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CIC welcomes new (old) client…

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skeleton cic 10-20-13  Warm welcome to one of the newest (oldest?) clients at the Cambridge Innovation Center…My favorite entrant in the Halloween Competition, so far.  It’s by Mike Burtov, CEO at Cangrade, which offers hiring automation/psychological testing. Back story is that this guy or gal is still waiting for Netscape to load…from 5 1/4 inch floppy disks. Pleased that s/he’s in C3 (shared space on the 5th floor) rather than on another floor, where I often work,  which we’ve dubbed “elderhostel” for reasons you might be able to guess.

–Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning PR, social media and content marketing firm based in the Cambridge Innovation Center, in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA.

 



Guest Post: Mark Orton on Metadata, the Government and You

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Immersion-a-people-centric-view-of-your-email-life-1024x542

Mark Orton, our  friend and former Cantabridgian, now living in Hudson, NY (aka Cambridge on the Hudson), suggests that the government is not being straightforward about how the multitude of data it is collecting is being used. He  recommends a new tool called “Immersion”  with which you can check out just how easy it is to compile and understand your own metadata.

Mark first posted the following on July 9 at Current Matters as “The uses of metadata: an experiment you can conduct with your own life.” 

—AMH

With the recent revelations of the NSA vacuum cleaner collecting metadata about every aspect of our lives1 we have been subjected to calming incantations, “We are only collecting metadata, we aren’t looking at the content”. As I (and many others) have pointed out earlier, this is complete nonsense.

Now three fellows at MIT have provided us with a web tool to visualize metadata from our own lives. If you have a Gmail account, you should trundle over to Immersion and take a look at your own metadata.

I have been using my Gmail account as my main email system for a number of years. There are four other email addresses connected to it so the graphic below presents much more than just my Gmail email address’s activity.

(click on the graphic to see it full size)

Immersion: a people-centric view of your email life

Keep in mind that the Immersion site offers a great deal of interactivity. You set sliders to see different chunks of time, pick out particular people and see how they connect to others, and much more. There are three mysterious sliders on the left, “charge”, “node”, and “link” that change the organization of the chart. I have been unable to determine exactly what they do and the MIT guys have, to my knowledge, provided no explanation. Perhaps in their cocoon on Mass Ave, they assume that everyone will know or immediately intuit the uses of these sliders.

In my case it was very easy to identify the basic clumps of my life: family and friends, Hudson business community, and the library. Then you might notice floating around the periphery are a lot of nodes without links (or only occasional ones) to anyone else. These are my clients. I don’t email most of them very often. And, excepting a referral by me for some specific business purpose they never know about the existence of others amongst my client base, therefore no links between them.

Now, having played with this a bit one gets a much more visceral sense of how important and useful metadata is. And, imagining a pool of metadata that adds telephone contacts, location data from cellphones, text messages, Facebook, LinkedIn, and financial transactions, it is easy to see how fine grained and comprehensive a picture could be constructed.

So, as noted in an earlier post, NSA Vacuuming, Meta Data, Mistaken Misleading Metaphors, the government is being disengenuous, to be mild, to describe metadata as only metadata.

Here is a view of my data for just the last year. Some people have disappeared, new ones added, and the shape of the intensity of the interactions changed.Immersion: a people-centric view of your email life=last year

 

  1. We are forced to assume that they are collecting everything, emails, telephone calls, financial transactions, text messages, anything digital which is virtually every aspect of life unless you took to the woods before 2000 and have been subsisting in an entirely cash economy without any communications that re not face to face. The tangle of lies by every government official involved will not support any other sensible interpretation. [↩]

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning  public relations and marketing firm located in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA. 



Climbing the walls–literally–at CIC Party in Somerville

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2013-07-12_20-17-58_129Felt very cool in joining 500 of my closest friends at the all-CIC (Cambridge Innovation Center) Party held at Brooklyn Boulder indoor climbing center, in Somerville, on Friday night.  During the day, CIC is a vibrant workplace for 500 companies and 1700 people on nine floors of two high-rise buildings in Kendall Square, Cambridge.  At the party,  all of that energy 2013-07-12_20-17-49_347

and many of those people were unleashed in one huge horizontal space–literally climbing the walls, doing yoga, taking photos, who knows what else. We were given the choice of drinking or climbing…

2013-07-12_20-17-37_80Friends Tom, R, Michael, Kathryn….heck, almost everyone I knew–  chose the former, making us, perhaps, a bit less cool?

