Of Network Objects & Ubiquitous Computing

"Blogject" is a neologism that's meant to focus attention on the participation of "objects" and "things" in the sphere of networked social discourse variously called the blogosphere, or social web. They participate in exchange of ideas and circulate conversations.

Some characteristics:

Track & Trace

- Know your geographical location

- Aware of other blogjects that has been contacted, or near

- Has a trace

Embedded Histories

- Contains physical records of experience and occurrence

- Satisfies all ontological questions

- Know the starting and ending point

Form of Agency

- decisive and articulate, foments action

- Has the ability of affect change

- Inflicts local and global change

Why does this matter? This is because it brings about cohabitation, knitting together the two very complex functions of space and place. It also brings along co-participation, we must be able to distinguish ourselves a companion species with something to say, and managing and maintaining the world in which we live in today.

The Smart Phone Superwar

I think the third world war - although unofficial, is between the two world's biggest smart phone operating systems: Apple Vs Google.

It is not unheard of when you hear a snippet of a conversation that goes like this: "I'm a big apple fan" and "Totally Anti-apple!" It could go on and on, and I myself have nothing to say as I dislike labels and being too extreme.

This is by far the most interesting week in lectures ever, and I find it uncanny that iOS and Android share many similarities with economic systems.

iOS would obviously take after Communism, while Android would be a Mixed Economy system.

iOS - Why is it like a communist economy?

1. Everything is internal.

2. Do not like sharing stuff.

3. Apple controls everything.

4. I don't care about everyone else who does not profit from my technology.

Android - Why is it like a mixed economy?

1. We share and we control.

2. We are for the welfare of the consumers, and profits for the company.

3. We're common, and we have a moral conscience.

4. Everyone gets a share of goodness.

Many debates go on about how stingy Apple is with their technology - but I disagree. For one, they have managed to revolutionize the phone to what it is today. To share and to break its market share is to allow quality control to disintegrate. Sometimes it is difficult to be perceived as the "evil" one, but one has to credit Apple for the products we enjoy today. As for android, I believe that it is amazing that it offers so many functions and chances to those who cannot/don't want to purchase the apple technology. It has given people the chance to own a smartphone, and to be accessible to the internet on the go. With its close competition to Apple, it has grown and improved so much to be in sync and in line with its competitor.

This is what makes it so interesting. The fight to be the best. As for implications - the war of google and apple can go on forever, but let us not forget its core function: to connect. Not to create warfare. Either apple and google - they have contribute to technology so much that any argument is almost invalid.

Social Networks: Revolution or Destruction?

Some interesting facts and statistics for your viewing pleasure.

Malaysia

Population - 28 Million

KL Population - 1.6 Million

Internet Users - 17.5 Million

Facebook Users - 10 Million

Broadband Users - 5,000,000

3G Users - 10,000,000

On the 9th of July, 2011 history was made. Malaysia saw it's second peaceful protest for a cleaner elections, with no use of violence and dictatorship. The response was far more than anyone expected, with the cries of reformation plastered through every Malaysian's networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter & Youtube.

Statistics for Bersih 2.0 Rally on the 9th of July

22 hours KL City Lockdown

50, 000 Participants

191, 190 Twitter Users with 853, 373 Tweets and 1316 Photos

1,600 Videos Uploaded on YouTube

1,667 Arrested

Statistics for Bersih 2.0 Rally after the 9th of July

2,000+ videos on YouTube

120,000 facebook users changed their profile picture to include the Bersih Logo

169,000+fans of Bersih's Official Facebook Page

17,000+ followers of Bersih's Official Twitter Account

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube became the source of news, updates and revolution of Bersih 2.0 rally. Tweets were sent, photos were shared, people were gathered and the authorities were baffled.

Here are some roles of the social networks in relative success to the Bersih 2.0 uprisings.

They were first and foremost, the communicator to the masses. This was a great advantage - as there is a staggering 10 million facebook users in Malaysia. On top of that, we have be known to have the highest amount of friends, and slowly the news spread and everyone in Malaysia and in the world who logged on that day would have a slight inclination to the historic day. Besides that, news and updates from the scene were raw and unedited, and did not allow any sort of manipulation by the press the next day. These social networking sites also allowed a platform for users to share and tell their stories. One is likely to be inspired by news of your fellow man then official reports from the officials. But most importantly, they managed to bring together Malaysians like never before - whether in person or spirit for a cause. There was no separation of language, class, race or location, as all were considered as one and united.

