A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets — which wasn’t a lot because the sloth and the holiday season have started to take their toll. That’s also why this is being posted so late. Cope.

Podcasts

• Patch Monday episode 118, “2011: the year in security”. A panel discussion with Chris Gatford, director of penetration testing firm HackLabs; Paul Ducklin, Sophos’ head of technology for Asia Pacific; Stephen Wilson, managing director of Lockstep Group, who provides advice and analysis on digital identity and privacy technologies; and Jon Callas, chief technology officer at Entrust.
• The 9pm Edict episode 15, which includes my claim that Senator Stephen Conroy deliberately dropped the f-bomb earlier in the week.

Articles

• Time to drop the ‘e’, Technology Spectator, 13 December 2011. Lovely headline, but the article is actually about the language we use to describe technology.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

• On Tuesday, MobileIron paid for lunch at Silverbean on Enmore Road.
• On Friday, Symantec paid for lunch at Sake Restaurant, The Rocks.

Elsewhere

Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.

[Photo: A View from Hilton Hotel, Sydney, in particular the view onto George Street from the Executive Lounge. This photo was actually taken last night, 19 December, not in the "correct" week. But I know you won't mind.]

I think he did it deliberately. Watch the video and see for yourself.

Also, Australians are a bunch of wankers with an inflated sense of entitlement.

We are the richest people in the world. And, as Possum of Possum’s Pollytics explained in Crikey last Thursday, we lead the world in everything from decent minimum wages to economic growth over the past decade. Read that article. Please. And while you’re at it, see where you sit on the Global Rich List.

We also hear about the world’s most impatient meth dealer.

You can listen below. But if you want all of the episodes, now and in the future, subscribe to the podcast feed, or even subscribe automatically in iTunes.

[Update 16 December 2011: My comments about Senator Conroy's f-bomb have sparked some interest. If you're after that bit, it starts exactly 11 minutes into the program.]

If you’d like to comment on this episode, please add your comment below, or Skype to stilgherrian or phone Sydney +61 2 8011 3733.

[Credits: The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian, Edict fanfare by neonaeon, all from The Freesound Project. Photograph of Stilgherrian taken 29 March 2009 by misswired, used by permission.]

My first op-ed for CSO, “The Resource for Data Security Executives”, has just been posted. It’s voluntary ISP-level internet filtering, but a different angle from my Crikey piece earlier today.

After nearly four chaotic years, Australia’s internet filtering scheme is finally coming together in a way that makes sense technically and politically, if not necessarily for effective child protection.

The chaos wasn’t all communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy’s fault. The “clean feed” was announced as Labor policy back in March 2006 by then-leader Kim Beazley. ISPs would filter out the nasties hosted overseas, where they couldn’t be hit with a takedown notice from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

But Conroy’s name was on Labor’s Plan for Cyber-safety published just five days out from the federal election in late 2007, and once in government it was Conroy’s job to explain that plan and sell it to voters. Everyone presumably imagined it’d be a protect-the-kiddies no-brainer.

Problem was, neither the plan not Conroy’s explanations were clear…

As I say, it’s my first outing for CSO, but if all goes according to plan there’ll be more. And in case you’re wondering, CSO is a job title. Chief Security Officer.

Australia’s mandatory internet filter is at least two years away, but Telstra and Optus are only weeks from implementing their “voluntary” equivalents. Where are we up to with this controversial issue?

That’s what I covered in yesterday’s Patch Monday podcast for ZDNet Australia. And as I explained on the weekend, I’m returning to my habit of doing a blog post here for each episode.

For this internet filtering update, I spoke with Peter Black, who teaches internet and media law at the Queensland University of Technology; network engineer Mark Newton; and Lyle Shelton, chief of staff for the Australian Christian Lobby.

You can listen below. But it’s probably better for my stats if you listen at ZDNet Australia or subscribe to the RSS feed or subscribe in iTunes.

Since this podcast was recorded, we’ve discovered that Primus isn’t so sure about voluntary filtering any more. They were the third ISP to commit to the plan last year. However the Internet Industry Association (IIA) has said most Australian ISPs will filter via the Interpol list this year.

Previous podcast on this issue covered the meaning of the Refused Classification content category, Senator Conroy’s announcement of the strategy in July 2010, and the apparent fact that parents don’t act on their cybersafety fears.

Please let me know what you think. Comments below. We accept audio comments too. Either Skype to stilgherrian or phone Sydney +61 2 8011 3733.

A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets. As has happened several annoying times before, we’re covering two weeks at once here, and the National Broadband Network seems to have dominated.

For some reason I usually have an unproductive spot of poor health in the first half of April. It seems 2011 is no exception. For two weeks of work this all looks a bit thin, and I daresay that’s going to make a mess of my cashflows in a couple of weeks.

Podcasts

• Patch Monday episode 83, “Web development: fast, loose and cheap”. We hear from web developers Grant Newton from Morgan Creative, a small digital agency in Sydney that specialises in agile development, and Lachlan Hardy from Australian cloud computing provider Ninefold, as well as the founder and CEO of Freelancer.com, Matt Barrie.
• Patch Monday episode 84, “Don’t get caught in NBN ‘hysteria’: Conroy”. NBN Co suspended the entire construction tender process and their head of construction resigned, but communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy reckons we should wait and see what the “Plan B” tender process delivers. And network strategist Dr Paul Brooks explains why Wi-Fi won’t necessarily be the answer for distributing high-speed data around the home.

Articles

• The ‘hysteria’ around NBN cost blowouts, for Crikey, covering what was discussed with Senator Conroy in Patch Monday.

Media Appearances

• On Monday 4 April I was one of the guests on an episode of ABC Radio National’s Australia Talks on the NBN. The audio is available via that link just there, the one you just read past.

Corporate Largesse

• When the Australian Communications Consumers Action Network (ACCAN) and the Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) launched their booklet National Broadband Network: A Guide for Consumers, I was given food and drink. That was on Friday 8 April.
• LinkedIn recently clocked up their two millionth Australian user and, I daresay like many others, I was given champagne.

Elsewhere

Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.

[Photo: Wentworth Falls railway station, photographed yesterday during some light rain.]

This is intended to be a complete list of my media output over the years. If anything’s missing, please let me know. Last updated 25 May 2012.

