Grade Proposition Infographic

Osama Bin Laden's Death discussion

For the last class of the semester, I was sadly not able to attend due to health reasons. I spent the day Monday in urgent care, had a fever among other systems and was just not well enough to attend on Tuesday.

It certainly saddened me, as this class has been of that I've enjoyed: the topic, the readings, my classmates, our discussions and the many things I've learned.

Enough about me, I wanted to try and chime in on the discussion that I missed on Tuesday. According to many of my classmates, the death of Osama bin Laden is what dominated the conversation.

I think his death is a significant, yet symbolic, achievement for the United States. It gives a reinvigorated morale boost to our military. I also think it helps ease the mind of the many people who have been adamantly against the wars we've been fighting.

I go word from NBC News that they would be broadcasting a Special Report around 10:45 on Sunday. The plan was to go live to the White House and have President Obama's address. The president did not take to the podium in the East Room until about 11:15.

The first place I discovered the topic of the president's address was on Twitter. Immediately, people took to the Twitter airwaves to announce the news, then react to the news. Osama and OBL quickly became trending topics.

I think it's interesting how many of the details we learned Sunday were incorrect. You wonder how information can leave the White House and not be correct.

The most interesting part of the incident are some of the surveillance details. The United States reportedly knew of bin Laden's location for more than six months. It came to precise timing as to when the military made the raid. It is also interesting how Pakistan government officials were not involved in the raid nor did they know about it. Also, Osama was hiding within 100 miles of a massive city, not in cave as many suspected.

In the age of information in which we live, how is it possible that someone like bin Laden stay hidden? It is obvious communication had to leave that house, as he is a major leader in the terrorist operation. Also, he was the most wanted man in the world. With Facebook and Twitter, the least wanted person in the U.S. could be identified within minutes.

What are your thoughts?

Deep Thought: Better now or later?

Congratulations, classmates. I firmly believe today's class discussion was our strongest yet this semester. I think it seems most people did most of the reading, or briefed themselves in the appropriate topic. Also, everyone seemed to have something to say and no weak points were really let go. This shows how far we've come this semester in the class.

I think the most interesting tension discussed today regarding Nicholas Carr's book is the one between "slowing down" and ignoring distractions. Carr implies that he thinks today's brain make-up is designed for a too quick environment. John's driving example is a great analogy here.

My point comes from the idea that sometimes people are more efficient by going quickly, because it helps eliminating the noise or the distractions. In the scenic driving analogy, if you see a Robin (bird) once, do you really need to focus on the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh... I think you get my point.

I'm playing around with the concept that technology may remove the effort in the early stages of the thinking process. Why waste hours in the library looking for information in books, when you can do a Google search and be offered hundreds of thousands of results (this is not supposed to start another argument about Google, by the way).

The trick is to use the help offered by technology and let it lead to deeper thought in the more elaborate points of one's intellectual process. Because you got to that point quicker, one might have more time and energy to develop more significant ideas.

This reminded me of the Jaron Larnier's argument on noise. I'm going to reread that portion of his book to see if I can elaborate on this idea.

How do you think I'm doing?

This could be dangerous for any person, to open themselves up to their peers for criticism.

I think Professor Dean and you, my classmates, would agree that sometimes I'm overly celebrant of things like Twitter and Facebook, and their positive affects. You all have respectfully scolded me for ignoring the many negative affects these services may have, including the safety aspect of Facebook or Google.

The biggest skill I have learned from this class is to analytically criticize more accurately than I have in the past. I discovered that I am improving this skill, especially as I wrote my paper. Basically, I argued that Facebook and Twitter can't be entirely given credit for a revitalization of democracy.

What are your thoughts on how you've developed in this class? What do you think of my arguments over the past semester? Do you think I've improved in critically analyzing digital media?

If you're wondering I think that Mark Andrejevic got through to me those most of any of the readings. Also, in hindsight, Jaron Lanier's argument is more convincing to me now.

#Revolution?

Yes, I meant the # in the title. That's to the affect of how Twitter and Facebook are being credited with political revolutions in the Middle East.

How significant do you think social media is at making these revolutions happen? Would they have happened without social media?

