MichaelZimmer.org

I’m pleased to announce two recent publications of my work exploring the implications of Library 2.0 platforms and applications for patron privacy. These represent early thinking on this complex relationship between privacy and web-based delivery of library services, and I intend to continue investigating this through a multidisciplinary assessment of the motivations, design, deployment, and impact [...]

I’m very pleased to announce that the fourth book in the MIT Press “Information Society Series” I am co-editing with Laura DeNardis has been released: The Digital Rights Movement: The Role of Technology in Subverting Digital Copyright Hector Postigo The movement against restrictive digital copyright protection arose largely in response to the excesses of the [...]

I’m pleased to announce that the special issue on the topic of “Ethics of Secrecy”, that I co-edited with Daniel Nagel and Matthias Rath, has been published by the International Review of Information Ethics. Here is the table of contents, and the articles are available (open access!) here. Vol. 17 (07/2012) Daniel Nagel, Matthias Rath, [...]

I’m thrilled to announce that the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has published a new entry on “Internet Research Ethics”, written by Elizabeth Buchanan and myself. I’m confident the existence of this entry in such a popular and prestigious publication will help increase awareness of these important issues.

In celebration of Choose Privacy Week, the American Library Association‘s Office for Intellectual Freedom has released preliminary findings from a new survey on “Librarian Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Informational Privacy” that I conducted on their behalf with generous support from the Open Society Foundation. The press release with preliminary results is copied below; the full report [...]

I’ve received a preview copy of an important forthcoming volume, “Design and Ethics: Reflections on Practice,” edited by Emma Felton, Oksana Zelenko, Suzi Vaughan. This book marks an important contribution to the growing “ethical design” or “values in design” community of scholars and practitioners. From the publisher: The value of design for contributing to environmental [...]

I’m very pleased to announce that the third book in the MIT Press “Information Society Series” I am co-editing with Laura DeNardis has been released: The Reputation Society: How Online Opinions Are Reshaping the Offline World Edited by Hassan Masum and Mark Tovey Foreword by Craig Newmark In making decisions, we often seek advice. Online, [...]

Along with Daniel Nagel and Matthias Rath, I am co-editing a special issue of the International Review of Information Ethics on the topic of “Ethics of Secrecy”. The full call for papers is below, and available here. Abstract submission deadline is January 15, 2012. Ethics of Secrecy Call for Papers for Vol. 17 (07/2012) Deadline [...]

I’m very pleased to announce that the second book in the MIT Press “Information Society Series” I am co-editing with Laura DeNardis has been released: Opening Standards: The Global Politics of Interoperability Edited by Laura DeNardisSeptember 2011 Openness is not a given on the Internet. Technical standards–the underlying architecture that enables interoperability among hardware and [...]

The Chronicle of Higher Education has published an article featuring my critique of the privacy protections and research methods related to the “Taste, Ties, and Time” (T3) Facebook research study conducted by a set of Harvard sociologists. Written by Marc Parry, the article is not-so-subtly teased as “Harvard’s Privacy Meltdown” on the Chronicle’s front page, [...]