Social media insights from recent research

The more time college students spend online, the worst they do in their first semester….but they end up with better social lives. Facebook activism doesn’t detract from offline activism: people who are politically active on Facebook are actually more...

9 questions to ask before starting a nonprofit technology project

Whether you’re a tech professional who wants to lend your time to a good cause, or an NGO that needs a new web site, your online efforts can benefit not just one organization, but many organizations facing similar challenges and opportunities. These 9 questions will ensure your nonprofit project has the maximum impact.

Attached to Accuracy

Tonight’s bout of vigilante fact-checking was prompted by a story on the web site of Attachment Parenting International (API). API is a nonprofit that advocates for what is these days the ascendant philosophy of child-rearing. Best known through the works of...

Academic IP rights

Lawrence Lessig has drawn a line in the sands of intellectual property. He declares today that: I will not agree to publish in any academic journal that does not permit me the freedoms of at least a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license. I couldn’t...

From diatribe to dialogue

It’s been an exciting 48 hours here on alexandrasamuel.com. It’s been swell hearing from all the folks who were shocked, outraged or otherwise engaged by my digressions (in November, and this week) on the subject of Condoleezza Rice’s political...

Blogging initiation rites

I guess I’m now a real blogger: I’ve had my first and second thrashings at the hands of fellow bloggers. My offending entry suggested that Condoleezza Rice be excommunicated from the (admittedly permeable) bounds of political science on the grounds of...

Another setback for political science

Yesterday I finally received my doctorate. The actual piece of Latin-inscribed paper showed up at my door care of Fedex (classy move, Harvard!), officially licensing me in the practice of political science. Yesterday was also the deadline for submitting proposals for...