D Ladies decided to do their project on qualitative analysis of media coverage of events in Russia during ten days – from 13th to 23rd November 2008. Than they compared particular media, amount of articles and their content and spin. For their project D Ladies used RRS feeds.
The amount of articles is really amazing, it is obvious that it must have taken a lot of work to go through them and write to each important issue relevant abstract. Another thing, which should be mentioned, is new technology being managed by girls. Moreover, it was quite hard to do the project in the number of two people, as was obvious from discussion – I have to appreciate it.
However, there are some things which I miss. At first, in the beginning I wasn’t able to catch the topic which the wiki covered. I would recommend to write some introduction and to explain the aims and goals, which the team wants to get. On the other hand, I liked the introduction of the team and other personal features, which made the wiki not anonymous.
Another thing, which should be mentioned, is an absence of deeper method description. If some research is done, there should be explained, why I choose particular sources, ask some target group etc. Also I missed better conclusion and results of the research. After so many used sources and articles is necessary, in my opinion, to have some final statements.
All in all, with some introduction and conclusion it would be very good wiki, with interesting content and also quite creatively made. Good job
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Anglo-American vs. Continental approach to IP
There are two main reasons for intellectual property law. Firstly, the IT should protect the interest of authors/creators of work by giving them property rights over their creations. The second reason should think on society – Intellectual property should encourage inventors to open their ideas for the society, which can gather from it.
Basically, there are two school of intellectual property law – Continental and Anglo-American. Both have some both similar features and also differences. The Anglo-American approach focuses mostly on the work and profit. As Kiado quoted Samuels - We don’t have to pay all authors in advance in order to get them to create their works. Instead, we pay them in rights - rights in the very works that they create. This sentence nicely describes Anglo-American school and may be some American character as well. In his school are authors given all rights to their work art for their whole life of author plus seventy years. Notice of copyright and publication aren’t required, because there is a presumption of protection.
There are two major exceptions to presumption of copyright. The first of them is a public domain, which is applied after the expiration of author’s rights and also US Government documents are under the public domain – anybody can copy and print them without permission. Fair use exception is need for maximization social wealth in the field of information. According to this law is possible to use for instance parts of text and images on the internet, if you quote or link them back to the source. In my opinion, you can´t earn money on it – Fair use doesn’t include this condition.
Both European continental and Anglo-American schools of IP protects expressions of ideas, but not ideas as such, in several ways: Inventions (patent) writings (copyright), trademarks, trade secrets, and most recently designs and models, using similar legal mechanisms.1 In the contrary, continental civil law considers intellectual property from a perspective of the author’s moral rights, so rather than social wealth the focus in Europe is on the integrity of the person.
I am not sure, which of these systems is better working, so I hope that the international law took from both their better parts.
1 Engle, Eric. When is Fair Use Fair? Online: http://lexnet.bravepages.com/IPMASTER.htm#A.
Basically, there are two school of intellectual property law – Continental and Anglo-American. Both have some both similar features and also differences. The Anglo-American approach focuses mostly on the work and profit. As Kiado quoted Samuels - We don’t have to pay all authors in advance in order to get them to create their works. Instead, we pay them in rights - rights in the very works that they create. This sentence nicely describes Anglo-American school and may be some American character as well. In his school are authors given all rights to their work art for their whole life of author plus seventy years. Notice of copyright and publication aren’t required, because there is a presumption of protection.
There are two major exceptions to presumption of copyright. The first of them is a public domain, which is applied after the expiration of author’s rights and also US Government documents are under the public domain – anybody can copy and print them without permission. Fair use exception is need for maximization social wealth in the field of information. According to this law is possible to use for instance parts of text and images on the internet, if you quote or link them back to the source. In my opinion, you can´t earn money on it – Fair use doesn’t include this condition.
Both European continental and Anglo-American schools of IP protects expressions of ideas, but not ideas as such, in several ways: Inventions (patent) writings (copyright), trademarks, trade secrets, and most recently designs and models, using similar legal mechanisms.1 In the contrary, continental civil law considers intellectual property from a perspective of the author’s moral rights, so rather than social wealth the focus in Europe is on the integrity of the person.
I am not sure, which of these systems is better working, so I hope that the international law took from both their better parts.
1 Engle, Eric. When is Fair Use Fair? Online: http://lexnet.bravepages.com/IPMASTER.htm#A.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Against intellectual property
This essay written by Brian Martin offers very strong view on intellectual property and sets many though-provoking ideas, which I have never thought through before. Martin´s aim is quite simple: No intellectual products should be owned by individuals, corporations, governments or any communities as a common property.
His reasons are basically three: Intellectual property retards innovation, exploits Third World countries and makes profit to only a few huge corporations and strongest governments. All in all, intellectual property doesn’t fulfill its purpose and should be replaced by free use and sharing. For instance, alternative to copyright could be shareright. You may reproduce this material if your recipients may also reproduce it.
Scientists, freelancers’ writers and similar professions should be paid not by royalties, but rather from some foundation or other sources, because royalties and patents don’t offer them big amount of money anyway – most of all money goes to corporations who own rights. Moreover, similar to Himanen and his Hacker Ethic concept, Martin suppose the biggest
Satisfaction for these people is their work itself and recognition by their peers.
Even if this is true (or true for most of cases), I can´t imagine reorganization of the economic system. I agree that the system is nowadays set up unequal and advantages the powerful and weaken the poor. But according to this, I can´t see any power, which can defeat this enormous lobby. More I believe in gradational shortening of patent and royalties duration or giving more money to creators. Unfortunately, even I like this brave idea very much, the general trend is not going in this way. May be, there are scissors: many people, especially web community, are fighting against the intellectual property and behave in opposite way, but the corporations are striking hard – for example the case with genetic information. I am very curious, how this big bang will finally happen.
Btw, there is another question in my mind – the amount of passionate inventors, would it be bigger than researchers and scholar, freelance writers and artist, who will change their job, because they are doing it for money? Would this intellectual property canceling really start boom of creativity and innovation? Who knows, may be Brian.
His reasons are basically three: Intellectual property retards innovation, exploits Third World countries and makes profit to only a few huge corporations and strongest governments. All in all, intellectual property doesn’t fulfill its purpose and should be replaced by free use and sharing. For instance, alternative to copyright could be shareright. You may reproduce this material if your recipients may also reproduce it.
