Google homepage gave some massive exposure to a few websites when it was first released, which would naturally increase traffic to them. I don't think its the same as the/. effect though. Maybe it was at first, but as they add more optional content to the Google homepage, things will sort of get lost in the crowd, so they probably won 't see the same traffic increases as at first, when there were only a few options. However, getting/.ed is like having a targeting laser pointed at your site, its a strong focus that only points to one thing at a time.
I'm not pretending to have a very good grasp on how this all works, but it seems like these guys have developed some pretty precise control over where the nanotubes get placed by using DNA. Kinda takes 'organic computing' to a whole different level, doesn't it.
There have already been several examples of companies dictating what their employees cannot do on their off time. Weyco, Inc., recently implemented a policy that required employees to take a test, similar to a drug test, that would detect if an employee was a cigarette smoker. If the employee was found to be a smoker or refused the test, they were fired. Note that this test did NOT care if the employee smoked at work or not. This seems like quite an invasion of privacy to me, as smoking cigarettes is not only legal, they do not possibly affect an employee's judgement or motor skills, which as I understand it is the reason regular drug tests for illegal drugs are implemented. Cigarette testing doesn't fall under the same logic. Do a search on "company fires smokers" for plenty of examples of this.
Slashdot Mirror
Google homepage gave some massive exposure to a few websites when it was first released, which would naturally increase traffic to them. I don't think its the same as the /. effect though. Maybe it was at first, but as they add more optional content to the Google homepage, things will sort of get lost in the crowd, so they probably won 't see the same traffic increases as at first, when there were only a few options. However, getting /.ed is like having a targeting laser pointed at your site, its a strong focus that only points to one thing at a time.
I'm not pretending to have a very good grasp on how this all works, but it seems like these guys have developed some pretty precise control over where the nanotubes get placed by using DNA. Kinda takes 'organic computing' to a whole different level, doesn't it.
There have already been several examples of companies dictating what their employees cannot do on their off time. Weyco, Inc., recently implemented a policy that required employees to take a test, similar to a drug test, that would detect if an employee was a cigarette smoker. If the employee was found to be a smoker or refused the test, they were fired. Note that this test did NOT care if the employee smoked at work or not. This seems like quite an invasion of privacy to me, as smoking cigarettes is not only legal, they do not possibly affect an employee's judgement or motor skills, which as I understand it is the reason regular drug tests for illegal drugs are implemented. Cigarette testing doesn't fall under the same logic. Do a search on "company fires smokers" for plenty of examples of this.