Social software in business

Essay on social software in business: the for against arguments of interactivity, cost effectiveness against a lack of control and quality.
socialsoftware_business.pdf (application/pdf Object)

The History of Weblogs

The History of Weblogs

and note here some of the links to Gates and others, advocating free speech and describing the power of the internet and blogs.

Introduction To Blogs « Blogs « Feature Articles « Dented Reality

Introduction To Blogs « Blogs « Feature Articles « Dented Reality

Blogs: what are they good for? How did they happen, varieties etc.

Google buys ad firm DoubleClick for $3.1 billion | CNET News.com

Google buys ad firm DoubleClick for $3.1 billion | CNET News.com

The Future of Chinese Internet: Mobility and Wireless - Seeking Alpha

The Future of Chinese Internet: Mobility and Wireless - Seeking Alpha

When we think of internet, it's usually pics of computers hooked to phone lines. Well think again. It's all going to be about mobile handsets - the fastest, cheapest way across the digital divide.

Google Press Center: News Announcement

Google Press Center: News Announcement

Why Google is interested in mobile phones.

Copyright, Policy Blog | Public Knowledge

Public knowledge. Organisation designed to defend our rights in the digital age

Copyright, Policy Blog | Public Knowledge

2007 Australian Federal Election

2007 Australian Federal Election

Ideal starter for one of the issue brief posts

CYBERLIBERTARIAN MYTHS

http://www.rpi.edu/~winner/cyberlib2.html

Here Winner takes the sword to the techno-optimists including Gilder, Toffler, and Negroponte. Whilst he accuses them of being far right wing, he appears to be coming from a "where's this monster taking us?" ground.

Heavy read but may be worth reviewing when it comes to the benefits that may be achieved from businesses blogging their hearts out. Will it really make a difference?

The corporate blog manifesto

Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger

Written by the guru of blogs, Robert Scoble, this article details the factors to consider before starting a blog. Useful in developing a corporate blogging policy or in giving direction to a personal blog.

Groundswell (Incorporating Charlene Li's Blog): Blogging policy examples

Groundswell (Incorporating Charlene Li's Blog): Blogging policy examples: "http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/146365/1388077"

Blogger's code of ethics - an interesting concept including not deleting a post or comment and showing where modifications have been made.

NYU Press Electronic Title: NET.WARS by Wendy Grossman; ch16; pg01

NYU Press Electronic Title: NET.WARS by Wendy Grossman; ch16; pg01

After reading this it's easy to wonder what part of the net can, or is worthwhile regulating. Even the two areas that are generally agreed to - child porn and junk email - have their problems when it comes to regulation.

The Hyperconnected - TIME

The Hyperconnected - TIME

Cocaine of the internet. Addiction.

Teenagers at risk of internet addiction - Breaking - Technology - theage.com.au

Teenagers at risk of internet addiction - Breaking - Technology - theage.com.au

Google Phone rumours won't go away - Technology - smh.com.au

Google Phone rumours won't go away - Technology - smh.com.au

AlterNet: The Trouble With Twitter

AlterNet: The Trouble With Twitter

The trouble with Twitter is that the faster a population centre grows (think urban) the pace of life grows exponentially faster. If the population grows at n then the speed of life grows at n2 until a singularity occurs where the system is reset.

Clive Thompson on How Twitter Creates a Social Sixth Sense

Clive Thompson on How Twitter Creates a Social Sixth Sense

Despite that some believe micro-blogging to be simply bad, Twitter is, according to this article, creating a 6th sense. It's argued that because of the extra granularity we are exposed to about the lives of those around us, we become more attuned to what's happening. A 6th sense in other words.

This certainly isn't my experience at this stage, but we'll wait and see.

Twitter: All Trivia, All The Time

Twitter: All Trivia, All The Time

Here's a few useful suggestions on how Twitter could be used as something a little more useful in a business context.

The case of the incredible shrinking blogoshere

Document View: "The case of the incredible shrinking blogosphere"

http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?index=1&did=1317248101&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1188736454&clientId=22212

Rise of of micro-media sites such as Twitter brought about by cultural shifts.

1. Attention crash
2. Proliferation of monbile devices demanding shorter messages
3. Access to social networking which enables people to tune into and out of the messages they chose.

