tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59802022024-03-07T09:59:06.127+01:00david galipeau information flow\howUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-63574294936065420062009-07-23T14:37:00.001+02:002009-07-23T14:38:57.213+02:00New Blog @ www.galipeau.com/blogBeen busy lately but in actuality, I no longer post here --- but here:<br /><br />http://www.galipeau.com/blog/<div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-32786566988537451622008-05-19T00:29:00.003+02:002008-05-19T01:07:16.120+02:00The New Blank Society and Web 3.0<p class="MsoNormal">Globalization is taking place and it's not reversible - rather historical. Inequality within society (financially and non-financially) - governance systems - including weaker national government influence - don't work on a global scale.<br /><br />So the question is, 'How will economic and technology trends influence the way that society develops and what is our role in the near future?'<br /><br />Our roles are becoming more specialized. In essence, I believe that the 'renaissance man' is an anachronism in our modern society, due to the huge driving force toward specialization.<br /><br />No longer is a writer a writer, a chemist a chemist, or a philosopher a philosopher. They are each specialized in a subdivision of their field, often with little interest in other realms of knowledge (within their field, let alone even daring to venture outside of it).<br /><br />This specialization seems to hinder progress within each field, as each group of specialist develops a highly distinct, individualistic mode of communication (a new, lonely language) that excludes non-specialist and hence fortifies the barrier of communication between knowledge fields and, in effect, humans.<br /><br />Our society and the mechanism that define and regulate it are drastically changing exactly because of this specialization of knowledge.<br /><br />Seems bad but not really - it's an opportunity.<br /><br />We now have a chance to re-think the way we adapt to society and its influences. Global societies and their interactions are the most complex structures in the world. We barely understand it and how it works. We theorize, evaluate and research but do we know the main mechanisms that govern our societies?<br /><br />No.<br /><br />In order to balance the inequalitie between loosely consolidated private power (that initiate innovation) and highly consolidated public and capital power (that regulate it) requires creativity and a different mechanism of control - not hierarchical in nature but rather networked and layered.<br /><br />This is where I was today in a large, rather heated discussion. The question boils down to a chicken and egg discussion. Some would believe that these attributes (networking, self organizing, multidirectional), as a result of technical innovation, are leading societal change.<br /><br />My specific argument is that these attributes are actually being developed after the fact to fill the voids and gaps left between public and private power.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />Global society is developing as a result of a higher consolidation of power (market, capital and governance or influence) within the hands of fewer people and thus, the development of networks and multidimensional matrices are a creative innovation of the common man or private power.<br /><br />Social technology (or social media) is the result - not the cause – of these changes.<br /><br />Why? How?<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Our world is at a transitional moment. This transitional moment will be (or is) very disruptive and costly but that’s another 3 hour discussion so I won't include it here.<br /><br />The point here is that in our (my) world, at the intersection of technology and society, this discussion helps us to define what Web 3.0 will become.<br /><br />By my definition, Web 3.0 is the new paradigm of the collection and sharing of human knowledge. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This will be the defining factor on how the New Blank Society will be shaped.<span style=""> </span>Web 3.0 won’t be simply be a term attached to the Internet because the Internet is changing and in a few years from now, the so-called Internet will look very different to what we see currently.<br /><br />By my definition, Web 3.0 will scale to define our society in the future. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">It will include inherent support for private power and the creativity of innovations and rewards to support future innovation. And it will include a balancing mechanism that will define public power and the governance models that will allow and accept redistributive equality into the ‘social knowledge sharing’ equation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Web 3.0 will be a defining initiative for society in the near future.<span style=""> </span>I hope we get it right.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-22967390887485703282008-04-10T17:08:00.005+02:002008-04-10T17:47:45.710+02:00The winds are a changin'As some of you are aware, I did some research on the Anonymous vs. Scientology event that happened during the first part of the year. <br /><br />The conclusion of the research didn't have an opinion on Anonymous or Scientology, per se, but focused more on this unique experiment of 'online to offline crossover influence'; the fact that an anonymous group of so-called 'hackers' could mobilize a physical demonstration against an organization.<br /><br />We are now seeing a secondary experiment with the mobilization of demonstrators intended to protest the torch run of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. <br /><br />In both cases, a very large proportion of the demonstrators were not personally involved with the organizations, in these cases, Scientology or Tibet. Most demonstrators have rather illogical reasons for participating ... but here they are .. in large numbers.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Is Scientology the most pressing 'religious' issue that the world is facing? Is Tibet the most important 'political' issue? Of course not - they are mere distractions and are, at most, emotionally charged. Perhaps that's the key - emotionally charged or better yet, mass irrationality. <br /><br />Sound like a Freudian conspiracy?<br /><br />I have also been watching the RSA conference closely as well. In addition to the usual suspects - botnets, infrastructure security and greynet activities, there is an unusual amount of 'channel' security in discussion. Channel security? Read: monitoring your online activity.<br /><br />A few quotes from US homeland security chief Michael Chertoff:<br /><br />'We take threats to the cyber world as seriously as we take threats to the material world. Please send some of your brightest and best to do service in the government. It is the best thing you can do for your country' ... and then he talked about the federal government’s new cyber security 'Manhattan Project', an ambitious and expensive initiative to, in part, monitor the complex computer networks of all federally funded agencies.<br /><br />Federally funded agencies? Do a search on this - you'll find university programs, NGO programs, corporate programs and ALL government websites.<br /><br />And in the spirit of 'Minority Reportitis', my favorite quote, '<span id="articleBody">The best way to deal with an attack is before it happens rather than after it has occurred'.<br /><br />Speaks for itself.</span><br /><br />At the same time, we have the Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell stating in an interview that the Intelligence Community, 'must have access to Google [and presumably all other search engine’s] search histories, private emails, and file transfers in order to identify cyberterrorists – and terrorists.'<br /><br />You can draw your own conclusions but it seems that these virtually initiated demonstrations are starting to get the attention of the darkhats. <br /><br />Conspiracy theory? <br /><br />Probably - but remember, 80% of all propaganda is 'disinformation'.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-23759810423142080292008-04-07T09:50:00.002+02:002008-04-07T09:56:36.354+02:00Reading and WritingI'm split into two zones - Sometimes I'm zoned into writing and other times I'm zoned into reading. Lately, I've had a reading phase - and I mean LOTS of reading. I always read <a href="http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/">Gerry </a>- simple but straight to the point. He's the one that really turned me on to looking at the Web as a Comms tool. Here's his last newsletter brief - it makes sense [you can sign up to Gerry's newsletter <a href="mailto:subscribe@gerrymcgovern.mailer1.net">here</a>]<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><blockquote> THE NEW WEB COMMUNICATOR<br /><br />The Web offers one of the most significant opportunities to<br />communicators in modern history, but requires a total<br />redefinition of what communications is.<br /><br />Traditional communications is one-way, passive and past-tense.<br />It is all about telling people what you have done, what you are<br />doing, or what you are about to do. There is a core belief among<br />certain traditional communicators that people need to be<br />"educated".<br /><br />Traditional communications is not all that different from<br />traditional journalism. There is a saying in traditional<br />journalism: "The reader is not as stupid as you think they are.<br />They're more stupid."<br /><br />There might have been some truth in such a view forty years ago,<br />but we are now in a different age. It is not the digital age. It<br />is not the information age. It is the informed age. The very<br />success of the Web is based on a questioning society. We are a<br />society that searches because we want to find out.<br /><br />The Web is where we go to know, to be informed. Those societies<br />that want to control what people know, who fear independent<br />thought and action, will always fear the Web. Those societies<br />who think it is exclusively the job of the elite to inform the<br />masses will always fear the Web.<br /><br />But the people love the Web. They love the Web because they can<br />find out for themselves, from people like them. They love the<br />Web because the Web is many messages, and the Web gives people<br />the chance to compare, rate, question, talk back, and-most<br />importantly-act.<br /><br />The essence of the Web is action. We go to the Web because we<br />have a task; there is something we need to do; there is a<br />problem we need to solve. What helps us do? What helps us act?<br />Written words. The oxygen of the Web is written words. There is<br />no life on the Web without written words.<br /><br />Written words are the tools of the communicator. But these<br />written words have a very different function on the Web. I<br />analyze a lot of government websites. Unfortunately, too many<br />overflow with vanity, pomposity and waffle. Some of them are<br />little more than campaign websites full of puff pictures of<br />preening peacock politicians.<br /><br />Many web teams still struggle to convince their PR and<br />communications colleagues that on the Web you communicate by<br />doing. A friend of mine was worried about his wife, who had just<br />given birth. She was not well and he believed that the doctor<br />has misdiagnosed her.<br /><br />He went to the Web, and on his journey to find out, ended up on<br />some government websites, where he was faced with puff PR about<br />how much the government was investing, and what the Minister for<br />Health had for breakfast. He didn't want to know how much was<br />being invested. He wanted help; he wanted to read content that<br />could help him find out what exactly was wrong with his wife.<br /><br />He found answers, and he was right-she had been misdiagnosed.<br />This is the power and potential of the Web, and this is the<br />challenge and opportunity for the communicator. Show by doing.<br />Inform with active verbs. Make your words work for your<br />customers.</blockquote></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-22392952915022107342008-02-04T08:40:00.000+01:002008-02-04T11:06:30.750+01:00The Internet is now Fair GameJust so you know - the Internet has now changed forever.<br /><br />Regular channels, including the media and 90% of the bloggers who blog about bloggers, didn't notice the IRC and the /chan/b/ activities and the 'sudden' arrival of a group of Internet activists known as Anonymous and their coordinated attack against Scientology.<br /><br />This isn't an alt.2600 play like, 'c4n sUm1 h31p m3 w1tH h4x0RiNg mY sk00lz c0mPz?'<br /><br />Here's a few links:<br /><br />1st Contact (Jan 21, 2008)<br /><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v<wbr>=JCbKv9yiLiQ&feature=related</a><br /><br />2nd Contact (Jan 28, 2008)<br /></div> <div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrkchXCzY70" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v<wbr>=YrkchXCzY70</a><br /><br />Code of Conduct (Feb 1, 2008)<br /></div> <div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-063clxiB8I" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v<wbr>=-063clxiB8I</a></div><br />The Economist claims that,<br /><blockquote>'it [Anonymous] is promoting cyberwarfare techniques normally associated with extortionists, spies and terrorists.'