Scientists, freelancers’ writers and similar professions should be paid not by royalties, but rather from some foundation or other sources, because royalties and patents don’t offer them big amount of money anyway – most of all money goes to corporations who own rights. Moreover, similar to Himanen and his Hacker Ethic concept, Martin suppose the biggest
Satisfaction for these people is their work itself and recognition by their peers.
Even if this is true (or true for most of cases), I can´t imagine reorganization of the economic system. I agree that the system is nowadays set up unequal and advantages the powerful and weaken the poor. But according to this, I can´t see any power, which can defeat this enormous lobby. More I believe in gradational shortening of patent and royalties duration or giving more money to creators. Unfortunately, even I like this brave idea very much, the general trend is not going in this way. May be, there are scissors: many people, especially web community, are fighting against the intellectual property and behave in opposite way, but the corporations are striking hard – for example the case with genetic information. I am very curious, how this big bang will finally happen.
Btw, there is another question in my mind – the amount of passionate inventors, would it be bigger than researchers and scholar, freelance writers and artist, who will change their job, because they are doing it for money? Would this intellectual property canceling really start boom of creativity and innovation? Who knows, may be Brian.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Hackers approach in daily life (by Martin Šesták)
The way the world is going is said to be faster than ever before, due to changes in technical development, social life or human thinking. Especially in developed or fast developing countries have people to face these changes in their everyday life. In the response, they have to change their daily routines, habits, working stereotypes and their ways of life at all. There are several authors, who consider present changes to be dramatic and paradigmatic. Robert Theobald (1987) calls it mind-quake, formed as a parallel to earthquake. Charles Handy formulates his paradoxes on modern society and Manuel Castells (1996) comes with his book vision of new networked society. All those authors present in common, that there are in apparently huge changes in the society, not only storm in a teacup.
In the core of most of changes are information technology; above all computing, internet and networks. This new phenomenon has brought turbulences in simply all areas of human doing. Beside all technological progress, it caused also changes in people´s behaving, thinking, working, entertaining and even ethic. In connection with it, information becomes the most important good.
Hacker: The introduction
In the core of this new digital society are people calling themselves Hackers. People, who program enthusiastically and who believe that information sharing is a powerful positive good, and that it is an ethical duty of hackers to share their experience by writing free software and facilitating access to information and to computing resources wherever possible (Himanen, 2001, Preface) A major source of historical terminology of the field, The Jargon File, offers probably the most exhaustive definition. In its meaning, except of hackers of programming and computing field can be hacker any expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be mathematical hacker, one surgery hacker, for instance. Crucial is to enjoy the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations (The Jargon File definition of hacker, points 6 and 7).
Very important feature of the hackers’ way of work is their passion, which describes the general tenor of their activity, though its fulfillment may not be sheer joyful play in all its aspects. (Himanen, 2001, p 18). Also fore gurus of hacker culture consider the passion to be the most important aspect of any work. Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux describes his approach in his prologue to Pekka Himanen's Hacker Ethic as follows: All of our motivations fall into three basic categories. More important, progress is about going through those very same things as “phases” in a process of evolution, a matter of passing from one category to the next. The categories, in order, are “survival”, “social life”, and “entertainment” (Himanen, 2001, XIII). Also Steve Wozniak, who built the first real personal computer in the mid-70s (Apple I and Apple II), has similar opinion on passion. His life formula is H=F3, means Happiness = Food, fun and friends. Both Wozniak´s and Torvalds´s mottos reference to Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory, which consists of five basic levels: Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, Esteem needs and Self-actualization.
People in developed countries spend most of their working age at work. Nevertheless, many of them state that their job is very or extremely stressful. The point and goal of both hackers´ formulas is to refer, that the work should be more enjoyable, if the society wants to be more effective and satisfied and right developing. People are already overloaded by work in despite of continual innovations and new technologies - they usually can make the process of production easier, but doesn’t respite the people.
Protestant and hacker ethic
The passion seems to be the general term, which differs previous and upcoming ethic of work. In most of professions and jobs is still promoted the protestant work ethic, which dictates the work must be done because of its purpose, going on the schedule, sometimes to extreme and often the work is being done just to be done. On the contrary, the hacker work ethic says he work should be done, because we want to do it. As hackers´ success stories show, they can make with hacker work ethic together even better job than with the protestant one, and, moreover, enjoy it (Himanen, 2001, Part Work Ethic).
Another part of hacker work ethic is based on time flexibility. The idea is that for creativity, innovation and any job where it is possible is necessary to have the right mood and proper time. Himanen claims: “Protestant ethic means also means the work-centered organization of life. The Protestant ethic introduced the idea of regular working time as the center of life. Self-organization was lost and relegated to a region of work’s leftover: the evenings as what’s left of the day, the weekend as the reminder of the week, and retirement – the leftovers of life (Himanen, 2001, p 29).
In such a schedule there isn’t a lot of space for personal setting of life. “Is our purpose at work to do time or to do something?” asks Himanen (Himanen, 2001, p 38) and recommends evaluating people not on how much time they waste, but how much they accomplish in longer time period. In my own experience, this idea I like very much, but in my personal experience, many companies go exactly against this hacker ethic’s logic. For instance, using particular “sniffing software” creates absolute ambivalent environment. In contrast, there is for example a company, where employees participate in decisions about their working hours.
Hacker ethic in practice
Time flexibility, passion, community and sharing knowledge, sources, ideas and final products are the building stones of hacker ethic. The work is done not for money at the first place, but for the highest levels of Maslow’s pyramid of needs – self- actualization, entertainment or recognition in the community. As Raymond says in his essay Homesteading the Noosphere about the social workings of open source software development, those hackers are motivated by the force of peer recognition. Recognition within a community that shares their passion is more important and more deeply satisfying than money, just as it is for scholars in academe. All of this in terms of Netiquette, moral guide advising how to behave on the net and collaborate with other users.
Field of very successful project using hacker ethic is very wide. When creating them, hackers keep some core values, which Pekka Himanen and calls as The Seven Values of the Hacker Ethic: Passion, freedom, hacker work ethic, hacker money ethic, hacker network ethic, caring and creativity (Himanen, 2001, p 139-141). We can name several successful projects, which are built up with hacker ethic ideas: Linux, Wikipedia, P2P networks or Second Life, which is commercial, but build up with contribution of community.