Steve Rubel. Advertising Age. (Midwest region edition). Chicago: Aug 6, 2007. Vol. 78, Iss. 31; pg. 17, 1 pgs

369.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Growth in numbers of Twitter subscribers is doubling every month

People intuitively understand "Systems as diverse as genetic networks or the World Wide Web are best described as networks with complex topology. A common property of many large networks is that the vertex connectivities follow a scale-free power-law distribution. This feature was found to be a consequence of two generic mechanisms: (i) networks expand continuously by the addition of new vertices, and (ii) new vertices attach preferentially to sites that are already well connected." Emergence of scaling in random networks
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, Reka Albert. Science. Washington: Oct 15, 1999. Vol. 286, Iss. 5439; pg. 509, 4 pgs http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?index=1&did=45780126&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1188720192&clientId=22212

Main intentions of users posting to Twitter: Daily chatter about life's routines.
Conversations
Sharing information

Categories of users
Information source
Information seeking
Friends

Why we Twitter

Here's how reporters use Twitter | The News is NowPublic.com

Twitter signing deals with celebrites to Twitter their movements and what's happening at events. Reporters also using Twitter to break news.

Here's how reporters use Twitter | The News is NowPublic.com: "www.reporTwitters.com"

Twitter is just too much information - USATODAY.com

Not everyone is a fan of hyper-blogging, hyper-connectivity that is micro-blogging. Just why we need to tell the world about our every move is unclear and very much in question. And whilst USATODAY.com suggests that Twitter is a "bad, bad thing", they fail to address the issue of whether it's the technology that's a bad thing or what people do with it. Could it just be possible that, after an initial period of fascination and over-use by an overly exuberant Internet population people will begin to make use of the technology in a much more thoughtful manner?

For me, time will tell. What do you think?

Jamming the Pearl (Lessig Blog)

e2e (End-to-end) or Net Neutrality. It's a subject that should concern each of us. Imagine if your telco decided that only the information that came from their server would be delivered to your computer because you leased their line. A scary thought and one that's worth considering. Here Lessig discusses this matter with particular mention of the recent on-the-fly censorship of anti-Bush lyrics at a Pearl Jam concert by At&T.

Read the full story...Jamming the Pearl (Lessig Blog)

Google Pushes Tailored Phones To Win Lucrative Ad Market - WSJ.com

Google's on to the next big thing - mobile ads which will be much more personal, and much more profitable. Read more...Google Pushes Tailored Phones To Win Lucrative Ad Market - WSJ.com

UK armed forces banned from blogging : The Blog Herald

The UK military have banned active service personnel from blogging about their experience on the battlefield.

Read the full story...UK armed forces banned from blogging : The Blog Herald

The impact of Web 2.0 and Emerging Social networking models

Straight from Davos comes this high-powered panel discussion on the impacts to individuals, businesses, and communities as a result of Web 2.0 and social networking. Described by Catrina Fake of Flickr as "participatory media", the panelists opine that Internet-based social networking is the next big thing on the web. Companies, such as Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook, have each contributed to revolutionising the manner in which people can connect. However, Fake suggests that this phenomena is merely a return to the way the Internet was initially conceived - a place where people shared information and where a "culture of genorosity" prevailed.

Whilst the panel all enthused about the future, particularly for health care and education, significant concerns were expressed that they believed, if not addressed, could see a lessening of the beneficial affects of the impact of Web 2.0. In particular, suggested Commission Redding from the EU, was the issue of privacy, which is potentially compromised in a web 2.0 environment - particularly at the hands of politicians and autocratic leaders. Redding urged politicians to keep their "hands off the Internet" and act as "enablers" of Internet networks. Along with other members of the panel, who included Bill Gates from Microsoft, co-founder of YouTube, Chad Hurley, and CEO of Nike, Mark Parker, Redding stressed the importance of solving the ongoing issue of digital rights.

The TV broadcast runs for approximately 60 minutes but is well worth watching. Covering issues as diverse as policy, regulation and governance of the Internet, business models, trends, and sociology, the broadcast is informative for students seeking a broader perspective on the phenomena of social networking. For anyone seeking a strategic understanding of the direction of the Internet, as seen from the perspective of some of the industries thought leaders, this is compulsory viewing - and decidedly cheaper than traveling to Switzerland for the conference.

Mininova : The ultimate BitTorrent source!

Mininova : The ultimate BitTorrent source!

More free shit.

Torrents Search Engine

Torrents Search Engine

Get shit for free

Poor Privacy Grade Reflects Google's Growing Power

Poor Privacy Grade Reflects Google's Growing Power

Is Google the next Evil Empire? It just might be according to this article from Wired. Although sharply critical of Google's record on privacy it is met by an equally sharp response from Google who claims the high ground on the issue.

