Friday, September 30, 2005
Who Will Control the Network? EU vs. US Public vs. Private?
EU Tries to Unblock Internet Impasse - New York Times
In an important political shift the U.S. has lost an important ally in the conflict over who will control the internet. The European Union (EU) is supporting the creation of an international organization that will oversee the basic functions of the Internet:
American dominance over the internet has been a source of frustration which has only grown with the increasing anti-American sentiment generated by recent American foreign policy. Much of the opposition is coming from the developing world, but the U.S. had been able to count the EU as an ally until now. This shift in EU policy signals a clear turning point for US information policy. This opposition to U.S. dominance reflects a fear of the unilateral policies of the world's one remaining superpower. The Bush administration will be forced to confront an increasingly vocal global coalition for international control of the world information infrastructure. These developments are a reaction to President's Bush's announcement in July reasserting American control over ICANN. His position is that the U.S. must
The New York Times article quotes the Brazilian delegation to the UN World Summit on the Information Society statement opposing U.S. control over the Internet:
See also the International Telecommunication's Union Summit on the World Information Society Web Site, especially the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)page.
In an important political shift the U.S. has lost an important ally in the conflict over who will control the internet. The European Union (EU) is supporting the creation of an international organization that will oversee the basic functions of the Internet:
"It's a very shocking and profound change of the EU's position," said David Gross, the State Department official in charge of America's international communications policy. "The EU's proposal seems to represent an historic shift in the regulatory approach to the Internet from one that is based on private sector leadership to a government, top-down control of the Internet."
Delegates meeting in Geneva for the past two weeks had been hoping to reach consensus for a draft document by Friday after two years of debate. The talks on international digital issues, called the World Summit on the Information Society and organized by the United Nations, were scheduled to conclude in November at a meeting in Tunisia. Instead, the talks have deadlocked, with the United States fighting a solitary battle against countries that want to see a global body take over supervision of the Internet.
The United States lost its only ally late Wednesday when the EU made a surprise proposal to create an intergovernmental body that would set principles for running the Internet. Currently, the U.S. Commerce Department approves changes to the Internet's "root zone files," which are administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, a nonprofit organization based in Marina del Rey, California.
American dominance over the internet has been a source of frustration which has only grown with the increasing anti-American sentiment generated by recent American foreign policy. Much of the opposition is coming from the developing world, but the U.S. had been able to count the EU as an ally until now. This shift in EU policy signals a clear turning point for US information policy. This opposition to U.S. dominance reflects a fear of the unilateral policies of the world's one remaining superpower. The Bush administration will be forced to confront an increasingly vocal global coalition for international control of the world information infrastructure. These developments are a reaction to President's Bush's announcement in July reasserting American control over ICANN. His position is that the U.S. must
"maintain its historic role in authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file." In so doing, the government "intends to preserve the security and stability" of the technical underpinnings of the Internet.The Bush administrations seems to be making the argument that an international bureaucracy controlled by the UN or any other international body will prevent the efficient development of the internet to meet global demand. Centralized control by a private organization dominated by the U.S. government making decisions for the whole world is the status quo that the Bush administration is seeking to protect. The EU does not seem to have the same fear of international government that American conservatives express in opposition to any increased role of the UN in overseeing the global network.
The New York Times article quotes the Brazilian delegation to the UN World Summit on the Information Society statement opposing U.S. control over the Internet:
"On Internet governance, three words tend to come to mind: lack of legitimacy. In our digital world, only one nation decides for all of us."The Times also raises the spectre of the splitting of the world wide web into competing systems controlled by different organizations assigning their own domain names and protocols which would effectively end the smooth transfer of information between networks and effectively create a balkanized web of hostile walled gardens that would end the utopian dream of an informational global village. A Christian Science Monitor article opposing UN control raises the same point:
If international demands for less US control boil over, other countries could employ a "nuclear option" - setting up a rival to ICANN and potentially creating chaos on the Internet with two divergent standards.
See also the International Telecommunication's Union Summit on the World Information Society Web Site, especially the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)page.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Broadband Through the Power Cord
Globetechnology: Chip helps electrical outlets go broadband
Matsushita has created a device to allow your appliances to network through the electrical outlets in your home. No more need for telephone or cable wires. A highspeed connection using wires that already exist in the home:
The most important implication of this technology is a boost for the power companies that are entering the competition to provide broadband access. Cable and Telephone may have real competition if the power companies can serve up pervasive computing in the home. That would require a revolution in the manufacturing of consumer durables to make them into network capable appliances. A redesign that would raise the price out of the reach of all but an elite group of consumers.
Matsushita has created a device to allow your appliances to network through the electrical outlets in your home. No more need for telephone or cable wires. A highspeed connection using wires that already exist in the home:
The advantage is that the lowly electric socket is everywhere. Right now, a broadband outlet still isn't usually available in every room, even in homes that have broadband connections.From now on you it will be possible for you to talk to your appliances from a far:
In the future home envisioned by Matsushita, people will be able to download and watch high-definition movies in any room of the house that has an outlet.
Attach a special device made by Matsushita into a socket and all you have to do is plug your TV or other gadgets into a socket for instant connection to broadband, which allows for faster transmission of on-line information than dial-up telephone connections.
A network-connected refrigerator may allow users to connect from a mobile phone or laptop to check whether you're low on eggs, for example. Or you may want to turn gadgets off or on, such as your washing machine or air-conditioner, from outside the home.Promises, promises. And does your diswasher really need internet access? Pervasisve computing is a least a technological reality if not yet a real presence in the average home.
The most important implication of this technology is a boost for the power companies that are entering the competition to provide broadband access. Cable and Telephone may have real competition if the power companies can serve up pervasive computing in the home. That would require a revolution in the manufacturing of consumer durables to make them into network capable appliances. A redesign that would raise the price out of the reach of all but an elite group of consumers.