Hacker ethic in society
In Himanen’s other paper, Challenges to the Global Information Society (2004), he suggests applying the hacker ethic on the whole society. Summarizing both it and the Hacker Ethic, the hacker ethic should become the spirit and important part of ideology of information society, social development and creative economy.
His view on implementation hacker into everyday work is quite optimistic, but he describes most of processes and trends in general and not indeed enough. Practical implementation will need many years of tuff work on all levels of society. Some theoretical and practical inspiration I can see in Anthony Giddens´s “third way” practically used in British Labour Party policies, which could be valuable source of experience. And I have to agree with Himanen’s opinion that combining a dynamic information society with the creative welfare state could have an important role to play in more sustainable development (and even more sustainable globalization) (Himanen, 2004, p 23).
However, in my opinion, the most too far gone vision is to implement this hacker ethic and information society features to all professions. I can´t imagine applying it in routine jobs or at the desks. Another thing is, how to force (or rather persuade) the formally free companies and all the whole powerful commercialized system to accept it? Why they haven’t done it before, when it is better for them and their employees as well? If it would threaten their money, there is a huge obstacle (Janussen, 2005).
Moreover, some people needs to have an order and can´t simply make their time on their consideration, plan their timetable ad be successful herewith. By the way, most of hackers are quite eccentric, I guess. For instance, Richard Stallman, the bearded and longhaired hacker guru, attends computer gathering in a robe, and he exorcises commercial programs from the machines bought to him by his followers (Himanen, 2004, p 5). Another question is whose justice will prevail - will it be easier for young and bright students to live in this new hacker-ethical society than it is for grandmother and grandfathers (Janussen, 2005)
Nevertheless, for many jobs and professions is hacker ethic very challenging and though-provoking. Especially, for companies oriented on creativity, continuous development and innovation it will be close future. At least, to get any original ideas you need to have original (personal) environment, which hacker work ethic offers.
To be honest, if more hacker ethic’s features were implemented at my work and may be in my live at all, I would be happy.
References:
- Theobald, R. The Rapids of Change. Online: http://www.indra.com/transform/dlc/rapids/rapids.html
- Richard Stallman personal website http://www.stallman.org/
- Freman, Hadley. Time off for good behaviour. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jan/03/gender.uk
- Eric S. Raymond's Home Page. http://www.catb.org/~esr/
- Raymond, Eric S. Homesteading the Noosphere. http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/homesteading/. Page 100.
- Time spent at work in
- Janussen, Aputsiaq. Adding Rationality to Himanen`s Hacker Ethic.
- http://third.oekonux-conference.org/documentation/texts/Janussen.html
- Manuel Castells on the Network Society. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_society
- Himanen, Pekka. Challenges to the Global Information Society. 2004. Online: http://www.eduskunta.fi/efakta/vk/tuv/challenges_of_the_globalinformationsociety.pdf
- Himanen, Pekka. Hacker Ethic.
- Network society http://books.google.com/books?id=hngg4aFtJVcC&dq=manuel+castells+network+society&pg=PP1&ots=N83cznWst4&sig=mBhRZtRgPT4Bh9XNvM0-OsHjBwc&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dmanuel%2Bcastells%2Bnetwork%2Bsociety%26btnG%3DGoogle%2BSearch&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPA493,M1
- Charles Handy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Handy
- Fisher, Lawrenc M. The paradox of Charles Handy. Online: http://www.strategy-business.com/press/16635507/03309
- Manuel Castells personal web page. Online: http://sociology.berkeley.edu/faculty/castells/
- Ethic. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
- The Jargon File. Online: http://www.catb.org/%7Eesr/jargon
- Linus Torvalds. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds
- Linux official site. Online: http://www.linux.org/
- Steve Wozniak. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak
- Apple computer history. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_I
- Hierarchy of needs pyramid. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
- History of work Ethic. Online: http://www.coe.uga.edu/~rhill/workethic/hist.htm
- Personal inspector web page. Online: http://www.personal-inspector.com/
- Software development. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development
- Anthony Giddens. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Giddens
- Workinfo.com. The Third Way. Online: http://www.workinfo.com/EconHist/thirdway.htm
- Second Life. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life
- P2P Networks. Online: http://ntrg.cs.tcd.ie/undergrad/4ba2.02-03/Intro.html
Web 2.0 – from professional mass media to the citizenship media (by Kristaps Brūveris)
Fast development of new technologies and switching from using TV, radio and newspapers to Internet in our everyday lives also lead down to changes of ways of receiving, creating and posting the news. The biggest difference is – everyone who wants can be journalist or media nowadays. In this essay I will discuss the changes on society and flow of information because of the appearance of the new media.
The technical potentialities offered by the Internet provide limitless opportunities for spreading information by anybody who wants to say something. As David Gillmor, journalist and author of the book “We the media” indicates, if everybody (he mainly concentrates on society of US) got the latest news about World War II from few national radio channels, and later TV replaced the importance of radio, September 11 was the first large accident where the latest and hottest information like photos of crash was received and forwarded thru Internet as well (Gillmor, 2006, XIX). Earlier
Although it may seem that grassroots journalism started in the beginning of the XX century, there were at the end of 90-ties mail lists and forums as well which the first time introduced many-to-many information streams while the weblogs – main many-to-many media at this moment had not appeared yet (Gillmor, 2006, 27). The first well-known germ of grassroots citizenship could be observed already on 1994 when Pentium company touched with the users of Usenet who forwarded the information about discovered Pentium bug.
Gillmor mainly looks at web media mainly as an alternative for what he calls Big Media – censored national mass media which mainly belongs to some large corporations and are working only for profit or interests of the particular media’s owner but for the sake of their audience (Gillmor, 2006, XXVI). It means that one of the main advantages and goodness for the new media is impossibility for the censorship. For example, Gillmor describes the protest bombing in
On the other hand, there are several discussions, can one mention blogging when speaking about journalism and media if there is no editor between the author and reader. (Lasica, 2003). Still, if the bloggers broadcast news or information about latest events, no strict rules can be drawn for the borders of journalism.