Of course, the social network revolution that happened in Malaysia brought about a positive change. Imagine if some evil dictator managed to "brain wash" the people through online networking sites, the extend of trouble we would be in would be severe. It is a scary thought because we spend an average of 2 hours on facebook, twitter each day, and with 3G we are even more updated on the go. I feel if these revolutions were to happen, they must not breach the code of ethics, and must be for a good cause.

:)

The Dark Side of the Internet

I could go on and on about the great internet. It has made finding and obtaining information so easy. It has given me the ability to remain friends with those who do not live in close proximity. It has opened up the world to endless possibilities. It has brought mankind to a whole new technological era. We are smarter, we have improved and we are constantly finding ways to make our lives easier.

But alas, somethings threaten the peace of the internet.

"It is very necessary that we should not flinch from seeing what is vile and debasing. There is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck rake; and there are times and places where this service is the most needed of all the services that can be performed. But the man who never does anything else, who never thinks or speaks or writes, save of his feats with the muck rake, speedily becomes, not a help but one of the most potent forces for evil.

There are in the body politic, economic and social, many and grave evils, and there is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil man, whether politician or business man, every evil practice, whether in politics, business, or social life. I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform or in a book, magazine, or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Wikileaks is a website that specializes in revealing top-secret information. It is not just your average celebrity gossip page - but one that deals with information such as government documents. It was a big thing - as we could see insider stuff for the first time and this caused us to reevaluate how we view democracy of the internet.

I feel that somethings aren't meant to be seen by the public. For one, we are not prepared enough to deal with this kind of information. Secondly, we would interpret it wrongly, and Wikileaks could cause some kind of social warfare, blind faith/hatred and even threaten world peace.

This boils down to the question of responsible information sharing. Are we doing it right, or are we slowly contributing to the downfall of humanity?

The Twitter Revolution

When blogs first came out, many shrugged of its function. It was to write even shorter articles, journals etc as compared to the good ol' newspaper. Blogs today, continue to be a big hit, and many have gained so much more than just a little virtual place to pen your thoughts.

When twitter came out, technology experts ridiculed at its function, and how it only allowed 140 characters per tweet. Instead of limiting the user's thoughts into just a sentence or two, it had managed to create "ambient awareness", short, almost mundane updates from your circle of friends. It became a phenomenon, and it has, become a way of life.

Here are some of the things that make's Twitter a very proud function in our daily lives.

News & Opinion

Twitter has allowed its readers a quick glimpse into what is happening. As opposed to being a know-it-all, I believe twitter has made us better citizens as we are unawarely being stocked up with general knowledge and broadening our minds to the various kind of information there is out there.

We are also thought to share and give our thoughts on various topics. It has become a sort of an interactive newspaper!

Advertising & Marketing

Every once in a while, on the list of trending topics, some would be placed with the words 'promoted'. Twitter has paved the way for advertisers and sponsors to capture their market better. With twitter, advertisers would not have to try so hard and desperately catch your attention through the throngs of influences and distractions the media world offers.

Major businesses have a huge following, and are able to share and advertise their products, as well as maintain the interest of the ever changing market, keep them happy and engage them in service and good business contact.

Awareness

Once upon a time, we would check the traffic news update through the radio. Nowadays, there are specially twitter accounts meant just for the updates and live feed on the KL traffic. From there, followers are able to know what is going on, as well as share the situation on the road. Twitter has also given awareness campaign a good run, engaging its users in meaningful daily conversations and allow people to know their friends or those in their cycle a little better.

Twitter is an amazing tool. What do you think?

The Attention Economy of Information

Gone were the days when only the elite could read and the rich and influential had just about enough money to obtain knowledge. Funny how something so important as education was limited and caused the further separation and widening of class. If you didn't know, the first book that went into mass publication is the bible, in the late 1400s. Before that, just another fun fact - monks used to copy by hand in an colorful and artsy manner.