What is Democracy? Download this Article and go to Prison
Free Speech Issues Still Problematic For Vietnam
China is by no means the only Asian nation that is trying repress freedom of expression in cyberspace. The Washington Post reports that Pham Hong Son was sent to prison for three and a half years for the crime of
The internet and the news medi will also spread the news of his incarceration, exposing the repressive policies of the Vietnamese government and hopefully creating a demand for his release.
China is by no means the only Asian nation that is trying repress freedom of expression in cyberspace. The Washington Post reports that Pham Hong Son was sent to prison for three and a half years for the crime of
downloading an essay titled "What is Democracy?" from a U.S. State Department Web site, translating it and sending it to friends and senior Communist Party officials.
Son made the mistake of sending his translation to party officials not realizing the gravity of that error. If Son had translated this article and passed it around to his friends he would probably not have come to the attention of the 'special police' His visibility on the internet made him a target for arrest.
Son also showed the translation to his wife, an administrative assistant for a nongovernmental organization. She liked the piece. Though she realized that the topic was "sensitive," she said, "at that time, I didn't know that it would be dangerous to my husband and my family. I think people have a right to do personal research. I don't understand why he had to be arrested."
Son also translated and sent to friends and officials an essay he wrote in French titled "Encouraging Signs of Democracy." Neither essay advocated violence, Vu Thuy Ha said. "He was trying to propose steps to improve democracy in Vietnam," she said.
On March 25, 2002, soon after Son sent the second essay, a special police unit came to their house, Ha said. The police seized Son's computer and personal papers and took him for questioning. Son published an open letter on the Internet protesting the search and confiscation of his belongings.
The internet and the news medi will also spread the news of his incarceration, exposing the repressive policies of the Vietnamese government and hopefully creating a demand for his release.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Who Will Control the Images of War?
Army Investigates Photos of Iraqi War Dead on Web - New York Times
The availability of digital cameras, laptops and highspeed connections during wartime has transformed the images of war flowing around the war. The ability of the Defense Department to control the flood of imagery coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan has diminished considerably. The crowd of professional journalists is the least of the Pentagon's problems. The photos that created the Abu Grhaib scandal were taken by American soldiers who had absolutely no conception of the effect that their photos would have on the image of America around the world. The effect of those photos did more damage to American credibility than any other event in this conflict.
American soldiers are still snapping photos and taking videos for their own amusement and to show their friends and families what they are experiencing. Free web hosting, blogging and photo hosting sites allow service men and women to post galleries of images at no cost. Most of these images are innocuous touristy shots of the places they are posted and their buddies horsing around or riding in armored vehicles out on operations. Some are funny, some dramatic, but some are filled with the horror and tragedy of war. One topic that is well documented are the IED explosions that threaten their lives. There are a lot of gory photos of burnt corpses and dismembered bodies and destroyed vehicles.
These gory images are a form of war porn that is fascinating to many soldiers and civilians alike. The recent discovery of an "amateur" porn site that caters to military personnel and includes a section of gory war images contributed by soldiers as a form of payment for admission to the porn site has made the news. This is proving to be a source of embarrassment for the Defense Department.
Soldiers are using the highspeed communications networks created by the military to communicate with their own friends and family. Any attempt to crack down or surveil soliders using these networks to ease the boredom and communicate with their families will result in a serious blow to morale. On the other hand, free expression for the troops will surely lead to more scandals that will seriously damage the prestige of the armed forces and the war effort itself. The unfortunate connection between pornography and war gore will confirm a lot of anti-American suspicions about the morality of the war in Iraq. The military will have to curtail the posting of images by soldiers in order to regain control of the image of war, but will that be possible given the enormous amount of personal media carried by modern soldiers?
See also the Online Journalism Review Article on the same subject;
and the Washington Post's Army Investigating Web Postings of Grisly War Photos which quote the site adminstrator of the offending web site as saying:
"It's an uncensored view of the war, from their perspective," said Chris Wilson, 27, of Florida, who began accepting the photographs from soldiers overseas as payment for access to pornography on his Web site. "It's a place where the soldiers can express themselves without being filtered by the Bush administration," he added.Lumping together pornography and free speech for soldiers is going to be a hard sell in this political climate. Let's see what the world press makes of this scandal. It has everything the sensational media could hope for: sex and blood and war.
NFL Cheerleaders in Kuwait
Here are the rules for posting as published on Chris Wilson's site:
Post subject: The Rules For This Section If you are a U.S. Soldier stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other combat area and would like free SUPPORTER access for the site, you can post real pictures you or your buddies have taken while you have been deployed.
This section is for the gory ones so that people who do not wish to see that kind of stuff can just not go in here. I also do not want already published pictures that were taken by news people. This is supposed to be an area where we can see pictures posted by the solders themselves.
Just post your pics like you normally would and when I see them I will approve you for free access to the wife and g/f area. There have only been a few people cheat from this but I do now know what kind of pics to expect from the guys over there. So please do not waste my time if you are not a military person by just posting iraq pics you found on CNN or something.
Keep up the good work over there guys, we love seeing your pics.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Crack Down: China Silencing Cyber Dissidents
World news from The Times and the Sunday Times
Jane Macartney reporting from Beijing for the Times of London writes that China is actively moving to shut down unregulated access to the internet in a massive attempt to curb cyber dissidence. The Times quoted Chinese state media as stating that only "healthy and civilised news and information that is beneficial to the quality of the nation" would be permitted. "State security" and the "public interest" were cited as the reasons for the new regulations banning the dissemination of critical news:
Jane Macartney reporting from Beijing for the Times of London writes that China is actively moving to shut down unregulated access to the internet in a massive attempt to curb cyber dissidence. The Times quoted Chinese state media as stating that only "healthy and civilised news and information that is beneficial to the quality of the nation" would be permitted. "State security" and the "public interest" were cited as the reasons for the new regulations banning the dissemination of critical news:
These regulations are vague enough to frighten anyone contemplating criticizing the authorities. Can a centralized government control the information available to more than 100 million people? The war for access and cyberliberties continues to escalate. Two fronts are under attack: first the regulation of critical websites, shutting down the sources information; second, the attempt to limit and regulate access by shutting down the internet cafes that allowed anonymous access to the web, for both posting and reading of information not sanctioned by the government.The rules, issued by the Ministry of Information, Industry and the State Council, China's Cabinet, would "standardise the management of news and information". The rules take immediate effect.
