Weekly Filet #171: We Need All Those Shades of Grey. And more.
On Facebook, it's a mere dropdown option: Is this update public or not? Then again, «Public is not simply defined. Public is not just what can be viewed by others, but a fragile set of social conventions about what behaviors are acceptable and appropriate.» Anil Dash explains who profits from a binary view on privacy and why its important to defend the grey areas.
→ What Is Public? (Anil Dash / Medium)
If I had chosen this link randomly, you might have been better off. A great article on random decisions.
→ If you can't choose wisely, choose randomly (Aeon Magazine)
This short film provides an eerily accurate and almost poetic depiction of how marketers and secret services see us on the web.
→ Numbers (Robert Hloz / Vimeo)
The New York Times reports on how European countries, including Switzerland, have become the main source of revenue for Al Qaeda. They pay millions in ransom for their kidnapped citizens. The US and UK don't, often with deadly consequences.
→ Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror (New York Times)
A monkey bra, a mask and noise canceling headphones – follow this advice and you become the most insufferable air traveller ever.
→ How to survive air travel (Craig Mod / Medium)