• Optus’ innovation directive, Technology Spectator, 25 May 2012.
• Kaspersky’s right: Apple, lift your security game, CSO Online, 24 May 2012.
• Twitter mapping and how we choose our own adventure, Crikey, 23 May 2012.
• AusCERT 2012: NSA, FBI split on comms intercepts, ZDNet Australia, 21 May 2012.
• AusCERT 2012: DNS poisoning the ‘thin end of a wedge’, ZDNet Australia, 17 May 2012.
• AusCERT 2012: Russian crims evade transaction profiling, ZDNet Australia, 17 May 2012.
• IT: the opportunities, some lost, from a low-tech budget, Crikey, 9 May 2012.
• Anonymous hacktivists prefer penetration, but choose targets of opportunity, CSO Online, 4 May 2012.
• Facebook is profitable, but $86 billion is still speculation, Crikey, 4 May 2012.
• Street View Wi-Fi: is it Google’s News of the World moment?, Crikey, 30 April 2012.
• Security concerns over Australia’s e-health records, CSO Online, 23 April 2012.
• Blockbuster trial for a movie and TV industry in decline, ABC Drum Opinion, 23 April 2012.
• AFACT’s appeal against iiNet decision dismissed — but just you wait, Crikey, 20 April 2012.
• Facebook buys Instagram’s buzz in lead-up to share float, Crikey, 10 April 2012.
• Are we winning the war on spam?, CSO Online, 5 April 2012.
• Apple in court: ACCC iPad fight tests dodgy 4G claims, Crikey, 28 March 2012.
• The Facebook experiment, ZDNet Australia, 23 March 2012.
• Remote Desktop Protocol security hole: 5 unanswered questions, CSO Online, 19 March 2012.
• Broadband minister launches Cyber Defence University Challenge, CSO Online, 16 March 2012.
• Auraya’s ArmorVox delivers voice authentication from the cloud, CSO Online, 16 March 2012.
• The .xxx domain is here to stay, but Conroy could still block it, Crikey, 16 March 2012.
• Microsoft patches Remote Desktop Protocol hole but danger remains, CSO Online, 15 March 2012.
• Australia deserves its internet enemy status, ZDNet Australia, 14 March 2012.
• Adobe learns that security is a numbers game, CSO Online, 13 March 2012.
• Oz ethical hackers to be set professional standards, CSO Online, 9 March 2012.
• Zero damage from last year’s RSA breach, CSO Online, 7 March 2012.
• Hacking up the facts, Technology Spectator, 7 March 2012.
• Google search bias: the eternal PR battle , ZDNet Australia, 24 February 2012.
• You are what you surf, buy or tweet, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 February 2012.
• CrypTweet encrypts Twitter direct messages, CSO Online, 21 February 2012.
• Mobile security a “game-changer” for Aussie telcos: Analyst, CSO Online, 17 February 2012.
• Blocking all .info domains is “censorship”: The Greens, CSO Online, 14 February 2012.
• Sport has to think outside the box, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 2012.
• Why security comes last, ZDNet Australia, 31 January 2012.
• The tweets must flow, except when they risk revenue, Crikey, 31 January 2012.
• Hacked or not, Ludlam’s a target of spies, ZDNet Australia, 25 January 2012.
• Linux.conf.au 2012 photos, ZDNet Australia, 25 January 2012.
• Ah, the tech-soap that is Apple will run and run, Crikey, 25 January 2012.
• Untested buggy UEFI heads for prime-time, ZDNet Australia, 23 January 2012.
• Beware the piracy clones, Technology Spectator, 23 January 2012.
• Collateral damage in the copyright wars, ABC Drum Opinion, 23 January 2012.
• No SOPA for Australia: AG (contributor only), ZDNet Australia, 20 January 2012.
• Aus becoming surveillance state: Ludlam, ZDNet Australia, 20 January 2012.
• Open source needed to save democracy, ZDNet Australia, 18 January 2012. Also published at TechRepublic.
• The snake oil that is domain registries’ big fat new revenue stream, Crikey, 11 January 2012.
• Anonymous imposters: hiding behind the AntiSec identity, ABC Drum Opinion, 2 January 2012.
• Facebook for banking? No thanks!, Technology Spectator, 23 December 2011.
• Permission-greedy apps not always rogue or lazy, CSO, 22 December 2011.
• Still mid-game in the digital year that was, Crikey, 21 December 2011.
• Hactivism goes mobile with Android.Arspam, CSO, 20 December 2011.
• Time to drop the ‘e’, Technology Spectator, 13 December 2011.
• Govt’s DisasterWatch: the ’9/11 of apps’, ZDNet Australia, 9 December 2011.
• Turnbull overstating the uncommercial NBN case … mostly, Crikey, 9 December 2011.
• When is a journalist not a journalist?, ABC Drum Opinion, 9 December 2011.
• Want data? Scoop up those lost USB keys, CSO, 7 December 2011.
• Influence without Klout, Technology Spectator, 28 November 2011.
• Want government cloud? Rethink security!, CSO, 24 November 2011.
• Today’s cloud winners: the cybercriminals, CSO, 24 November 2011.
• No easy answers in Apple-Samsung case, ZDNet Australia, 18 November 2011.
• Shock analysis: most cybercriminals are stupid, CSO, 15 November 2011.
• A great big cyber tax on business, Technology Spectator, 11 November 2011.
• eCrime Symposium wrap: Satisfaction tinged with frustration, CSO, 11 November 2011.
• eCrime Symposium: Harden up, warns Aussie crime fighter, CSO, 10 November 2011.
• eCrime Symposium: Australia considers online crime portal, CSO, 9 November 2011.
• Bleeply lets you rethink that Tweet, ZDNet Australia, 31 October 2011.
• Ultrabooks have Intel Anti-Theft tech, yawn, CSO, 31 October 2011.
• Patching the price of security, Technology Spectator, 28 October 2011.
• DSD wins US Cybersecurity Innovation Award, CSO, 26 October 2011.
• Hybrid clouds the eventual reality for risk management, CSO, 26 October 2011.
• McAfee’s DeepSAFE: Beyond OS, beyond need?, CSO, 21 October 2011.
• Lethal medical device hack taken to next level, CSO, 21 October 2011.
• Cybercrime 2016: Paper-boy refrigerator revenge, CSO, 20 October 2011.
• McAfee confirms Android as favourite mobile target, CSO, 19 October 2011.
• Duqu, Son of Stuxnet, has arrived, CSO, 19 October 2011.
• Android, the simmering security shemozzle, CSO, 14 October 2011.
• From idiot box to idiot internet, Technology Spectator, 13 October 2011.
• Aussie “family” social network fails security basics, CSO, 11 October 2011.
• Turnbull’s NBN twilight zone — give the man a cigar (Cuban of course), Crikey, 11 October 2011.
• Global time zone database closed following legal threat, CSO, 7 October 2011.
• Gillard and others honour Jobs’ memory (contributor only), ZDNet Australia, 6 October 2011.
• Steve Jobs deserved his cult — you don’t even know how he influenced you, Crikey, 6 October 2011.
• iPhone release: no bunch of fives to the fore, but it’s OK, Crikey, 5 October 2011.
• Flash Player 11: Adobe’s great security hope, CSO, 4 October 2011.
• Google+: What’s in a name?, ABC Drum Opinion, 27 September 2011.
• Hey Facebook, we want to share, but this is ridiculous, Crikey, 23 September 2011.
• NBN retail pricing neither a bargain nor an extravagance, Crikey, 20 September 2011.
• Trends on Twitter brief but telling, just like in the real world, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 2011.
• Yet another free pass for Aussie spooks, CSO, 16 September 2011.
• “Insidious” cyber chaos too fast for ASIO (contributor only), CSO, 15 September 2011.
• Infosec’s mega marketing misalignment mishap, CSO, 13 September 2011.
• 18 infosec fails that let crims win, ZDNet Australia, 12 September 2011.
• MD5 password hashes are dead, CSO, 9 September 2011.
• Kaspersky sets sights on corporate market, CSO, 8 September 2011.
• Rogue Google certificate used by 300,000 Iranian IPs , CSO, 6 September 2011.
• AVG 2012: your local pub bouncer made digital, CSO, 1 September 2011.
• Google+ is a goddam Trojan horse, Crikey, 30 August 2011.
• Online health records at risk from malware, CSO, 26 August 2011.
• Has Facebook killed the undercover cop?, CSO, 25 August 2011.
• iQuit, says Jobs, leaving Apple in the hands of a disciple, Crikey, 25 August 2011.