</blockquote> No it's not. Here's why:<br /><br />The economy of the developed world is moving from focusing on producing goods (i.e. cars, houses, food, and computers) to being based on the exchange of information. This shift may be compared to the transition from feudalism to capitalism where the power shifted away from the landed aristocracy to the newly enriched bourgeoisie. Recently, the power shifted from the owners of productive capital (i.e. factories) to those of informational capital.<br /><br />As predicted by Marx, we have seen a strong shift away from productive capital to financial capital in the last 15 years. But as the new access points to information increased, the ability for speculative investments to wreck havoc on national economies (such as Mexico’s 1994 crisis, Southeast Asian financial crisis, the sub-mortgage debacle last year) became clear. Each day over 3.1 trillion dollars is traded in international currency markets. Financial capital was the overwhelming power of the state - as we see with the Chinese government owning 80% of the US national debt, it isn't any more.<br /><br />Now, the economy has entered a new stage [I have discussed new economic models before, especialy the XY model] and a new class has gained power. This new class of "info-bourgeoisie" have become targets as hackers fight over the 'technopower' that has arisen from the imbalance of information ownership. Thus the recent 'corporatization' of the Internet' and the public efforts to move to a post-capitalist and socialistic economic model?<br /><br />Although they have only recently raised their public head, Anonymous, the g00ns - as well as many other backchannel groups - have been around for a long time and have been active for several years. They are very good at what they do and better at exploiting what they want you to notice them doing.<br /><br />Some of these groups, as reported in the broad media, ARE a self-mobilizing collection of scriptkiddies (whitehat operators) but more [certainly more than you want to know about] are individually funded by corporate, government and military 'onint', 'intint or 'nn' programs.<br /><br />This is not new - this is not the beginning - this is not a conspiracy theory - this is real and it is certainly is not the end.<br /><br />Traditionally, following the storyline of Frank Abagnale Jr., who was hired by the Ant-Fraud section of the american FBI, the US, French and Israeli military has been the best employers and trainers of online intelligence agents to 'search' the Internet and 'gather' darkchannel information. The creation of 'honeypots' has been publicly downplayed for several years and the skill of these institutionalized hackers is extraordinary.<br /><br />But as new money rolled in, self-proclaimed "ethical" hackers now work on blackhat operations for private and semi-public figures/organizations all over the world.<br /><br />Sound like a Bond movie? No. Darknet is very real. There are a reported 5000-8000 DDoS every day. Repeat: EVERY DAY. That's not including other l33tspeak activity - and this is definately not lutz matter.<br /><br />Hackers are move beyond their previous limitations (broad gender based, deeper politicized, and more concern for recruitment and teaching) and have now become hacktivists. They work with non-technologically based and technology-borrowing social movements in the struggle for global justice.<br /><br />Humanitarian organizations need to get more involved with technologically based social movements or face difficulty continuing to maintain their power base to the new technopower elite.<br /><br />Smart people can do the research and see where I am going with this; the Internet has changed and Anonymous (and groups like them) are now public. Their call to action on February 10th will be successful and this meme will not pass.<br /><br />They are Anonymous<br />They are Legion<br />They do not forgive<br />They do not forget<br />They will be heard<br />Expect them<div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-4232719411028105232008-01-16T15:13:00.000+01:002008-01-16T15:18:54.715+01:00Facebook's Privacy Policy - First Bite?<span style="font-style: italic;">Tip to Australia's man in New York - Micheal - and Tom Hodgkinson</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1 We will advertise at you</span><br /><br />"When you use Facebook, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, add applications, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalised features."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2 You can't delete anything</span><br /><br />"When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3 Anyone can glance at your intimate confessions</span><br /><br />"... we cannot and do not guarantee that user content you post on the site will not be viewed by unauthorised persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of user content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other users have copied or stored your user content."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4 Our marketing profile of you will be unbeatable</span><br /><br />"Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (eg, photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalised experience."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5 Opting out doesn't mean opting out</span><br /><br />"Facebook reserves the right to send you notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6 The CIA may look at the stuff when they feel like it</span><br /><br />"By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States ... We may be required to disclose user information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. We do not reveal information until we have a good faith belief that an information request by law enforcement or private litigants meets applicable legal standards. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity perpetrated through the Facebook service or using the Facebook name, or to prevent imminent bodily harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies."<br /><br />Want more bite? Read <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook">this</a> ...<div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-36574503038274425972008-01-11T17:33:00.000+01:002008-01-11T17:38:02.299+01:00Tweens on the net – constructing a social spaceMattel, a large and well-researched toy/gadget manufacturer, dubs the trend “KAGOY” – Kids Are Growing Older Younger.” Recently, a few items surfaced that support this trend. According to a Jupiter Research report, nearly one-half of children (in the US) between the ages of 12-13 and one-third of children ages 10-11 will have cellphones by the end of 2007.<br /><br />A Nielsen Study completed in December 2007 revealed that 35% of tweens (ages 8-12) have a mobile phone and 20% have used text messaging.<br /><br />And you know that the EU, India (the new America) are not far behind.<br /><br />But, according to eMarketer, the reach of social networks is set to plateau in 2008.<br /><br />Huh? <br /><br />Although young people (kids and 'tweens') are the largest single source of growth in the future, the rising concern about the perils of sharing personal information online, breaches of privacy and security and the dangers of revealing too much (as the media hypes at hyper speed), there will be a transition on how youth will look and use technology.<br /><br />What is really represents is that investors will slowly shift from putting their (your) money into the oversold Web 2.0 markets and switch to more lucrative markets - soaking youth into long-term payment plans. <br /><br />Easy cash? Consumer advertising at its worse?<br /><br />Not really - the so called 'mobile advertising' will not take-off as predicted and although young internet users tend to will spend longer online; they also explore options and seek value for their money. <br /><br />Examples are BlueCrest Capital Finance, which provided $10 million in new debt financing to KAJEET, a pay-as-you-go cell phone service made from 'a kid’s point of view' and sold at Toys “R” Us and Longs Drugs Stores in the US.<br /><br />Tween-only websites - the cyberspace constructions of the new generation, only help to commercialize and support the definition of this micro-economy from a purely marketing standpoint.<br /><br />While researching a paper that I'm writing, I saw that these results were echoed by The NPD Group’s 'Kids and Consumer Electronics Trends III' report, which notes that the average age at which children begin using consumer electronics devices is now 6.7 years, down from an average of 8.1 years found by a similar 2005 study.<br /><br />Ever hear of a Silicon Valley gaming startup called Elementeo and its 13-year old founder and CEO, Anshul Samar?<br /><br />Across Europe, the social and cultural gap will widen between seniors (ages 55 or older) who join the online population, and the younger generation. In developing nations - it a magnitude more extreme.<br /><br />It's being proven (not yet but almost) that technologies teens use, such as cell phones, weblogs, wikis, digital cameras, iPods, and Sidekicks is changing the way that youth recognize and respond to the emotional states they commonly experience - if only frequently changing students’ physiological states to prevent them from getting bored or mentally checking out.<br /><br />Sites like the the PBS tween focused website, 'It’s My Life' draws on this discourse and positions the tween as vulnerable, and suggests that risks are to be avoided through access to information and social and emotional support. However, one could also argue that the tween is addressed as a serious and intelligent Internet user—nothing on this site is ‘dumbed down’ and there are no condescending attempts to appeal to tween popular culture. <br /><br />Tween evaluation of risk-taking in social environments (sex, violence, substance abuse, illegal activities, etc) and the way they look at 'faith', new age spirituality or religious participation are also changing.<br /><br />Technology will influence biological and maturational changes that occur during puberty, highlighting changes in brain development during adolescence. <br /><br />Technology driven changes to risk taking is common in contemporary society and leads to substantial loss.<br /><br />Adolescent-risk taking behavior is a function of these neurological changes and suggests that educators (and marketers) will have to watch out and adapt.<br /><br />For the better? <br /><br />Time will tell.<div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-19381297451351720132008-01-11T01:08:00.001+01:002008-01-11T01:11:18.427+01:00Reading and writingbook: table for one<br /><br />paper: technological influence of risk-taking in social micro-environments (research paper on youth and technology)<div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-57804704937202701532007-07-12T01:18:00.000+02:002007-07-12T02:41:45.849+02:00Theoretical Man - Archetype IIOK - been awhile but many things are happening ... anyways, I read lots.<br /><br />I was reviewing the <a href="http://www.genetics-and-society.org/newsdisp.asp?id=1031" target="_blank">article</a> by Cathy Young a while back and then I was reading <a href="http://uncondition.blogspot.com/2007/06/reboot-90-ah-theoretical-man-archetype.html" target=" _blank=">Theoretical Man - Archetype II</a> on Dannie's blog and it seems to be a movement of thought. Googled around and yes - there is discussion.<br /><br />Indeed, it's difficult to find a contemporary work of research OR science fiction that does not engage with the ideas of the transhumanism or the 'next man' complex. We see this in the shape of natural evolution but also in cybernetic implants, genetic reconstruction or (my bedtime reading of) cognitive engineering and synthetic biology.<br /><br />Both reads offer interesting - and I really do mean interesting - ideas and concepts but in both of their arguments, there is an element of 'conscious decision making' whereas I think that this movement is more natural, inevitable and rather close at hand.<br /><br />And it will happen again and again because man is simply a combination of nature and philosophy. A product of science and religion. The by-product of our current societies.<br /><br />Some may say that the rapid fertility decline in most advanced industrial nations, coupled with secularization and the disintegration of the family, is a sign that man (civilization) is beginning to collapse, even while radical religious movements pose challenges to so called 'western dominance' but what is that really saying? That the idea of a changing 'humanness' is already with us? Moving slowly but present nonetheless.<br /><br />I don't agree because this argument is one sided and the general discussion has lost its neutrality and perspective.<br /><br />In theory, current developments in biotechnology, including human genetics, human-animal hybridization, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pharmacologicals</span>, and robotics advocate both great benefit and tremendous challenges to a truly human future. But how are we analyzing the ways they may affirm or erode human well being? Aren't we basing our evaluation with respect to how we see society today?<br /><br />Isn't that the wrong approach?<br /><br />Under these circumstances, it is pointless to be cautious about developing converging technologies that undermining the entire basis of ethical decision-making, so it is necessary to seek a new basis for social acceptance and the uneasy relations between science (read: nature) and religion (read: ethics).