Not only weblogs are the proof for the changes from one-to-many to many-to-many information channels. Gillmor gives an example how simple SMS bypassed the censorship of government of
Forwarding of SMS allows comprehend them as many-to-many media as well nowadays not only one-to-one media. Just by the help of short message service tens of thousands of Filipinos brought down a corrupt
Moreover, SMS services joined with blogging open up new opportunities for transforming latest information with help of such services as Twitter. Just sending SMS with one word ‘arrested’ helped student from US to inform all his acquaintances that he was putted illegally in Egyptian jail (Simon, 2008).
Twitter as a service even comes to light as the fastest media at this moment – it is recognized as the first media where one could get known about earthquake in
Internet as a medium between people now allows creating most unimaginable forms of protest. One of the examples Gillmor draws is the campaign “Bush in 30 Seconds” where everyone on portal MoveOn.org in the spring of 2004 could create and post his own made anti-Bush commercials and compete for the best commercial’s title (Gillmor, 2006, 100).
As Gillmor points, biggest mistake of old media and advantage of new media is listening to audience (Gillmor, 2006, 237). For example, some popular internet portals like portal for women wowowow.com have been created just as an answer for magazines which didn’t satisfied the demands of its main audience (The Guardian, 2008). And the Internet with its feedback options is the first democratic not top-down hierarchy media (Gillmor, 2006, 236). There is now another option than to read the news selected by some news editors. As blogger David Weinberger points, why should Americans hear the news about
The professional media have yet realized that they can’t prevail over the new citizenship media, so their only possibility is to use advantages of new media for their own sake. Gillmor tell that in last times before writing a new article, he asks his blog readers for their additional ideas as he realize that his audience in total is smarter than he alone (Gillmor, 2006, 113). The New York Times also has started similar practice – by publishing some articles at first on web, and after taking into account readers’ comments and supplementing the article with new viewpoints they publish improved article in the newspaper (Landman, 2008). Even the media giant BBC has chosen similar approach by asking their audience to send pictures from hot spots like
On the other hand, some ways of controlling the latest technologies as a media should be taken as there have been already situations when new media are used not only for spreading latest news but just some private and sensitive data like hidden videotapes from the gyms (Searing, 2003).
The old media like newspapers have even no choice as to convert to new media. Even editor of one of the biggest US newspaper The New York Times admit that their online audience is much larger than the one of printed newspaper – he moreover specifies that almost all readers of their newspaper visit also their web page, but not the all web page’s visitors read the newspaper as well (Landman, 2008).
Spreading of possibility for each citizen to inform everybody about his opinion has also changed other fields of the common communication channels like public relations as well. In the golden era of radio and TV the communication between producer and costumer was also one way – thru commercials. Now, if the costumer is dissatisfied or catch the producer in the act, he can tell it to much wider audience as ever before. Gillmor mention how simple citizen found in the pictures’ archive photo which was used for Microsoft’s advertising campaign with the description that person in the photo have recently switched from Mac to PC. The particular citizen when realized that the ad is fake, published the information forward till the Microsoft took down the ad (Gillmor, 2006, 50). Nowadays even one can find many testimonials on the web about any good or services he is going to buy. Every big company now follows or at least try to follow any discussion on the web about themselves (Gillmor, 2006, 57). Only so big companies as MySpace can allow to not paying attention for such kind of activities as “International Delete Your MySpace Account Day” (Hopkins, 2008).
But the marketing specialists have also discovered the power of the new media and now they just take into account that it is more productive to reach one blogger with large audience who is specialized in particular theme than to spend thousands for the TV ads (Gillmor, 2006, 69). Any good or bad reference by well known blogger will even appear in the first page when searching for the product in Google as Google ranking system evaluates blogs higher than any other sites. Some companies have realized that contacting personally the blogger who have posted bad reference about their product and correcting any possible mistakes in the communication with the blogger may convert the bad reference for the good one (Gillmor, 2006, 86). To reach the costumers, some companies have created also their cooperative blogs which helps also to inform their regular clients and any interests about any news they would like for clients to know (Gillmor, 2006, 74). Some public relation people go farther on using Internet for their own goals – creating RRS feeds of releases helps to distinguish the information from just over spammed email boxes (Gillmor, 2006, 81).
The changes of everyday using of media which have been brought by the new technologies most probably will disappear in the future but should lead as closer to the complete democracy if no censorship by governments appears in the closest time. Moreover there should be some noticeable improvement on the average quality of news as the Internet allows to edit them later and include suggested updates from the audience as well. So the largest difference between old and new media should appear that now story does not belong to the journalist alone anymore but to the audience as it must be able to change or edit it freely (Bowman & Willis, 2003).
List of references
· BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/
· Bowman, S. & Willis, C. We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information. The Media Center at the American Press Institute, 2003. http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/weblog.php
· “Bush in 30 seconds” http://www.moveon.org/bushin30seconds/
· CNET. Intel exec on the future of Net, computing. 1999 http://news.cnet.com/2009-1001_3-224567.html
· Dan Gillmor’s home page http://www.dangillmor.com/
· Gillmor Davis. We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. O’Reilly Media, 2006. pp301 (Available also on the internet: http://wethemedia.oreilly.com/)
· Hopkin Marks.
· Hopkin Marks. Journalism and PR in the New Media. 2008 http://mashable.com/2008/01/24/journalism-and-pr-in-the-new-media/
· How Google ranks pages http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=34432
· Kaus Mickey. Bonus Onus, 2002. http://slate.msn.com/id/2075444&#darkmatter
· Landman Jonathan. Talk to the Newsroom: Deputy Managing Editor Jonathan Landman. The New Your Times; 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/business/media/27askthetimes.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1212041024-CwLix/Lodhqou1Lqvf4xCg
· Lasica J.D. What is Participatory Journalism? 2003 http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1060217106.php
· Mallory Simon. Student 'Twitters' his way out of Egyptian jail. CNN; 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/25/twitter.buck/index.html
· New Media. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_media
· Pentium FDIV bug http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_FDIV_bug
· Searing Linda. Some Gyms Ban Camera Phones.
· Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS
· The Guardian. The wow factor. 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/21/pressandpublishing.internet
· The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/
· The Woman on the Web http://www.wowowow.com/
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Social engineering
As any other trick, social engineering is successful only if the attacker is smarter than his victim. The most important are information and some knowledge about dangers and traps on the net. A lot of people don’t recognize mail from spam, more to recognize serious attempts to gain their identity and passwords. In my opinion, there should be some security tutorial for new users installing internet browser – some guide “How to avoid problems”.