• Shady RAT’s risk of exaggerated claims, CSO, 24 August 2011.
• Inquiry picks holes in government Cybercrime Bill, CSO, 19 August 2011.
• Turnbull’s curious high-bandwidth blind spot, ABC Drum Opinion, 18 August 2011.
• To Google, we are data fodder, and I am an unperson, Crikey, 17 August 2011.
• Could Google pull an Apple on Motorola hardware?, CSO, 16 August 2011.
• Five lessons from LinkedIn’s opt-out stupidity, CSO, 12 August 2011.
• Sorry too hard a word for LinkedIn over privacy faux pas, Crikey, 12 August 2011.
• LinkedIn pulls a Facebook-like swifty on ‘social advertising’, Crikey, 11 August 2011.
• Polymorphic threats cause pain for traditional anti-virus: Symantec, CSO, 9 August 2011.
• LulzSec, WikiLeaks, Murdoch: hacking’s fourth wave, CSO, 8 August 2011.
• The real cyber criminals are no lolling matter, ABC Drum Opinion, 8 August 2011.
• Siemens commits “basic security errors”: Byres, CSO, 8 August 2011.
• Pure Hacking’s PureWAF managed firewall wins iAward, CSO, 5 August 2011.
• Is voluntary internet filtering a crime?, Crikey, 4 August 2011.
• High-profile hacks distract attention from serious threats: Sophos, CSO, 2 August 2011.
• ‘Impossible’ new wireless tech an NBN-killer? Not quite, not yet, Crikey, 29 July 2011.
• IBM halves Woolworths maintenance calls, ZDNet Australia, 28 July 2011.
• Telstra GOC saves $1.5m with single sign-on, ZDNet Australia, 28 July 2011.
• Media’s internet cluelessness is unacceptable and they will die, Crikey, 28 July 2011.
• IBM tech intercepts packets to control apps, ZDNet Australia, 28 July 2011.
• IBM pushes Tivoli for cows and guns, ZDNet Australia, 27 July 2011.
• Skills shortage risks NBN benefits: NetApp, ZDNet Australia, 27 July 2011.
• The keyboard is dead, Technology Spectator, 26 July 2011.
• Cyber Storm III security exercise key findings released, CSO, 25 July 2011.
• Poll-driven knee-jerk reactions: the latest political craze, ABC Drum Opinion, 25 July 2011.
• Politics of NBN pricing: comparing potatoes and pomegranates, Crikey, 25 July 2011.
• DSD: Four mitigation strategies prevent 85% of intrusions, CSO, 23 July 2011.
• In IT’s dance of the inflating elephants, Microsoft is stumbling, Crikey, 22 July 2011.
• Guardian tech editor leaking information, claims LulzSec, CSO, 22 July 2011.
• Hackers target Tasmanian government website, CSO, 21 July 2011.
• Watchdogs welcome Australia’s right-to-privacy move , CSO, 21 July 2011.
• Australia to consider right-to-privacy law, CSO, 21 July 2011.
• Four lessons from LulzSec vs Murdoch, CSO, 20 July 2011.
• Child exploitation material filters… same policy, different activities, Crikey, 20 July 2011.
• NEXTDC leases secure Canberra data centre, CSO, 19 July 2011.
• LulzSec 1, Murdoch 0: News Int, the hacker, becomes the hacked, Crikey, 19 July 2011.
• LulzSec hacks UK’s “The Sun”, News International, CSO, 19 July 2011.
• Quintet nations agree on cybercrime action plan, CSO, 17 July 2011.
• Why rush? Let others find the Google+ privacy landmines, ABC Drum Opinion, 15 July 2011.
• Amazon AWS algorithms watch for cloud-based hacks, CSO, 14 July 2011.
• Online crime under-reported, under-researched, CSO, 12 July 2011.
• There’s no way I’m handing over data to Google+, Crikey, 12 July 2011.
• Cyber threats the focus for Quintet of Attorneys-General, CSO, 8 July 2011.
• Air-gap security an “enduring fairy tale”: Byres, CSO, 5 July 2011.
• Interpol blacklist goes live in Canberra, ZDNet Australia, 1 July 2011.
• If Facebook killed Myspace will Google+ kill THE social network?, Crikey, 1 July 2011.
• Drug spam rules, thanks to WikiPharmacy: Symantec, CSO, 1 July 2011.
• Voluntary filtering removes the controversy, CSO, 30 June 2011.
• Internet filtering isn’t compulsory, but everyone will volunteer, Crikey, 30 June 2011.
• The only NBN monopoly seems to be on ignorance, ABC Drum Opinion, 27 June 2011.
• Telstra backs the NBN, but the devil’s in the detail, Crikey, 23 June 2011.
• Forget Anonymous, LulzSec, the real bad guys are in your bank accounts, Crikey, 22 June 2011.
• AVG urges mandatory cybercrime reporting, ZDNet Australia, 22 June 2011.
• The exploits of Freelancer.com, Technology Spectator, 22 June 2011.
• The Weiner show: we have no prick of conscience, Crikey, 9 June 2011.
• Hywood on Fairfax… expectation, hoping, wishing …, Crikey, 8 June 2011.
• Less pep talks, more stick on cybersecurity, ZDNet Australia, 7 June 2011.
• Santorum’s presidential hopes face a sticky problem, Crikey, 7 June 2011.
• I spy 100Mbps, Technology Spectator, 3 June 2011.
• Conroy’s blueprint for a digital economy … that doesn’t need an NBN, Crikey, 1 June 2011. Reprinted at Technology Spectator as Forget strategy, Conroy needs a reason.
• Political tweets eclipse blogs, but parties still don’t get it, Crikey, 31 May 2011.
• Facebook for under-13s? Who’s kidding whom here?, Crikey, 25 May 2011.
• Harvey should have stayed at home, Technology Spectator, 25 May 2011.
• NBN: ACCC wet dream, security nightmare, ZDNet Australia, 23 May 2011.
• Qld cops denounce ‘ethical hacking’, ZDNet Australia, 18 May 2011.
• AusCERT 2011: Silent victims thwart cybercops: Qld Police, ZDNet Australia, 17 May 2011.
• AusCERT 2011: Bank theft goes truly mobile, ZDNet Australia, 17 May 2011.
• AusCERT 2011: Black hats and whitegoods, ZDNet Australia, 17 May 2011.
• Privacy is a commodity, Technology Spectator, 17 May 2011.
• AusCERT 2011: Son of Stuxnet within a year: expert, ZDNet Australia, 16 May 2011.
• AusCERT 2011: Firms ignore ID theft risk, ZDNet Australia, 16 May 2011.
• NetSuite big fish push to cut mid-sized Oz? ZDNet Australia, 12 May 2011.
• IT: ritual shenanigans, but hey, this is government, Crikey, 11 May 2011.
• Gamification: Hot, new, unethical?, Technology Spectator, 2 May 2011.
• APF urges criminal penalties for smartphone privacy breaches, ZDNet Australia, 2 May 2011.
• Tired Microsoft delivers solid profits, for now, Crikey, 29 April 2011.
• Apple’s answer to Android: confidence … and shiny big numbers, Crikey, 21 April 2011.
• Facebook regulation, ABC Drum Opinion, 19 April 2011.
• The ‘hysteria’ around NBN cost blowouts, Crikey, 11 April 2011.
• Electronic voting a threat to democracy, ABC Unleashed, 30 March 2011.
• Iranian hackers prove internet security is rubbish, Crikey, 28 March 2011.
• ‘Arrogant’ Apple faces copyright suit over iPhone app content, Crikey, 14 March 2011.
• Apple, Oz TV firm copyright mediation fails, ZDNet Australia, 14 March 2011.
• Two chefs, Next G and the ‘wireless’ confusion, CRN Australia, 11 March 2011.
• Digital fingerprints the next privacy invasion?, ABC Unleashed, 9 March 2011.
• Apple: saving old media, or just making them its bitch?, Crikey, 9 March 2011.
• How Al Jazeera leads the world in social media for news reporting, Crikey, 7 March 2011.
• Journo shield law covers bloggers, independent media, Crikey, 4 March 2011.
• Build the NBN, but be careful of the detail: Optus boss, Crikey, 28 February 2011.
• AFACT versus iiNet appeal decision resolves nothing, Crikey, 25 February 2011.
• WikiLeaks isn’t cyber war, but maybe it’s piracy, Crikey, 17 February 2011.
• Digital apocalypse: the road to destruction, ZDNet Australia, 17 February 2011.
• Oz kicks US’s butt on net security: Gartner, ZDNet Australia, 16 February 2011.
• Egypt and the NBN: the internet, it’s made of people, Crikey, 14 February 2011.
• NBN is ‘visionary’, congratulations: Wu, ZDNet Australia, 14 February 2011.
• Hosing down the hype on wireless internet technology, Crikey, 9 February 2011.
• Microsoft’s record revenue, but for how long?, Crikey, 28 January 2011.
• Google kids have grown up, but where will they take the firm?, Crikey, 21 January 2011.
• Forget Steve Jobs, Apple’s rolling in cash, Crikey, 19 January 2011.
• Reading Steve Jobs’ entrails, is it time for Apple to come clean?, Crikey, 18 January 2011.
• Vodafone’s infosec balls-up a symptom of wider problems, Crikey, 10 January 2011.
• 2010 on the internet: the empire strikes back, Crikey, 23 December 2010.
• It’s network neutrality, but it’s neutered, Crikey, 22 December 2010.
• It’s the NBN Corporate Plan, not a crystal ball, ABC Unleashed, 21 December 2010.
• Letter from: San Francisco, and Bill Clinton on instability, sustainability … and WikiLeaks, Crikey, 10 December 2010.
• Wikileaks could gag sources: Clinton, ZDNet Australia, 10 December 2010.
• WikiLeaks in the clouds: why attempts to shut down Assange will fail, Crikey, 7 December 2010.
• Note to The Australian: Twitter is not a newspaper, Crikey, 2 December 2010.
• Cloud could be ‘privacy enhancing’: Pilgrim, ZDNet Australia, 30 November 2010.
• WikiLeaks slammed by Wikipedia co-founder, disrupted by hacker, Crikey, 29 November 2010.
• NBN Co business case — truly a curiously inadequate document, Crikey, 25 November 2010.
• Gadgets: a geek’s Christmas, Crikey Weekender Christmas Guide 2010 [2.9MB PDF], 19 November 2010.
• Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: not so evil after all, Crikey, 19 November 2010.
• Online privacy dangers: they’re not what you think, Crikey, 15 November 2010.
• Indonesian e-commerce held back by uncertain laws, Crikey, 11 November 2010 but dated 3 November 2010.
• Senate to re-open bloggers versus journalists, Crikey, 9 November 2010, a lightly-edited version of my post from 7 November 2010.
• Fairfax’s hypocritical web ‘spying devices’ beat-up, Crikey, 8 November 2010.
• Timeline of misinformation: Twitter’s plane crash down to human error, Crikey, 5 November 2010.
• Citizen journalism is dead, long live crowdsourcing, Crikey, 4 November 2010.
• Information Commissioner’s toe in the Government 2.0 waters, Crikey, 2 November 2010.
• The information ‘vacuum’ over secretive ISP data retention scheme, Crikey, 1 November 2010.
• Turnbull v Conroy: how Coalition broadband plan stacks up, Crikey, 28 October 2010.
• ACCC says Optus pitch is misleading, ZDNet Australia, 27 October 2010.
• You know super-fast ain’t so super: Optus, ZDNet Australia, 27 October 2010.
• Cloud security? Better get a lawyer, Son!, ZDNet Australia, dated 14 October 2010 but published 21 October 2010.
• Is Brisbane’s sewer broadband a crock of …?, Crikey, 19 October 2010.
• Coalition objection to NBN opt-out is just scaremongering, Crikey, 7 October 2010.
• How America could censor the internet … or not, Crikey, 29 September 2010.
• NBN: too bold for timid Australia?, ABC Unleashed, 24 September 2010.
• Wireless on the rise, but fixed broadband still does the work, Crikey, 21 September 2010.
• Myths of the NBN myths, ABC Unleashed, 15 September 2010.
• Turnbull’s NBN challenge: real analysis, real policies, not rhetoric, Crikey, 15 September 2010.
• ACMA and Nine demonstrate Australia’s institutionalised racism, ABC Unleashed, 8 September 2010.
• What the NBN will deliver to Windsor’s mob, Crikey, 8 September 2010.
• NSW Parliament’s flawed porn hunt, Crikey, 3 September 2010.
• Nile’s porn excuse doesn’t hold water, Crikey, 2 September 2010.
• Parliament hangs on a broadband fibre, Crikey, 23 August 2010.
• Coalition broadband: a wireless tower in every street, Crikey, 16 August 2010.
• The broadband battle: what will they really deliver?, Crikey, 11 August 2010.
• Will AFACT’s appeal solve anything?, ZDNet Australia, 5 August 2010.
• AFACT didn’t explain notices to iiNet, ZDNet Australia, 4 August 2010.
• Gay marriage an irrelevant sideshow, ABC Unleashed, 4 August 2010.
• A new cable brings the promise of more internet capacity, Crikey, 29 July 2010.
• Let’s blame Facebook again, shall we?, ABC Unleashed, 26 July 2010.
• The internet taking a back seat during the campaign, Crikey, 26 July 2010.
• ‘Open Government’ declared in Australia, Crikey, 20 July 2010.
• Crikey Clarifier: What is cloud computing?, Crikey, 13 July 2010.
• Filter delay: backtracking or backburning?, ABC Unleashed, 9 July 2010.
• The political naivety of the digital elites, ABC Unleashed, 1 July 2010.
• Inside Microsoft’s Security War Room with photo gallery, iTnews, 30 June 2010.
• No wonder the cyber criminals are winning, ABC Unleashed, 24 June 2010.
• NBN not over the line yet, Crikey, 21 June 2010.
• #penrithdebate: O’Farrell 1, Democracy 0, ABC Unleashed, 16 June 2010.
• Turks hack Israeli Facebook accounts over Gaza blockade incident, Crikey, 11 June 2010.
• How evil is Google, exactly?, ABC Unleashed, 9 June 2010.
• Mavi Marmari photos faked by Israel? Probably not, Crikey, 4 June 2010.
• Crikey Clarifier: Why Facebook users are quitting, including me, Crikey, 2 June 2010.
• Startpage: a ‘private’ search engine, but who’ll care?, Crikey, 1 June 2010.
• Letter from Redmond, Washington: inside Microsoft HQ, Crikey, 31 May 2010.
• Crikey Clarifier: Why Google’s reputation went whiffy over Wi-Fi, Crikey, 26 May 2010.
• Thodey’s vision for a hand-held broadband video future, Crikey, 21 May 2010.
• Is it time to close your Facebook account?, ABC Unleashed, 20 May 2010.
• [Budget 2010] IT: more NBN vagueness, border control and cyber-safety re-allocation, Crikey, 12 May 2010.
• NBN: analysts miss the point, ABC Unleashed, 7 May 2010.
• Slow, slow little steps to Government 2.0, Crikey, 4 May 2010.
• Crikey Clarifier: Apple versus Adobe, Crikey, 30 April 2010.
• Google’s got Groggle by the goolies, squeezing hard, Crikey, 29 April 2010.
• Is ACMA chair’s ‘telco hell’ acceptable?, Crikey, 23 April 2010.
• How to fix Refused Classification online: start again, Crikey, 24 March 2010.
• Government 2.0 #fail — spending $43b on an NBN in secret, Crikey, 23 March 2010.
• Health ID cards unleash ‘scary’ Little Brothers, Crikey, 16 March 2010.
• Facebook’s ‘news feed’ patent — just a legal novelty?, Crikey, 4 March 2010.
• How I brought down the Parliament House website, Crikey, 15 February 2010.
• Conroy tells movie industry, ISPs to kiss and make up, Crikey, 8 February 2010.
• iiNet decision a slapdown for AFACT, movie industry, Crikey, 5 February 2010.
• iiTrial: ISPs not responsible for users’ copyright infringement, Crikey, 4 February 2010.
• SA’s Govt 2.0 became mob rule, ZDNet Australia, 4 February 2010.
• Zombie Generation: The spreading infection, ZDNet Australia, 3 February 2010.
• It’s called iPad, and the Kindle is rooted, Crikey, 28 January 2010.
• Clinton declares cyber war on China, Crikey, 22 January 2010.
• Dump Internet Explorer? Stay alert but not alarmed, Crikey, 19 January 2010.
• China isn’t our biggest hacker threat, Crikey, 18 January 2010.
• Bushwalking: cross-check everything, even official advice, Crikey, 15 January 2010.
• The swift takedown of stephenconroy.com.au, Crikey, 21 December 2009.
• 2009: the internet’s watershed year, Crikey, 18 December 2009.
• Evidence-based policy? Not on this filter!, ABC Unleashed, 17 December 2009.
• Internet filtering: first step on the path to Burma?, Crikey, 17 December 2009.
• Conroy’s internet filter: so what?, Crikey, 16 December 2009.
• OECD: publicly funded NBN could pay for itself, Crikey, 14 December 2009.
• Legit Mininova gives no traffic relief, ZDNet Australia, 4 December 2009.
• Is social media killing the web as we know it?, Crikey, 26 November 2009.
• Baffled by Murdersoft? Making sense of Murdoch and Microsoft, Crikey, 25 November 2009.
• Dear Rupert, this is how the internet works. Google it., Crikey, 10 November 2009.
• Are clueless politicians holding IT back?, ZDNet Australia, 3 November 2009.
• ACS filter report just what Conroy needs, ZDNet Australia, 14 October 2009.
• Twitter in court: Why not streaming video?, ZDNet Australia, 9 October 2009.