<br /><br />And remember: ethics, like humans, are not to be considered north, east, south or 'western'.<br /><br />So what are the REAL prospects for developing a new and self-sustaining civilization or 'theoretical man'?<br /><br />I think it was W.H. Auden who said that:<br /><blockquote> 'We are all here on earth to help others. What I can't figure out is what the others are here for.'</blockquote>And I think that this is exactly the problem. Without the concept of the singularity, societies overlap and because of this, minds overlap - and ethics overlap - and values overlap. This is nature and there is no linear solutions to be had.<br /><br />Human evolution has many conflicting work streams and the critical lines are very very red. The future of man is, at this moment, undefinable.<br /><br />Hopefully, it will always be so.<br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'transhumanism'." href="http://technorati.com/posts/tag/transhumanism" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> transhumanism</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'ethics'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/ethics" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">ethics</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'religion'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/religion" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">religion</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'david galipeau'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/david+galipeau" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">...</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-35428288314252793372007-06-06T23:21:00.000+02:002007-06-06T23:42:42.627+02:00I agree with Andrew KeenI've been asked a few times about the 'AK' affair and I must say - I totally agree with him beacuse he isn't saying much. All he's saying to those who are listening is, 'Move on'. <br /><br />If you can avoid it - and believe me, many are stuck and many more will try to bleed the this dead horse - don't get stuck in the Web 2.0 sitcom - it's becoming a formula novel.<br /><br />Listen, the sun is shining, it's beautiful out here and there's a big world on the other side of the 2.0 fence - now go out and play!<br /><br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'keen'." href="http://technorati.com/posts/tag/andrew+keen" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Keen</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'web 2.0'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/web%202.0" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">Web 2.0</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Web next'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/nextweb" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">Web Next</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'david galipeau'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/david+galipeau" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">...</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-25821492850397632522007-05-22T14:42:00.000+02:002007-05-22T16:40:12.645+02:00The most important discussion of our times has finally startedThere’s been lots of blogging about double amputee <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius">Oscar Pistorius</a>, a sprinter who uses a pair of Össur <a href="http://www.ossur.com/prosthetics/feet/sprintfeet">carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs </a>called ‘<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/sports/20070514_RUNNER_GRAPHIC.html">Cheetahs</a> ’ ... In case you haven’t read – he wants to be included in the Olympics and the IAAF has said no - Pistorius has run the 400 meter dash in 46.56 seconds and the 100 meters in an impressive 10.91 seconds.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p5FI_8IHTXA"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p5FI_8IHTXA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />This is notable, because this is the start of the public debate about the question of, ‘what-do-we-do-when …’<br /><br />This debate will then certainly move towards other biotechnologies that result in increased intelligence, better memory and improved emotional control include genomics, nanotechnology and <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=836648">neuropharmaceuticals</a>.<br /><br />Of course, there are people alive today who are already reaping the benefits of these technologies. Paraplegics are using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-computer_interface">neural interface devices </a>to control computers, allowing them to type, move pointers, and play games with their minds.<br /><br />Synthetic neurons have been around since the <a href="http://www.biophysj.org/cgi/reprint/65/3/1196.pdf">early 90's</a> (PDF), but recently research created a series that can take over the processing responsibilities of dead or dying neurons (conditions that are brought about by such diseases as Alzheimer’s); humans will soon be using cybernetic prostheses to assist in cognition.<br /><br />But cognitive enhancements are also a way to alleviate the arbitrariness of the genetic lottery. Perhaps, a strong techno-ethical case can be made that the availability of such enhancements will help us work toward social justice, but I don’t see it that way. Together, with each society pushing and pulling us, we don't use our 'common sense' like individual humans would.<br /><br />It is often said that common sense will be the remedy that would cancel out the need for cosmetic neurology but the bigger question that creates the fuzziness is, ‘What constitutes a person to be ‘more’ or ‘less’ human?’<br /><br />The safe answer based on biology has a cognitive bias (after all, we are humans making decisions about humans, ain't we?).<br /><br />Let's be honest - our definition of a ‘human’ is very arbitrary at the moment. We have a much narrower understanding of what a ‘robot’ is that we do a ‘human’. So, as much as we should debate the ‘man-machine’ question – that debate is already passed. We missed the debate and we are missing the point.<br /><br />Don’t get me wrong, neurotechnologies, whether they are cybernetic or pharmaceutical, will offer grand opportunities to overcome physical and psychological disorders but I think the current discussion is being misdirected - the real ethical debate (and the real risk) should be focused on artificial intelligence.<br /><br />I am getting bored with all the 'big media' discussions about social media tools and apps and how they can reduce the digital divide and how these 'tools' influence our society and new generations to come but it's only a literary debate - not an educated and informed debate.<br /><br />It's clear that those pushing the vanilla envelope of Web 2.0 have to earn a buck but it's also very clear that those already at Web n+1 need to introduce a different mode of thinking.<br /><br />In the coming decade, humanity will create a powerful AI. Paying homage to the almighty <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom_line">bottom line</a>, business will use this 'wonder' to help manage our economies, our logistics and our information. But, without the cognitive bias that protects us (human decision making with all it's faults and frailties), we are in the midst of giving up our right to decide the rules.<br /><br />Decisions will be made for us. And who do you think they will decide for?<br /><br />So - FINALLY- the discussion <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>predicted by Clarke, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Heinlein">Heinlein</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibson_%28novelist%29">Gibson </a>has started.<br /><br />And it's about time - I could hardly wait any longer ... and neither can humanity.<br /><br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'transhumanism'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/transhumanism" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Transhumanism</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'cybernetics'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/cybernetics" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">cybernetics</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'artificial+intelligence'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/artificial+intelligence" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">artificial intelligence</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'david galipeau'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/david+galipeau" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">...</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-26142857955740549502007-04-12T16:21:00.000+02:002007-04-12T16:47:01.270+02:00Technology and the belief of GodWe were discussing an as yet unpublished paper (thus - no link) about technology and Religion and there always seems to be allot of qualified people offering the scientific and technical reasons why God 'cant exist' or religion isn't true.<br /><br />Clearly, the three most common Web sites are porn, health and religious ones. Obviously, porn and health are not surprising, but religion as number three is.<br /><br />That should be telling us something. People want their porn without going to seedy theaters and getting it in brown paper packages. People crave religion and spirituality without having it crammed down their throats in a Church, Synagogue, Mosque (or wherever).<br /><br />Anonymity and having the user be the one in charge have driven the growth of the internet as well as the online porn and spirituality engines. Technology has allowed thousands - if not millions - of people to begin to develop sexually and spirituality outside of the traditional power structures or social norms.<br /><br />So if the role of religion, organized or not, is to meet human need on a social or community level, then surely technology - which arguably has transformed the way groups of people communicate - has a role in religion and thus, society as a whole.<br /><br />But Plato once said that, 'man does not discover anything - he merely exhumes what's fed into him' so I did a quick poll of my students, friends and colleagues in this space and asked them:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'What do you think was the science or technology invention that most damaged peoples ability to believe or understand religion?'</blockquote>Below is the top 10 of my unscientific research - I checked around on the net and these 'inventions' seem to be supported but not necessarily in this order. Either way - I was a bit surprised.<br /><br />1. Artificial Intelligence<br />2. Creation of a standardized and free education system<br />3. Literacy<br />4. The printed and freely available Bible<br />5. Availability of the Pill (the sexual revolution)<br />6. Transportation and mobility<br />7. Application of economic theory and the creation of the 'middle class'<br />8. The telescope<br />9. Mathematics that led to 'logic' theory<br />10. Psychiatry (discovery of the 'Self')<br /><br />So where will religion and technology be in the mid-future?<br /><br />Clearly - there will be no centralized church structures - mainstream religion will finally understand and embrace telecommuting, so to speak.<br /><br />The definition of a religious place or center will have to be re-imagined and the concept - or even the believability - of a God in the context of a digital world and in terms of cause-and-effect science will remain 'untestable voodoo'.<br /><br />But isn't that what most non-IT people think of IT? Try to explain 'usability' to an tax accountant and you know what I mean.<br /><br />But in the end - geeks know that IT isn't voodoo - and maybe religion isn't either.<br /><br />PS - kudos to <a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041207K.shtml">Vonnegut </a>- he beat the this sad little system of ours.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Vonnegut'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://technorati.com/tag/Vonnegut" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Vonnegut</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'religion'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://technorati.com/tag/religion" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">Religion</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'God'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://www.technorati.com/search/God" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">God</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'david galipeau'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://www.technorati.com/search/david+galipeau" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">...</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-54108990437990476312007-04-11T14:56:00.000+02:002007-04-11T16:06:35.685+02:00Hey Galipeau - you still around? Part IIHey y’all – too busy to write these days – my plan to take a few months off didn’t quite work out as well as I thought. Four projects – three pending funding applications - two papers – a book review and a 'wait and see' … Ubi bene, ibi patria!!<br /><br />Couple of ideas that I am playing with and a few comments about what’s going on.