Very dangerous is to Trojan horse or virus which activates pop-up window which requests retyping your username and password because of, for example” lost connection. The password could be even written by dots, so you can very easily reveal your personal data.
Very dangerous is to Trojan horse or virus which activates pop-up window which requests retyping your username and password because of, for example” lost connection. The password could be even written by dots, so you can very easily reveal your personal data.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Case of hacktivism
The term hacktivism hadn´t been very well known and usual in my country, so the situation before last elections in 2006 was for many people surprising. The election campaign spread also on internet and among hackers. For example personal sites of a few popular politicians have been hacked and somebody on their homepages rude words or tried to stultify them. Because negativity was one of the most important features of those elections, this hacking could influence final results – not only by stultifying, but also politicians´ failure to oppose new situation effectively and rise above.
Very funny were also “Google bombs” – if you write some rude word (as “namyšlenej idiot” – bigheaded idiot), the first result in Google search will be personnel site of former Czech Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek. It became very famous and Paroubek asked Google for prohibiting this relation, but didn’t succeed.
Very funny were also “Google bombs” – if you write some rude word (as “namyšlenej idiot” – bigheaded idiot), the first result in Google search will be personnel site of former Czech Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek. It became very famous and Paroubek asked Google for prohibiting this relation, but didn’t succeed.
Minority groups
Internet offers great opportunity to introduce the minority and its ideas for very low price. A lot of alienation and prejudice stem from ignorance and fear of unknown. For example, it could be case of new established Muslim community in the town, where they have never been before. To settle there and build a church they need to be trustworthy for local people. Using internet the can introduce and visualize their plans anybody, advertise on city web pages, set up the e-mail address for questions and complains, set up forum for ideas etc. The more information people know the less fear they feel – and the internet is useful and powerful tool.
For any member of minority with internet access is interesting challenge and chance to try any on-line job. Doesn’t matter, if you are black, yellow, Muslim, on wheelchair or with huge scar on your face. May be except of entrance interview you can get easy and “painless” work experience and increase your self-confidence and chance to get next time any other job. In my country it could be interesting opportunity for Gypsies who nobody wants to employ.
For any member of minority with internet access is interesting challenge and chance to try any on-line job. Doesn’t matter, if you are black, yellow, Muslim, on wheelchair or with huge scar on your face. May be except of entrance interview you can get easy and “painless” work experience and increase your self-confidence and chance to get next time any other job. In my country it could be interesting opportunity for Gypsies who nobody wants to employ.
Enter the hacker
I like the most definition “One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations”. The term isn’t limited and can cover more areas, but catches the main point of overcoming limitations.
I think that success of non-commercial collaborative projects (like Wikipedia, mapping places with pictures etc.) is proving the hacker ethic exists among people and is not marginal. Internet brings new way of work which demands new way of thinking. A lot of hackers´ rules and principles can be found in European philosophy, traditions and values. After reading the article I think hackers can be its new apostles.
Collaborative aspect of hacktivism can be also found in many company social and team building activities and project solving strategies.
I think that success of non-commercial collaborative projects (like Wikipedia, mapping places with pictures etc.) is proving the hacker ethic exists among people and is not marginal. Internet brings new way of work which demands new way of thinking. A lot of hackers´ rules and principles can be found in European philosophy, traditions and values. After reading the article I think hackers can be its new apostles.
Collaborative aspect of hacktivism can be also found in many company social and team building activities and project solving strategies.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Czech ITC strategy and social cohesiveness
Czech Republic hasn’t got any complex ITC strategy. There are only some notes in government programme about supporting digital infrastructure and bringing internet to all libraries, village schools and municipal offices. The most important for Czech politicians is eGon programme, whose goal is to get to top 5 European countries in e-Government development. Through the country there are coming up so-called CzechPoints, where can people managed all their communication with state and offices. The network should be finished by 2010.
The social cohesiveness is very important for me. In my opinion making knowledge gaps and excluding particular parts of society is dangerous and can very easily take revenge. Those excluded people will become in man ways unemployable, will not bring society a lot of added value and on the contrary they will need care and welfare system help. That signs large social problem and obstacle on the way towards information society.
Moreover, in the time when European population is dying out it is crucial to have as huge as possible skilled and educated workforce.
The social cohesiveness is very important for me. In my opinion making knowledge gaps and excluding particular parts of society is dangerous and can very easily take revenge. Those excluded people will become in man ways unemployable, will not bring society a lot of added value and on the contrary they will need care and welfare system help. That signs large social problem and obstacle on the way towards information society.
Moreover, in the time when European population is dying out it is crucial to have as huge as possible skilled and educated workforce.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Digital Divide in my country
Infrastructure and public services in my country are on high level, including internet accessibility. Internet is almost in all schools and libraries and the government runs several projects to make it better. That means the internet should be available almost in every village. Than yet, thanks to telephone operators it is possible to get some connection anywhere.
Czech Republic still hasn’t got such a high number of broadband connections as in Germany, Britain or Estonia, but it is getting better very fast, everybody wants to be no-line. Nowadays, about 60 percent of people are connected to internet, 2/5 of them broadband.
There is one specific group in Czech Republic, which has got often problems to integrate into society (and vice versa). Gypsies are said to be lazy, bad workers, pick-pocketers and many people don’t like them, because they have a lot of children and get high welfare benefits. Unlike Vietnamese, or Chinese communities Gypsies really very rarely work, run any businesses and educate themselves.
Despite of many government programmes and NGOs activities most of them stagnate and prefer “unchained” way of live inside their communities. Internet penetration among Gypsy families is very low, close to zero. But it is not only technology gap, but social gap in general.
Typical digital divide case in CZE is based on age. Elderly people (60+) in my country usually don’t use internet and often computer at all. There are not many projects concerned with this issue, but the main reason is, in my opinion, the socialist era. Most of their live people weren’t forced and motivated to be creative, think more than was requested and adopt new technologies. After Velvet Revolution everything changed, many people lost or had to change their job and suddenly the world started move faster. Till this time many old people hasn’t faced up to this changes, not only with internet era.