The latest move in a long campaign to restrict how Chinese have access to the internet hinted at the eagerness of the Communist Party to ensure political and moral rectitude among a growing number of internet users. This has surpassed 100 million, the world's largest after the US.
In the campaign to curb dissent, thousands of caber cafes, the main entry to the web for many Chinese unable to afford a computer, have been closed. In Shanghai, authorities have installed surveillance cameras and require visitors to incabnet cafes to register using identity cards.
Friday, September 23, 2005
OhmyNews: Korean Do It Yourself Reporting
via: Give Them Da Boot: Future of Media
Give Them Da Boot has a link to Newsweek article about OhmyNews a South Korean online news network which covers the Korea, the world and the digital world as well. This is a great example of the new wave of Citizen Journalism. Worth a look and a ponder. See also Dan Gillmor's blog for a great discussion of grassroots journalism.
Give Them Da Boot has a link to Newsweek article about OhmyNews a South Korean online news network which covers the Korea, the world and the digital world as well. This is a great example of the new wave of Citizen Journalism. Worth a look and a ponder. See also Dan Gillmor's blog for a great discussion of grassroots journalism.
Corrupted Blood Plague Slays Thousands (of Avatars)
BBC NEWS | Technology | Deadly plague hits Warcraft world
The BBC reports that player-controlled avatars in the World of Warcraft are succumbing to a plague which has spread from one dungeon to many areas in the World of Warcraft. Weaker avatars quickly succumb to the contagion. Beware the "corrupted blood" of Hakkar--the god of Blood:
Blizzard, the corporation that controls WoW, has attempted to control the Corrupted Blood plague but there are still "isolated pockets" of contagion. Fortunately for the thousands killed by the plague virtual life offers reincarnation and most of the avatars were swiftly "resurrected."
Many online discussion sites were buzzing with reports from the disaster zones with some describing seeing "hundreds" of bodies lying in the virtual streets of the online towns and cities.
The BBC reports that player-controlled avatars in the World of Warcraft are succumbing to a plague which has spread from one dungeon to many areas in the World of Warcraft. Weaker avatars quickly succumb to the contagion. Beware the "corrupted blood" of Hakkar--the god of Blood:
As players explore the world, the characters they control become more powerful as they complete quests, kill monsters and find magical items and artefacts that boost abilities.
To give these powerful characters more of a challenge, Blizzard regularly introduces new places to explore in the online world.
In the last week, it added the Zul'Gurub dungeon which gave players a chance to confront and kill the fearsome Hakkar - the god of Blood.
In his death throes Hakkar hits foes with a "corrupted blood" infection that can instantly kill weaker characters.
The infection was only supposed to affect those in the immediate vicinity of Hakkar's corpse but some players found a way to transfer it to other areas of the game by infecting an in-game virtual pet with it.
This pet was then unleashed in the orc capital city of Ogrimmar and proved hugely effective as the Corrupted Blood plague spread from player to player.
Although computer controlled characters did not contract the plague, they are said to have acted as "carriers" and infected player-controlled characters they encountered.
Blizzard, the corporation that controls WoW, has attempted to control the Corrupted Blood plague but there are still "isolated pockets" of contagion. Fortunately for the thousands killed by the plague virtual life offers reincarnation and most of the avatars were swiftly "resurrected."
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Reporters Without Borders Guide for Cyberdissidents
Guide Aims to Help Bloggers Beat Censors: "Guide Aims to Help Bloggers Beat Censors
The Washington Post has an article about Reporters Without Borders (RSF) new guide for bloggers and cyberdissidents who need to avoid censorship by the authorities:
The Washington Post has an article about Reporters Without Borders (RSF) new guide for bloggers and cyberdissidents who need to avoid censorship by the authorities:
Reporters Without Borders' "Handbook for Blogger and Cyber-Dissidents" is partly financed by the French government and includes technical advice on how to remain anonymous online. It was launched at the Apple Expo computer show in Paris on Thursday and can also be downloaded from RSF's Web site in Chinese, Arabic, Persian, English and FrenchWill this 87 page booklet allow political dissidents to communicate freely? Does this mean that the web is truly free and can't be censored by national governments who are afraid of free expression? Not yet, China is working hard to censor online criticism, According to Julien Pain, head of RSF's Internet Freedom desk.
"A call for free elections ... has a maximum online life of about half an hour," Pain writes of censorship in China.But this instruction manual is an great example of the efforts to promote free expression online by cyberactivists around the world. It also provides advice on how to set up a blog and what goes into making a good blog as well as advice for avoiding official scrutiny.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
The Microsoft Shuffle: "We Need to Improve Agility"
Microsoft Shuffles Leadership - New York Times:
It's a "bit more a paradigm shift" said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, when asked to describe the transition that his company is undergoing right now. "We need to improve agility," said Ballmer in a NYT interview.
It seems that the lumbering giant is facing more nimble competition.
Microsoft is doing a major reshuffling in the face of this new kind of competition:
The competition between these rivals is to see who can bring "new technologies to the marketplace over the Web" fastest. Online services on demand seems to be the business model that will dominate software and IT development in the near future. Will this new direction create economic growth? Will it make Microsoft more competitive? Yes, it will. Will it be a source of greater productivity and efficiency? Yes, it will. Will it great new jobs in this country? No, the jobs created will be filled in a global labor market, some here, many more where costs are lower. This 'bit of a paradigm shift' may be good for Microsoft, but don't wait up for the ripples to hit your city. Software that delivers services over the web won't have a home town.
It's a "bit more a paradigm shift" said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, when asked to describe the transition that his company is undergoing right now. "We need to improve agility," said Ballmer in a NYT interview.
