Tech 2.0 for Monday, February 13
The U.S. government is requesting proposals for the development of a software system that can mine social media. Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies are looking to use it to anticipate everything from terrorist attacks to foreign uprisings by sifting through billions of posts from Twitter and other social networks. The proposals already have raised privacy concerns among advocates who worry that such monitoring efforts could have a chilling effect on users. The FBI says the proposed system would only monitor publicly available information.
Netflix and Hulu are both debuting their first stabs at original scripted programming. Last week, Netflix released all eight episodes of "Lilyhammer," a fish-out-of-water drama starring Steve Van Zandt as a New York mobster relocated to Norway. Tomorrow, Hulu will premiere "Battleground," a faux-documentary sitcom about the young operatives of a middling political campaign in Wisconsin. The shows amount to a milestone in Internet television -- an early salvo in the convergence of TV and Internet viewing. Netflix's most anticipated shows -- a David Fincher-produced adaptation of the British series "House of Cards" and new episodes of the cult comedy "Arrested Development" -- are due later this year and in 2013. Hulu has plans for more original programming.
Chicago is going high-tech to help make sure its sidewalks are cleared of snow. Residents can sign up online for the city's new "Adopt-A-Sidewalk" program. A Web application has an interactive map that allows neighbors to "claim" a sidewalk near their home and connects volunteers with senior citizens and other residents who need help removing snow. One section even allows them to share shovels and snow blowers. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the Web site allows people to look out for each other while using new technologies.