But now, it is different. You probably heard that just recently, the earth now has 7 billion inhabitants. With the increase of better health care and more opportunities, what was once a far fetch concept for free information is happening right in front of our eyes. Because of something magical and something just as equally scary as the internet.

Being able to publish traditionally is to be intrinsic. The barriers of entry is high because the organization has the bear the costs and expenses of printing, store and ship to consumers. However, these publishes often have better economies of scale (producing efficiently) then other small publishers, and often outperform them in terms of sales and larger market share. They maintain the quality. This is the extrinsic value.

However, when weblogs comes into the picture - it becomes a whole new story instead. These writers, or contributors to web spaces such as blogs or personal websites destroy the traditional publishers intrinsic value because they are able to reproduce and distribute for a low, sometimes even no cost at all. There have no limitations, no setbacks and nothing to lose. Weblogs also destroy the extrinsic value by crashing the barrier of filters, which traditional publishing has. When you want to post a though, or create a list - you just do it.

The world now juggles between trying to keep traditional printing alive and yet, giving the whole world a chance to publish things effortlessly. We do not want the hassle of getting our work out there. Prior to the web, people paid for the words they read. Now, whatever we read cost us nothing. We do not have to pay for these materials, and it is destructing the publishing world that we once knew.

I feel that traditional publishers will have to alternate their revenue not by limiting its access on the materials but focus its attention to advertising and sponsorship. Big names generally equal big readerships, and quite an amount of influence over its consumers. The more they block information or force payers to pay, the more micro-weblogs will appear. They could also buy over the popular weblogs, thus having some sort of control over its content and simply worry less about the million other weblogs as they continue to serve some tid bits of information to their friends, families and those who read their blog.

Let Me Tell You How It Flows

Today, I am going to talk about convergence. What is convergence? It is the process of coming together or the state of having coming together toward a common point. Like how a river will connect to the big blue ocean. That is the act of convergence.

So what does media convergence mean? It is where old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media producer and media consumer interact in unpredictable ways. It is the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want.

The clashing, or coming together of media content, irregardless of method, relies heavily on the active participation of consumer's. It is a technological process bringing together multiple media functions within the same devices (like an iPhone, which has the functions of a laptop and a phone) It is how consumers, sometimes even prosumers connect between various media content too widely available. It has given a chance for participation for everyone, though some have more say then others. Those who generally have more says are corporations, page owners for instance over consumers, even if they are a larger number.

Convergence is also an act where we combine the fragments of infinite information we gather from the media, and form our own conclusion or understanding of the subject matter.

I would take the recent happening, Empire on Fire as an example. An explosion happened on the 28th September at 3 in the morning, injuring 4, and causing extensive damage to the occupants and offices residing in Empire Shopping Gallery.

The news spread fast through twitter, with prominent figures such as Hannah Yeoh, the Subang Jaya state assembly woman tweeting and especially the social networking site facebook. Even blogs became a source of information, as citizen journalists have the first hand news even before those from the press.

Blog link over here at www.blog.galvintan.com

As we can see, various platforms of media has come together to form this news sensation. The speculation and the genuine curiosity of consumer who feeds on instant and breaking news were at a all time high. Many were quick to point fingers, blaming tenants or the negligence of the mall, some even thought it was terrorist attacks. Pictures were shared and shown to those who had access to internet and the ability to obtain instant updates. Many became speculators, even more people suffered from these "harmless" speculations.

But even if it went slightly out of hand, good can come out of media convergence. For the case above, many had a chance to know what's happening and avoid getting themselves into unnecessary danger. It's given a chance for bloggers to get more hits on their webpage for their swift action on the matter. And it has make us more savvy of what is going on in the world we live in, and in some sense compassionate about those who got hurt in the incident and those who might have been.

I feel that convergence is the way to go today. Cooperation will be a better option that competition. One simply cannot be monopolizing the field today without your intentions questioned and your interests fulfilled. Of course, it will be a risky partnership for the understanding of terms and way of things go must be met to uphold the standards and integrity of people. But if done, and I believe it is possible - then it would be a fruitful venture indeed; and that more good comes from sharing then skimping the good stuff without giving some to the world.