[Air-L] Boston area: Shava Nerad on "What's in a name? Google+ and the #nymwars."

[Deborah Elizabeth Finn]

Dear AIR Colleagues,

The Ethos Roundtable is an informal group of people who are interested
in 1) measuring and extending ethos, and 2) using technology for
positive social change. We meet once a month in Harvard Square
(Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) for discussions and presentations.

Please join us for our September session:

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Featured guest: Shava Nerad

We are delighted to be back after our summer hiatus, and grateful to
Shava Nerad for stepping up to be the first featured guest of the
season. This will be a return engagement for her; in 2007, she joined
us to talk about how tools for online anonymity can facilitate civic
engagement.

The topic on September 20th is "What's in a name? Google+ and the #nymwars."

Here's how Shava describes the issue:

     "Google recently raised the hopes of many online privacy and
social media watchers with the launch of the beta of Google+, their
social network and answer to Facebook. Praised as a match to the
collegiality and depth of early 1980s Usenet by old Internet hands,
and embraced by many Internet natives, Google+ ran into one major snag
with a good many of the early adopters who'd hoped to see one of their
favorite Internet companies show a "do no evil" social network could
leave Facebook in the dust.

     "Google+ insisted on every user register under their name on
their wallet ID. That wasn't exactly their stated policy, but that did
end up being their policy as it was enforced. Within a week, the EFF
and a small crew of the oldest and youngest of the articulate bloggers
on G+ were speaking out for the "nyms," the people who wished to use
pseudonyms on Google+. Some wanted privacy, some wanted to be known by
the names they were known on other services. Some needed to segregate
their blogging identity from their professional life for various
reasons. Women and others were concerned about stalkers.

     "Come to the Ethos Roundtable to hear how online and on the
streets and in the press, the nymwars have played out -- and why
Google has seemingly abandoned their long vaunted motto of "Don't be
evil" and may be shedding young engineers over the issue of
pseudonymity on their most recent social media effort on the rocks."

After the conclusion of our Ethos Roundtable session, we will stroll
down the hall to enjoy the good company, charming venue, and free food
at the 501 Tech Club, which is generously underwritten by
TechFoundation. The 501 Tech Club is the monthly gathering of
technology professionals who work with nonprofit organizations.

All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at the Boston 501 Tech
Club, and vice versa.

Please remember that there's never any need to make a reservation to
attend Ethos Roundtable events. Just come if you can, and feel free to
invite others! However, if you're planning to attend the Boston 501
Tech Club event at 6:00 pm, we ask that you send an email to Kathleen
Sherwin of TechFoundation (ksherwin AT techfoundation DOT org). Since
TechFoundation is providing the free food, it's both courteous and
prudent to let her know how much to order.

For more information about the Ethos Roundtable, please go to
<http://ethosroundtable.blogspot.com>.

For more information about the Boston 501 Tech Club, please go to
<http://groups.nten.org/501TechBoston>.

For more information about TechFoundation, please go to
<http://www.techfoundation.org>.

See you on the 20th!

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Strategist and Consultant
Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Email: deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu
Blog: www.deborahelizabethfinn.com
Skype: Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Deborah.Elizabeth.Finn
Mobile phone: 1-617-504-8188
Voicemail: 1-617-958-1959

I bring resources and needs together for nonprofits and
philanthropies, mostly through strategic use of information
and communication technologies.