—Anita Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and marketing agency located in Cambridge, MA.

 



Journalist/Producer Bill Lichtenstein Wins Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism

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 Exposed School Use of Restraints and Seclusion Rooms in Lexington, MA and Nationally 
Our friend Bill Lichtenstein has won a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for  “A Terrifying Way to Discipline Chlldren,” an Op Ed piece he wrote for the September 8, 2012 New York Times.  Lichtenstein,  an investigative journalist and filmmaker, exposed the largely unknown use of seclusion rooms and physical restraints in schools across the country. Lichtenstein became aware of such rooms and restraints when his young daughter encountered them in a Lexington, MA public school.
According to the award announcement:  “After learning that his 5-year-old daughter had been repeatedly locked in a converted closet in her elementary school, the author exposed the largely unknown use of seclusion rooms and physical restraints as forms of punishment in schools around the U.S. The piece attracted a flood of media attention to the issue, sparked tremendous response from readers, and helped coalesce a national effort to end these practices and promote positive behavior interventions in schools.”
Lichtenstein, along with five other parents, has launched Action to Keep Students Safe, a non-profit initiative to curtail the use of restraints and seclusion rooms in schools and to support parents in advocating for their children. See: KeepStudentsSafe.com .
The Casey Medals celebrate the past year’s best reporting on children, youth and families in the U.S.  Lichtenstein’s article received an Honorable Mention.
According to the  Casey Medals press release:  “Judges sought journalism that packed a punch, stirred the conscience and made an impact; meticulously reported, powerfully delivered stories that shined a spotlight on issues, institutions and communities that rarely receive media attention.
The Casey Medals are administered by the Journalism Center on Children and Families at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland and are funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Journalism Center on Children and Families received entries representing the work of hundreds of reporters, editors, photographers and producers at more than 100 news organizations. Among the winners: The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS Frontline, New York Magazine, The Center for Public Integrity, The Center for Investigative Reporting, and The Des Moines Register.
—Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is  a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and digital marketing firm located in Cambridge, MA. 

 



My first e-book purchase: Out for Blood…on Vampires, of all things!

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Just bought my first e-book…Out for Blood, by friend Margot Adler. She describes it as her “wild essay on why vampires have such traction in our culture and the relationship of all those things to power, morality and the fate of the planet. 
As explained ion Amazon,

 

Starting as a meditation on mortality after the illness and death of her husband, Margot read more than 260 vampire novels, from teen to adult, from gothic to modern, from detective to comic. She began wonder why vampires have such appeal in our society now? Why is Hollywood spending billions on vampire films and television series every year? It led her to explore issues of power, politics, morality, identity, and even the fate of the planet.“Every society creates the vampire it needs,” wrote the scholar Nina Auerbach. Dracula was written in 19th century England when there was fear of outsiders and of disease coming in through England’s large ports. Dracula – An Eastern European monster bringing direct from a foreign land – was the perfect vehicle for those fears. But who are the vampires we need now? In the last four decades, going back to Dark Shadows, we have created a very different vampire: the conflicted, struggling-to-be-moral-despite-being-predators vampire. Spike and Angel, Stefan and Damon, Bill and Eric, the Cullens – they are all struggling to be moral despite being predators, as are we. Perhaps our blood is oil, perhaps our prey is the planet. Perhaps Vampires are us. 

Margot , a great friend from NYC days and also my Harvard Nieman Fellowship,  is a long time NPR news correspondent, and the author of Drawing Down the Moon, the classic book on Contemporary Paganism, Wicca and Goddess Spirituality. She is also the author of Heretic’s Heart, a 1960’s memoir–recently republished as an e-book.

—Anita M.  Harris
Anita Harris is the author of Broken Patterns, Professional Women and the Quest for a New Feminine Identity, and of the forthcoming Ithaca Diaries. New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and digital marketing firm she founded in Cambridge, MA. 


