The Informationist, a blog written by Bruce Abramson

Surplus from Google to Burning Man

Here's a link to a piece describing an interesting study that set out to place a value on our newfound search capabilities (using Google as the test engine, of course).

At face value, this piece demonstrates the way that Internet companies like Google really do make the world better for individuals.

At a somewhat deeper level though, the lesson applies far beyond Google. "Surplus" is a critical concept to understanding the miracle of market economies. Corporations always generate positive externalities, or benefits that they are unable to monetize. Those benefits operate to improve the lot of their customers, along with their workers, neighbors, competitors, and society at large.

The extent to which people miss this basic message is astounding. A few years ago at Burning Man, I found myself in a public debate with a Marxist grad student who exemplified the phrase "missing the point."

Marbury v. Madison of the Information Age

WASHINGTON—Federal telecommunications regulators approved new rules Tuesday that would for the first time give the federal government formal authority to regulate Internet traffic, although how much or for how long remained unclear.

via online.wsj.com

The FCC announced a fairly mellow version of net neutrality rules today. How should we feel about them?

A Copyright Battle is Joined

One open secret from my past is that I was the clerk who helped Judge Gajarsa draft the Federal Circuit’s controversial Chamberlain v. Skylink, 381 F.3d 1178 (Fed. Cir. 2004).  Yesterday, in MDY v. Blizzard, the Ninth Circuit disagreed with our reasoning and conclusions, and took the time to provide a detailed and thoughtful critique. 

 

Why “The Informationist?” Redux

Informationism is applied information science; it is social and political policy based on a scientific foundation.

via www.theinformationist.com

Every now and then I like to remind myself that my various interests really do cohere. One of the nice things about having launched this blog five-plus years ago is that I forced myself to put that coherent philosophy in writing. I like to revisit my original "Why the Informationist?" essay periodically. For those of you who have joined me recently, enjoy! Or not. Either way, I always welcome comments.

Best Search Engine: Testing Blekko Vs. Google Vs. Bing - The Daily Beast

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a new search site called Blekko that wants to tempt you away from Google, Bing, and the other big boys.

via www.thedailybeast.com

I will always have a soft spot for new search engines, because search is where I got my start. Way back in the mid-80s, when I was but a poor grad student, I became quite enamored of heuristic search algorithms. So enamored, in fact, that I wrote my dissertation about them. Regrettably, the powers that be of the time (the powers that were?) had determined that there was nothing interesting to say about search, and that the topic was no longer suitable for consideration by AI researchers.

Still, search did play a central role in my thinking and research for five years or so, and it showed up in my teaching assignments (my favorite term project assignment was a dating service--commonplace today, but still interesting back in '87). Which is precisely why I still perk up when I hear about--yet another--new search engine.

U.S., Korea Agree on Free-Trade Pact - WSJ.com

via online.wsj.com

We should have sealed this deal three years ago.

I have long believed that if a President can get only one policy right, that policy should be free trade. It is simultaneously a critical domestic need and a critical international lead. No policy plays as significant a role in fostering growth as free trade.

The problem is that free trade, which is always good economics, is often bad politics. It takes courage and cooperation to seal a really good trade deal.

High Court to Hear Microsoft Appeal in Patent Case - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider Microsoft Corp.'s challenge to a $290 million patent infringement judgment that barred the company from selling certain versions of its flagship Word software.

via online.wsj.com

This case could be a watershed in the ways that we motivate innovation.

Crovitz: Do Monopolies Rule the Internet? - WSJ.com

[A]s close students of economic history know, the greater threat to freedom on the Web would be for the government to decide which companies are good and which need to be broken up or punished

via online.wsj.com

Crovitz has it right. The "big is bad" myth is an enduring myth of antitrust--and one that undermines the important purpose that antitrust law is supposed to serve.

The fundamental problem is not "big," but "concentrated power." The motivation to abuse power, once concentrated, is overwhelming. That is true whether it is centralized in the public or the private sector. Those who possess concentrated power tend to favor slow, managed change over revolutionary innovation.

The Economic Stakes

Cross-posted with the Republican Jewish Coalition website

When the dust settles following November’s elections and the punditocracy turns its focus from prediction to analysis, one word will dominate the discussion: JOBS.

There is little doubt that the stagnant economy has been the major story of the past two years, and barring something unforeseen (e.g., a war that takes over the front pages), it will remain the major story for quite a while. Nor, for that matter, is there much doubt that Barack Obama is correct when he notes that the economy was in crisis mode when he was elected. But voters are smart enough to know that though Obama may not have caused our economic woes, his policies have played an important role in determining the course of this downturn. In particular, his policies are responsible for the stagnation that pervades today’s economic climate.

May the Faithful Prove Prescient

Last night, standing amidst a small group of friends, including some to whom my host had just introduced me, holding a glass of champagne, one of the assembled suggested a toast.
“What should we toast?” asked another.
“How about Barack Obama?” said a third.  Numerous eyes turned towards me—perhaps not the only McCain voter in the room, but likely the most vocal one (I do live in San Francisco, after all).
I shrugged and raised my glass:
“To President-elect Obama.  May the faith that so many have placed in him prove fully warranted.”
All agreed that the toast was proper regardless of affiliation or preference.