pafa.net

When I saw this column in the paper today Digital Drugs: A new worry for parents, I immediately wondered if I’d been whisked around the calendar to April Fool’s Day. But, no, it’s not April and a quick search showed that this has been carried by many of the major news sources over the past few weeks.

These ‘drugs’ are sound files that are supposed to create some sort of brain reaction. I listened to a few and only found them annoying. But the article wildly (in my opinion!) concludes:

At the very least, digital drugs promote drug use. Some sites say binaural beats can be used with illegal drugs.

That’s quite a claim!

As Linda Braun points out in her YALSA blog post Time for More Hype, if it’s in the media, you’ll probably be getting questions about it from parents, colleagues, etc. Do read Linda’s post on YALSA and the other material she’s linked to and be ready for this latest techno-drama.

I hate throwing books out, but these are too old to donate to my local public library for their book sale. And I imagine anyone with a ‘history of the internet’ collection will already have these.

I remember the excitement of ordering and receiving these titles. Back in those long ago days, there weren’t the zillions of internet related titles there are now, so getting a new one was a thrill. Call me a geek, I dare you! I think I’ll let them gather dust for another week and then recycle them.

Looking forward to attending this event next week:

Washington, Wikipedia and Web 3.0: What is the Future of the Web? On June 11, 2008, leading authorities on the World Wide Web will gather at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for an old-fashioned debate with a social media twist. The questions for discussion will be shaped and selected by the collective wisdom of Web users from around the world.

After delivering a keynote address, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, will join a panel of experts from academia and industry for a public discussion about the Web’s future.

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