It seems that the lumbering giant is facing more nimble competition.
Microsoft is doing a major reshuffling in the face of this new kind of competition:
Google, for example, has made Microsoft look sluggish as it has consistently outpaced its larger rival in Internet search and seems to have taken an early lead in new technologies like satellite mapping services and desktop search. And much to Microsoft's irritation, Google, the Silicon Valley start-up turned powerhouse, has successfully wooed some of Microsoft's leading engineers.
The Linux operating system, developed by programmers freely sharing code, is a very different sort of challenger from what Microsoft has faced. Other newcomers, like Salesforce.com, are delivering technology used by businesses to do things like track customers over the Web instead of as a software product.
All these rivals are exploiting the Internet and increasingly customers prefer software that is delivered as a service over the Web. Microsoft clearly recognizes the shift.
The competition between these rivals is to see who can bring "new technologies to the marketplace over the Web" fastest. Online services on demand seems to be the business model that will dominate software and IT development in the near future. Will this new direction create economic growth? Will it make Microsoft more competitive? Yes, it will. Will it be a source of greater productivity and efficiency? Yes, it will. Will it great new jobs in this country? No, the jobs created will be filled in a global labor market, some here, many more where costs are lower. This 'bit of a paradigm shift' may be good for Microsoft, but don't wait up for the ripples to hit your city. Software that delivers services over the web won't have a home town.
Monday, September 19, 2005
The Future of Lobbying: Online Astroturf Activisim
For Activist Constituents, Click Here
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum's "K Street Confidential" column for the Washington Post describes the way tech-savvy lobbyists are using the internet to channel and focus constituent response around selected issues to influence lawmakers in Washington. Creating the illusion of a grass-roots response, an astroturf activism:
This technique of drumming up support online has its limitations. Practitioners have found that it works better for some issues and not for others:
They also found that there were regional differences:
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum's "K Street Confidential" column for the Washington Post describes the way tech-savvy lobbyists are using the internet to channel and focus constituent response around selected issues to influence lawmakers in Washington. Creating the illusion of a grass-roots response, an astroturf activism:
The technique works this way: An interest group that wants to gather home-grown advocates takes out a banner advertisement on a widely used Web site. By clicking on the ad, people acknowledge that they agree with the group's opinion and are then asked what further steps they'd be willing to take to help the cause. These include writing letters to the editor and calling, writing or meeting with lawmakers in the capital or back in the district.
The interactive ads, in other words, create instant, ad hoc lobbying organizations that can be mobilized on every front that modern influencers utilize.
This technique of drumming up support online has its limitations. Practitioners have found that it works better for some issues and not for others:
"The Internet can be a very useful tool both to identify and to motivate people to express support to members of Congress," Castellani said. "But the more complicated the issue, the less valuable it becomes.
"It was very effective for the dividend issue, but trade didn't translate as easily. It was harder to make the direct connection to their economic wellbeing."
They also found that there were regional differences:
For a reason that is as-yet undiscerned, the banner ads attracted constituents primarily from the East and West coasts and not many from the country's midsection, which was where the Roundtable needed them most.
New Media in the Newsroom: Tools or Props?
Wired News: CNN Hacks New TV Technology
News organizations are competing to master the interactive media, from blogging to RSS. This Wired article tours CNN's attempt to harness the latest digital gimmicks to promote the CNN brand of news reporting:
Of course "raw, incoming information" is another way of saying unconfirmed often innaccurate information. But when television is competing with the internet, accuracy will be sacrificed for speed.
How much of this is just a fancy set designed to give the appearance of interactive media and how much reflects a real transformation of news gathering and distribution remains to be seen. Can this technology turn a mass audience of passive spectators into news-gathering particpants, assessing the "raw information" as it flashes by? Or is this an interactive Potemkin Village?--all style and no substantive interaction. Most of it would seem to be more efficient tools for distribution: advanced narrowcasting for more precisely targetted audiences. The information CNN wants to collect here is not news but audience demographics and behavior, allowing the network to track its audience for marketing purposes. Statistical proof of audience engagement: let the data-mining begin! Interactivity here means tell me who you are so that I can better serve (market) you.
This transformation is a signal that the mainstream news media have accepted the challange posed by the latest developments in IT and are now competing to be have the latest gizmos to distinguish themselves from their competitors. How much of their audience will they leave behind by embracing these new techniques and practices? Will this attract a younger tech-savvy audience to the news that advertisers salivate over? Or will it just alienate the greying audience for news?
News organizations are competing to master the interactive media, from blogging to RSS. This Wired article tours CNN's attempt to harness the latest digital gimmicks to promote the CNN brand of news reporting:
Launched in August and modeled after the White House Situation Room -- where presidents confer with advisers on fast-moving matters of utmost importance -- CNN's Situation Room has become something of an R&D lab for news-gathering technology.
"It's like bringing viewers inside our control room and allowing them to move through all of that raw, incoming information with us," Blitzer told Wired News."
Of course "raw, incoming information" is another way of saying unconfirmed often innaccurate information. But when television is competing with the internet, accuracy will be sacrificed for speed.
How much of this is just a fancy set designed to give the appearance of interactive media and how much reflects a real transformation of news gathering and distribution remains to be seen. Can this technology turn a mass audience of passive spectators into news-gathering particpants, assessing the "raw information" as it flashes by? Or is this an interactive Potemkin Village?--all style and no substantive interaction. Most of it would seem to be more efficient tools for distribution: advanced narrowcasting for more precisely targetted audiences. The information CNN wants to collect here is not news but audience demographics and behavior, allowing the network to track its audience for marketing purposes. Statistical proof of audience engagement: let the data-mining begin! Interactivity here means tell me who you are so that I can better serve (market) you.
This transformation is a signal that the mainstream news media have accepted the challange posed by the latest developments in IT and are now competing to be have the latest gizmos to distinguish themselves from their competitors. How much of their audience will they leave behind by embracing these new techniques and practices? Will this attract a younger tech-savvy audience to the news that advertisers salivate over? Or will it just alienate the greying audience for news?
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Pocket Porn: Cell Phone Sex
Ring Tones, Cameras, Now This: Sex Is Latest Cellphone Feature - New York Times
The New York Times offers a tour of the cell porn industry that has been made possible by the new third generation (3G) mobile phone technolgy that offers full motion video. Full motion video on mobile phones has already been used to view music videos, short soap operas and especially games in Asia. The profitablity of phone-based pornography in general is driving this new application. Some critics question whether the small screen size will be satisfying enough to consumers once the novelty value wears off. A new twist on the size question and sex. The mobility and convenience factor may well be decisive. It will be a new revenue stream for the digital pornographers, already the most profitable industry in cyberspace. Expect a political/moral backlash once teens start downloading porn on their phones at the mall or in school.
The New York Times offers a tour of the cell porn industry that has been made possible by the new third generation (3G) mobile phone technolgy that offers full motion video. Full motion video on mobile phones has already been used to view music videos, short soap operas and especially games in Asia. The profitablity of phone-based pornography in general is driving this new application. Some critics question whether the small screen size will be satisfying enough to consumers once the novelty value wears off. A new twist on the size question and sex. The mobility and convenience factor may well be decisive. It will be a new revenue stream for the digital pornographers, already the most profitable industry in cyberspace. Expect a political/moral backlash once teens start downloading porn on their phones at the mall or in school.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Convergence: News Corp. Buys Online Game Business
News Corp. Buys Online Game Business
The Washington Post/AP reports that Rupert Murdoch is expanding his empire. The News Corp. online division, Fox Interactive Media recently acquired MySpace, moving Fox into the world of social networking. The acquisition of IGN, an online gaming portal, is the latest move in Murdoch's invasion of cyberspace.
Fox and the other media conglomerates are all seeking to coopt the new media by acquiring key dot.com and through them the eyeballs and advertising dollars that their traditional media have not been able to retain:
The Washington Post/AP reports that Rupert Murdoch is expanding his empire. The News Corp. online division, Fox Interactive Media recently acquired MySpace, moving Fox into the world of social networking. The acquisition of IGN, an online gaming portal, is the latest move in Murdoch's invasion of cyberspace.
Murdoch told investors in a conference call last month that he intends to make a strong push in building up his company's Internet presence, saying online businesses would be a "major part" of the future growth of his media conglomerate, which includes the Fox broadcast network, the Twentieth Century Fox movie studios and DirecTV.
Fox and the other media conglomerates are all seeking to coopt the new media by acquiring key dot.com and through them the eyeballs and advertising dollars that their traditional media have not been able to retain:
"With the addition of IGN, News Corp. said in a statement that its U.S. Web traffic will increase to nearly 70 million unique monthly users."
Political bloggers in the Middle East fight Censorship and Repression
Los Angeles Times: Arabs Take Byte at Regimes
via John Palfrey News
Megan K. Stack has written a good survey of the role of the internet in political dissent in the Middle East:
Speaking of the Bahrain government's attempts to shut down dissident bloggers, one blogger, Mahmood Youssef, "a 43-year-old computer worker who runs a blog known as Mahmood's Den," commented that it was clear that the authorities did not understand what they were up against:
If your interested check out the OpenNet Initiative’s (ONI)report: "Internet Filtering in Bahrain in 2004-2005" as well as their other country studies on internet censorship.
via John Palfrey News
Megan K. Stack has written a good survey of the role of the internet in political dissent in the Middle East:
"The Internet hasn't dawned easily here — not in Syria and not across the Arab world, where a virtual war is raging in nearly every country. In Egypt, opposition movements have used the Internet against President Hosni Mubarak, posting street maps to guide people to anti-government demonstrations. Bahraini bloggers are battling the Information Ministry to keep their freewheeling debates alive, and to keep themselves out of prison. In Libya, Tunisia and Syria, too, online politicking has landed people in prison.
For autocrats such as Syrian President Bashar Assad, technology presents a troubling blend of possibility and danger. They eagerly court its economic and educational benefits but struggle, often with a Luddite's bewilderment, to crack down on its use as a mighty political tool.
Arab governments appear determined to censor cyber-critics and silence unwelcome online voices. They've jailed bloggers, blocked websites and asked Internet cafe owners to spy on their customers.
But it's not working.
Online forums have been embraced by Islamists and the Arab world's underground gay communities alike. The Internet has turned into a virtual debate hall crammed with lengthy screeds, cutting language and calls for rebellion. A colorful repository for the angst of the bulging Arab youth population, the Web is impolite, anonymous and raw — in short, a revelation."
Speaking of the Bahrain government's attempts to shut down dissident bloggers, one blogger, Mahmood Youssef, "a 43-year-old computer worker who runs a blog known as Mahmood's Den," commented that it was clear that the authorities did not understand what they were up against:
"Just because they don't understand the Internet is not our problem," Youssef said. "They think it's like a newspaper or magazine, that they can go and switch it down. But it's a living, amorphous thing."
If your interested check out the OpenNet Initiative’s (ONI)report: "Internet Filtering in Bahrain in 2004-2005" as well as their other country studies on internet censorship.
Gartner Highlights Key Emerging Technologies in 2005 Hype Cycle
Gartner Highlights Key Emerging Technologies in 2005 Hype Cycle
via Micropersuasion
Gartner bills itself modestly as the "world's leading provider of research and analysis about the global information technology industry." They have released what is essentially a corporate intelligence report identifying the "key emerging technologies" for 2005 with an analysis of the cycle of hype that touts the adoption of new media technology. Gartner explains,
The report groups these emerging technologies into three "key themes" for business to watch: "Collaboration, Next Generation Architecture and Real World Web." The press release gives a brief definition of each of these emerging technologies.
Collaboration technologies: podcasting, P2P/VoIP, desktop search, RSS, corporate blogging, and Wiki
Next Generation Architecture techologies: a more technical list of what Gartner feels will be the next generation of business software/systems architecture.