As I discussed in my paper, social media is important recently of starting these events, but it's not the end all. You need the physical passion and tension in order for any revolution to occur. The radical rhetoric has to leave the digital space and spill out into the streets for any activism to come of it.

Egypt is an example. Sure, social media gets credit. But THOUSANDS still poured out into the streets of Tahrir Square to protest. Look at the violence, that couldn't have happened without tension in the streets between actual human beings.

Andrejevic says, “The technological capacity of interactivity will not, on its own, dismantle social, political, and economic hierarchies. It will not on its own foster a version of democracy based on collective control over the sharpening of political goals" (49).

WikiLeaks Good or Bad?

I think the debate on WikiLeak's affect on journalism is very interesting, as being a member of the industry.

First of all, when it comes to looking for government documents as sources, it's a significant resource. Again, as discussed in class, the legitimacy of the documents might have to be taken into question. That is especially essential in traditional journalism. Lovink and Riemens define old fashioned journalism as unearthing facts, crosschecking these and backgrounding them into an understandable discourse. 


So if the "old" style of journalism wants to use the "new" style as a source, they better make sure it's accurate.


Of course, traditional journalism is criticized for gate-keeping, and keeping stories private due to influence from outside sources. WikiLeaks helps ease this, as it is a flaw in a true democratic process. On the other side of the argument, news organizations may need to withhold information when it comes to a matter of national security or international diplomacy. 


Some argue that the decline in investigative journalism due to budget cuts is what makes WikiLeaks important. Where WikiLeaks fails is putting it into context when presented to the public. It is important that the public knows why something is important or what it means, and WikiLeaks does not do that.


WikiLeaks also has the benefit of no moral code or journalistic policy, so it does not have to consider ramifications of the what it presents. That easily makes them at risk for inaccurate information.


Of course, I am a proponent of traditional journalism, so I am working hard to see both parts. 

Bifo and ADHD

I think Bernardi's discussion regarding ADHD and other disorders is interesting. I'm not fully convinced that the dense amount of technology that affect children can give them a disorder.

I do think it's important to realize that habits children grow up with affect their education. Teachers now need to make their lessons more interactive and less-information dense, so it satisfies the short attention spans of the younger generation. That can be very dangerous.

Is there science that says ADHD is developed after birth or is it a genetic disorder?

Not Critical Enough of Facebook

In my class presentation today on Social Media, I was criticized for not being critical enough of Facebook and other such networks.

Just to let everyone know, the presentation part was supposed to be on the positive impacts of Facebook and Twitter. It was the debate part where my group wanted to bring in the negatives.

I really do think Facebook is an incredible invention that transforms communications. For the first time ever, you can have a database of your contacts that gives you immense amounts of information. It transforms politics, journalism, education and business.

Individual politicians have found social media as the most useful tool at reaching their constituents, communication that is essential to democracy. Journalists now have an instantaneous way to communicate information whether it be a breaking news story, weather or discussion. Education should begin to utilize the popularity of social media among their students. And in business, there is not better form of brand messaging that  getting your customers to like you on Facebook. A business is given equal real estate opportunity as one of their customer's siblings or neighbors.

Sorry that I'm not more critical of the advertising or surveillance Facebook supposedly is guilty of. Advertisements are something that people need to learn to deal with or ignore. When it comes to information-keeping, simply don't offer Facebook the information you never want know. But on that point, what it so secret?

Is Google a Monopoly?

After the discussions over Google today, do you think it's a monopoly?

We have Google, Google Buzz, Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Books, Google News, Google Shopping, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Android, so on and so forth.

Think of those outlets... search engine, navigation/GPS, social networking (mild attempt at), academia, journalism, business, email/communication, video (popular), browser, mobile device operating system, and soon it's own operating system.

That's what I call vertical and horizontal integration. It was the monopoly robber barons of the early 20th century who got good at vertical integration, which is controlling multiple levels of the industry process.

What do you think? Since organizations can't compete with Google, or a Google entity, is it a monopoly?

Here's what Siva Vaidhyanathan had to say: "So Google, which rules by the power of convenience, comfort, and trust, has assumed control, much as Julius Caesar did in Rome in 48 B.C."