Google adds comments voice to news stories - News - Tech.co.uk

Google adds comments voice to news stories - News - Tech.co.uk

Confirmation that Google will allow the subjects of a news story to add their comments - unedited - once their identity is confirmed. It's a clever move and allows people the right of reply and a way to protect people from overly-zealous reporters.

NewsFactor Network | Google Now on a Collision Course with Microsoft

NewsFactor Network | Google Now on a Collision Course with Microsoft

Confirmation that Google has teamed with Sun to launch a suite of desktop office productivity products similar to the current MS Office. Issued for free, it's supposed to be different functionality to the MS offering - but for how long is anyone's guess.

Google lets subjects of news stories comment on articles about them - International Herald Tribune

Google lets subjects of news stories comment on articles about them - International Herald Tribune

Here's an Web 2.0 version of a news site, where Google allows people who are the subject of a news story to comment on the news story itself. Not unlike a blog but without the free-for-all style, it gives journalists the opportunity of interacting with their subjects in a very direct manner.

Google omits controversial news stories in China - 21 September 2004 - New Scientist

Google omits controversial news stories in China - 21 September 2004 - New Scientist

Google accused of modifying their search results for Chinese users, thereby supporting Internet censorship laws in China

The Marketing of a President

The Marketing of a President

Taking a look back to 2003 at the campaign of presidential wanna-be, Howard Dean, and the ways he used social networking sites to support his ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination. He may have been about 4 years ahead of his time.

Technorati Profile

Festival of the dark arts

Festival of the dark arts | Australian IT

HACKERS devoted to the digital dark arts, who gathered at the annual DefCon festival in Las Vegas, were shown ways to crack electronic keycard systems and deadbolt locks and hijack Myspace profiles by manipulating cookies.

Hackers in huge ID heist | Australian IT

Hackers in huge ID heist | Australian IT:

HACKERS have stolen confidential data on 60,000 Norwegians, including the head of the responsible agency for safeguarding them.

ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers

For a much more legit look at SEO and Internet trends this site is worthwhile. Lots of really useful resources.

ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers

The Long Tail of a Black Hat

For people who believe that the world is a lovely place and everyone's out to do the right thing, have a look at this site. It's a what's-what of spam, spam, and more spam.

The Long Tail of a Black Hat

Sûnnet Beskerming - Aussies face the threat of Robo-Pacinos

Australia briefed by AFP about online robo-crims.

Sûnnet Beskerming - Aussies face the threat of Robo-Pacinos

BBC NEWS | Technology | Hackers target 'legitimate' sites

Mpack attacks servers, infects 160 000 PC's

BBC NEWS | Technology | Hackers target 'legitimate' sites

What comes after web 2.0?

Many people, often confused and dazed by the speed of Internet technology, are asking what's after Web 2.0? Well ask no longer. Here's the answer. It's an amazingly insightful, although light-hearted, glimpse into the future.

Technorati

Technorati Profile

Behind the mask - Security - Technology - theage.com.au

Behind the mask - Security - Technology - theage.com.au

Here's an interesting article that could that's a bit thought provoking and worthy of some further research

Twitter II

Here's the voice of someone obviously having a good time on Twitter - not. Over it already. I don't get it - yet. But perhaps you can help me.

Twitter

What's Twitter all about? Is this the Internet's version of the yo-yo or will it serve some purpose. What do you think?

Web 2.0

In recent years, Web 2.0 has become a new Internet buzzword, capturing the imagination of many and promising a new era of connectedness, commerce, and democracy. But what is Web2.0 and what are the promises it makes?

Web 2.0 is defined at itp.net as a way to describe "online activities, sites, and applications that allow individuals to interact in online communities, directly exchange information with one another, and create their own content online." Whilst many struggle to simply understand the basics of the Internet, such as browsing static web pages and checking email, advocates of Web 2.0 technologies suggest that a new age is now with us where using the Internet is now a far more exciting, vibrant, and user-friendly experience. In classic Web 2.0 style, the video "The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version)", demonstrates how Internet technologies have evolved to allow information to be shared across the web in ways that have not previously been imagined. Whereas prior to Web 2.0, the Internet contained static hyper-linked pages, new technologies and protocols such as XHTML, AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML), RSS (Real Simple Syndication), and mobile Internet applications have allowed people to connect in ways that were previously unimaginable.

Social networking sites, such as Facebook, Myspace, and Friendster all provide users with an online destination that can be personalised, and where people can share photos, videos, music, and a host of other personal information. Additionally, sites such as Youtube and Flickr, which provide spaces to upload videos and photographs, and Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that almost anyone can update, could each be described as "being" Web 2.0. In each of these examples the site allows the user to add, modify, and control their own content; and it is this feature that is arguably at the centre of the Web 2.0 concept. Although these sites may allow such control, one might well ask what are the advantages and risks involved in such technologies?