• Why AFACT v iiNet is important, Crikey, 7 October 2009.
• Conroy’s internet filter dread, Crikey, 28 September 2009.
• Freedom (or freebies) of the press takes another meaning, Crikey, 23 September 2009.
• Crikey Clarifier: What caused Sydney CBD’s Telstra outage?, Crikey, 17 September 2009.
• Great for competition? Or one true NBN?, Crikey, 16 September 2009.
• Telstra has to morph into a different kind of beast, Crikey, 15 September 2009.
• ACMA iTunes and the failure of net filtering, Crikey, 14 September 2009.
• The serious risk of cyber-grooming. Or not, Crikey, 11 September 2009.
• PM’s website hacked? No, just script kiddies, Crikey, 10 September 2009.
• Telstra consigns nowwearetalking to the memory hole, Crikey, 8 September 2009.
• NSW gets its geek on, Crikey, 4 September 2009.
• The Future of Influence: welcome to the confetti economy, Crikey, 3 September 2009.
• Proposed intercept laws could create thousands of “Little Brothers”, Crikey, 31 August 2009.
• They’re building data pipes under the ocean: why no media coverage?, Crikey, 26 August 2009.
• Government 2.0 Taskforce: seeding a cultural revolution, Crikey, 21 August 2009.
• From hype to backlash, Twitter’s path is inevitable, Crikey, 19 August 2009.
• Twitter “40% pointless babble”? What twaddle!, Crikey, 18 August 2009.
• Bug-free computer software: Australia paves the way, Crikey, 13 August 2009.
• Smartphone photos make it easy for stalkers, Crikey, 11 August 2009.
• Elections slip out of newspapers, Crikey, 6 August 2009.
• eCrime: the bad guys pwn the internet, Crikey, 4 August 2009.
• Internet filtering: speed won’t be the issue, Crikey, 27 July 2009.
• Literature? What’s that got to do with the price of books?, Crikey, 21 July 2009.
• Ruddblog: populist masterstroke or full of fail?, Crikey, 17 July 2009.
• Australia’s Digital Economy: discuss it, but not here, Crikey, 16 July 2009.
• Government 2.0 Taskforce: first a logo design contest, Crikey, 23 June 2009.
• Utegate: If the email exists, it’ll be found, Crikey, 22 June 2009.
• We’re all wearing green for Iran now, apparently, Crikey, 18 June 2009.
• Crikey Clarifier: What is spam and where does it come from?, Crikey, 11 June 2009.
• Digital Radio: Who gives a toss? Radio’s dead anyway, Crikey, 29 May 2009.
• OECD: Australia’s broadband is rubbish. Who knew?, Crikey, 22 May 2009.
• Rees on NBN: Gimme gimme gimme!, Crikey, 13 May 2009.
• The Budget? How quaint! They’re just made-up, you know, Crikey, 13 May 2009.
• NBN: Everyone’s got an opinion, Crikey, 9 April 2009.
• NBN: Pricey, but it’s building for the long term, Crikey, 8 April 2009.
• Crikey Clarifier: National Broadband Network, Part 2, Crikey, 8 April 2009.
• A massive and much-needed catch-up, Crikey, 7 April 2009.
• Crikey Clarifier: National Broadband Network, Crikey, 7 April 2009.
• The future of “quality” journalism: lots of questions, few answers, Crikey, 6 April 2009.
• Conroy���s continued lies and gaffes, Crikey, 1 April 2009.
• Conroy���s really bad week #347: Classification Board website hacked, Crikey, 27 March 2009.
• Two thirds of ACMA blacklist out of date, Crikey, 26 March 2009.
• It certainly looks like the ACMA blacklist, eh Senator Conroy?, Crikey, 24 March 2009.
• Yet another ACMA internet blacklist springs a leak, Crikey, 23 March 2009.
• ACMA’s blacklist just got read all over, Crikey, 20 March 2009.
• Well That’s Awkward (The outing of Fake Stephen Conroy), New Matilda, 18 March 2009.
• ACMA issues threats, meets the Streisand Effect, Crikey, 18 March 2009.
• Is the Victorian Government running without data backups?, Crikey, 16 March 2009.
• So Conroy’s Rabbit-Proof Firewall is dead… or is it?, Crikey, 2 March 2009. [local copy]
• Outclassed Conroy hides in his bedroom, Crikey, 17 February 2009. [local copy]
• Conroy announces filter-trial ISPs and clams shut, Crikey, 16 February 2009.
• Twitter: enabling the new global rubberneckers, Crikey, 11 February 2009.
• Christian Lobby: The New Lions Of Clean Feed, newmatilda.com, 2 February 2009.
• Google Takes a Slash and the world ends, Crikey, 2 February 2009.
• Who supports compulsory Internet filtering, exactly?, Crikey, 28 January 2009.
• So Conroy’s Internet filter won’t block political speech, eh?, Crikey, 23 January 2009.
• Another nail in the coffin of Conroy’s Rabbit-Proof Firewall, Crikey, 15 January 2009.
• The Internet’s feral goldfish get it very wrong, Crikey, 14 January 2009.
• Telstra holds back broadband speeds. Again., Crikey, 12 January 2009. [local copy]
• Conroy attacks BitTorrent: Ruins Australia online, Crikey, 5 January 2009. [local copy]
• Nine quiet on Microsoft hack solutions, Crikey, 18 December 2008.
• The lies of the internet censors: Your. Filter. Won’t. Work., Crikey, 17 December 2008.
• Kruddiversary: The internet thanks you for 12 months of achieving nothing, Crikey, 27 November 2008. [local copy]
• @KevinRuddPM stumbles into the Twitterverse, Crikey, 12 November 2008. [local copy]
• The inflated cost of illegally copied DVDs, Crikey, 10 November 2008. [local copy]
• Conroy thoroughly tangled in his own Rabbit-Proof Firewall, Crikey, 30 October 2008. [local copy]
• Cheap tricks not the right response on internet filtering, Crikey, 24 October 2008.
• The Digital Economy: just for big business?, Crikey, 10 September 2008. [local copy]
• Oh no, Google took a photo of my house!, Crikey, 5 August 2008. [local copy]
• The Great Firewall of China: how it works, how to bypass it, Crikey, 31 July 2008. [local copy]
• Internet filters a success, if success = failure, Crikey, 29 July 2008. [local copy]
• Immobilised by Apple’s MobileMe, even without an iPhone, Crikey, 23 July 2008. [local copy]
• Note to “old media” journalists: adapt, or stfu!, Crikey, 16 July 2008. [local edition]
• iPhone mania, coming soon to an Apple geek near you, Crikey, 9 July 2008.
• eBay Australia: Who? Us? Anti-competitive?, Crikey, 29 May 2008.
• Australia’s web 2.0 wipeout on the wave of the future, Crikey, 23 May 2008. [local edition]
• Rudd’s slow digital revolution, Crikey, 14 May 2008.
• Music industry propaganda hits a bum note, Crikey, 6 May 2008.
• eBay faces wrath, ACCC investigation over PayPal move, Crikey, 18 April 2008.
• eBay to customers: we’ll handle your money, it’s for your “protection”, Crikey, 11 April 2008.
• Crikey essay: ABC Playback is a backwards step, Crikey, 31 March 2008.
• Remembering the Space Age: Arthur C Clarke dead at 90, Crikey, 19 March 2008. [local copy]
• Labor’s dream of kid-friendly internet is flawed, Crikey, 20 February 2008. [local copy]
• A torrent of interest in downloading Underbelly, Crikey, 14 February 2008
• Message to Microsoft: You can’t buy cool, Crikey, 4 February 2008
• Angry geeks: “Don’t waste money on internet filters”, Crikey, 17 January 2008 [local edition]
• Why government internet filtering won’t work, Crikey, 11 January 2008
• Social media goes mainstream (except for business and politics), Crikey, 17 December 2007. [local edition]
• 2007: The (second) last TV election, Crikey, 29 October 2007. [local edition]
• Coonan kicks own goals over ICT strategies, Crikey, 5 October 2007. [local edition]
• Sputnik 2: The space age Australia never had, Crikey, 3 October 2007
• Kirribilli house: yours for $15, Crikey, 15 September 2007
• Wikipedia and the PM — the trail is still hot, Crikey, 4 September 2007
• Failing the Citizenship Test, Crikey, 27 August 2007. [local edition]
• Why MySpace for grown-ups won’t fly, Crikey, 13 August 2007. [related article]
• Blackle: a “green computing” furphy?, Crikey, 31 July 2007. [local edition]
• Howard should be au fait with this internet thingy by now, Crikey, 20 June 2007. [related article]
• Telstra blocks porn but opens a can of worms, newmatilda.com, 1 December 2004