Social Media Addiction Infographic

I thought this infographic was hilarious. I'll admit that I'm guilty of just about every symptom above. Let me know what you think. Are you guilty of any of these? How do you feel about the notions implied?

My Luck

It would be my luck that the only class I miss this semester was the LIVE, REAL TIME BLOG class. Of course, real time blogging is what I do for a living. When I heard about this Thursday night (after returning to consciousness after being sick) I was bummed.

That means, I now have to blog about the reading in the old-fashioned way. Stay tuned for that.

iSpy reading reaction: Chapters 1 and 2

Immediately when I began reading Mr. Andrejevic, I agreed with his thoughts on the importance and increasing popularity of geo-based technology. As the book was written in 2007, it has missed an important advancement in this industry. Geo-based social media is the next step in what he calls digital enclosure.

Andrejevic discusses how digital enclosure can include purchases or transactions made online can be tracked by Google so that it can customize the advertisement it shows. With the likes of Foursquare and Facebook Places, users openly admit their location via their mobile device. GPS-based cell phones have also become more prevalent since his book was written. Despite theses advancements, I think Andrejevic is spot on and certainly ahead of the curve.

Andrejevic then focuses on the connection between politics and consumerism in his second chapter. I think the interactivity on the commercial end is making people expect that type of easy participation across society. This is a bit random, but something that would not leave my mind in reading the second chapter. One example I think of is American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. It is so easy to vote for your favorite contestant. In fact, it is so easy that more people vote on the finales of those shows than in the presidential elections. Think about how hard and un-interactive voting is. Election Day is on Tuesday, you have to go there in person and then fill our papers and then vote and then leave. In the world of online polling and telephone voting, that's way too much work.

I think Andrejevic makes some very solid points. I think he could consult companies to help them utilize the technology he is discussing. I don't think he needs to alarm people about what is taking place. My argument is that being online is forfeiting one's rights of privacy. Nothing is very private anymore.

Midterm Questions In Progress (Missing 7 & 8)

I will be in the Facebook/Twitter group on April 7 with Katherine, Jamar and Max.

The process of developing my answers had multiple steps. I first laid all of the questions out on a blank document with spaces for answers. I went through each questions and applied knowledge I had from memory in order to answer the question. I then applied information from my class notes, along with finding important pages numbers that could lead me to further explanations in the reading. I then attended the collaborative class session to get outside input to better my answers.

1. Jaron Lanier argues against cybernetic totalism. What are the key features of cybernetic totalism? What arguments does Lanier offer against it?

According to Jaron Lanier, there are two main “strands” of cybernetic totalism. In the first strand, the computing cloud is supposed to get smart, on its own, to a superhuman level. The other strand relates to the concept of a crowd of people connected to the cloud through anonymous and fragmented contact. This second strand is that crowd of people is the superhuman group that gets smart on its own (Lanier, 139). In other words, cybernetic totalism is the idea that computers will someday surpass human intelligence. This concept is followed by the idea that human-like features can be replicated by logarithms and computer coding. In moving to the second strand, the overall and community contributions that create knowledge will also become more intelligent than human thought.

Lanier is entirely against the notion of cybernetic totalism. On page 75, he gives his two arguments against the idea. Spiritual failure, he argues, has “encouraged narrow philosophies that deny mystery of the existence of experience” (Lanier). The other argument he has is behavioral failure and how the concept of the cybernetic total undermine human’s creation of and involvement in common knowledge on the internet. Lanier goes on to say that a computer cannot self-conceptualize or self-identify. Computers just recreate what humans originally put into it, which forces loss of creativity.

2. What is "lock in" and why does it matter? Make sure that your answer includes technical and cultural/political components.

Jaron Lanier describes “lock-in” from a technical standpoint and then relates it to the bigger picture he society. As a computer programming term, “lock in” is when an algorithm or file creates a bigger problem, because of the way you have it set up and designed in the infrastructure. Eventually, one may find a better algorithm that does not create as many problems, but it would be near-impossible to replace the new for the old because of how widely disseminated and used the out-dated equation is. This “locks in” the former algorithm to a place of permanence. In the bigger picture, “lock in” can related to a concept or ideal that is later expanded upon, but the original thought is the foundation for the rest of society’s developing expansion of that original thought (Lanier, 9).

3. Why does Lanier think that flat information networks threaten creativity?

According to Jaron Lanier, the development of flat information networks is threatening the creative process. Individual thinking is slowly dissipating for the idea that collective thought is the best way to solve a problem. In class, we discussed how the offices of Facebook in Palo Alto, California are very common-work based. There are open cubicles, and glass encased conference rooms with an emphasis on transparency to achieve a mission. This is opposite of the traditional model where hierarchical companies use offices as a symbol for status in the company. This collaborative work concept, according to Lanier, is removing the creative process in favor of what the group develops. He discusses how file sharing is not stealing, but it forces the sharing of music, movies, books and files. There is such a deluge available that there is no longer incentive for creating your own. The internet is nurturing the development of flat information networks that just reproduce ideas over and over and share them around the world. As Lanier says, “Computers can take your ideas and throw them back at you in a more rigid form, forcing you to live within that rigidity” (Lanier, 134). Lanier argues that for something to be stolen, it needs to be denied to others who want it. He adds that as things become copied over and over, the creator of the original will have no status because it cannot be proven as the first edition (Lanier, 141).

4. Why does free choice make stars inevitable? Be as thorough as possible.

Power laws, as described by Clay Shirky, can be used to help describe how free choice makes stars inevitable. The power lows specify that the more frequently something appears around the internet, the more clicks and hits it will have, which also grows exponentially. There is a monopolistic market for those sites that appear frequently and get the big hits, and only a few have that privilege. This exponential growth in views for certain websites makes it harder for smaller, start-up sights to get viewed at all. When it comes to any kind of medium on the internet such as videos, songs or blogs, there are still only a select few major competitors who are considered the pinnacle.

5. Several authors (Lovink, Dean, Terranova) criticize the 'late eighties "Californian" mindset'. What is that mindset and why do they criticize it?

The ‘late eighties “Californian” mindset’ is a utopian view of the digital internet and how it can only offer positive changes to society and the economy. A group of socially inept math geniuses created a useful website that offered them immense wealth but put them stuck in the middle of society. The group offered a high-minded potential that the internet could supposedly offer, bringing liberating change to the economic structure to a gift-based one. Information and media could be exchanged for free. Followers of the movement firmly believed that the internet would offer a digital realm of perfection and would eventually solve all of the world’s problems. They argued that the internet had no flaws.

The authors not only criticize the movement, but the mindset was coopted quickly and put to an end. Dean argues that the internet is used as a place in which people escape reality. It leads to a place where pleasure and pain are found, including sexual fetishes. The danger in assuming the internet and its content have no flaws is entrusting that people on the internet always have credible information (Terranova, 120).

6. How does Terranova describe the "mass"? What makes the mass a feature of contemporary network culture? How does the concept of the mass inform or figure in Terranova's critique of the idea of a rational, deliberative public sphere?

According to Tiziana Terranova, the “mass” is a group of consumers opposite the group of money-making oligarchical producers. The mass is inept and thinking on its own and is easily influenced by the ruling group. The mass is more about a feeling and bond than a demographic. Spectacle helps define the mass since people will flock and surround the event (Terranova, 134). The Super Bowl was an example mentioned in class as a spectacle. In this case, the “mass” consists of the millions of Americans who flock to participate in game-related festivities. The ruling group consists of the NFL executives, television producers and advertisers who organize the event and make money off of the mass’s obsession with participating. This concept of the “mass” relates to the internet and network culture because without this majority group, social networks would be impossible. The mass is the group influenced by the internet.

Terranova’s “mass” theory impacts political discourse because it means that these major spectacles control the direction of the majority in the public sphere. Because of this forceful alignment of the mass, the group has been less and less subjugated by the public sphere. The transparency and noise surrounding the public sphere forces the mass to follow one direction more often than developing individual opinions (Terranova, 133).

7. Terranova emphasizes that a cultural politics of information, "as it lives through and addresses the centrality of information transmission, processing, and communication techniques" extends beyond the distinction between signal and noise. It encompasses a wide array of objects and interfaces, choices and designs, that organize our perceptions and influence the transmission and receipt of information/signals. What aspects of contemporary life come to mind? Come up with a vivid, detailed example to illustrate Terranova's point. Be sure to attend to what she calls the "level of distracted perception . . [that] informs habits and percepts and regulates the speed of a body by plugging it into a field of action." In your answer, begin with a schematic account formulated in terms of Shannon's diagram and then add to and enrich that schematic with more atmosphere and detail. After you have a detailed example in mind, consider the political implications and for whom: police, surveillance, or state apparatuses? for those seeking to resist or change a political formation? for the general field or norm that establishes the base point or expectations for political action (that is, the level of everyday habit and normal life)?

8. According to Terranova, some specific features of the architecture of the internet induce divergence and differentiation. What are these specific features? How are the challenges met? And, what features or qualities does addressing divergence and incompatibility give to the internet?

9. What is the decline of symbolic efficiency? Why does it matter?

The decline of symbolic efficiency, as Jodi Dean describes, is the loss of inherit and universally common meaning behind a certain idea which are mainly expressed as words or phrases on the Internet. A physical analogy that helps me understand this better is the connection (or lack thereof) of language translation, plays on words and puns. Sometimes jokes or even serious notions in one language, make no sense when translated into another language. Now, the decline of symbolic efficiency goes even behind different languages, and can occur within the same language, but through the internet and networked blogging. In Blog Theory, Jodi Dean says that sometimes it is impossible to tell if a blog post is ironic, sincere, funny or serious. As Dean argues, this matters because it identifies the primary concern that goes along with impossibility of totalization. There is no way ever to designate one universal meaning with one idea. As she explains, there is always another opinion or option that can make one’s idea more questionable to the larger group. The decline of the symbolic matters because it will significantly reduce norms and universality among the population. Symbols are the primary identification tool for any group and is recognizable to members of that group. A decorated pine tree in one’s living room with colorful lights and a star on top is common symbol of Christmas. If that symbol were one to loose efficiency, along with other symbols of the December holiday, how would Christmas be able to continue? How would one recognize who celebrates and who does not? Traditions, such as holidays, are in jeopardy over this decline, as one example.

10. What are the key features of blogs? What do they have in common with search engines?

One key features of blogs is the “post,” Jodi Dean says. “The post gets the blog off the ground. And keeps it going. When posts stop, the blog dies” (Dean, 47). What makes a blog post specific is the sense of immediacy. The posts do not need to tell a collective narrative. The key is that the posts are immediate. Blogs can be text, photos, links, quotes or almost anything else.

Blogs are similar to search engines because of their original purpose. They turned out to be different attempts of fixing the same problem. They were both designed to help organize the chaos of the internet. Their goal was to compile useful information in an easily searchable place. Search engines put their trust in the algorithm while blog users put their trust in the author (Dean, 43).

11. What are the differences between the ways that cinema and networked media produce subjects?

Cinema and networked media produce different types of subjects with different types of consumption needs. Cinema provides a collective viewer. The group of people seated together and watching one screen becomes a collective. Cinema is also physically uniting within the same space. The experience becomes shared by all in the collective (Dean, 70). Cinema also almost entirely is consumed by the audience, very little production occurs on their end.

Networked media is entirely different in the sense that you remain physically solo on a single screen. The experience is an individual one with only virtual interaction. Networked media is a form of self-expression exemplified by what you like on Facebook (Dean, 79). In class, it was discussed how each person’s internet experience will be totally different. It is true that you might follow the same people on Twitter as another person, but not identical. You may follow an additional person that makes your Twitter feed and therefore experience a little different from the person sitting next to you.

12. How do affective networks capture users?

Affective networks capture users easily using their self-reflective and attractive appeal that offer the users intense pleasure and pain, and sometimes withdraw them from reality. As Dean says, “The loops and repetitions of the acephalous circuit of drive describe the movement of the networks of communicative capitalism, the ways its flows capture subjects, intensities, and aspirations” (Dean, 114). Simply put, it all goes back to enjoyment. Users enjoy seeing information that they producer, that others consumer, and that others base their own productions off of. It can be as simple as a Facebook photo post. If you took a photo, other users can see it (consumption) and then comment on the photo (more production). The interactivity gives users more and more enjoyment. Dean compares this to the cinema, were users just have to show up. Affective networks rely on that circuit of drive that continually brings in production of new content (Dean, 114). Put another way, the more content we help produce, the more content there is to consume (Dean, 124). 

Our Questions on Cards

Does the Internet produce a single, homogeneous time?

How does Terranova use the idea of duration to express the dynamic feature of the Internet?

Terranova Dicussion Questions

1. Terranova discusses how the internet and networks are not physically tangible. On page 40, she writes, "The debate has recently come to overlap with an earlier perspective that considered computer networks mainly as expressions of dematerialization and disembodiment." How does that make you feel when you PAY for internet software and music and invest in a world that really doesn't exist? How does this concept fit into the idea of Capitalism?

2. On page 40, Terranova writes, "The layered communication system modeled of the nation-state has witnessed the mutation with the rise of global, real-time communication networks." If change in communication means change in the way the world is segmented (such as the railroad's result in the nation), do you agree that the Internet is creating what Hardt and Negri call Empire?

*Thesis of Empire: In general, the book theorizes an ongoing transition from a "modern" phenomenon of imperialism, centered around individual nations, to a postmodern construct created by ruling powers which the authors call Empire (the capital letter is distinguishing), with different forms of warfare.

Jeopardy! vs Watson - Part 1: Watson holds his own

Well the results are in after Watson took on the greatest human Jeopardy! champions of all time in a first-ever computer versus human edition of the game.

At the end of night 1 of play, here are the results:
Ken Jennings: $2,000
Watson: $5,000
Brad Rudder: $5,000

That's right. One human is tied with the computer, with the other human trailing.

Watson was very impressive, but certainly not perfect after the first game. In one example of a glitch, Ken Jennings buzzed in with an incorrect answer and Watson buzzed in to get it correct. The computer ended up giving the exact same wrong answer as Jennings. Watson can not benefit from others' wrong answers, which impedes any possible process of elimination.

The computer also had a tough time distinguishing negation. One question asked for the "first non-dairy coffee additive." Watson answered milk. The answer made complete sense without the word "non-" in front of dairy.

The computer also seemed to have a tough time making progress in some pop culture categories. One question that boasted a correct answer of "Voldemort" from Harry Potter stumped Watson entirely.

The show also included details in how Watson was created and interviews with the experts who created him. They discussed the greatest challenge in being similar words and word association. One example, Watson has a hard time distinguishing the difference between "John McCain running for president" and "an athlete running a race." I guess context would be the issue at point here.

Watson continues on Jeopardy! tomorrow night in part 2 of the tournament.

Jeopardy! Champs vs. Watson

Is Skynet possible? Could there be the existence of a computer smarter than its human creator? Well, Jeopardy! and IBM teamed up to see if a computer could compete with its greatest champions of all time.

Over the past several months, IBM researchers have created a vast computer that they lovingly named "Watson." Over several months of testing the machine in Jeopardy! style games, the machine was also tweaked as to work out as many bugs as possible.

But starting tonight, Watson will make his national television debut on Jeopardy! and take on Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. We all know Jennings as the man who holds the 74-game win streak on the show and seemed almost unbeatable. He took home more that $2 million. Brad Rutter played in the days when the show limited contestants to a give-game win streak. He later played in multiple Jeopardy! tournaments and actually beat Jennings in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions.

It is important to note that Watson is not connected to the Internet. He does not have an unlimited knowledge base to pull every answer from. Watson is designed to include as much information as possible and can use his own knowledge in the competition, just as every Jeopardy! contestant can.

It will be a three-part series that begins Monday. Let's see how this goes. It'll either be an exciting match or the end of human society as we know it.

What's Your Problem with Twitter?

This is a little bit of side note, but it may frame some of my arguments to come this semester. What's everyone's problem with Twitter? (Who else is on Twitter anyway?)

You've all heard about it. You all have favorite celebrities, politicians, athletes, musicians who tweet. Why do people think it's simply a minute-by-minute post of mundane topics. (I'm eating a Tuna sandwich).
By the way, I hate tuna. I would never post that (or eat that).