<br /><br />IDEA:<br /><br />Thought <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6543185.stm">this </a>article about using Google maps in security zones was interesting (thx to Natascha in Darfur).<br /><br />Nothing new here but the way it ‘could’ be used may be interesting. A new approach about to begin? Sent it off to a UN friend (and excellent <a href="http://www.richardmaciver.com/">photographer</a>) that is working on a large project in this direction.<br /><br />PROJECT:<br /><br />Gigi poked me a while back with <a href="http://www.numenta.com/about-numenta/numenta-technology.php">this </a>(Numenta.com) and I am certainly enlightened.<br /><br />A cognitive approached to knowledge and the impact of information are an interesting mashup but how does one capture this. <a href="http://www.numenta.com/for-developers/software/note-from-jeff.php">Jeff Hawkins</a>, best known as co-founder of Palm and Handspring, may have it.<br /><br />HCI, AI and Robotics are going through some of the greatest re-thinking in it's history and rightly so - the scientists had it all wrong - cognitive theory is a small world but is starting to have a great influence on how the near- and far-future will really turn out.<br /><br />Currently writing an hypothesis of using hierarchical temporal memory (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchical_Temporal_Memory">HTM</a>) theory, coupled with face recognition on a large scale project that I am working on.<br /><br />BLOGS:<br /><br />Nothing new so I have been following this latest '<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6540385.stm">development</a>' on blog security and the 'code of conduct', etc.<br /><br />I think that 'bloggers that blog about blogs that blog about themselves' (BTBABTBAT) should realize that no one with an independent mind really cares about this. It’s a basic marketing 101 play - not even a grad level tactic.<br /><br />Understanding that blogs are simply websites that people update often - no different than when AOL 1.0 for Windows was released in 1993 started the 'online personal opinion' movement - why would there special rules? Not that I condone the threats but is Kathy Sierra the first person on the Internet to be threatened?<br /><br />It’s one of the few times that I’ll side with Jeff Jarvis but seriously? If big media wasn’t pulling the BTBABTBAT puppet strings on this story - this would be a non-issue. I’m bored already.<br /><br />READ:<br /><br />++ <a href="http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/">Fakesteve</a><br />++ <a href="http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/apr07/4986/2">Simputers </a>– could use this for a project<br />++ bootleg papers (not sure how I got these) by <a href="http://www.utoronto.ca/mcluhan/derrickdekerckhove.htm">Derrick de Kerckhove</a> about technopsychology - an exploration of collective consciousness as it is applied to mobility ... another near-future project potential<br /><br />HEAR:<br /><br />++ Zero 7<br />++ K&D Sessions (old skool)<br />++ Frou Frou<br /><br />THINK:<br /><br />++ In late 2003, Google had 8 petabytes of hard-disk storage. As of last week, the Google cluster now has 8 petabytes of collective RAM. About the size of the human brain. Hmmmm.<br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Code+of+conduct'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://technorati.com/tag/code+of+conduct" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Code of Conduct</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'numenta'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://technorati.com/tag/numenta" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">Numenta</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Cognitive+Theory'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://www.technorati.com/search/Cognitive+Theory" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">Cognitive Theory</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'david galipeau'." href="http://www2.blogger.com/%20http://www.technorati.com/search/david+galipeau" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">...</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-46900584493599529532007-03-26T21:05:00.000+02:002007-03-26T21:31:22.893+02:00Ricky Gervais saves AfricaTalking about 'making a buck or making a difference', here's a nice spoof. Stay till the end!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e-ia__1d_rM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e-ia__1d_rM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Thx to my Boston (part-time Hawaii) friend <a href="http://www.remtheory.com/">Rachel </a>for the poke!<br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Ricky+Gervais'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/ricky+gervais" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Ricky Gervais</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Red Nose Day'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/red+nose+day" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">Red Nose Day</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Digital Divide'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/digital+divide" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">Digital Divide</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'david galipeau'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/david+galipeau" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">...</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-5837974650260433282007-03-13T09:38:00.000+01:002007-03-13T10:57:05.300+01:00Challenges with technological equalityI was recently having a in depth discussion about the 'digital divide' with a foundation start-up in Asia when they complained that,'We all read that we will never achieve some economic Independence unless we have open source apps, Blogs, electronic demonstrations and protests, Internet centers, $100 laptops, broadband and whatever. Which is it? Which is the most important? Where do we focus?'<br /><br />It's true that we in the west are always directing which is which but what about the concerns of underdeveloped nations? What's the key?<br /><br />A participant chocked up an obvious answer - social media and e-protests.<br /><br />But there are catches, aren't there? As the so-called 'blogging', social media and e-protest movements grow broader and noisier, its focus will surely become less sharp. After all, everyone can agree that governments should 'do more' but when it comes to choosing between specific responses, it may be harder to teach the world to click in perfect harmony.<br /><br />And there is no reason to assume that global e-campaigns will always be mounted in 'progressive' causes: what about e-movements for the death penalty or for more curbs on immigration?<br /><br />I think that the voters' faith in old-fashioned parties is at a low ebb in many democracies. E-protest may or may not disrupt the sleep patterns of world leaders; but it has already made life more interesting for hundreds of thousands of jaded citizens.<br /><br />But so what?<br /><br />Another standard - identifying the problem exclusively as an economic deficiency - also rings inappropriate: the digital divide expresses itself also in the impossibility to use digital technologies within a considerable percentage of the industrialized countries population. This means that even when people can afford buying a computer or a mobile phone, they are not automatically capable of using it.<br /><br />The <a href="http://topics.developmentgateway.org/elearning">Development Gateway</a> has some great resources about education and training. This is an excellent starting points for anyone willing to train or self-train on topics such as Open Publishing, Internet security and anonymous usage, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) implementation for local needs and since recently production of audio and video content over the Internet.<br /><br />But again - so what? You still need a platform and access to the Internet. That cuts out a large path for rural communities.<br /><br />Recently, I moderated a Digital Divide panel at <a href="http://www.liftconference.com/videos/">LIFT07</a> with <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ecls/staff/profile/sugata.mitra">Dr. Sugata Mitra</a> of the 'Hole in the Wall' project. Here is an excellent example of self-organizing education (read the <a href="http://www.hole-in-the-wall.com/Findings.html">results</a>) but it still involves an amount of technology that is unsustainable and unaffordable to the average rural community.<br /><br />So where do we go from here?<br /><br />The famed One Laptop per Child (<a href="http://www.laptop.org/index.de.html">OLPC</a>) project isn't the answer. The basic idea has not changed: create a rugged, efficient, powerful but intuitive laptop and get education ministries around the world to buy it for their young people in large numbers.<br /><br />True: No order below one million laptops will be accepted but Negroponte insists that this is 'an education project, not a laptop project,' but in reality, the value of the project is as a Trojan horse: You think you’re getting an e-book reader or a math helper when the real value is that kids with laptops, connected to each other and to the world will talk to each other - organize - learn - communicate - tolerate.<br /><br />So what’s not to love?<br /><br />First of all, much more attention is being paid to the technology than the software and more to software than support and more to support than the impact. Secondly, while $100 alone doesn’t sound like much, it sure adds up: buying one laptop for each Nigerian child would use up 73% of the country’s total budget!<br /><br />So, where does this fall on the love-hate spectrum?<br /><br />Lets face it - no one wants to be left behind. Everyone wants to be India; everyone wants to be a cyber-nation going forward, whether you’re Rwanda or Ghana. But once a government is actually think about putting this device in the hands of every student, you have real questions about what the classroom is going to look like. There is really interesting pedagogical theories to be discussed. What about the teachers and the classrooms in schools?<br /><br />Clearly, the combination of open technologies and a redesigned education curriculum is the key but if you think about it - so, again, this is a very linear solution that isn't very well thought out.<br /><br />To be effective, there are three issues that must be considered:<br /><br />Economy:<br /><br />The lack of opportunities for business and the low level of economic progress that characterizes most of the developing countries is certainly the primary reason for slow technology uptake. The governments of poor countries must challenge themselves with more pressing concerns, such as food, health care and security, rather than technological improvements.<br /><br />As a result, the population of these countries will not reach higher levels of education and is not provided with the knowledge that is necessary to create any lasting impact or value.<br /><br />Usability:<br /><br />Proprietary or open source, digital technologies are still far from being simple and 'easy to use'. This issue is valid both for educated and uneducated people and is transverse to any geographical locations. Many people would still be unable to use a computer even if they got it for free.<br /><br />Right now, the level of literacy skills among computer owners is very low: only 40%.<br /><br />Additionally, only a few websites follow the <a href="http://galipeau.blogspot.com/2006/03/guidelines-for-low-literacy-readers.html">guidelines</a> for writing for low-literacy users and many institutional sites aimed at poorer citizens usually adopt a very complicated language.<br /><br />Lower literacy, however, is different than illiteracy.<br /><br />People with lower literacy can read, but they encounter difficulties doing so. The most remarkable difference between lower- and higher-literacy users is that lower-literacy users can't understand a text by glancing at it. They must read word for word and often spend considerable time trying to understand multi-syllabic words.<br /><br />Senior users, a growing and very under-utilized population, face accessibility problems but again, there is little interest in the <a href="http://galipeau.blogspot.com/2006/03/guidelines-for-low-literacy-readers.html">guidelines</a> for making websites easier for older users.<br /><br />Empowerment:<br /><br />Most of the people who use digital technologies are still trapped to a limited use of their capabilities and are not yet ready to make a step forward. The so called digital divide has as much to do with equitable property rights, basic human rights and legal equality as it does with access to technology.<br /><br />The integration of enhancing technologies MUST be added to broad projects that focus on poverty reduction and rights equality instead of the other way around.<br /><br />The challenge won't be resolved with 'open' this or 'open' that - they'll only be resolved with an open mind.<br /><br />Now THAT'S real challenge.<br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'human rights'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/human+rights" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> human rights</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'digital divide'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/digital+divide" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">digital divide</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'one laptop'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/one+laptop" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">$100 laptop</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'united nations'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/united+nations" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">united nations</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-20122581527704324232007-02-28T21:57:00.000+01:002007-02-28T23:14:51.717+01:00Neural Internet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/200610/fuchu01_720_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/200610/fuchu01_720_3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Reading some papers on the Neural Internet - a new technological advancement in brain computer interface (BCI) research, which enables locked-in patients to operate a Web browser directly with their brain potentials.<br /><br />Descartes - the man behind 'Cogito, ergo sum' - is also the name a system that uses neuronal signals from the brain and transforms them to binary or multi- dimensional computer commands enabling the patient to surf the Internet and read and send e-mails.<br /><br />In Descartes (the system), the commands are arranged in a dichotomous decision tree based on a modified Huffman’s algorithm.<br /><br />For those that really want to know how this is done, google it or here's a short list:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >• Electroencephalographically (EEG)-controlled Web browser using SCPs, SMR/beta EEG-rhythms,<br />or P300 evoked potentials<br />• Invasive methods using electrocorticographic activity (ECoG),local field potentials or neuronal action potentials<br />• Metabolic brain activity measured by hemodynamic</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > methods such as near infrared spectroscopy</span><br /><br />But where is this going? Where's this going?<br /><br />Although the functioning of the neural Internet and its clinical implications for motor impaired patients are highlighted, these techniques will bubble up to the common user within the next 15 years. That's right young moms and pops - your children (and maybe even some of you readers) will be able to access and maneuver within the Internet with thoughts alone.<br /><br />The ultimate nextgen SecondLife app.<br /><br />Future studies will have to investigate under which social conditions neural Internet can be offered to a wide range of users that do not suffer from any significant communication impairment. In general, it can be assumed that if a patient can achieve reliable control of any brain signal, which can be used as a binary or even as a multidimensional input signal for a BCI system, any standard Internet functionality can be implemented based on this signal.<br /><br />As seen above and on Nakazawa Hideki's <a href="http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/index.html">homepage</a>, applications are already being used in artistic and cultural examples.<br /><br />Neat but for full fledged use on the Internet, this is in the long-term planning.<br /><br />In the mid-term, the plan is that we will be using a combination of a voice/neural mash to navigate virtual space. Our minds are naturally able to do simple and routine 'transactions' or 'events' - while voice recognition apps manage the complicated commands.<br /><br />Here's a scenario:<br /><blockquote>[voice] 'browser, url wired magazine'<br />[mind] (following retina reader) scroll down left hand navigation<br />[mind] (neuronic activity map) click on 'News'<br />[voice] 'search negroponte'<br />[mind] (retina reader) click 3rd search result<br />[mind] (retina reader) click on $100 laptop<br />[voice] 'bookmark, print and send url to JohnnyG'<br />[mind] (retina reader) find 'send',<br />[mind] (neuronic activity map) click 'Send'<br />[voice] 'back'</blockquote>This complete set of instructions, with practice, would be done in under a minute - in a 'look ma, no hands' fashion.<br /><br />We should be planning for this - forget Web 2.0 - this is the new Internet - this is Web N+1<br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'neural internet'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/neural+internet" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> neural internet</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'voice recognition'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/voice+recognition" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">voice recognition</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Web N+1'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/Web N+1" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">web n+1</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'descartes'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/descartes" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">descartes</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-60917253720847894622007-02-28T17:22:00.000+01:002007-02-28T17:31:34.983+01:00Googlish - new language?<span style="font-style: italic;">... from my moblog via sms ...</span><br /><br />Heard a rumor that Google has been working on a new form of mashed language communication, called 'Googlish,' a common denominator to replace all the world’s languages. It will have its own grammar, vocabulary and spelling rules.<br /><br />Talk about power ...<br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Googlish'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/Googlish" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Googlish</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'language'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/language" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">language</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'translation'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/translation" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">translation</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'esporanto'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/esporanto" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">esporanto</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'communication'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/communication" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">communication</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-80533470045908143212007-02-15T23:01:00.000+01:002007-02-28T09:31:38.496+01:00Digital thinkingOne recent survey of eight to eighteen-year-olds (8-18 year olds) claimed that children were now spending on average 6.5 hours a day using electronic media.<br /><br />Could this screen and multimedia culture impact on thinking and learning behaviors? And what does this mean for social change and the work of us technologists?<br /><br />Obviously, the most notable difference in this age group is the ability to multi-task and, as a tip to Orwell's 'Doublethink' - the death of linear thinking and the integral use of multidimensional thinking.<br /><br />We don't tend to see the impact but will soon - and todays youth start to excel and show their rising competence and excellence in adapting.<br /><br />The journalist Kevin Kelly [the founding editor of Wired] summed up the issue very well:<br /><blockquote>'Screen culture is a world of constant flux, of endless sound bites, quick cuts and half-baked ideas. It is a flow of gossip tidbits, news headlines and floating first impressions. Notions don’t stand alone but are massively interlinked to everything else; truth is not delivered by authors and authorities but is assembled by the audience.'</blockquote>When those of the first half of the twentieth century read a book, most usually the author takes you by the hand and you travel from the beginning to the middle to the end in a continuous narrative series of interconnected steps. It may not be a journey with which you agree or that you enjoy, but nonetheless as you turn the pages one train of thought succeeds the last in a logical, linear fashion.<br /><br />One might argue that this is the basis of modern education. It is the building up of a personalized conceptual framework, where we can relate incoming information to what we know already. We can place an isolated fact in a context that gives it significance. Traditional education has enabled us, if you like, to turn information into knowledge.<br /><br />We of the second half then of course compare one narrative with that of another medium (we read a book and then see the movie and then listen to the audio book with our iPods) another. In so doing we start to build up a conceptual framework that enables us to evaluate further mental jumps and journeys, which in turn will influence our socially networked lives.<br /><br />What about those of this generation – the first of the 21st century - the MySpace youth?<br /><br />Here it is - imagine that there is no robust conceptual framework any more.<br /><br />Imagine that you are sitting in front of a multimedia presentation where you are unable, because you do not have the experience of many different intellectual journeys, to evaluate what is flashing up on the screen.<br />The most immediate reaction instead would be to place a premium on the most obvious feature, the immediate sensory content - call it the 'wow' factor or the 'yuk' factor... or the wii factor.<br /><br />Here's the difference - you would be having an <span style="font-weight: bold;">experience</span> rather than learning.<br /><br />THAT's the difference between us and them. The term 'multidimensional thinking' is equivalent to the idea of 'modal logics' and always requiring an additional dimension for indication and implementation - using feedbacks.<br /><br />Due to the opportunity for communities to leapfrog technologies – this is happening in both the developed (8-18 yr olds) and non-developed world (all populations under 38).<br /><br />Surprised? Well read on.<br /><br />This is exactly what is redefining socio-economic development requirements and is why most of today's ICT and development projects are not producing the results that were expected. Period.<br /><br />We now have access to unlimited and up-to-date information at the touch of a button, but in this new, answer-rich world surely we must ensure that we are able to pose appropriate, meaningful questions.<br />Its not that we are asking the wrong questions – its that we are not recognizing the correct answers.<br /><br />Does this mean that young people are acquiring different skills?<br /><br />It seems that there is currently no conclusive evidence that reading standards are deteriorating. On the other hand, there is evidence that the enjoyment of reading has declined in the last five to ten years.<br /><br />Is our world too linear? More visual?<br /><br />Already the visual icon is often substituting for the written word. Audio - the spoken word - will be increasingly available.<br /><br />We will soon have voice-interface computers – truly the next paradigm shift - embedded in our clothing or personal effects, you might simply need to ask your watch for the date of the <span class="al">Battle of Vimy Ridge</span> or ask your phone to book you a reservation for two at a local sushi shop.<br /><br />Why is voice recognition such a big deal? And what about the effect on the educational/economic divide?<br /><br />Memory.<br /><br />That's it.<br /><br />Memory may no longer be essential for us to 'experience' or 'learn'.<br /><br />Huh? C'mon Galipeau - what'r you talking about? But listen.<br /><br />Here's the deal - the ability to remember today may no longer be as essential as it was for those of us who had to remember such dates or had to learn reams of Latin grammar.<br /><br />Imagination - that mysterious and special cognitive achievement that until now has always made the book so very much better than the film – is taking on a new role. A very prominent role because imagination and reality are mashing in the minds of today's post-2000 crowd. Here's a few question that, if asked and answered empirically, may hold the key:<br /><br />What are the influences on youth/children today?<br />Where is the actual evidence of a new type of impact?<br />What do youth/children need to learn?<br />And, most importantly, how do we deliver these desiderata?<br /><br />Is this shift transhumanism? No.<br /><br />But is this the next level .. let's call it transsocialism? Yes.<br /><br />Technology is not only changing the individuals role in all our distinct societies - its simultaneously changing all the distinct societies – the two don't sync for us (well .. my generation) but it will for the next and for the majority.<br /><br />And – for us all - what a wonderful world it will be. Why? Because this shift promotes the ability of science and technology to go beyond the authority and the norm that is accepted in our current mindset - whatever that is - for physical and mental human enhancement.<br /><br />Wow.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'religion'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/learning" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> learning</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'education'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/education" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">education</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'transocialism'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/transocialism" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">transocialism</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'MySpace'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/MySpace" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">MySpace</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-61531151136392680672007-02-14T22:03:00.000+01:002007-02-15T09:50:26.286+01:00Was LIFT07 a 'Mr. Play-It-Safe'?No.<br /><br />Not at all. But what was most interesting about LIFT07 is what it wasn't.<br /><br />LIFT06 was about talking and there was enough of that at LIFT07 but there's talking - and then there talking with conviction which in my mind equals knowledge.<br /><br />Listen.<br /><br />It's becoming clearer that pervasive personal communication technologies offer the potential for important social benefits for individual users, but there is also the potential for significant social difficulties and costs.<br /><br />In face-to-face social interaction, ambiguity is often identified as an important cue for resolving social difficulties. At LIFT07, and in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">afterclass</span> opportunities and<a href="http://technorati.com/posts/tag/liftconference"> blogs</a>, the 2007 graduating class of LIFT university were overheard discussing concrete actions and reactions - both the fieldwork of commercial systems (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Flickr</span>, Wiki, Lee Bryant at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Headshift</span>, etc.) and, most notable, unrealized social design concepts.<br /><br />My play on this is that we are starting to see (and question) how user behavior in social interactions can be influenced by technological issues that result in ambiguity and unresponsiveness. Read: the focus is too narrow on technology and online social tools are not enough to keep a relationship/community ongoing.<br /><br />We are starting to see the need to balance the utility of social ambiguity against the utility of communicative clarity to get the 'real' value out of all Web 2.0 tools that are being pushed our way. (<a href="http://theobvious.typepad.com/blog/2007/02/communicative_c.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">thx</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Euan</span></a>)<br /><br />Basically, social interaction requires face-work to keep it real. That was more than obvious at LIFT07 (or at any gathering of the social/techno hybrids).<br /><br />Face-work is used to accomplish goals such as avoiding embarrassment and maintaining harmony in relationships as well as credibility and influence. Face-work involves managing the impressions that other people have of your behavior.<br /><br />Technology isn't there yet. We talked about it but it just isn't there.<br /><br />Recognizing this, we discussed the design of social communication tools that can be 'deconstructed' in a way that helps designers in addressing these issues.<br /><br />Usability for the non-user is a great example of this. I had a short but interesting discussion about this with <a href="http://people.epfl.ch/jeffrey.huang">Jeffery Huang</a>. I think he liked it.<br /><br />We now realize that not only the users online benefit from being online. In several instances - those 'wrapped around' the online person benefit as well. So designers of social tools should also consider their 'requirements' as well.<br /><br />I would like to see a '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Snailmail</span> to a Friend' option right beside the 'Email to a Friend' link.<br /><br />Rather than simply looking at novel social communication tools in terms of their effectiveness in transmitting information, we also need to consider their designs in terms of how they address users' overall social needs.<br /><br />That (up there) changes relationships.<br /><br />But this (down there) also changes relationships.<br /><br />One of my key observation at LIFT07, as well as in my daily life as I travel and interact with people all over the globe in all ways thinkable, is that more interpersonal knowledge often makes managing social relationships harder. Sociologists have long argued that 'strong and valuable relationships presuppose a certain ignorance and a measure of mutual concealment' to function smoothly.<br /><br />So - is creating identities in <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=726520022&hiq=galipeau"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Facebook</span>, </a><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/galipeau"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">LinkedIn</span> </a>and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">SecondLife</span> really increasing the value of my online (and offline) relationships?<br /><br />We might, then, think of evaluating designs in terms of their support for creating personal space through ambiguity, a goal that may have to be traded off against the goal of clarity that we usually associate with communication.<br /><br />But that sounds like disconnection. And it is.<br /><br />This led to a new discussion about going <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">noware</span>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.liftconference.com/2007/people/participant/64">Adam Greenfield</a> gave a great talk about <a href="http://speedbird.wordpress.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Everyware</span></a> but I was thinking about <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">noware</span> - how life will be in the future as people decide to disconnect or decide not to get connected at all.<br /><br />The concept of disconnection was largely unaddressed - we all tended to focus on tools that allow interactions to begin with greater spontaneity, rather than on facilitating the ability to avoid, pause or escape interactions as needed. However, many situations exist in which it is desirable to delay or avoid an annoying social communication. With all of our information online - how can we get offline?<br /><br />People are constantly balancing demands on their attention. Even in face-to-face interaction, balancing the attentional demands of quasi-present 'friends' can be difficult. The challenge is much greater as mobile technologies make communication with remote parties more pervasive and intrusive.<br /><br />You know, (to borrow the attitude of my good friend Richard), the truth is that sometimes I prefer listening to the ring tone more than actually answer my phone.<br /><br />So Lifters - what's this got to do with you?<br /><br />Lots.<br /><br />We all bitch about the Web 2.0 hype - but we are living the dream/nightmare right now. And, let's be honest, we know that it's not working.<br /><br />The fundamental problem with the so-called 'social media tools' is that social interaction is an affirmation of a social relationship as well as communication. For this reason, the closing sequence of a telephone call between people with an established relationship often involves an affirmation that they will talk again (and perhaps even when this will happen). Online - we assume - but we just don't know.<br /><br />Read: Disconnected relationships.<br /><br />Consequently, a simple <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">SMS</span> or Twitter or invite to the 'new next' tool contains an element of social insensitivity between people who are not well-attuned to each others' behavior or motivations.<br /><br />Read: Disconnected communities.<br /><br />The combination of me in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">SecondLife</span> and in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Facebook</span> and in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">LinkedIn</span> does not create an 'online personality' in a socially acceptable way - either online or off.<br /><br />Read: Disconnected identity.<br /><br />All my identities online are just pieces of a puzzle. Not exactly what a few stage-jockeys at LIFT07 were telling us in that 'be here - be there - be everywhere - be everyone' power point <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">presentation</span>, eh? But allot of the break-time discussions were touching on it and that's a good sign.<br /><br />I think what LIFT07 attempted to do is to strengthen the dialogue between designers of mediated communication systems and socially linked 'users' in a face-to-face interaction.<br /><br />And, bravo to <a href="http://www.ballpark.ch/blog/">Laurent</a> and his team, I think it worked.<br /><br />I hope that LIFT08 will continue to be brave and design discussions that might include explicit consideration of how users make sense of their interactions and relationships at the meta level.<br /><br />If they do - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">LIFTo</span>8 will be about the next web - Web N+1<br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'LIFT07'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/LIFT07" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> LIFT07</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'disconnect'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/disconnect" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">disconnect</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'liftconference'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/lidtconference" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">liftconference</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'united nations'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/united+nations" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">united nations</span></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-33049193923121166192007-02-06T21:17:00.000+01:002007-02-06T22:01:21.870+01:00Digital divide thoughtsHere's a thought:<br /><br />Was there a 'color TV' divide in the late 1950s?<br /><br />A 'telephone' divide at the beginning of the 20<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> century?<br /><br />A 'cell phone' divide in 1990?<br /><br />Can you add to that the microwave-oven divide, the automobile divide, the video game divide, and the video recorder divide?<br /><br />But seriously, if you were to sit down and compare how much it costs to get on the web in 1995 US dollars (cost of computer plus online service) and today, what would you learn?<br /><br />This is from <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Wayback</span>.org in late 1995, for a middle of the road PC: US$2,340 for an <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">OptiPlex</span> XL 5100 slimline 100MHz Pentium processor, with 8MB RAM, a 540MB hard drive, 15LS color monitor, Windows 95 or Windows 3.11, and a mouse.<br /><br />Memory tells me that a dial-up <span class="caps">AOL </span>account account cost about US$22 in 1995. Today, you can get an online account for US$9.95 and buy a new decent laptop that is a gazillion times more powerful and flexible than the desktop I note above for under US$1000 (soon to be under $100!).<br /><br />If you wanted to buy a used desktop in very good shape your cost is probably close to US$200. And it’s about 100 times better than the 1995 machine.<br /><br />Oh, I should mention that $2,340 in 1995 money is $2,900 in today’s dollars.<br /><br />In other words, it’s never been cheaper to get onto the Net than today. Do people need to get their heads on straight about this digital divide thing?<br /><br />This is whats wrong with this argument:<br /><p>By definition, the digital divide is the chasm separating the haves and have-<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">nots</span> in digital technology. On one side are people who can afford or who have access to computers, a high-speed broadband connection and the plethora of services from online banking to social networking to blogging. On the other side of the equation are people who cannot afford the technology, cannot get broadband access because of their location, or who have learning or cultural limitations to using the technology.</p><p>But it's not only that.<br /></p> <p>There are many digital divides: Rural and urban; poor and rich, immigrant and native; old and young; disabled and able; developing nation and developed nation.<br /></p><p>All these factors have been studied and solutions have been debated for years. In fact, Martin Luther King Jr. talked about such a divide in one of his last speeches four days before he died in 1968:</p> <blockquote><p><span style="font-size:85%;">There can be no gainsaying about the fact that a great revolution is taking place in the world today…That is, a technological revolution with the impact of automation and <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cybernation</span>…Modern man through scientific genius has been able to dwarf distance. Through our genius we have made this world a neighborhood. And yet we — we have not yet had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this.</span></p></blockquote> (Read more about King and the modern day digital divide on this <a title="(external link)" class="external" target="_blank" href="http://www.digitaldivide.net/blog/bbracey/view?PostID=20746">blog post <img class="exticon" src="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/_a/i/outlink.gif" alt="" height="8" width="7" /></a> by Bonnie <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Bracey</span> Sutton at the Digital Divide Network.)