Real-World-Web technologies: a Gartner analyst, Ms Fenn, "believes that adding networking, sensing and processing to real-world objects and places is creating a 'Real-World-Web' of information that will enhance business and personal decision-making," these Real-World-Web technologies include: Location-aware applications, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and Mesh Networks — Sensor.
This press release is a good place to get an introduction to what may be the key technolgies of near future. It also will give you a sense of what the business community is grappling with as they try to assess and instrumentalize recent developments in new media. Pay attention to the language these corporate analysts/researchers use to describe this emerging digital business culture of interactivity and social networking, it offers a glimpse of some of the defining terms in an important conversation about the new media world.
via Micropersuasion
Gartner bills itself modestly as the "world's leading provider of research and analysis about the global information technology industry." They have released what is essentially a corporate intelligence report identifying the "key emerging technologies" for 2005 with an analysis of the cycle of hype that touts the adoption of new media technology. Gartner explains,
"the Hype Cycle highlights the progression of an emerging technology from conception, to market over-enthusiasm, through a period of disillusionment, to an eventual understanding of the technology's relevance and role in a market or domain."
The report groups these emerging technologies into three "key themes" for business to watch: "Collaboration, Next Generation Architecture and Real World Web." The press release gives a brief definition of each of these emerging technologies.
Collaboration technologies: podcasting, P2P/VoIP, desktop search, RSS, corporate blogging, and Wiki
Next Generation Architecture techologies: a more technical list of what Gartner feels will be the next generation of business software/systems architecture.
Real-World-Web technologies: a Gartner analyst, Ms Fenn, "believes that adding networking, sensing and processing to real-world objects and places is creating a 'Real-World-Web' of information that will enhance business and personal decision-making," these Real-World-Web technologies include: Location-aware applications, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and Mesh Networks — Sensor.
This press release is a good place to get an introduction to what may be the key technolgies of near future. It also will give you a sense of what the business community is grappling with as they try to assess and instrumentalize recent developments in new media. Pay attention to the language these corporate analysts/researchers use to describe this emerging digital business culture of interactivity and social networking, it offers a glimpse of some of the defining terms in an important conversation about the new media world.
Grabbing the audience by the phones: Flash mob marketing games
iMedia Connection: Rock Txtn' Roll
ipsh!'s Nihal Mehta describes the possiblities for mobile marketing at Lollapalooza. The trick is to cut through all the clutter of ads and promotions that already fill these events. Mobile marketing via the cellphone is a new option:
According to Mehta the "Mobile marketers behind Lollapalooza recognized that a cell phone based promotion was the best way to reach this 12-18 year old market." While this "may be common knowledge for most savvy marketers," the many distractions of these mass events still pose a problem. Mehta proposes several interesting "best practices" for securing the attention of distracted teens. Most of these tactics involve creating "community gaming" situations that build on the social networks embodied in the cellphone user social group, to get beyond the individual and penetrate the social network of which he/she is only the point of penetration:
Mobile marketing campaigns make use of the ephemeral sense of community created in the shared concert space. "Interaction and audience participation" are what makes mobile marketing work:
Mehta proposes cross promotion with telecom sponsors like Verizon or other cell phone carriers that are trying to reach the same demographic:
Interactive gameplay sure is a 'mindfield' for mobile marketers, balancing gameplay, interactivity with needs of the sponsor for the right demographics.
ipsh!'s Nihal Mehta describes the possiblities for mobile marketing at Lollapalooza. The trick is to cut through all the clutter of ads and promotions that already fill these events. Mobile marketing via the cellphone is a new option:
At last month's Lollapalooza, the first large-scale touring festival in the U.S. featuring 60 artists performing on six stages, thirty thousand fans were offered a chance to play a virtual game in a "Mindfield" using their cell phones as a mobile spin on a "choose your own adventure novel." Concert-goers texted "lolla" on their cell phones and some even won a meeting with Lolla Founder Perry Farrell. An astonishing 10 percent of the audience, that's 3,000 of the 30,000 attendees, participated in the "Txt-n'-Win" campaign. The increase in audience participation, compared to previous years, is strong indication that people want to do more at concerts than listen to their favorite artists -- they want to play around with their cell phones.
According to Mehta the "Mobile marketers behind Lollapalooza recognized that a cell phone based promotion was the best way to reach this 12-18 year old market." While this "may be common knowledge for most savvy marketers," the many distractions of these mass events still pose a problem. Mehta proposes several interesting "best practices" for securing the attention of distracted teens. Most of these tactics involve creating "community gaming" situations that build on the social networks embodied in the cellphone user social group, to get beyond the individual and penetrate the social network of which he/she is only the point of penetration:
Think about creating games where you play against other concert goers or you play as a TEAM. sure Getting friends to play along is a great way to extend mobile marketing beyond one person and allow it to be a remote control of community gaming or promotions.
Mobile marketing campaigns make use of the ephemeral sense of community created in the shared concert space. "Interaction and audience participation" are what makes mobile marketing work:
However you tailor your promotion, interaction and audience participation will be key drivers to your campaigns' success. Videogames, and trivia questions may be used to engage audiences, but more interactive devices such as Flash Mobs, or having audiences pull pranks on their friends, can have a lasting impact. Text message marketing via cell phone can also serve as helpful reminders, and fans will truly appreciate a message alerting them the exact time that a performer is scheduled to appear onstage.
Mehta proposes cross promotion with telecom sponsors like Verizon or other cell phone carriers that are trying to reach the same demographic:
The last thing to remember is to cross-promote with sponsors who will reinforce your brand and may be willing to help add a viral or online component to the mix. There is clearly good money in having a carrier sponsor the promotion like a Cingular or Verizon, but make sure the sponsor money outweighs the reduced gameplay if users must subscribe to a particular service to participate.
