Joi, your concern for the Kittens is admirable, however I feel uneasy, as I detected (perhaps falsely) oppressive connotations in your statement. I needn't  re-emphasize that these are strange times, and as history shows, often societies will react to uncertainty by engaging in witch hunts. We should be asking ourselves, "Is it ethical to condemn kitten eating?" That question might strike the reader as odd at first, however, I'd argue that it should be seriously considered.

Like everyone else, I was at first shcoked when the early reports of this scandal made it to my RSS reader. However, during the month that has passed, I've had time to reflect on my own cultral biases and the hypocracy of my disgust. Sure, Kittens are cute; they appear on those "hang in there", "freinds 4ever" posters which hang on the hedge-sparrow’s-egg tint coloured walls of the elementry school's counselor office (perhaps that is where the pro-kitten indoctrination begins). However, would the same outcry have happened had the Berkmanites eviscerated Squirrals instead? Squirrals are smarter than kittens; yet, no one bats an eye when we see a dead on the side of the road. However, if a kitten (or parts of a kitten) are found dead on the side of the road; one can bet that within 30 mins, the kitten (or the pile of mixed kitten cuts) will be surrounded by at least 4 women of varying ages crying.

Sometimes... I wonder, is it the kitten eaters who are sick, or is it our own culture. I think one must be prepared to point their fingers. However, one should always first check to see if their own hands are clean. And in conclusion, I'm not convinced that our hands -- as a culture -- are clean. 

This, I suppose, brings up some of the main themes of this new and yet-to-be-named-era: The high velocity of information, and the unpredictability its organization and propagation. For instance, when I wrote that post, I just happened to think that the contrived contraversy was hilarious, and wanted to contribute a 'report' on it. However, at the time I didn't bother to think about a) the context b) the possibility that google would index it so highly c) the fact that someone might find it while looking for actual information about Rebecca Mackinnon

 

When I say "context" I mean the fact that the post was directed toward an audience who was familiar with the conference on blogging, journalism, and credibility and some the notoriously unfounded accusations and disputes made by trolls at the conference (which were even satirized at Better Bad News; as Ethan Zuckerman said, "The internet is a weird place"). But without that context, the post isn't funny -- its just bizarre; and frankly its spam to anyone who is searching for actual information on you.

 

And on top of that, as George Lakoff so famously pointed out with the phrase, "don't think of a pink elephant" (you just thought of a pink elephant); I think having the words "America and Jesus hating" along with "kitten eating" could even do damage to your credibility on a very subtle level that perhaps can't be measured (even though they'd detect the joke, and gauge the source as lacking credibility, they'd nevertheless be left with a cognitive connection: Rebecca Mackinnon=Kitten eating, America and Jesus hating). Could it be that in the future, its common knowledge that the first page of a google search for someone is the equivalent to making a first impression? (I'd argue that that is true even today).

 

Its a forgone conclusion that our technology is moving faster than our society -- as a whole or parts – is able to cope with and adapt to it. I wonder what sort of ethical norms are going to begin to emerge regarding this sort of stuff (i.e. if Google happens to index a post of mine at the top, but it doesn't have anything to do with the search, I rename the post). Me thinks folksonomies and peer-to-peer organization of information, such as del.ic.us, will begin to supplant algorithmic organization such as google, and to some extent, even technorati. However, that occurring is dependent on the continued growth and expansion of the blogosphere; and the ability of the providers of such services to create easy-to-use and intuitively designed systems that allow a superior organization of info to emerge. I think it is always preferable to create systems that naturally maintain norms and quality, without creating power structures or asking people to adhere to ethical rules. But now I'm rambling, I'm glad you thought the post was funny, btw.