Czech Republic still hasn’t got such a high number of broadband connections as in Germany, Britain or Estonia, but it is getting better very fast, everybody wants to be no-line. Nowadays, about 60 percent of people are connected to internet, 2/5 of them broadband.
There is one specific group in Czech Republic, which has got often problems to integrate into society (and vice versa). Gypsies are said to be lazy, bad workers, pick-pocketers and many people don’t like them, because they have a lot of children and get high welfare benefits. Unlike Vietnamese, or Chinese communities Gypsies really very rarely work, run any businesses and educate themselves.
Despite of many government programmes and NGOs activities most of them stagnate and prefer “unchained” way of live inside their communities. Internet penetration among Gypsy families is very low, close to zero. But it is not only technology gap, but social gap in general.
Typical digital divide case in CZE is based on age. Elderly people (60+) in my country usually don’t use internet and often computer at all. There are not many projects concerned with this issue, but the main reason is, in my opinion, the socialist era. Most of their live people weren’t forced and motivated to be creative, think more than was requested and adopt new technologies. After Velvet Revolution everything changed, many people lost or had to change their job and suddenly the world started move faster. Till this time many old people hasn’t faced up to this changes, not only with internet era.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Internet fraud scheme and What’s the bloody point
The most casual fraud which tries to flood in my inbox consists of offers Viagra, enlarging penises or helping in critical situation. Or some Nigerian banker offers me a chance to earn huge money :-) Always it involves send money to an account or go to a site request. It seems to be so naive and simple, but some people sometimes use it.
My professor of media and advertising law asserted there are always 5 - 10 percent of consumers who believes everything and aren’t able to catch any stretcher – even if you claim that while eating this sausage you feel like in paradise. With these simple frauds is it the same.
Phishing is obviously more dangerous – if users get email from address, which seems to be very similar to bank address, they pay it much more attention. In Czech Republic was phishing quite often last time, fraudulent emails contained even bank logo, colors and “signature” of the bank governor. No surprise, some gullible persons “in the interest of better security” revealed their personal information and bank account details.
The thing I really don’t like is mimicking well-known websites names. For example most popular Czech web portal http://www.seznam.cz/ has got several similar parasites - searching engine http://www.sezamn.cz/ and page with music downloading http://www.sezanm.cz/. It is very easy to confuse last letters and these web pages owners know it very well. For me are these pages only annoying, but for web novice it might be dangerous trap.
What’s the bloody point is amazing! I have never had any idea about this or similar page. I´ve read several scams and all were really interesting and some even funny – it is nice to see that also those criminals and mugus can step in the same trap and be beat by their own weapons.
My professor of media and advertising law asserted there are always 5 - 10 percent of consumers who believes everything and aren’t able to catch any stretcher – even if you claim that while eating this sausage you feel like in paradise. With these simple frauds is it the same.
Phishing is obviously more dangerous – if users get email from address, which seems to be very similar to bank address, they pay it much more attention. In Czech Republic was phishing quite often last time, fraudulent emails contained even bank logo, colors and “signature” of the bank governor. No surprise, some gullible persons “in the interest of better security” revealed their personal information and bank account details.
The thing I really don’t like is mimicking well-known websites names. For example most popular Czech web portal http://www.seznam.cz/ has got several similar parasites - searching engine http://www.sezamn.cz/ and page with music downloading http://www.sezanm.cz/. It is very easy to confuse last letters and these web pages owners know it very well. For me are these pages only annoying, but for web novice it might be dangerous trap.
What’s the bloody point is amazing! I have never had any idea about this or similar page. I´ve read several scams and all were really interesting and some even funny – it is nice to see that also those criminals and mugus can step in the same trap and be beat by their own weapons.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Inside Echelon
Until communication and privacy protections become effective and ubiquitous, Echelon or systems like it will remain with us. This last sentence is probably one of the few sentences which show any solution and aren’t pessimistic. Otherwise it seemed intelligence collection system would be dreadnought and without any limits.
The first part of the article about Echelon shows the practical use and importance of electronic surveillance system – it was one of key factors in the WW2. The more information people send and the more is global communication important, the faster raise importance of these systems and services.
For me the most risky factor is that there is no public control how these system work, who receives information and outputs and how easy misusage of it is. Are data really safe, if a journalist can get inside the object (at New Zealand)? How easy can special interest group get to sensitive information about individuals, companies, technologies or armies?
The amount of information is really amazing, if the just one system can generate a million inputs per half hour; filters throw away all but 6500 inputs; only 1,000 inputs meet forwarding criteria; 10 inputs are normally selected by analysts and only one report is produced. This information is from the early nineties, this number must be now higher and present software is more developed and smarter. Moreover, it should enable sorting data more efficiently – in my opinion it might be inspired by sorting content on web – tagging, keywords, tag clouds etc.
The idea that every my sent message is somewhere noticed, run and stored is quite scaring. I can only hope that my data are so uninteresting, that gets lost in the information sea, and the system is “service for me”. Public service is the only sense of existing of these systems.
The first part of the article about Echelon shows the practical use and importance of electronic surveillance system – it was one of key factors in the WW2. The more information people send and the more is global communication important, the faster raise importance of these systems and services.
For me the most risky factor is that there is no public control how these system work, who receives information and outputs and how easy misusage of it is. Are data really safe, if a journalist can get inside the object (at New Zealand)? How easy can special interest group get to sensitive information about individuals, companies, technologies or armies?
The amount of information is really amazing, if the just one system can generate a million inputs per half hour; filters throw away all but 6500 inputs; only 1,000 inputs meet forwarding criteria; 10 inputs are normally selected by analysts and only one report is produced. This information is from the early nineties, this number must be now higher and present software is more developed and smarter. Moreover, it should enable sorting data more efficiently – in my opinion it might be inspired by sorting content on web – tagging, keywords, tag clouds etc.
The idea that every my sent message is somewhere noticed, run and stored is quite scaring. I can only hope that my data are so uninteresting, that gets lost in the information sea, and the system is “service for me”. Public service is the only sense of existing of these systems.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Net Nanny - blocking software in practice
From the list of blocking software I picked Net Nanny Package. I have no previous experience with using filter or parental control software, so it was just by chance. Net Nanny should keep kids, friends or work colleges safe on the internet and protect them from the things they shouldn’t see while still being able to do what they need to.