Interactive gameplay sure is a 'mindfield' for mobile marketers, balancing gameplay, interactivity with needs of the sponsor for the right demographics.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Guardian | Thanks to corporations, instead of democracy we get Baywatch
Guardian | Thanks to corporations, instead of democracy we get Baywatch
Guardian columnist George Monbiot discusses the disparity between the dream of digital democracy toppling dictatorships and the reality of how some IT giants are assisting governments limit the free exchange of information. After reading the recent Reporters Without Borders report on the role of Yahoo in the arrest of Shi Tao in China, Mr Monbiot concludes: "So much for the promise that the internet would liberate the oppressed." Monbiot is arguing against optimists like Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. He sets up Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree as typical of this type of technological cheerleading. Discussing Friedman, Monbiot writes:
Monbiot's assertion that commercial interests will favor freedom in some countries and repression in others seems to be borne out by recent events. A question remains: will an alliance of a powerful centralized government (in this case china) and powerful commercial interests (Yahoo, Google, Cisco, etc.) be strong enough to actually maintain control over the flow of disruptive information in the long run? Forbidden word lists will just lead to the use of euphemisms in endless permutations slipping through the filters and over the walls. That does nothing to belittle the fact that in the short run commercial interests will be very useful in managing IT for repressive regimes.
"We had the dream that the internet would free the world, that all the dictatorships would collapse," says Julien Pain of Reporters Without Borders. "We see it was just a dream."
Guardian columnist George Monbiot discusses the disparity between the dream of digital democracy toppling dictatorships and the reality of how some IT giants are assisting governments limit the free exchange of information. After reading the recent Reporters Without Borders report on the role of Yahoo in the arrest of Shi Tao in China, Mr Monbiot concludes: "So much for the promise that the internet would liberate the oppressed." Monbiot is arguing against optimists like Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. He sets up Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree as typical of this type of technological cheerleading. Discussing Friedman, Monbiot writes:
"Thanks to satellite dishes, the internet and television," he asserts, "we can now see through, hear through and look through almost every conceivable wall. ... no one owns the internet, it is totally decentralized, no one can turn it off ... China's going to have a free press ... Oh, China's leaders don't know it yet, but they are being pushed straight in that direction." The same thing, he claims, is happening all over the world. In Iran he saw people ogling Baywatch on illegal satellite dishes. As a result, he claims, "within a few years, every citizen of the world will be able to comparison shop between his own ... government and the one next door".
He is partly right. The internet at least has helped to promote revolutions of varying degrees of authenticity in Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Argentina and Bolivia. But the flaw in Friedman's theory is that he forgets the intermediaries. The technology which runs the internet did not sprout from the ground. It is provided by people with a commercial interest in its development. Their interest will favour freedom in some places and control in others. And they can and do turn it off.
In 2002 Yahoo! signed the Chinese government's pledge of "self-regulation": it promised not to allow "pernicious information that may jeopardise state security" to be posted. Last year Google published a statement admitting that it would not be showing links to material banned by the authorities on computers stationed in China. If Chinese users of Microsoft's internet service MSN try to send a message containing the words "democracy", "liberty" or "human rights", they are warned that "This message includes forbidden language. Please delete the prohibited expression."
A study earlier this year by a group of scholars called the OpenNet Initiative revealed what no one had thought possible: that the Chinese government is succeeding in censoring the net. Its most powerful tool is its control of the routers - the devices through which data is moved from one place to another. With the right filtering systems, these routers can block messages containing forbidden words. Human-rights groups allege that western corporations - in particular Cisco Systems - have provided the technology and the expertise. Cisco is repeatedly cited by Thomas Friedman as one of the facilitators of his global revolution.
Monbiot's assertion that commercial interests will favor freedom in some countries and repression in others seems to be borne out by recent events. A question remains: will an alliance of a powerful centralized government (in this case china) and powerful commercial interests (Yahoo, Google, Cisco, etc.) be strong enough to actually maintain control over the flow of disruptive information in the long run? Forbidden word lists will just lead to the use of euphemisms in endless permutations slipping through the filters and over the walls. That does nothing to belittle the fact that in the short run commercial interests will be very useful in managing IT for repressive regimes.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Reporters sans frontieres - China - United States
Reporters sans frontieres - China - United States
One of the interesting issues raised by Chinese Government's attempt to control political debate is the role played by global information corporations in helping China set up an information infrastructure that can be contolled and censored. This press release from Reporters Without Borders alleges that Yahoo may be cooperating with the Chinese Government effort to control political dissent:
Corporate collaboration with government security interests is by no means limited to China. The relation between centralized power and these information technology giants is an issue here at home as well.
One of the interesting issues raised by Chinese Government's attempt to control political debate is the role played by global information corporations in helping China set up an information infrastructure that can be contolled and censored. This press release from Reporters Without Borders alleges that Yahoo may be cooperating with the Chinese Government effort to control political dissent:
“We already knew that Yahoo ! collaborates enthusiastically with the Chinese regime in questions of censorship, and now we know it is a Chinese police informant as well,” the press freedom organisation said.
“Yahoo ! obviously complied with requests from the Chinese authorities to furnish information regarding an IP address that linked Shi Tao to materials posted online, and the company will yet again simply state that they just conform to the laws of the countries in which they operate,” the organisation said. “But does the fact that this corporation operates under Chinese law free it from all ethical considerations ? How far will it go to please Beijing ?”
Corporate collaboration with government security interests is by no means limited to China. The relation between centralized power and these information technology giants is an issue here at home as well.
Globetechnology: China Telecom seeks to block VoIP
Globetechnology: China Telecom seeks to block VoIP
China moves to block internet phone calls (VOIP) in an attempt to safeguard the market for China Telecom and to maintain the ability to monitor and control phone service in China and to the outside world. Will the Chinese government be able to control this new means of communication for political purposes and economic gain?
China moves to block internet phone calls (VOIP) in an attempt to safeguard the market for China Telecom and to maintain the ability to monitor and control phone service in China and to the outside world. Will the Chinese government be able to control this new means of communication for political purposes and economic gain?
