* What happens when tech companies like Google (GOOG) get defensive on privacy issues? Not only do they rub other companies and consumers the wrong way, they serve as reminders of the industry’s growing pains. (GigaOm and The New York Times)

* A primer of the Oracle (GOOG) vs. Google trial. (CNET)

* Q&A start-up Quora is reportedly raising between $30 and $50 million in a new round of funding valuing the company at around $400 million. (TechCrunch)

* A profile of Godfrey Sullivan, CEO of Splunk, a software maker that basically helps companies analyze data. Splunk went public last week, with its value doubling that first day to nearly $3.3 billion. (Bloomberg)

* Meet Planetary Resources Inc., an asteroid mining venture backed by director James Cameron, Google CEO Larry Page, and Chairman Eric Schmidt. Little is known at this point, other than the company’s official mandate: to “overlay two critical sectors—space exploration and natural resources—to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP.” (The Wall Street Journal)

* Microsoft senior researcher Danah Boyd on why social media users need to think critically about the information we create, consume, and share. (The Guardian)

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