<br /><br />By definition, the various digital divides are closing over time to some extent. More people are adopting digital technologies as the costs drop and very few people who have computers abandon them completely.<br /><br />In the <span class="caps">U.S., </span><a title="(external link)" class="external" target="_blank" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16174787/">Nielsen/<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">NetRatings</span> found <img class="exticon" src="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/_a/i/outlink.gif" alt="" height="8" width="7" /></a> that 78% of residential Internet users had broadband connections last November, up from 65% a year earlier.<br /><br />But as far as total broadband penetration in the entire population, the <a title="(external link)" class="external" target="_blank" href="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/at_glance/top20_broad_2005.html"><span class="caps">U.S. </span>came in 16<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">th</span> place <img class="exticon" src="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/_a/i/outlink.gif" alt="" height="8" width="7" /></a> among the top 20 economies worldwide in 2005, according to the International Telecommunication Union.<br /><br />Pew Internet’s <a title="(external link)" class="external" target="_blank" href="http://www.pewinternet.org/trends/User_Demo_1.11.07.htm">most recent survey from December 2006 <img class="exticon" src="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/_a/i/outlink.gif" alt="" height="8" width="7" /></a> showed the stark differences in Internet usage among various groups in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> More than 80% of people aged 18 to 49 use the Internet, while only 33% of those older than 65 do. And in racial groups, 72% of whites and 69% of English-speaking Hispanics use the Net, while 58% of African-Americans do. Plus, 59% of those with a high school education use the Internet, while 91% of college-educated folks do.<br /><br />BUT - If you’re a child growing up in South Korea, your Internet is 10 times faster at half the price than if you’re a child growing up in the Southern Tier or in the South Bronx, New York.<br /><br />Beyond the political rhetoric and research numbers, there are real people stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide in communities around the nation and the world. It's complex but basically, there are three stages:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stage 1: Economic Divide</span><br /><br />In its simplest form, the digital divide is manifested in the fact that some people can't afford to buy a computer. Although politicians always talk about this point, it's growing more irrelevant with each passing day - at least in the industrialized world. We should recognize that for truly poor developing countries, computers will remain out of the average citizen's reach for 20 years or more.<br /><br />In areas like North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia's advanced countries, computer cost is no longer an issue. Dell's cheapest computer costs US$379 (with a monitor) and is about 500 times as powerful as the Mac I used to write my <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"></span> thesis. While it's true that a few people can't even afford US$379, in another five years, computers will be one-fourth their current price. Would that all social problems would go away if we simply waited five years.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stage 2: Usability Divide</span><br /><br />Far worse than the economic divide is the fact that technology remains so complicated that many people couldn't use a computer even if they got one for free. Many others can use computers, but don't achieve the modern world's full benefits because most of the available services are too difficult for them to understand.<br /><br />Almost 40% of the population has lower literacy skills and yet few websites follow the guidelines for writing for low-literacy users. Even government sites that target poorer citizens are usually written at a level that requires a university degree to comprehend. The British government has done some good work on simplifying much of its direct.gov.uk site information, but even it requires at least a high school education to easily read.<br /><br />Lower literacy is the Web's biggest accessibility problem, but nobody cares about this massive user group.<br /><br />Senior citizens face the second-biggest accessibility problem, but again there is little interest in the guidelines for making websites easier for older users. Companies don't even have the excuse that it doesn't pay to cater to this audience, because retirees are rich these days. Even though seniors are the main remaining source of growth in Internet use, companies are still endlessly fascinated by young users and ignore older, richer users who would be much more loyal customers - if only someone bothered to sell to them.<br /><br />Whereas the economic divide is closing rapidly, I see little progress on the usability divide. Usability is improving for higher-end users. For this group, websites get easier every year, generating vast profits for site owners. Because they now follow more e-commerce user experience guidelines, companies that sell online typically have conversion rates of around 2%, which is twice the conversion rate of the bubble years. That's all great news for high-end users, but the less-skilled 40% of users have seen little in the way of usability improvement. We know how to help these users -- we're simply not doing it.<br /><br />The digital revolution can create additional barriers for people with disabilities: for example, by creating a digital divide - a widening of the socioeconomic gap - between people with and those without disabilities, rather than helping to close these gaps.<br /><br />These gaps are highlighted when the disposable income available through the disability pension is compared with the average disposable income of the able bodied. The digital revolution may be at the forefront of a divide between the educational and interrelated disparities of people with disabilities and most of society’s so-called "normal" members.<br /><br />People with disabilities need a collective and empathetic approach so as not to add to the social exclusion and impoverishment they already feel compared to mainstream society. They need to be regarded as more than just the stereotype of people with lesser abilities. They need collective assurances that using technology to develop new skills is not an elusive dream.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stage 3: Empowerment Divide</span><br /><br />We have the knowledge needed to close the digital divide and I remain hopeful that we'll get the job done.<br /><br />The empowerment divide, however, is the hard one: even if computers and the Internet were extraordinarily easy to use, not everybody would make full use of the opportunities that such technology affords. In the west - the Internet is seen as a commercial tool - selling - buying - look at my ads. This ideology is being sold in underdeveloped nation as a consumer tool - they don't need it. What they need is an empowerment tool - an education tool.<br /><br />Because new and inexperienced Internet users lack the initiative and skill to take matters into their own hands, some users remain at the mercy of other people's decisions.<br /><br />....................................<br /><p>The digital divide, on a global scale, doesn't appear to be in the process of shifting dramatically one way or another. While some celebrate one aspect of success here and there, technology does not slow down - catching up to where others were a few years ago means that those years constitute a digital divide. <span></span><span></span></p> The main problem with this is that people working on the digital divide are trying to get everyone up to present day technology when instead they should be preparing everyone for future technology.<br /><br />The irony is that one of the best ways we can coordinate these efforts is through a website and digital technologies — but it would have to accommodate dial-up users.<br /><br />What do you think?<br /><br />Is the digital divide a fading problem or a glaring one that needs to be addressed? What solutions can you envision? If you've got something to say ... drop me a line or if you are in Geneva, Switzerland - come to the panel discussion that I am giving at at <a href="http://www.liftconference.com/2007/index.php">LIFT07</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-16852061879367686212007-01-31T10:55:00.000+01:002007-01-31T11:07:34.502+01:00Hey Galipeau - you still around?I have to apologies for the delay in migrating my blog - it's been a very busy time lately with lots of travel to disconnected locations. Lots going on though and I am still answering emails from the last post :-)<br /><br />2007 will see me creating another new company/consultancy. I am planning to stay in the social networking/media/new technology adaption area but I am also developing a social/tech <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">educational</span> workshop and and naturally, broad online communication strategy - something that I have been doing for over 10 years now. <br /><br />It has already started! This year will also see me off to many wonderful places - Australia, Africa, Asia - and I am evaluating a very interesting Russian project as well. I will stay based in Geneva and will be working on several UN projects as well as a few of my own.<br /><br />I'll be at <a href="http://www.liftconference.com/2007/index.php">LIFT07 </a>next week moderating a panel on the <a href="http://www.liftconference.com/2007/people/participant/252">Digital Divide</a> - come along and join the discussion - I believe it will be quite interesting.<br /><br />I'll be adding some stuff here because I don't think I'll have time to migrate soon - or maybe I'll go to the other Panel - <span class="program-event-cell-title">Dealing with Technological Overload :-)<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-48572375491068999412006-12-24T22:51:00.000+01:002006-12-24T23:50:51.361+01:00Social Communications - Inter Mirifica<div style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" id="wpcontent"> <p>On this Xmas eve, I was having a skypecast with with some people from the <a href="http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/JCP/">Jesuit Communication Project (JCP)</a>. They stated, much to my realization, that Social Communications started with the religious organizations a long time ago.<br /></p><p>Huh?</p><p><a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19631204_inter-mirifica_en.html"><i><b>Inter Mirifica</b></i></a> is the <span class="ilnk">Second Vatican Council's</span> Decree on the Media of Social Communications. It was approved by a vote of 1,960 to 164 of the bishops assembled, and promulgated on <span class="ilnk">December 4</span>, <span class="ilnk">1963</span> by <span class="ilnk">Pope Paul VI</span>. The title, taken from the first line of the document (as is customary with significant <span class="ilnk">Catholic</span> documents), is <span class="ilnk">Latin</span> for 'Among the Wonderful'.</p> <p>The term Social Communication or Social Communications, apart from its more general use, has become the preferred term with agencies and consultants - but let's face it, all communication is social but not all communication is a 'socially benefit'.<br /></p> <p><a name="Contents"></a></p> <a href="http://www.stoweboyd.com/">Stowe Boyd</a> has been writing allot on the social tools and social networking but I wonder what he thinks about how religion has been using these tools lately. My Jesuit friends are convinced that these new tools will bring about the social awareness that's been missing of late. And they say that they are leading the pack of the Web 2.0ers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/idolchatter/">IdolChatter</a> is a good example. It sits over in <a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/blogheaven/">BlogHeaven</a> which list religious blogs from all sides. IdolChatter twists and turns religion into today's news - and it is effective.<br /><br />Why am I on this? As most of you know, I work for the UN and have been trying to get these people up to speed on the development and economic impact of social tools. Too many of the agencies focus on technology and forget that 'social' means 'people' - that people have to be integrated in the decision making. Examples abound but still been a very difficult sell.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Because they are still trying to use what they have. What we have to remember is that a large percentage of these organization - private and public - are still getting use to leveraging a simple website. It's a interesting situation. Web 2.0 is still a distant dream.