Becoming a little bit more knowledgeable

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Today I have consumed three articles that made strong impression with me. I will continue to ponder them.

1. Wikipedia on Demand Media in the world of social media; The way Demand Media is portrayed makes me think about operations at the fringe of moral acceptance. It seems Demand Media is the ultimate capitalist force able to wring cheap work out of the masses to create riches for its share holders, except it doesn’t have any share holders yet since its IPO is delayed due to some questionable circumstances. I am left with a feeling that content creation, that includes journalism, is held hostage to create riches rather than insights.
2. Wikipedia on the Swedish-Norwegian Union is very interesting reading and not at all what I remember from school. I thought the May 17 celebration was in commemoration of the independence from Sweden. But history has a different and much more interesting story to tell.
3. Julian Assange and the controversy around Wikileaks and the alleged rape case in Sweden. There are many disturbing elements to this story. I grew up in a society where every public document was, you guessed it, public. Checks and balances were anchored in the constitution to make sure the people in power didn’t abuse it. However the stories surrounding the Assange case seem to indicate layers upon layers of secrecy, obfuscation and intrigue.

Do you have any thoughts on either of these stories?