On Thursday, I interviewed Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, Open Source Initiative board member, founding editor of First Monday, and co-founder of search startup Topsy. I published an article based on the interview on Tuesday, but there was a lot more to our conversation than could be captured in a single piece. Throughout the course of the interview, we talk in detail about the impact of the social web on everything from journalism to popular uprisings. Ghosh also gives some details of how Topsy works, and what makes it different from other search engines.

Google built the old authority model…

RG: The...

Virginia 'Ginni' Rometty becomes IBM's first female CEO on Jan. 1

Virginia Rometty — the woman who led IBM’s acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting in 2002 — will be Big Blue’s next president and CEO.

IBM announced the news on Tuesday afternoon, saying Rometty will take the reins from current boss Sam Palmisano on Jan. 1. Palmisano is chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and after the New Year’s Day handover, he will remain chairman of the board. Rometty is currently a senior vice president and group executive for sales, marketing, and strategy at IBM.

It’s no surprise t...