• Black Holes, Science Journal, number 32. Adelaide: Prince Alfred College, 1976.
• Silicon Life, Science Journal, number 31. Adelaide: Prince Alfred College, 1975.

Books

• Johann Jackson, Ray Jobling, Rod LeNaine Smith, Tony Porter, Andrew Scheer and Stilgherrian. Tutoring: Staff Development Techniques. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1983. ISBN 0 644 00497 5.
• Rod LeNaine-Smith. Report-writing Program, 3rd edition. Adelaide: Department of Transport Australia, 1982. (Editor and Designer)

Letters

• (untitled feedback item), New Scientist, 6 October 2007. [local copy]
• (untitled feedback item), New Scientist, 18 November 2006.
• Dogs’ hidden costs, New Scientist, 14 May 2005.
• (untitled letter), Sydney Morning Herald, 30 November 2004.
• (untitled letter), New Scientist, 21 August 2004.

Magazines

• Features Editor & Managing Partner: The Core, numbers 1 to 86. Adelaide: Core Productions, 1991–1993.
• Editor: Bread and Circuses, numbers 1 to 27. Adelaide: Students Association of the University of Adelaide, 1979–1980.

• The Sun (SCA newspaper). Adelaide: self-published, dates TBA.
• Cornerstone: The Quarterly Publication of the Shire/Barony of Innilgard. Adelaide: Society for Creative Anachronism, October 1985 (AS XX) to April 1987 (AS XXI).

Zines:

• Psychopathic Silverfish. Adelaide: self-published, 22 May 1986
• hordes of one-legged seagulls. Adelaide: self-published, 22 December 1985
• Menu for a Palm Court Café. Adelaide: self-published, October 1985
• The Fornt Coover. Adelaide: self-published, June 1985
• The Exact Re-wording, numbers 1, 2, 2.1, 3. Adelaide: self-published, 1985?
• …to cast a shadow, number 2. Adelaide: self-published, 31 May 1980.
• to light a candle…, number 1. Adelaide: self-published, 30 March 1980.

Multimedia

Both iRadio and FastStart Asia Pacific would have been called “podcasts” had that word been in currency at the time. Both programs were used for internal marketing within the corporations concerned.

• Producer: FastStart Asia Pacific, 6 episodes. Sydney (distributed online throughout the Asia-Pacific region): IBM Australia Limited, August 2003–October 2004.
• Producer: iRadio, 4 episodes. Sydney (distributed nationally online and on audio CD: Telstra Corporation Limited, February 2002–February 2003.

this!zine™ was an award-winning CD-ROM magazine for the youth market produced by Big Hand Asia Pacific Pty Ltd, a joint venture between the Fairfax media group and Big Hand Inc of Dallas, Texas (as far as I know they have no connection with BigHand Digital Dictation).

• Editor: this!zine, issue 1. Sydney: Big Hand Asia Pacific, February 1996.
• Associate Editor / Associate Producer: this!zine, issue 0. Sydney: Big Hand Asia Pacific, November 1995.

Papers

• Gay & Lesbian Internet Users: Trends and Implications. Sydney: CitySearch Australia, 1998. (unpublished confidential research)

Presentations (Conferences & Seminars)

• What do journos do better, exactly?: Media 140 Sydney, Sydney, 5–6 November 2009.
• Risk, Fear and Paranoia: Perspective, People!: NSW Sphere, Sydney, 4 September 2009.
• The Parable of the Topless Gnome: Cultural imperialism and censorship in a global world: SoGiKII: Law, Communication Technologies and Culture Conference, Sydney, 9 June 2009.
• The Importance of Authenticity: WebForward@CeBIT, Sydney, 14 May 2009.

• Social Media and the Federal Election 2007: PodCamp Perth 07, Perth, 27 October 2007.

• The information power of multi-media: a strategic key to increase sales and profits: Capture & Use Information for Effective Targeted Marketing, IIR Conferences, Sydney, 26–26 March 1996.
• Harnessing the power of marketing through this!zine: a live presentation: Youth Marketing, IIR Conferences, Sydney, 29 May 1996.

Radio

I worked in radio full time from 1982 to 1992 in various roles, and dabbled over the years since then. This list includes some of the highlights.

• Station Manager: Three D Radio 93.7 FM. Adelaide: Progressive Music Broadcasting Association Inc, April 1994–March 1995.
• Presenter (with Scott Thompson): Club Escape. Adelaide: Triple J.
• Producer: Radio 5AN. Adelaide: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, January 1985–February 1992.

