Fun Friday Links: Modern Communication Etiquette, Internet Censorship in Iran and Hacking Donkey Kong

Welcome to Conspire’s Super Happy Fun Friday Link Time, a weekly collection of cool discoveries from around the Web. Most times the goal is to get you thinking differently about communication, collaboration, culture, and life in general. Other times, LOLCAT ATTACK! Submissions are welcome, and you can send them to conspire@mindjet.com for consideration.

Etiquette Redefined

What was once considered polite is becoming increasingly irritating. In this article Nick Bilton discusses how today’s information deluge makes many of life’s little courtesies (like “thank you”) a waste of time. (I still like to be thanked, but could seriously do without e-mails/texts that say “okay” or “kay” or the worst offender: “k.”)

“I have decreasing amounts of tolerance for unnecessary communication because it is a burden and a cost,” said Baratunde Thurston, comedian and former Digital Director over at The Onion. “It’s almost too easy to not think before we express ourselves because expression is so cheap, yet it often costs the receiver more.”

Source: nytimes.com

Internet Censorship in Iran

The infographic below (click for the full size) is an excellent rundown of digital censorship in Iran. “The piece also spotlights four governing structures: the Supreme Cyber Space Council, the Committee Charged with Determining Offensive Content, the Cyber Army, and the Cyber Police. These have emerged since 2009 as key institutions responsible for controlling the flow of online communications, both within Iran, and between Iranians and the worldwide cyber sphere. Yet the infographic also highlights the ability of Iran’s young, tech-savvy population to circumvent these myriad blocks and filters to access the global Internet,” adds Hyperakt.

Source: Hyperakt.com

Donkey Kong Hack

After playing a few rounds of Donkey Kong, Mike Mika’s three-year-old daughter looked up at her dad and asked him a question: “How can I play as the girl? I want to save Mario!”

“…that question! It kept nagging at me. Kids ask parents all the time for things that just aren’t possible. But this time, this was different. I’m a game developer by day. I could do this.”

And so he did. Meet Donkey Kong: Pauline Edition:

“Having kids is incredible. And having a daughter is something special. I get the opportunity to see the world through her eyes. And if this experience has taught me anything, it’s that the world could be just a bit more accommodating. And that if something as innocuous as having Mario be saved by Pauline brings out the crazy, maybe we aren’t as mature in our view of gender roles as we should be.”

Source: Wired.com