Harvard Square Stay-cation

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Harvard Square Stay-cation

Harvard Square Stacation

Spending Memorial Day Weekend at home, in and near Harvard Square. Good start yesterday: Breakfast at Henrietta’s, lunch at Mexican, afternoon perusing books on Web design. More later!

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, a public relations and digital marketing firm located in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA.



Acupuncturists offer free trauma treatment in Marathon bombing aftermath

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Our friend Robert Gracey sends the following:

Massachusetts acupuncturists in affiliation with the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA), Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Society of Massachusetts (AOMSM) and Acupuncture Without Borders (AWB) are joining together through Boston Acupuncture Trauma Relief (BATR) to provide treatment and healing for those affected by the tragic Boston Marathon bombings and related events. Participating acupuncturists are offering free acupuncture treatments to those in need.

The development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a possible result of both man-made and natural disasters. Acupuncture has been used by AWB in tragic situations like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and most recently in Newtown, Connecticut. The Department of Defense has also been working with acupuncture to help veterans returning from foreign wars alleviate trauma symptoms that may linger after deployment.

It is common for those who have undergone trauma to experience “triggers” that will set off a response, like a car backfire, the sounds of heavy equipment, or news updates as the case unfolds. It is also common for sufferers to experience physical symptoms like sweating, labored breathing, increased heart rate, and nausea. The most important thing to know is everyone reacts to traumatic exposure differently and there is no right or wrong way to feel or act. It is perfectly normal to have a reaction; it’s a natural part of the healing process.

 

Common Symptoms Following Exposure to Trauma:

  • Restlessness/anxiety/lack of focus
  • Difficulty sleeping/nightmares
  • Reactions to loud noises or sudden movements
  • Feeling a sense of danger or extreme alertness
  • Upsetting images coming up at unwanted times
  • Reliving/re-experiencing the event in your mind
  • Feelings of numbness, guilt, or depression
  • Loss of interest in daily activities

While acupuncturists are not first responders, we understand, because we feel it ourselves, the feelings of angst and confusion that simmer in the aftermath. The use of acupuncture for trauma is a vital bridge between first intervention and the healing process that allows those affected to move through the experience and heal. In addition, acupuncture can also help those recover from their physical injuries.

 

As one of many acupuncturists offering free trauma relief, Gracey and others are offering free services to those in need. For more information please contact Robert Gracy 617-549-1196 or rgracey@graceyhealth.com  ( Gracey Holistic Health),   the New England School of Acupuncture clinic at 617-558-6372, or chose from a list of acupuncturists via the following NESA landing page: http://traumarelief.nesa.edu/.

-Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning PR and marketing firm in Cambridge, MA. 

 

 



Marathon bomb mourners honor slain MIT officer

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Cambridge, MA 4/22/2013
At 2:50 pm today, Massachusetts held for a moment of silence to honor those affected by the recent Boston Marathon bombing and its aftermath.

       MIT honored Sean Collier, 26,  the MIT Safety Officer who was slain on Friday night,  by holding a memorial service followed by a walk  along Vassar  St., which culminated in the statewide moment of silence and vigil at the site of a makeshift altar, on which mourners placed flags, flowers, stuffed animals and other items.  Mourners used chalk, which had been left n a small dish in front of the alter, to write messages of condolence and thanks on the sidewalk.
According to Tim Rowe, founder of the Cambridge Innovation Center and President of the Kendall Square Association:
 it appears that once the images of the perpetrators were released (and presumably the suspects knew that it was only a matter of hours before they were tracked down), they decided to head directly for  Kendall Square.  Kendall is not the closest T stop to them, nor was our 7-Eleven the closest convenience store.  We can only guess at their intent.
 Collier was killed in his car shortly thereafter, while on patrol on the border of MIT and Kendall Square.
Contributions may be made to the Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund set up at MIT.  The funds are to be awarded to individuals who demonstrate the values of Officer Collier:
   http://alumic.mit.edu/redirect.aspx?linkID=31504&eid=130080
Funds to aid the victims include:
 TUGG (Technology Underwriting Greater Good:   https://www.fundraise.com/technology-supports-victims-of-boston-marathon-bombing
And to OneBoston fund,  set up by Governor Deval Patrick Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
  http://www.onefundboston.org/
–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning PR and marketing firm based in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA.