Global POV: At the Intersection of Technology and Culture

The two problems with Web 2.0

If you look at some of Web 2.0's growing pains, they fall into two main areas. The first is intellectual property issues, the second is identity. Without going into a lot of detail, IP is a problem because Web 2.0 is basically a global mashup and they need content...other people's content. This is the basis for the ongoing Viacom/YouTube debate and ancillary tickbites like the MoveOn/Viacom Colbert parody shoot-out (more on this later this week).

The identity issues, however, are pervasive, deep and troubling. This booboo needs more than an RIAA bandaid to make better. The issue can best be described as a conflict between anonymity and strong authentication. Wikipedia is caught in the crosshairs on this, for instance. The more they authenticate the editors, the better or at least more believable the content will be. Presumably. However, stripping away the identity protection of the editors creates a selection process where only some people will be willing to have their name out there on the articles--perhaps for the wrong reasons.

These two issues, IP and Identity, are at the heart of future Internet growth. Successful technical solutions that can resolve them will spur a bigger, badder Internet in the future. A failure to resolve either issue satisfactorily will guarantee that the next commercial Internet will be stillborn--strangled with its own umbilical cord.

Posted on March 26, 2007

I want my iTV

I preordered an Apple TV and it arrived yesterday. Here's my initial impressions:

Down side:

Only works on wide-screen TVS
Doesn't include any cables
Only works with content (streaming or sync) from iTunes

Up side:

It works and it's easy to setup
The wi-fi piece appears to be flawless and it streams large files with ease
It has an USB port that doesn't appear to do anything...(yet)

Summary:

It's barely comparable to the XBox, inferior to the Microsoft media player and other streaming video devices, but it has potential. I have faith that Apple will continue to build on this base and that the hardware that's been sold is reflective of future software upgrades that will enhance it's usefulness.

Prediction:

It's a Tivo killer.

Posted on March 23, 2007

Technology

The Internet is political evil

It's alive!

The evil on the Internet has arisen and walks the Earth. Political skulduggery has embraced the Internet. Finally.

This is the election in which the Internet-for-politics will come into its own. But not by creating informational websites and not even by raising money online. What I am really waiting for is the dirty tricks squads to come out in force.

First shot goes to Barack Obama whos online strategy firm BlueWaterDigital took a mean shot at Hillary with a 1984-invoking YouTube video showing a scary Senator Clinton. Well, the company didn't do it...one of its employees did it without the knowledge or approval of management or by Senator Obama's campaign. Wait, what's that? Sorry, the easter bunny wants to tell me something.

Here's the video:

I expect so many more of these...in my book, Privacy Lost, I have a section describing what I call a Digital Watergate and this is a good example. It's just too easy to slur and slander on the Internet. I don't know how they caught this guy, Philip de Vellis, but I suspect that he wanted the credit badly enough to out himself. Don't expect the real professionals to go down this easily.

I will follow this kind of stuff closely. Expect fake websites, fake mailings and slur campaigns on the 'Net starting, say, a day or two before a major primary.

Let the games begin!

Posted on March 22, 2007

Politics

Some thoughts on Republicans...

I've said this before, but it would seem to be a good tactical move for Vice President Cheney to resign in the next six months, clearing the way for a non-Giuliani heir apparent. A unified Republican party might have a chance that a fragmented one would not.

It would be a shame if all of John McCain's sacrifices, his reworking of his sense of right and wrong, did not reward him with the presidency. But it may not...Rudy seems like the guy to beat. The hero of 9/11. Watch for weirdness coming from Rudy. Rumors abound about his personal life and strange opinions--plus his sort of liberalish tendenceis--it's hard to believe that a pro-choice Republican could get elected, for instance.

A Brownback win would be truly shocking. Romney maybe. If the religous issue gets quelled early enough and Rudy and McCain take each other out. Maybe.

Posted on March 20, 2007

Politics

Linking and driving don't mix

A German study shows that people who play video racing games are more prone to risky driving and may get into more accidents.

I am vindicated. I have believed this for years and now it's real because it has been investigated by genuine scientists. Seriously I know that when I play Grand Theft Auto for hours and then get in the car and drive, I have a tendency to cut corners, ignore streetlights and generally ignore pedestrians in crosswalks.

I wonder what else gaming might be conditioning us for? I pity the first aliens who visit the Earth if they happen to look menacing. Quake fans everywhere will be buying chainsaws.

have noticed that I shouldn't drive within an hour or so after playing a deeply immersive racing game. I wonder if this phenomena extends to online worlds like Second Life and MMOPRGs? Will it be like not swimming for an hour after eating--some kind of grandmotherly bit of homy wisdom?

Posted on March 20, 2007

Technology

3 things I really need

The three devices that I wish existed:

1. Universal copyright manager - I don't mind paying for a movie or an album...once. I deeply resent being asked to pay for something twice. Just because an industry changes formats (ex. DVD to Blu-Ray) doesn't mean that I should have to pony up another twenty bucks. Ditto for music that I want to listen to in the car (either car--I have two), or in my house or on my iPod. I want the right to keep copies everywhere as long as I'm the one listening to them, although that concept is a little silly if you really think about it. So I want a system that will "check in" my license to copyrighted material when I buy some and allow me ubiquitious usage of same on any device, at any location and in any format device that I choose.

2. Brain-in-a-box - I don't want a cellphone and pda. I don't want a car GPS. I don't want a browser with a Google toolbar. I want everything rolled into one--a universal brain-in-a-box that will answer any question that I ask and anticipate what I haven't. It should know where I am, where I need to be and who's trying to reach me, as well as helping me solve crossword puzzles and connecting me to my family. The form factor should be irrelevant. It should have video and audio, be "always on" and essentially be my major domo in the cyber world, even to the point of representing me through an AI avatar when people come a'calling in cyberspace. Oh yeah, it should also be my personal historian and archivist, keeping track of who and what I know.

3. A super-duper digital vault- an encryption device so good, so secure that there will never for a second, be a possibility that the government or anyone else is listening in. I can drop anything into this box; video, audio, pictures, text. If, by an chance, a small piece of it gets compromised, it will not undermine the integrity of the whole. I will never fully trust the digital world until I have one of these things.

Posted on March 19, 2007

Technology

Skin deep and superficial--American Beauty

We Americans have gotten rid of many forms of discrimination since the 60s. Perhaps I'm being naive, and I realize that we haven't obliterated all prejudices, but race, religion and gender have become less of a factor in policy and decision making. Good for us.

But one form of prejudice remains and is seldom talked about--the double standard that we apply between the average looking and the attractive. And by "attractive", I mean women.

Take for instance, the Valerie Plame case. Ms. Plame is at the heart of the whole Scooter Libbey brouhaha and is a professional covert CIA agent. Yet, she is usually described in news coverage as "willowy" or some equally biased word. You don't often hear that kind of adjectival reporting being applied to politically newsworthy men. Can you imagine the words to describe Karl Rove or Dick Cheney? They sort of remind of Borat's producer...you know, the "nutty" one.

Or how about the TV show, "Ugly Betty"? To make the star "ugly", they give her braces and glasses. What's wrong with that?

We don't apply that standard to men. Robert DeNiro is not a great looking guy, nor is Jack Nicholson or Sean Penn. Yet we like them as actors. The pretty boy actors generally aren't. Hugh Grant or Jude Law are not of the same caliber, but aren't believed to be either. Yet it seems that all a great-looking actress needs to do to get an oscar is to wear prosthetic ugly makeup, like Charlize Theron in Monster or Nicole Kidman in The Hours.

And don't get me started on the MYWBG news stories. (Missing Young White Blonde Girl).

Perhaps the Internet will be the great leveler. On Second Life, for instance, you can make yourself appear as anyone that you want to be.

Posted on March 16, 2007

Bitches

Google is fat--what's wrong with that?

Google has taken the first tentative step towards voluntarily giving up future marketing advantages in favor of their customers' privacy. It's a big move for Google who has quickly become privacy's kryptonite. Their announcement, while short in details, appears to indicate that they will strip precision out of their customers' stored IP addresses after 18-24 months as well as do something about Google stored cookies on peoples' personal computers.

This has the look of a hastily arrived at decision because they did the press release before they changed the privacy policy on their website.

What's this mean? It means that Google is finally getting worried--no, not about our privacy. They are getting worried about subpoenas for all of that juicy data they're tucking away. Like an oiled fat man beach-browning on a desert island and suddenly noticing the hungry gaze of his fellow castawawys, Google has become too tasty to peacefully coexist with its community and may be worth more to many, dead.

I don't for a moment believe that they're doing this out of altruism, but self-preservation. And I guess that's okay with me for now.

Posted on March 15, 2007

Viacomm sues Google for a millio--no, a billion dollars

Most of you have probably seen that Google/YouTube was sued by Viacomm for $1,000,000 yesterday. The lawsuit contends that YouTube is guilty of "numerous copyright violations". YouTube, on the other hand, claims that copyright law shields them from liability as they have not encouraged anyone to post copyrighted material on their site. Viacomm counters with the contention that Youtube's value is, to a large extent, derived from illegal use of other people's intellectual property.

Whew. What a mess.

First off, anyone who thinks that YouTube/Google will end up paying a billion dollars in any circumstance is smoking something. The worst that will happen is that there will be a settlement in which Google promises to deploy filtering technology designed to take the onus of discovering the violations off of the shoulders of the content owners.

I worry about the affect on consumers though. When the same crummy trick was tried by the music industry against Napster, it became readily apparent that it was about money, not about principles, as the music industry blew up Napster so that they could install their own Napster-like organizations in place. Undoubtedly something similar will happen with video. But in the interim, lawsuits like the Napster and now the YouTube one scares the straights--the money flush consumer that will someday pay the content providers for the privilege of watching their videos. Be careful Viacomm! You may kill the golden goose. YouTube and its ilk have helped advertising and market awareness far more than they've cost companies like Viacomm any real revenue.

Posted on March 14, 2007

Intellectual Property

Lisa or Colleen?

I should be writing about privacy. I'm incensed at the latest abuses of the Bush administration like the wholesale defenestration of supposedly independent US Attorneys. Or perhaps about the growing public awareness that the Patriot Act has been used like a four-leaf clover by the FBI? Or my growing conviction that Congress will roll back part of the Patriot Act this year?

I could be writing about technology. The new iTV from Apple comes out in a few weeks after some slippage. The iPhone is kicking up huge amounts of rumor dirt. Windows Vista--good times to be had by all or is it the ground glass in the Evian?

But today I'm fascinated by pop events, which somehow seem to weave in and out of tech. Britney cut off her hair. Justin dumps Cameron Diaz. Angelina Jolie creates the first adoption option, reserving the right to claim an unborn baby to be named later.

So here's my question of the day, along with the immortal "Ginger or Maryann" question, is Lisa or Colleen? LIsa is of course, Lisa Nowak, the infamous Navy Captain that apparently attempted to kidnap Colleen Shipman because Shipman was romantically involved with Commander Bill Oefelein. All three are (were in the case of Nowak) astronauts. Oefelein was married at the time of his affair with Nowak and had two children. Nowak is still married and has three children.

Study the pictures carefully please...LISA or COLLEEN?

Posted on March 13, 2007

2 Comments

Pop Culture

The invisible terrorist

I and others have been saying this for awhile--terrorists are increasingly difficult, if not impossible to profile. An article in today's Washington Post details why and gives several examples of non-stereotypical Muslim terrorists. More and more of them are Christian, blue-eyed and don't wear veils. The Post interviews sseveral European police officials who flat out say that profiling is no longer good enough to catch terrorists.

Yet, the United States is sinking big, big money into profiling systems like the old TIA and TANGRAM and numerous other data fusion/profiling systems. Why?

There is only reason -- America believes that it's right and everyone else is wrong and that this country can make workable profilng systems.

The only kind of profiling system that is likely to work consistently is not one that evaluates immutable attributes like race and religion and birth place, because these can all be worked around by recruiting outside the normal ranks. The kind that will work is the kind that looks at "psychographics", not "demographics." What they need to profile is ideology, not background. And to this, the government will need orders of magnitude more personal information than they do for traditional profiling systems. They will need to know what everyone buys, eats and where they go. The ultimate goal is to understand what we are all thinking. And I do mean everyone, because in this new world, all of us, Muslim or not, born in the Mideast or right here in the USA--all of us are suspected terrorists. Unfortunately for us it will be easier to get that kind of data on citizens than visitors.

To accomplish this goal, the United States government will need an unprecedented amount of visibility into the everyday lives, habits and opinions of every single American.