<br /><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:</span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'religion'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/religion" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;"> religion</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'stowe boyd'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/stowe%20boyd" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">stowe boyd</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'social media'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/social+media" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">social media</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'jesuit'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/jesuit" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">jesuit</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, </span><a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'united nations'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/united+nations" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:85%;">united nations</span></a></p><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-2225259813629110132006-12-24T17:55:00.000+01:002006-12-24T18:04:11.657+01:00just a little cheer ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs6TePkY6A-J22qqC9WopG4oao3MJpSliMZW4_hj_OIg688v79Jty1eXikQV4pj-oconp1uZsIrf3DgOTmvvD9b_m7aMk-4oNpdSpMrmd0l3zP16Xxz4X_TehuLd3hpiblat0/s1600-h/superman_santa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs6TePkY6A-J22qqC9WopG4oao3MJpSliMZW4_hj_OIg688v79Jty1eXikQV4pj-oconp1uZsIrf3DgOTmvvD9b_m7aMk-4oNpdSpMrmd0l3zP16Xxz4X_TehuLd3hpiblat0/s400/superman_santa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012140162368724546" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Well - <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">y'know</span> .. happy <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">silly</span> season .. still in migration mode - a few mishaps but should be online soon .... and yes, I will answer the emails ...<div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-1162120705352800632006-10-29T12:13:00.000+01:002006-12-17T05:46:40.830+01:00Informaticiens sans frontieresI am doing a paper on Media and its role on the digital divide and its clear that in recent years, the connection between the media and internet have had an enormous effect social and economic development in urban area but more noticeably in rural communities.<br /><br />On the other hand, considering the complexity of the technology and the time and money involved in the deployment of the technology, it is highly desirable for economic development practitioners and policy makers to review various aspects of broadband technology deployment in these communities.<br /><br />To make development sustainable, we have to give people a voice and then help them to make that voice heard.<br /><br />It’s our responsibility to steer the course for our industry.<br /><br />Take any group of people from any developing country - demonstrate how the Internet can bring the world to their fingertips, make online computers available to them, and watch what happens.<br /><br />Cynics will question if online shopping, anonymous access to pornography or computer gaming (the big 3 western uses) are worth all the fundraising to bring the Internet to everyone, but one has to pay attention to the obvious positive evidence.<br /><br />Developers are finally starting to think about open source differently.<br /><br />Internet access, software and hardware are all big, profitable businesses that will charge what a market can bear – and if it can't bear much, the businesses will go somewhere else. We know that.<br /><br />But from day one, the Internet has been pioneered by hackers and crackers (let's called them mission-driven volunteers) who continue to pursue a course parallel to the commercial exploitation of cyberspace through the free software or ‘Open Source’ movement.<br /><br />It costs a huge amount of money to operate off a Windows or Mac platform; it costs nothing to use Linux.<br /><br />Source codes - standardized and shared - allow all sorts of innovative software can be developed and re-circulated to anyone who can use it.<br /><br />Finally, the Open Source movement is turning into a sorta 'Informaticiens sans frontières' - this is good but more need to get onboard.<br /><br />The term ‘Information Society’ has been coined to refer to communities in which there is ready access to information and knowledge, leading to sustainable and equitable opportunities for growth and progress.<br /><br />In an Information Society, there is free flow of two-way communication between governments and their people and among the people themselves.<br /><br />It’s not happening.<br /><br />In this fictional society, everyone is informed of current affairs, especially those affecting them directly; and everyone has the ability to make his or her voice heard. That means that everyone has a say in shaping socio-economic plans and strategies of national relevance.<br /><br />Some people even profess to say that we have achieved this ... but there is a thorn in this argument - the media. What do the media have to do with such our brand new Information Society?<br /><br />Without exaggeration, pretty well everything.<br /><br />In an Information Society, communication HAS to reach the masses. It has to seep down to the grass-roots level – to fishing villages by the sea, hamlets on mountainsides and even to remote nomadic settlements wherever they may exist.<br /><br />But Web 2.0 is pushing the one-way transfer - us to them. That's wrong.<br /><br />Community needs and aspirations, culture and values, indigenous wisdom and experience have to filter up to policy makers and other stakeholders in order for communication to truly improve people’s quality of life.<br /><br />The most cost-effective way of achieving such widespread communication is through the mass media and especially the radio. As I have said before - the internet of developing nations IS radio.<br /><br />Of all forms of media – both traditional and new – radio has by far the most pervasive reach. People living in rural areas in many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, depend heavily on the radio to connect them to the bigger world ‘outside’.<br /><br />The potential of newer forms of media – such as the Internet – in non-urban areas is also there. However, these forms of media have not as yet made their way to a large enough area beyond major towns and cities to have significant mass impact.<br /><br />The concentration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in urban enclaves, as we all know, has led to the digital divide which neatly splices the world into its haves and have-nots.<br /><br />Another typical side-effect of Web 2.0.<br /><br />Once again, given the proper incentives (money, naturally), traditional mass media can make a difference.<br /><br />Radio, television and newspaper journalists can make a bigger effort to educate those on ‘the other’ side of the digital divide about ICTs and how they can be used to improve standards and quality of living in up-to-now neglected areas.<br /><br />There is as yet very little reporting on ICTs and their long-term potential and consequences in the traditional media. Yes, superficial news on the launch of an updated version of some hot technology will make the pages of newspapers, but in-depth, analytical and thought-provoking pieces on the impact of ICTs on development do not often appear.<br /><br />Why is that?<br /><br />As a purveyor of information and change, the mass media has a duty to shine the spotlight on this potent tool and agent for global change.<br /><br />However, ICTs on their own are not enough.<br /><br />ICTs depend, for the time being anyway, on the mass media to create greater awareness of the potential benefits that can be derived from it.<br /><br />There are admittedly certain challenges that the mass media has to overcome if it is to fulfill its grass-roots duty. Over the last decade and a half, western media around the world has grown in number and acquired greater freedom with regard to content. In developing nations, mass media is owned by national governments.<br /><br />Financial independence of the media is a positive move towards liberalization BUT this also means greater reliance on advertising which has tended to concentrate media houses in urban areas where there is an obligation to cater to urbanites’ demands. In terms of radio, this has resulted in higher entertainment content and ‘hip’ programs imported from developed nations.<br /><br />Mass media - radio stations in particular - needs to break from the commercial groove and focus more intensely on rural folk as well as other marginalized groups. The ultimate aim is to create what has been termed ‘media pluralism’, namely media that reflects the needs of all members of society, and especially those whose voices have till now been ignored.<br /><br />We should all do our part to help media pluralism materialize by pushing for policies and regulatory frame-works that will facilitate free, plural and inclusive media.<br /><br />We also need to become involved. Make decisions. Act.<br /><br />Get off the Web 2.0 bandwagon that Reilly is pushing - listen to the heart! (Wow - a bit sappy but hey, give it a try)<br /><br />Support locally produced content created by local people – become your own version of an 'Informaticiens sans frontières'.<br /><br />Be a mentor.<br /><br />Be a volunteer.<br /><br />Give your knowledge away to benefit someone.<br /><br />Do it.<br /><br />Act.<div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5980202.post-1160696865130990432006-10-13T01:39:00.000+02:002006-11-03T23:43:42.530+01:00Designing common senseWell, the easy goal is to build a ‘thinking’ system resourceful enough to combine the advantages of many different ways to think about things, by making use of many types of mechanisms for reasoning, representation and reflection.<br /><br />But there are two questions; how can we build a machine with the intelligence of a person but more importantly, why would we want to?<br /><br />The world is getting very complex and quite seriously, we need help to decipher the information overload to decide the proper scenario that we would want to follow.<br /><br />Read: our common sense is becoming useless with so much stimulation. We need help – cognitive help – to redefine our human common sense.<br /><br />There is no shortage of ways to recognizing faces, parsing the syntactic structure of sentences, or planning paths through cluttered spaces but these all fail miserably in comparison to people when it comes to common sense.<br /><br />It’s simple to focus on solutions that can be captured in the form of single, simple method, algorithms and representations, but the world is becoming so varied and complicated that any single such solution fails when presented with problems even slightly different from those they were programmed to handle.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue">Deep Blue</a>, a massively parallel, RS/6000 SP-based computer system that was designed to <a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/User:Forestfarmer/sandbox">beat the grandmaster Kasparov</a>, has the IQ of a Stanley 7 oz. light duty hammer. Not more.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Mind">Minsky’s Society of Mind</a> theory started it all but it looks like this …<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3360/263/1600/minsky.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3360/263/320/minsky.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />OK – that’s inelegant – so we were discussing something simpler, based on some new mathematical principle or universal method of learning or reasoning but can we realistically expect something comparable to the human mind to be reduced to some simple algorithm or principle given the range of things it must be able do?<br /><br />Yes.<br /><br />So for this digital persona, we’re going to try to design a computational model of attitudes - investigating how a persona can be supported by the support of other personas or social agents<br /><br />Read: <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mash+up">mashing</a> non-first-person <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondeterministic_algorithm">non-deterministic algorithms</a> using a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_annealing">simulated annealing</a> approach.<br /><br />Get the mix? If you can - lend us a hand.<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:TimesNewRoman;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <br /><!-- technorati tags start --><br /><p style="text-align: right;font-size:11px;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tags:<a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'digital identity'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/digital+identity" target="blank" rel="tag"> digital identity</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">, <a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'Artificial intelligence'." href="http://technorati.com/tag/Artificial" intelligence="" target="blank" rel="tag"><span style="">artificial intelligence</span></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">, <a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'society'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/society" target="blank" rel="tag">society</a>, <a title="See the Technorati tag page for 'cognitive architecture'." href="http://www.technorati.com/search/Cognitive+architecture" target="blank" rel="tag">cognitive architecture</a>,</span></p><br /><!-- technorati tags end --><div class="blogger-post-footer">... by dg @ information flow\how</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5