Twitter is micro-blogging. It's sharing your thought with the world in 140 characters. It's the best way to share a link or a photo. You can easily share what you find interesting.

I've met more people (that were strangers) on Twitter than I have on Facebook. It's all industry-based. Believe you me, if you are (or want to be) in the news industry, get on Twitter now. Like tonight. Go!

I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on the matter. I'm going to tie in this argument with a lot of the readings.

Clay Shirky's "Law" is Valid

After reading Clay Shirky's Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality, a lot of things began the make sense. In the past, I've heard many examples of what he writes about, but it was useful to see an actual theory (with mathematics to prove it) come forth.

In class, we talked about how Capitalism tends toward monopoly, especially when it comes to new media. Think about it - any giant we know on the Internet is so successful because of its uniqueness and lack of competition. (I guess I should say legitimate competition). These successful ventures also create a niche in their market, and then own that niche.

Let me list a few examples of giants on the web. Please comment and let me know if you can think of a legitimate competitor to any of them. I'm also going to include what their known for, and the market they've taken complete control over.

YouTube (user-submitted videos)
iTunes (legal music downloading)
Google (search engine) - no, Bing doesn't compete well
Facebook (personal social media) - Twitter can't compete directly
Twitter (micro-blogging)
Microsoft Office (word processing, spreadsheets, slide show presentations, work email)

My point is that Shirky's law is completely valid in more than blogging. "Winner takes all." The power law distribution is shifted far to the left. Anything I mentioned above is the left of its respective industry's curve. Plus, if you can think of an almost-competitor (ala Bing), still it's only maybe two competitors when there are/were dozens of attempts out there.

I welcome your comments, especially if you have a good counter to the examples I listed above.

Lanier Questions for Class

1. Is Jaron Lanier being overly analytical in his assertion of how the Inernet influences society?

2. Do you buy into Lanier's argument that the higer class of people may be able to "purchase" longer life spans with the continue advancement of modern medicine?

3. What do you think of Lanier's new Internet payment plan? (Where you pay when you visit, but others pay when they visit your work.)

Reaction to Past and Future History of the Internet

This is certainly one of the best Internet history syntheses that I've ever read. It gives an in-depth look at the Internet's history since it's conception, and even earlier when ideas only resembled what we know as the modern-day Internet.

The part I was most interested in was what the authors offered for the future of the Internet. The authors Barry M. Leiner, Vinton G. Cerf, David D. Clark, Robert E. Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock, Daniel C. Lynch, Jon Postel, Lawrence G. Roberts, Stephen S. Wolff say:I actually think they miss the mark on what the future is, and what the Internet's involvement will be in that future. They say the Internet is only a result of the computer, which I agree is true. But they say the Internet will only survive if it can keep up with the computer. This is where I disagree. I think for the computer to survive, it has to keep up with the Internet.

The Internet is a creature of the computer, not the traditional networks of the telephone or television industries. It will—indeed it must—continue changing at the speed of the computer industry to remain relevant. It is now changing to provide such new services as real-time transport, supporting, for example, audio and video streams (page 7).

My example is the ever-increasing popularity of mobile and touch devices. Many experts think that within five years, the Internet and websites will be designed for your fingers and not your eyes. I think that these portable devices are creations resulting from the Internet. The Internet provides endless amounts of information and vast knowledge on any topic imaginable. The Internet's information source can't even be depicted with words that I type.

This information, including live information on Twitter or maps and directions on Google Maps, or a phone number search on yellow pages websites have become luxuries the public have fallen in love with on the Internet. That information is now demanded on the go, as portable information. Products such as smart phones and iPads  quench the thirst for the desire of this information on the go.

Without the Internet, and what it offers, computers would have no purpose in being portable. In fact, these devices are poor utilities for word processing or other non-Internet applications. Computers are becoming portable because of the Internet, because of what the Internet has to offer.

The Internet will continue to be demanded in new forms and new mediums, so the computer is the one that need catching up in this race.

TODAY Show in 1994: "What is the Internet Anyway?"

As many of you may know, I was at intern at NBC News over this past summer, and got to spend some time at the TODAY show. I'm also a regular viewer of all NBC programs.