Television

• More allegations against Murdoch media, 7.30. Sydney (broadcast Australia-wide): ABC TV, 12 July 2011. (Interviewee)
• Internet filter postponed for more review, Lateline. Sydney (broadcast Australia-wide): ABC TV, 9 July 2010. (Interviewee)
• Govt’s website black list leaked on internet, Lateline. Sydney (broadcast Australia-wide): ABC TV, 19 March 2009. (Interviewee)
• Pornography on the Internet, Sex/Life. Sydney (broadcast Australia-wide): Channel 10, Beyond International, October 1996. (Interviewee)

At the end of October the House of Representatives passed the Evidence Amendment (Journalists’ Privilege) Bill 2010, which is all about protecting the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. In the usual jargon, it’s a “journalist shield law”.

Australia was apparently the only major democracy without such a law in place or in progress, so it’s welcome. And, in the words of the new Greens MP for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, “this bill is a good example of how all parties can collaborate on a worthwhile initiative in a way that would not have happened without the currently composed parliament.”

Bandt continued:

To facilitate its passage, the Greens will support the bill in its current form in the House, but I indicate now that we will seek minor amendments to it in the Senate. In particular, we believe that it should be made explicit that the bill covers bloggers, citizen journalists and documentary filmmakers, and that the privileges provided by the bill cover anyone engaged in the process of journalism, no matter who they are or in what medium they publish.

Well I reckon it’s great that the new law might cover more people, not just those who work as employee-journalists in the industrial media factories. It’s great that it might be technology- and medium-neutral. But…

What the heck is a “blogger” or a “citizen journalist”?

As the bill currently stands, the definitions of “journalist” and “news medium” are already quite broad. In Schedule 1, section 126G:

informant means a person who gives information to a journalist in the normal course of the journalist’s work in the expectation that the information may be published in a news medium

journalist means a person who in the normal course of that person’s work may be given information by an informant in the expectation that the information may be published in a news medium

news medium means a medium for the dissemination to the public or a section of the public of news and observations on news

My understanding is that “observations on news” is meant to cover the analysis and opinion (“op-ed”) that typically appears in newspapers and current affairs programs. But many blog posts would also fit that description.

Heck, you could even argue that my Twitter stream is a news medium because it contains news (of what me and others are doing) and observations thereupon, conveyed to “a section of the public”.

What I don’t know is whether “in the normal course of that person’s work” implies that a journalist has to be paid. Any media lawyers want to have a go at that?

In my view, “journalism” and “blogging” are two activities amongst many that end up producing certain kinds of media outputs. Whether you’re paid or not is a separate issue.

As I’ve expounded at length before, journalism is the job of producing the media objects needed by industrial-age media factories. That’s why I love John E McIntyre’s description of his work at The Baltimore Sun as sub-editor — “copy editor” in his American English — as “a shift at the paragraph factory”. On his blog.

Blogging evolved in a different environment. It produces a more fluid kind of media output — one that involves the readers in discussion. Indeed, I’m one of the people who thinks that the dialog is what makes it blogging — as opposed to an essay or a polemic.

There are other definitions, of course. I won’t list them all here except one. The idea that a proper capital-J journalist is a member of their professional association. In Australia that’s the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance. Like most professions it has a Code of Ethics.

Is a Code of Ethics what turns writing about current events into “journalism”?

Labor MP Graham Perrett supported the bill but was concerned about extending protection to those unruly bloggers:

I do support this bill and I support shield laws which provide a presumption in favour of journalists privilege. However, I believe that this bill could be improved by providing an expanded definition for ‘journalist’ or ‘reporter’… As an additional safeguard, this definition enshrined in legislation would ensure that rogues — who do not uphold the journalists’ code of ethics — are not able to hide their shonky reporting behind shield laws. In terms of the modern day, it is easy to see people like [veteran political journalist] Laurie Oakes and the others who sit up in the journalists gallery as journalists, but there is then quite a continuum down to the perhaps aggrieved blogger who puts out something every week…

I would suggest to the Senate that the definition of journalist include some additional words. If we go to the 126G definition where journalist is defined, I would suggest that it also include ‘a person who ascribes to the journalist code of ethics as published and codified by Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance’. This would be a narrower definition that would still cover the intent of the member for Denison’s legislation.

Perrett isn’t necessarily suggesting every blogger become a member of the MEAA. But I make two observations for now.

1. The MEAA’s codification of journalistic ethics is not necessarily the only view of how things should work. I’ve nothing against the MEAA. Far from it! But I wouldn’t like to see them enshrined in legislation as the only view of how the media should operate.
2. There are plenty of MEAA members who fail to live up to this high ethical standard. Witness any episode of ABC TV’s Media Watch. This test for ethical behaviour fails in practice.

When the recent changes were made to Australia’s Freedom of Information laws, it was proposed to grant journalists the first five hours of decision-making time free of charge. But as the new Information Commissioner, Professor John McMillan told iTnews.com.au:

There was a debate about whether someone was a journalist or not for the purposes of the Act. They resolved that by giving everybody FOI free for the first 5 hours.

The can of worms was not opened on that occasion. But it looks like it’s going to be this time. This will be an interesting can of worms to open. Good luck, Senators.

I’m reviewing the week’s news about the National Broadband Network (NBN) and I’ve come to a conclusion. Labor government spokespeople, and communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy in particular, have been dismal at selling the concept. Couldn’t you do better?

The government’s expensive-looking TV adverts are nothing but vague generalities.

Back in August, Conroy was enthusing about his smart dishwasher that negotiated cheap electricity, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it wouldn’t need any more bandwidth than dial-up. I haven’t heard anything specific from him since then, just more hand-waving about improved health and education.

Even NBN Co chief Mike Quigley, in an interview for KGB TV at Business Spectator, couldn’t present a compelling scenario that’d make sense to a “normal” voter. Just waffle about video conferencing.

[W]e are at an age now where video is just beginning to really come into its own online. So we are going to see more and more video applications and not just entertainment, but applications such as teleconferencing. Right from here in NBN Co in Sydney we’re using a system that’s high-definition, low-latency to our Melbourne office, three big 1080 screens. That requires quite a bit of bandwidth and that is going to become more and more widely used, I believe, even for people for teleworking, for example. So I think we’re going to see more and more video, which is going to drive the requirements for bandwidth up, and there are not many infrastructures that can carry that type of traffic successfully. Fibre is one of them.

None of this explains why we might want or need vastly more bandwidth than is available today. None of it explains why the NBN should be a taxpayer-funded project for all Australians, not just the few who might want video conferencing and could pay for it commercially. None of it explains why we might want the cities to cross-subsidise the regional areas.

And yet there are applications sitting there right now, or that will emerge any day now. Real applications crying out for more bandwidth. And not just gaming and more TV. It shouldn’t be hard to list a few. And that’s why I want your help.

I’d like a few examples for tomorrow’s Patch Monday podcast. If you can list them here, great. If I can record you saying it in your own words for a minute or two, even better.

So what have you got for me?

[Update 10.00pm: If you'd like to leave your suggestions as an audio comment for the Patch Monday podcast, just Skype to "stilgherrian" or phone Sydney +61 2 8011 3733 and leave voicemail.]

[Update Monday 25 October 2010, 1.40pm: This week's Patch Monday podcast has just been posted: Why can't Labor sell the NBN's benefits? Enjoy.]

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is once more holding a Federal Election Forum on ICT issues, with the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy, his Coalition counterpart Tony Smith MP, and The Greens’ spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.