"One of the most highly touted features of the Web 2.0 era is the rise of blogging", suggests Oreilly Media. Through blogs, they argue, people can now publish their thoughts and feelings onto the Internet, and, with the benefit of RSS feeds, have their message read by any number of web surfers. According to Mike Wolcott at bnet, this powerful new media provides for the "bottom-up" generation of information and allows self publishing by individuals; and this, it could be argued, tends to create a democratising affect. As an example Jeremy Wright, author of Blog Marketing:The revolutionary way to increase sales, build your brand and get exceptional results, cites the Kryptonite locks scandal, where a class action law suit against one of the best-selling producers of bike locks resulted from a single person blogging about the way in which the locks could be picked with a simple ballpoint pen.

Whilst this may be an extreme example of the power of blogging, and Web 2.0 technologies, there are many other critical developments on the horizon which could see significant changes in the manner in which we work. Google is currently in the beta stages of developing a suite of personal productivity applications - all of which are free - that could one day end the powerful monopoly held by Microsoft through their Office range of products.

Whilst Web 2.0 may "just" be a buzzword, it is important that anyone involved with the Internet - not just IT workers and software developers - keep themselves abreast of developments on this subject. The speed at which innovation is taking place, and the implications of missing a trend, make keeping informed an imperative.

Tiny URL's

Here's a cool site that turns a long URL into a short one.

Enter a long URL to make tiny:

Internet Changing the Face of Political Campaigning - Associated Content

Internet Changing the Face of Political Campaigning - Associated Content

In light of the Australian Prime Minister's foray into the world of YouTube, it's worth noting how this sits in a broader context. This article sheds lights on the way presidential wanna-be's are using the Net to get to voters and gather support. Whilst the article suggests that the Internet will change the face of politics it's worthwhile noting that the Kerry campaign at the last US election failed to convert online support to votes on ballot day.

What are we doing here?

So here we are studying the Internet and what do I find? An article entitled The Internet on the Media Studies Infobase suggests that "asking a student to comment in a couple of thousand words on the likely impact of 'the Internet' is just plain daft". As he goes on to suggest, it's a good exercise for the mind - and that can't be all bad;-)

Stories, Not Information: Transforming Information Literacy

This is a hard read, if for no other reason than the point that's being made is obscure and dry. Purdue is obviously clever at what he does but he falls into the trap of being the point he's attempting to make; and the point he makes is that Information Literacy, as it's described in the literature, misses the point. He suggests that is through the process of telling stories - not through some stodgy, mechanistic fomula - that we gain access to what literacy is all about. And what's it all about? It's about invocation of pictures and images that stir human emotions and bring us to life as active, engaged citizens in a democracy.

Information Ecologies: Using Technology With Heart

The authors are respectively trained in computer science and anthropology and are residents of Silicon Valley - the home of technology. They begin their work with reference to the 1926 movie Metropolis, a tale of the devastating consequences of blindly creating technologies for technology's sake.

The authors here, take the view that it's much more important, when relating especially to new technology, to ask the 'know-why' question than it is to ask the 'know-how' question. They warn against the dangers of simply accepting technology as something outside of human creation - of viewing technology as being "inevitable". Citing the example of two Microsoft executives who predict that all the information about all objects, including humans, will one day be online, they urge readers to become aware of the stories and rhetoric that creates and justifies the use of technology.

Suggesting that both the utopian and dystopian views of technology are accurate to some degree, they concede that these diametrically opposed positions have their drawbacks. They contend that technology be viewed in its context, part of a much bigger ecology that helps us better understand that which we use daily.

Nardi, B., & O'Day, V. (1999). Information Ecologies: Using Technology With Heart. Retrieved July 30. 2007, from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/301516_300579_a/scripts/student/serve_page.pl/301516_300579_a/welcome.html?1122825876+1590035375+OFF+intro.html+Anchor-Lorem-49575

Welcome

Here's the first post of a blog that I expect to have completed within 14 weeks. This blog will guide you through the process of becoming an advanced Internet user, and is designed especially to help students by providing the electronic resources needed to answer the many questions that are faced when contemplating a life online. I'll also provide a learning journal of my experiences in the process of my own learning.

Please feel free to comment. It helps us all learn if we can ask lots of questions and have a conversation that builds on one another's knowledge.