Conqueror in a War of Virtual Worlds - New York Times
Conqueror in a War of Virtual Worlds - New York Times
World of Warcraft is dominating the global online gaming market. "World of Warcraft has shattered earlier assumptions about the potential size of the market":
The president of Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of WOW believes that a quarter of the players may be women. World of Warcraft is truly the first real massively multiplayer online game. This is in large part due to Chinese enthusiasm for the game:
World of Warcraft is dominating the global online gaming market. "World of Warcraft has shattered earlier assumptions about the potential size of the market":
Since November, World of Warcraft has signed up more than four million subscribers worldwide, making for an annual revenue stream of more than $700 million. About a million of those subscribers are in the United States (with more than half a million copies sold this year) and another 1.5 million are in China, where the game was introduced just three months ago.
The president of Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of WOW believes that a quarter of the players may be women. World of Warcraft is truly the first real massively multiplayer online game. This is in large part due to Chinese enthusiasm for the game:
"For many years the gaming industry has been struggling to find a way to get Internet gaming into the mainstream," said Jeff Green, editor in chief of Computer Gaming World, one of the top computer game magazines. "These kinds of games have had hundreds of thousands of players, which are not small numbers, but until World of Warcraft came along no one has been able to get the kind of mainstream numbers that everyone has wanted, which is millions of players."
Watching Titans Battle on Screen and Keys - New York Times
Watching Titans Battle on Screen and Keys - New York Times
Are competitive cyber sports any less real for the spectator than watching "real" sports on television? This fan/gamer doesn't think so:
Sponsers are making these competitions real marketing events as well. Gaming as big business promoting tech brands as well as games. These gamers are professional atheletes:
Craig Levine, Team 3D's managing director, mentioned the new pressure of sponsorship after his team's triumph at the games:
Are competitive cyber sports any less real for the spectator than watching "real" sports on television? This fan/gamer doesn't think so:
"I would much rather watch a really good game of StarCraft or Counter-Strike than watch something like a football game," said Dave Sayles, a 17-year-old high school senior from Ridgewood, N.J. Sitting with three other friends who came into the city for the matches, he gestured to the front of the hall, where huge screens displayed the final match in Counter-Strike, a team-based modern combat game. "These games are so much more exciting, more interactive," Mr. Sayles said, speaking over the onstage announcer who was continuing his "shoutcast" match commentary.
Sponsers are making these competitions real marketing events as well. Gaming as big business promoting tech brands as well as games. These gamers are professional atheletes:
Mr. Levine, a 22-year-old from Long Island, started Team 3D in 2002 while an undergraduate business student at New York University. Shortly after founding the team, he retired from active play and moved into management. Now, backed by sponsors like Intel and the graphics company nVidia, Team 3D pays some of its players a regular living stipend so they can practice and play tournaments full time.
"Obviously we're thrilled with all of our success here, but we still have a lot of work to do," Mr. Levine said, sounding like the professional sports executive that he is. "Now we need to go to Singapore and close the deal."
Craig Levine, Team 3D's managing director, mentioned the new pressure of sponsorship after his team's triumph at the games:
"Frankly, I'm more relieved than anything," he said. "We have some big new sponsors, so there has been a lot of pressure to do well recently. But it's just that feeling of competition that is so amazing. There is nothing like it."
Yahoo War Reporter: An Online Challenge to the Traditional News Media
According to the New York Times, Yahoo has hired Kevin Sites, who could well be the poster child for the new generation of wired war correspondent:
This article is significant because it describes just what a digital war correspondent is capable of providing the world with a click and and an uplink, and because it outlines Yahoo's emerging strategy of competing for audiences and video advertising dollars with the traditional news media. Yahoo wants to compete as a content provider and a portal/search engine:
According to a Yahoo executive his company is now competing for TV viewers by offering dramatic content with interactivity:
It seems that this "signature programming" is just a complement to the news Yahoo carries from other news gatherers. But Braun believes that Yahoo is improving on the old world because the Yahoo news gather will offer a "transparency" that the traditional media do not :
Mr. Sites, who is 42, has long been comfortable using new technology and the Internet as part of his reporting, from shooting his own video to writing blogs from places like Kosovo and Afghanistan. The use of technology, he said, allows
him "to report in ways that haven't been done routinely in the network news business."
This article is significant because it describes just what a digital war correspondent is capable of providing the world with a click and and an uplink, and because it outlines Yahoo's emerging strategy of competing for audiences and video advertising dollars with the traditional news media. Yahoo wants to compete as a content provider and a portal/search engine:
Yahoo is building a large beachhead in Santa Monica to establish relations with Hollywood, both to buy content from others and to produce its own. One of its motivations is to tap into the rapidly growing demand for video advertising on the Internet.
According to a Yahoo executive his company is now competing for TV viewers by offering dramatic content with interactivity:
Mr. Braun claims not to be creating a new news gathering network:"If we execute this the right way, it is a great first step to show people how we can present content in a different kind of way than television," Mr. Braun said. "One that embraces the qualities of the Internet." Those qualities, he said, including giving users the ability to control what they see and how they see it, and also to interact and respond. "
Mr. Braun said the project did not mean that Yahoo was "building any kind of news organization." Rather, he said, the company is trying to develop signature programming in all areas - news, sports, health, entertainment, finance - that will complement content it already carries from other providers.
It seems that this "signature programming" is just a complement to the news Yahoo carries from other news gatherers. But Braun believes that Yahoo is improving on the old world because the Yahoo news gather will offer a "transparency" that the traditional media do not :
The combination of edited and unedited material, Mr. Braun said, is intended to help counter the growing public distrust of network news, which he says may be in part attributed to its slick packaging. "We will have a transparency I think the Internet user wants and the news audience is craving," Mr. Braun said.
Kevin Sites is a great reporter but I am not sure that the appearance of "transparency" will necessarily make Sites reporting any more accurate than any other correspondent.
See Kevin Site's site: hotzone.yahoo.com