A clip from a TODAY show episode in 1994 has resurfaced this past week and is getting some attention. Basically, the anchors ask viewers to send an email to NBC with their opinions about a story they were doing.

Anchor Bryant Gumbel started the conversation by asking what the "@" symbol meant. They weren't really sure. Then in led to the conversation expanding to Katie Couric and Elizabeth Vargas all trying to explain what the Internet is.

I should point out that Katie Couric, now the anchor of the CBS Evening News, is one of premier journalists on Twitter.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Egypt without Internet

Image American without the Internet. No, I'm serious. Try.

Exactly. It's almost unfathomable. Actually it's hard to imagine any society without the Internet. There isn't a person I know on this campus whose daily routine doesn't involve at least a few moments on the Internet. That includes Facebook, Twitter, email, Google, Google Maps, Blogger, your favorite blog, your daily newspaper, tonight's dinner recipe and so much more.

As of tonight, cell service joins the Internet as a luxury no longer available to Egyptian citizens. The government has taken down the cellular service providers, but it is only rumored to have taken down the Internet service providers. But the changes are likely.

The events in Egypt are slowing appearing to be a revolution in the county known for its Pharaohs and Pyramids. Facebook is being credited as the medium that started this all. Interestingly enough, the "man" behind the Facebook page is unknown. The name belongs to someone killed in 2009, but someone is using his profile to create the unrest now being watched by every country in the world.

Take a look at this article from msnbc.com:

Iran's Green Revolution had a martyr named Neda, a 26-year-old woman gunned down in the streets of Tehran. Tunisia's was Mohamed Bouazizi, an unemployed university graduate who set himself ablaze outside a government building. Egypt's is Khaled Said-because someone has been agitating under the dead man's name.

Said, a young businessman from Alexandria, was reportedly beaten to death by local police this summer-well before rumblings of the country's current unrest. But a Facebook page that bears his name has been one of the driving forces behind the upheaval that started last week.

The anonymous Facebook page administrator who goes by the handle El Shaheeed, meaning martyr, has played a crucial role in organizing the demonstrations, the largest Egypt has seen since the 1970s, that now threaten the country's authoritarian regime.

Yet even Egypt's most active activists have no idea who the anonymous organizer is.

Internet History Timelines

I was definitely impressed by all of the groups' presentations Tuesday in class. It was interesting to see how many people dropped the class following the first session, but proves that the students who stayed through to Tuesday's class are in it for the long haul. That alone speaks volumes for the students who sat among us on Tuesday.

Group 1 set the bar high for all of the subsequent groups to follow. Their research was excellent and their presentation made it easy for their audience to pick out important facts and associate them with specific dates. I liked how the group focused on the later years of the Internet, specifically when it comes to social networks.

Group 2 certainly had the most creative presentation with the video they put together. The video editing skills portrayed were impressive. I know we are encouraged to offer helpful criticism. The one challenge this group had in doing a video is that the information they had to present is not easy to associate with non-text visuals. I think without text as part of their movie, like making the important dates scroll across the screen, some important information won't be retained by the audience. I can only be so picky because of how well the content and video editing were done. They certainly set the standard very high in terms of creativity and talent.

Group 3 I thought was the most revolutionary, trying out a new service online. Their timeline certainly provided the best visual of all the presentations and included a lot of important information. I liked how they picked a theme within the Internet's history, the history of file-sharing.

When it comes to my group, I thought it worked out that we did not pick a focus, but offered a greater context to what the other groups discussed. I find it funny how we did not meet, as groups, to see what other groups were doing or focusing on, yet we all chose different aspects.

On a random side note, I'm always looking for fellow college students on Twitter. If you do tweet, please follow me at @AndrewDonovan.

Facebook Group Created

In order to stay in touch with Facebook with fellow students and Professor Dean, a Facebook group has been created. Nobody has to be friends with people they don't want to be, but can still communicate with everyone via the group.

There are also settings to adjust how often you get chat messages and alerts from the group.

The group is called "Digital Networks - Spring 2011 (POL 363)." If you are not already Facebook friends with me, you need to request to join.

Here's a direct link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_141458959248626