As you can see from the photos, Australia’s political diversity is once more represented by a bunch of middle-aged men in dark suits.

When I wrote about the equivalent event in 2007, I noted that the Minster at the time, Liberal Senator Helen Coonan, looked rattled and scored a few own goals. Conroy, by comparison, was alert and scored some sharp political points. And Democrat leader Senator Lyn Allison — remember the Democrats? — was quietly confident.

Labor’s broadband promise was a Fibre to the Node network with a “guaranteed” minimum speed of 12Mb/sec to 98% of Australians, costing $4.7 billion. The Liberals were promising WiMaX through the OPEL consortium. From memory, mandatory internet censorship didn’t even get a mention, as both parties only added that little gem to their agendas after the official campaign period had started.

How times have changed…

This year’s moderator is Sky News political editor, David Speers. An odd choice, I must say. Sure, he has the profile and Sky News Business is the host broadcaster. But wouldn’t it have been better to have someone with a better technical knowledge of the portfolio, rather than a general political news reporter? My worry is that it’ll degenerate into political point-scoring rather than analysing competing policies.

So let’s help out Mr Speers. What are the issues this year, do you think? What questions should he ask?

I think we can take a question or two about internet censorship for granted. Please try to think beyond the obvious indignation du jour.

The Federal Election Forum is next Tuesday 10 August 2010 at the National Press Club in Canberra. The debate starts at 1pm Canberra time and will be broadcast on Sky News Business and possibly ABC News 24. [Update 3pm: The Forum will also be streamed live at YouTube's Australia Votes channel.]

[Photo credits: Stephen Conroy via Wikimedia Commons. Tony Smith via Office of Tony Smith MP. Scott Ludlam via The Greens. This composite image is licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.0 license.]

The other day, communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy called for a review of Refused Classification material online, something I called his “filter masterstroke”. With the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General due to meet in Perth tomorrow and Friday on 4 and 5 November 2010, I’m calling for them to review the whole classification system — not just online and not just RC.

Here’s what I just sent the NSW Attorney General, John Hatzistergos MLC (pictured):

The Hon John Hatzistergos MLC
Attorney-General of New South Wales
GPO Box 5341
Sydney NSW 2001

Fax +61 2 9228 3600

Review of Refused Classification

Dear Minister,

As you will be aware, Senator Stephen Conroy, Australia’s Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, has recommended that the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General review that category of online content called Refused Classification.

I urge you and your fellow Attorneys-General to extend that into a full review of the classification system, not just for the internet but for all media.

In brief, Australia’s classification system is currently an inconsistent mess. I doubt that it accurately reflects the mature, tolerant and robust Australian community standards of the 21st Century. Simply put, such a review is long overdue.

Irene Graham has documented in detail the state of Refused Classification in Australia at http://libertus.net/censor/isp-blocking/au-govplan-refusedclassif.html and it is clear that over the years the RC category has been extended in an ad hoc manner to include material well beyond the governments’ original intentions — in many cases without reference to parliaments, let alone to the people.

Looking through the rest of Ms Graham’s site, it is clear that for the last decade, and perhaps longer, more attention has been given to the views of vocal minority groups rather than to the peer-reviewed social research that is available. This must change.

It is also clear that many decisions have been made on the basis of content being perceived as “offensive” to people’s tastes, rather than any demonstrable risk of harm. It simply is not the government’s place to legislate on matters of taste.

Finally, this is the age of media convergence. It is ridiculous to have different classification standards for the same video material, for example, depending on whether it is delivered via broadcast television, a DVD in a shop or via the internet.

In no way should any of this be seen as wishing to relax the laws relating to criminal material such as child abuse material. But that is a matter for criminal law, not classification.

If you require any further details, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Stilgherrian

cc: The Hon Carmel Tebbutt MP, Member for Marrickville

It’s all very last-minute, but I reckon a lot of phone calls, faxes and emails to your state Attorney-General wouldn’t go astray.

A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets.

Articles

• Crikey Clarifier: What is cloud computing? for Crikey. They needed a quick overview of the whole concept, given that it blipped up in the Australian Financial Review as the Next Big Thing.

Podcasts

• Patch Monday episode 48 in which I chat about “Conroy’s filter masterstroke”. With an election due to be announced today, Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, has I think succeeded in taking the toxic topic of ISP-level internet filtering off the table by announcing a comprehensive review of the Refused Classification category. I chat through the implications with Peter Black, who teaches internet law at the Queensland University of Technology.
• The interview I recorded last week for A Series of Tubes will be scrapped, as events have moved on. There will be an episode next week, ‘cos we’ve booked a recording session for Tuesday morning.

[Photo: "Blurry at Museum station", Sydney, taken on 14 July 2010.]

A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets. I didn’t intend for this to be my only post this week, but that’s how it turns out sometimes.

Articles

• Filter delay: backtracking or backburning? for ABC Unleashed, my summary and commentary on yesterday’s announcement by Senator Stephen Conroy of the Outcome of consultations on transparency and accountability for ISP filtering and a review of the Refused Classification category.

Podcasts

• Patch Monday episode 47 in which I chat with Greens Senator Scott Ludlam about the Senate inquiry into the adequacy of protections for the privacy of Australians online, and to Gunther Bloemen from Verizon Business on the European Directive on Data Retention. The latter is being discussed as a potential model for Australia.
• I recorded an interview for an episode of A Series of Tubes but it hasn’t emerged yet.

Media Appearances

• The Future of News Reporting, a webcast panel discussion for Viocorp along with Gaven Morris, Head of Continuous News, ABC; Eric Beecher, publisher of Crikey; Mark Hollands, Chief Executive of PANPA; and Sam North, Media Director at Ogilvy Public Relations; and moderator Mark Jones. You can watch the one-hour webcast on demand, free registration required.
• Internet filter postponed for more review, a story on ABC TV’s Lateline, 9 July 2010. I have a brief appearance in this news story as a “technology blogger”. I’m always amused at the variation in how I’m billed. The MP4 video of this individual story will be available for around a week.

[Photo: "Waiting for Conroy", taken at Senator Stephen Conroy's ministerial media conference at the offices of NBN Co Ltd, North Sydney, 8 July 2010.]

A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets, posted a day early because I’m about to go off-grid for the weekend.

Articles

• Inside Microsoft’s Security War Room, my debut for iTnews, along with a photo gallery. During my Microsoft-funded trip to Redmond, Washington, I visited the War Room where they work on critical security patches for all Microsoft products.
• The political naivety of the digital elites for ABC Unleashed, in which I bemoan the way some people seem to see all politics through the narrow, narrow prism of the Australian government’s mandatory internet censorship policies. The comments are fascinating, especially those who seem to think I’m in favour of Senator Conroy and the government’s internet censorship plans.

Podcasts

• Patch Monday episode 46 covered the news from Canberra: the calls for the sacking of Senator Stephen Conroy as Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and replacing him with Senator Kate Lundy; and the parliamentary report Hackers, Fraudsters and Botnets: Tackling the Problem of Cyber Crime.

[Photo: A sign spotted outside the ZanziBar, Newtown, last night, offering free Snuggies for hire. "Snuggie"? If you haven't heard of this device before, check their website or watch the infomercial.]

The Labor Party has removed their pre-election policy on internet censorship from the ALP website, so here it is. Labor’s Plan for Cyber Safety (November 2007) [61kB PDF].

This policy, with Senator Stephen Conroy listed as the author, was a last-minute addition to the ALP’s policies in the final weeks before the 2007 federal election.

(You can also still find it via this Internet Archive snapshot taken the day before the election, but it’s always good to have a spare, right?)

I’m posting this because I’ll be referring to it in various articles over the next few weeks. Stand by.