appears as the sun and when you touch the back of handheld system, virtual versions of your fingers pop through into the game itself. You're basically God, holding a pocket universe in your hands.

They've upgraded from LBP's 2D sidescroller to Tearaway's 3D world, dramatically opening up the gameplay, but if you want to play in three dimensions, you can take in-game photos of certain objects that will unlock printable instructions on how to build these paper models in the real world. It's a charming, gorgeous, creative, non-violent (your weapon is an accordion!) and utterly unique slab of digital art that should win over gamers of any and all ages.

8. Marvel Lego Super Heroes
TT Games / Warner Bros Interactive; Multiplatform;

TT Games first leveraged Lego's popular Star Wars line into a warmly parodic take on the two trilogies a decade ago. They've since expanded into other film franchise licenses like Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but they really found their voice in the superhero realm. Freed from the constraints of popular movie plots but still populated with characters familiar to young gamers, Lego Marvel Super Heroes is the spiritual sequel to their second Batman game, which boasted an ambitious open world structure, as well as a sprawling roster of DC super friends.
This new Marvel game ups the fanservice ante even further with 155 (!) playable characters, ranging from the mainstream heroes of the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four to cult faves like Silver Surfer, Iron Fist, MODOK and Kraven the Hunter to civilians like Spidey's Aunt May and cameo-happy creator Stan Lee.

As a grown-up comic geek, its depth and respect for the source material made it a real pleasure to play -- but it was even better playing co-op with my four-year-old superhero-obsessed son. The violence is strictly cartoonish, the puzzles are clever but not too challenging and, well, there's nothing quite like the grin your kid will get while yelling "Hulk Smash!" as he makes the green goliath pound New York City into Lego bricks.

9. Beyond: Two Souls
Quantic Dreams
PS3

The latest from French auteur David Cage continues his quest to meld games and cinema together into a new form of interactive drama. He is joined in this effort by Canadian actress Ellen Page who provides the voice and motion-capture performance as Jodie, a girl attached to a supernatural entity, alongside Willem Defoe, who plays a researcher and father figure.
Beyond generated the usual gripes that it's more of a choose-your-own-adventure than a game, due to it's non-traditional, narrative-driven gameplay. But Cage upped the risk ante even further by jumping haphazardly around the timeline, from Jodie's being bullied at teenage house parties to her living on the streets with a community of homeless people to missions for CIA. But while the action is fine enough, it's the uncommon quotidian scenarios that give the game the emotional oomph Cage always aspires to.


10. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Nintendo
Nintendo 3DS

Talk about a link to the past -- literally. The latest adventure for Nintendo's autostereoscopic handheld console is a direct sequel to the beloved, if primitive 1992 Super NES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. But while the familiar setting and top-down gameplay offer a nostalgia blast for older fans, that's not why this umpteenth visit to the kingdom of Hyrule to rescue its forever endangered princess Zelda is one of the year's most critically acclaimed.

Rather, it adds enough innovation (including non-linear exploration and the ability to turn Link into a 2D drawing) on top of its imitation (of then-ahead of its time game design) to craft a gameplay experiences that makes it a must-have for Zelda fans from the past, present and future.
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