Net Nanny runs both with PC and Mac and enables block several different categories of content – pornography, gambling, image and video search or chat pages. It also it should be able to block some community servers, pages with and manual set pages.
My first contact with Net Nanny was totally deterrent. Just after the installation had finished, my laptop collapsed – blue screen and quiet. Fortunately I lost only a few opened documents and one file, but next day I spent with reinstalling some software.
However, after the second installation I started trying poker pages, some erotic content, gay and lesbian sites, torrent downloading and searching for videos and pictures. At first in Czech and then in English. Usually I was able to get to content I wanted. I used different keyword in searching engines (they blocked searching for some words immediately) or went to page without particular word in the name of page or in link. I was surprised, that I managed to play Texas hold´em poker. It was enough to write cards and hold.
In English it was more difficult, word and keyword database was probably bigger and smarter. But still after a few minutes it wasn’t problem to find requested content. When I tried to get to Facebook and MySpace, the software behaved odd, sometimes it worked and sometimes not. I couldn’t find any rule.
All in all, for less skilled users and kids is probably this kind of programme safe enough, but for more experienced user it is easy to get to any information. Of course, it is necessary to try more sources. It could be good for company network, but for normal user is it incredibly annoying. And that is probably the main feature I got after two days spent with Net Nanny.
Net Nanny runs both with PC and Mac and enables block several different categories of content – pornography, gambling, image and video search or chat pages. It also it should be able to block some community servers, pages with and manual set pages.
My first contact with Net Nanny was totally deterrent. Just after the installation had finished, my laptop collapsed – blue screen and quiet. Fortunately I lost only a few opened documents and one file, but next day I spent with reinstalling some software.
However, after the second installation I started trying poker pages, some erotic content, gay and lesbian sites, torrent downloading and searching for videos and pictures. At first in Czech and then in English. Usually I was able to get to content I wanted. I used different keyword in searching engines (they blocked searching for some words immediately) or went to page without particular word in the name of page or in link. I was surprised, that I managed to play Texas hold´em poker. It was enough to write cards and hold.
In English it was more difficult, word and keyword database was probably bigger and smarter. But still after a few minutes it wasn’t problem to find requested content. When I tried to get to Facebook and MySpace, the software behaved odd, sometimes it worked and sometimes not. I couldn’t find any rule.
All in all, for less skilled users and kids is probably this kind of programme safe enough, but for more experienced user it is easy to get to any information. Of course, it is necessary to try more sources. It could be good for company network, but for normal user is it incredibly annoying. And that is probably the main feature I got after two days spent with Net Nanny.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Challenges to the Global Information Society
World is rapidly changing and every country is a competitor on global economic market. Some of them try to reduce tax rates, some offer cheap workforce, some compete with new technologies. How can Europe success in this risky arena? Pekka Himanen believes in network form of organization and growth based on creative innovations. What does it mean?
Golden mean
The United States uses neoliberalist model, which enables everybody to do as much as you manage. Show as your capabilities and we appreciate it. But if you not succeed, we leave you behind. This model is very dynamic, but not for all society, says Himanen. There is a huge amount of people, who are left behind and public sector is quite poor. As well the Singapore model has a lot of disadvantages – attempts to offer lower taxation causes, that at the moment somebody offers better conditions, we have no weapon to avert a threat. Moreover, this model is also patronizing - freedom and rights of people could be easily restricted which can negatively influence potential of people’s creativity.
Using Himanen’s vocabulary, current European model is combination of information society and welfare state. This model grows up from traditional European values, if is closely connected to innovative entrepreneurialism and creativity of society, then is considered to be Golden mean of development.
Key values
Himanen introduces ten basic values, which are traditional and broadly shared in (in my opinion western and central) Europe. Their encouragement and new comprehension are fundamental to reform European welfare state combined with information society (Finnish model). The values are caring, confidence, communality, encouragement, freedom, creativity, courage, visionariness, meaningfulness of doing and balance of all components.
Briefly, new welfare state should more support equal opportunities for everybody and in global view for all people worldwide. System should guarantee social care and confidence, which together with caring and freedom makes background for communality and enable create innovative and creative environment. People feel more courage and easily fulfill their visions and start new projects.
Fields of implementation
Successful global competition needs to implement core values in practice, particularly to a creative economy, a creative welfare society, humanly meaningful development and a global culture. Key terms in this process are creativity and innovation. Welfare society needs quite large expenses and the only way to keep economical growth is only through innovations. Himanen highly recommends improving employees´ conditions to be more motivated and creative. For example it is non-fixed working time, time for innovation and experiments with new technologies. Creative environment should be supported in all corporations and management should appreciate these efforts. Moreover, higher productivity of labour mustn’t lead to jeopardize jobs, otherwise all passion will fade.
Very important is increasing quality of people’s personal lives. People are already overloaded of work and the population is ageing. Long life learning programmes are necessary for keeping people´s minds in good condition and also it is essential to get their personal live in more natural way – more time for family, sports and own project and activities. The result will be more satisfied employee with less physical and psychical troubles who brigs his/her company more use than only ordinary work.
European economics can not increase production of traditional goods too much. Ideas must become the raw material for most of product. Himanen therefore exhort to cooperate also with other cultures which can bring new points of view and modus operandi into present processes.
Conclusion
Himanen’s paper tries to deal with European development opportunities in global competition. His view is quite optimistic, but on the other hand he describes most of processes and trends in general and not indeed. Practical implementation will need many years of tuff work on all levels of society. Some theoretical and practical inspiration I can see in Anthony Giddens´s “third way” practically used in British Labour Party policies. It could be valuable source of experience.
Golden mean
The United States uses neoliberalist model, which enables everybody to do as much as you manage. Show as your capabilities and we appreciate it. But if you not succeed, we leave you behind. This model is very dynamic, but not for all society, says Himanen. There is a huge amount of people, who are left behind and public sector is quite poor. As well the Singapore model has a lot of disadvantages – attempts to offer lower taxation causes, that at the moment somebody offers better conditions, we have no weapon to avert a threat. Moreover, this model is also patronizing - freedom and rights of people could be easily restricted which can negatively influence potential of people’s creativity.
Using Himanen’s vocabulary, current European model is combination of information society and welfare state. This model grows up from traditional European values, if is closely connected to innovative entrepreneurialism and creativity of society, then is considered to be Golden mean of development.