Posted on March 12, 2007

Security

My g-g-generation is b-b-bald

I went to see the Who last night in Washington, DC. They were amazing. I had seen them 25 years ago and although the show was different, the driving sound and experience was the same (except for the almost nonexistent odor of pot, of course.) The untimely death of John Entwhistle in 2002 has left a hole in the sound, but still...Daltrey looked like a young Michael Caine, jumping, singing and hitting high notes. Pete Townsend looks his age, but as he snarled to the audience, he wouldn't have it any other f-ing way.

Townsend is 62. Daltrey is 63. Together they are 125 years old.

I found the lyrics to My Generation especially ironic:

People try to put us d-down Just because we g-g-get around Things they do look awful c-c-cold Yeah, I hope I die before I get old

The audience was full of aging stoners who had brought their kids to see what is undoubtedly one of the best rock groups ever. I wonder if some day people will bring their kids to see an aging, bearded Britney Spears and a fat, bald Justin Timberlake. Uggh.

Posted on March 09, 2007

Pop Culture

Wikipedia's bad reputation

Wikipedia is shocked and appalled to discover that one of their highly credentialed amateurs is not, in fact, the expert theology professor that he claims to be. They are so shocked that they are planning on putting into place a system to check editors' credentials for cases in which they cite same credentials.

So why such a surprise? People misidentify themselves on the Internet, which after all is part of the game.

Wikipedia is trying to have the best of both worlds--the coolness of the anonymity along with the authoritativeness of professionalism.

IMHO, the future is going to be some kind of reputation-based pseudonymity. Wikipedia is right on the cusp of needing it, although other sites will soon find themselves in the same position. Think about how many web-based business models are reputation based...Ebay and feedback scores? Amazon's reviews? Faceless bloggers everywhere.

Someone will make a lot of money developing reputational technology.

Posted on March 08, 2007

General

Federal fantasies--what I'd like to do to DHS

I would like to find the senior DHS administration officials in the Bush administration and out them. I want to know (and publish) their sexual peccadilios and their naughty college kinks. I want to hack down their family tree and lay each and every disturbing generational cross section out in the open for everyone to see. I want to bare their medicine cabinets and snicker over their infirmities. I want to listen through hidden microphones to their nightly snarfling they call pillow talk. I want to scan their retinas, their nosehair and make them squat in a pool of icecold ink so I can get prints of their wrinkled scrotums, if they, either man or woman, indeed have one. I want to analyze their DNA and their diet and their dieticians DNA and publicly tell everyone about their potential health vulnerabilities. I want to read their mail and their email and their she-mail's email. I want to publish their therapist's notes as an illustrated manga with their name on the cover. I want to riffle through their garbage with rubber gloves, holding up the nicer bits at the end of a pencil during broad daylight in full view of their neighbors and tape it for Youtube. I want to read all of their email and their secret diary and using the intimate family information thus acquired, seduce their mother. I want to know what they're afraid of most and then give it to them. I want to tape all of their phone calls to their significant other for months and edit the arguments down to a mash up over a sampling of the Police's "Roxanne." And play it outside their house. Loud. While waving their inkblot scrotal print with my arm around their mother.

I hate the Real ID act.

Posted on March 02, 2007

1 Comment

Uncle Sam screws old ladies

I've been doing a lot of radio interviews lately and the most frequently mentioned topic is that of identity theft. Where does it come from? How do you counter it? I say the usual reasonable things like not giving out personal information online, etc. but it's got me thinking about other contributing factors and about the positioning of identity theft in the media; that's it's somehow our fault. It isn't though.

It's an urban myth that Identity Theft is caused by bad online behavior--it's no truer than that Aids is God's way of punishing bad lifestyle choices. A major source of identity theft is the government--blame them for all of these pitiful old people on television who have had their life savings ripped off by identity thieves.

Why the government you ask? Because they are putting pressure on companies to retain data, like phone records, financial information and email history. If service companies deleted data when the info was no longer immediately useful, than there'd be a lot less personal information on that laptop that that corporate putz is about to take home. Where it'll promptly be stolen.

Feds want companies to retain the information indefinitely just in case they want to snab it via subpoena (or perhaps without the paper these days). That desire is directly in conflict with the needs of consumers.

I wonder who will win?

Posted on March 01, 2007