Given the Independence Day holiday, let’s discuss a modern freedom that comes with going dark on the Internet. Image by Anna Douglass I’ve been enjoying a vacation for the past few days, in large part because I don’t feel the need to be online. Electing to go dark for extended stints has been hard. There were emails I wanted to respond to, updates to post, and conversations that seemed interesting and worth joining. Geoff Livingston on Google+

Ronin – A lordless samurai, especially one whose feudal lord had been deprived of his territory. There are many of us today, many more than 25 years ago, even 10 years ago. The economy combined with the empowering freedom of social tools has created an abundance of free agent communicators. Like the ronin in Japan’s feudal times, we know no master, some by choice, many by circumstance. It’s not an easy life. You live by the sword, and eat what you kill. Many do their time until they find a new employer, God willing. others struggle along, barely scratching by. Then there are those of us who make a go of it. We thrive on the independent work style. The …

Tokyo’s Libya Protest by jetalone Secretary of State Clinton made a speech last week committing to the ideal of an uncensored Internet as a primary tool for freedom. Her remarks — while in contrast to U.S. reactions about Wikileaks and the Obama Administration’s questionable policies on net neutrality — were made in the wake of the incredible events that have occurred in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other Arabic countries. As a result, liberty via the Internet has become a top policy objective. Throughout the Middle East’s unrest, individuals have used the Internet to communicate, speak out, and organize against totalitarian regimes in their countries. Further, citizens in Arabic countries can inform the rest of the world via social publishing tools, …

Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. day as an official U.S. federal holiday. It is during this holiday that MLK’s famous “I Had a Dream” speech plays on TV stations, radios and is discussed on the Internet. Perhaps the greatest aspect of the dream was hope for a meritocracy where his children, “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” How are we doing with racism, segregation and diversity in conversations online? Particularly as social media empowers, giving everyone a digital printing press. Has the digital divide fallen or is it sill rearing its ugly head? Are we talking? And to each other? To compliment the thoughts below, …