Key values
Himanen introduces ten basic values, which are traditional and broadly shared in (in my opinion western and central) Europe. Their encouragement and new comprehension are fundamental to reform European welfare state combined with information society (Finnish model). The values are caring, confidence, communality, encouragement, freedom, creativity, courage, visionariness, meaningfulness of doing and balance of all components.
Briefly, new welfare state should more support equal opportunities for everybody and in global view for all people worldwide. System should guarantee social care and confidence, which together with caring and freedom makes background for communality and enable create innovative and creative environment. People feel more courage and easily fulfill their visions and start new projects.
Fields of implementation
Successful global competition needs to implement core values in practice, particularly to a creative economy, a creative welfare society, humanly meaningful development and a global culture. Key terms in this process are creativity and innovation. Welfare society needs quite large expenses and the only way to keep economical growth is only through innovations. Himanen highly recommends improving employees´ conditions to be more motivated and creative. For example it is non-fixed working time, time for innovation and experiments with new technologies. Creative environment should be supported in all corporations and management should appreciate these efforts. Moreover, higher productivity of labour mustn’t lead to jeopardize jobs, otherwise all passion will fade.
Very important is increasing quality of people’s personal lives. People are already overloaded of work and the population is ageing. Long life learning programmes are necessary for keeping people´s minds in good condition and also it is essential to get their personal live in more natural way – more time for family, sports and own project and activities. The result will be more satisfied employee with less physical and psychical troubles who brigs his/her company more use than only ordinary work.
European economics can not increase production of traditional goods too much. Ideas must become the raw material for most of product. Himanen therefore exhort to cooperate also with other cultures which can bring new points of view and modus operandi into present processes.
Conclusion
Himanen’s paper tries to deal with European development opportunities in global competition. His view is quite optimistic, but on the other hand he describes most of processes and trends in general and not indeed. Practical implementation will need many years of tuff work on all levels of society. Some theoretical and practical inspiration I can see in Anthony Giddens´s “third way” practically used in British Labour Party policies. It could be valuable source of experience.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The networked world
Nonmarket production of information is the main point of my job. For three years I’ve been working in CT24, Czech public broadcasting news channel. Benkler’s note that many people turn to National Public Radio or the BBC is true, especially in the time of crisis, tragedy, votes and other important or endangering situations. People are turning to most reliable source of information which is usually not private, but public. They trust in those institution money isn’t the entity, which can influence spin or core of the message.
Every medium tries to make their news as reliable as possible. Viewing public like live broadcasting, opinions of “normal people” (look mum; they have the same problem with dogs excrements like we J ). Newspapers and TV channels began use features of public journalism, which are supposed to be true, non-edited, non-censored (although it isn’t always true).
One of the reasons of this phenomenon could be that many people are at present suspicious to commercial messages. Everybody is fed up of advertisements, PR articles and one-side news. Solution for them is the internet which obviously offers opportunities to get very deep knowledge of anything. In a few minutes is possible to find opinions from both sides of certain problematic. No wonder then, that many people prefer their RSS feeder to traditional watching news at 8 p.m.
Towards the information society
Sometimes it seems mind-quakes are without any end shaking with my live. Rethinking ideas, resolving settled processes and changing his mind are presently demanded not only for managers of international corporations. Changes and sometimes even big bangs are coming still often. The term of mind-quake is something like paradigm of Thomas Kuhn or Foucault´s episteme J Just the same process we suddenly see from different point of view, the same problems we solve in different way.
The huge mind-quake in sphere of communication which affected whole society caused mobile phones – changed from basics interpersonal communication and deleted space distances between people. Everybody is suddenly available any time, at any place and is awaited to react (answer).
One my fresh personal experience: Because of my mobile I have to be in touch with my girlfriend in Czech Republic every day (I like it of course :-). Mobile is my extension of my communication limits, but on the other hand it makes me many duties. Anybody can talk to me almost any time and I am forced to answer, because I am able to and want to accept the request.
May be it is closely connected to Handy’s paradox of time, which says that people should have spare a lot of time applying modern technologies. It is true that we use spared time to do more, be efficient. But it is normal human behavior from the very beginning – desire to do more, better and faster. Without this desire we would be still Homo habilis :-) Of course, the power needed for this process is to do it with heat and pleasant.
From the most Manuel Castells' network society descriptions I was most interested in theme of global economy and pushing aside people from developing countries. Dehiscent scissors is one of the techno-pessimists arguments. “Western” countries will develop technologies and the poor ones will supply only primary commodities. Approach to Africa is: Give us your stock and we will produce super-cheap notebooks for you. Then you can learn how to use it and if you will be good, you can work for us.
I hope the end could be more optimistic – like in India. Thanks to computer skills many people works on-line for western corporations – not only as a programmers, but also as accounting service, customer service etc. This is actually the next topic: changes in work and employment. No wonder, everything is connected, with both good and well features.
The huge mind-quake in sphere of communication which affected whole society caused mobile phones – changed from basics interpersonal communication and deleted space distances between people. Everybody is suddenly available any time, at any place and is awaited to react (answer).
One my fresh personal experience: Because of my mobile I have to be in touch with my girlfriend in Czech Republic every day (I like it of course :-). Mobile is my extension of my communication limits, but on the other hand it makes me many duties. Anybody can talk to me almost any time and I am forced to answer, because I am able to and want to accept the request.
May be it is closely connected to Handy’s paradox of time, which says that people should have spare a lot of time applying modern technologies. It is true that we use spared time to do more, be efficient. But it is normal human behavior from the very beginning – desire to do more, better and faster. Without this desire we would be still Homo habilis :-) Of course, the power needed for this process is to do it with heat and pleasant.
From the most Manuel Castells' network society descriptions I was most interested in theme of global economy and pushing aside people from developing countries. Dehiscent scissors is one of the techno-pessimists arguments. “Western” countries will develop technologies and the poor ones will supply only primary commodities. Approach to Africa is: Give us your stock and we will produce super-cheap notebooks for you. Then you can learn how to use it and if you will be good, you can work for us.
I hope the end could be more optimistic – like in India. Thanks to computer skills many people works on-line for western corporations – not only as a programmers, but also as accounting service, customer service etc. This is actually the next topic: changes in work and employment. No wonder, everything is connected, with both good and well features.
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