Final EOC: The future of the internet

The future of any technology, especially the internet can be considered in its own right a work of speculation and science fiction destined to become science fact. Even in its infancy, no one, not even the founders and those truly gifted innovators knew what the present state of the internet would be. It continues to surprise us, and I believe always will as new minds continue to explore and discover new ways to put the wonders of the internet to use.
The future is uncertain. Some people believe that we are nearing the end of where our current technology can take us, that there are limits to what we can accomplish in this digital age. “We know even now that we are at some fundamental limits of what the Internet can handle, we have one big expectation—being able to innovate, and it is unclear whether we will be able to do that.” (Scientific American). In any stage of evolution, the organism, in this case the internet, must push itself past certain barriers to reach the next stage in its life cycle. If there truly are limits that we are already beginning to see to the internet’s growth potential, then innovation is the only way to pass this particular barrier until the driving technology behind the internet catches up to the way it is being used. Hence, innovation.
Very unfortunately, the internet seems to be going through its teenage, dramatic years that most people remember from high school in either loved or hated tones. The various companies and elements that own and control the internet seem to be changing the general tone that has made the internet the melting pot community it has become, now dividing it into strange clicks and clandestine factions, vying for control of virtual territory. “Fifteen years after its first manifestation as a global, unifying network, it has entered its second phase: it appears to be balkanising, torn apart by three separate, but related forces.” (The Economist). The forces referred to are Governments, large IT companies, and separate nationalities. Whatever the real future is, it’s one split up into sadly restricted segments that lack the freedom most enthusiasts swear by.
In the book “Future Shock,” by Alvin Toffler, he theorizes that people of the future will suffer from the incredibly fast change in technology, leaving them “future shocked” and disconnected. I see truth in this, though not the only truth. The internet, unless it suffers some massive change in the near future, is poised to almost literally take over people’s lives through unprecedented integration. Not unlike “Future Shock,” I see people becoming too involved in the internet and its web of interactive experiences, and forsaking the tangible experience of real life. Is this a future shock? In a way yes. Life is not simply a virtual ride. It is a real, visceral, tangible experience that needs to go beyond the virtual reality worlds and escapist theologies that guide much of modern life. Get out and experience it. Go beyond the virtual and get into the real.

Week 10 EOC: Things that scare or inspire

War Driving: The age of the wireless revolution is two things: scary and inspiring. War driving, the situation where hackers drive through neighborhoods or business parks with amplified, internet connected laptops and virtually steal personal information (including info, money, files, etc.) by breaking into unprotected wireless networks. Everyone wants to live in a world where they feel safe enough to leave their doors unlocked at night, but now we can’t even leave our wireless networks open. Everything needs to multiple layers of strict security in order to allow us even the barest sense of well being when it comes to using this all important aspect of technology which is the internet. Sad. Very sad.

Groupon: On the other hand, something that is not as scary as it is inspiring in the new digital age of enterprise and prosperity through commerce, Groupon is a phenomenon. After only two years of existence, created by two men nearly on their own, the company is now undergoing negotiations to see for billions of dollars. Yes, billions of dollars. All for the seemingly simple concept of offering discounts on normal services offered for a limited time only. This is inspiring because it shows just how far you are able to get with a good idea and a little bit of ingenuity and drive to succeed. A truly amazing thing.

Evil Twins: Now back to the scary stuff. Everyone loves wifi. And what does everyone love more than wifi? Free wifi. What’s better than rolling into a Starbuck’s or Panera Bread Company, sitting down with the laptop or smart phone and connecting to the internet, reading you email or what have you, all for free? The concept of the evil twin is farily insidious. A, let’s call them “undesireable,” brings in a portable wifi network of his own, and sets it up to look exactly like the popular wifi already in place. He sets up a fake login screen that asks people for their credit card information and boom. He has your credit card and can do what he wants with it. Scary stuff. Unfortunately, the internet and all its wonders can also be really scary.

Week 9 EOC: What is Cyber Mondy

Around the holidays, the busiest and possibly most important day of holiday shopping is what is known as Black Friday. This refers to the Friday following Thanksgiving where retails supposedly place many of their items on significant sales in order to jumpstart the holiday shopping season. As a result of consumerism hungry for good deals for Christmas, the seasonal spirit of on-sale items spread to internet shopping, a now very important and formidable force in shopping. “For the past few years, online retailers have found that sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving have been creeping higher, giving retailers an additional reason to be jolly during the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday season.” (Shop.org).

The term “Cyber Monday” allegedly stems from the aftershock of this beginning holiday rush. During this busiest of shopping days, potential savvy shoppers became disappointed with lack of sales that met their expectations. And after coming empty that weekend, proceeded to go back to work the following Monday and surf the internet to find better deals on the items they had been looking for in the first place. “The name Cyber Monday grew out of the observation that millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked.” (New York Times).

Whatever your opinions of business practices on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, there are a few deals there to be had for the pick/craft consumer. Regardless of the hype associated with the supposed days of deals (since Cyber Monday had now been universally expanded into Cyber Week), it’s definitely working. Many retailers showing lackluster returns during this busy weekend, are now reporting much higher returns due to the renewed online activity. “Number crunchers estimate $1 billion was spent online Monday and $45 billion was spent at retail stores on Friday.” (PC World).
So there you have it. A hoax? A sham to rid us of our money? Perhaps. But you can’t deny that it’s working…and sometimes we even get pretty good deals!

Week 7 EOC: The Scary Internet

What is the scariest thing happening with the internet? Mass data mining and invasion of privacy? Big brother? For me that pretty much sums it up. The internet is a tool for information and research, but too many aspects of the technology are being used against us in sometimes seemingly innocent ways. Data mining, taking our personal information and using it to create profiles about our personal lives so that ad companies can better deliver unwanted advertising and product pushes to our attention. Or simply that fact that elements of our personal lives are out there and can be accessed and abused by anyone with the knowledge and motivation to do so?

Well there you have it. Identity theft. Physical theft. Virtual theft. It all becomes possible through the realm of technology for many ways. People are watching us. Reading our email, looking into our personal lives, making sure that we are behaving and conforming to aspects of societal norms, all too often in the guise of the protection of freedom and government. But at the same time these same invasions of privacy are being utilized in more nefarious ways to bring harm to ourselves, our families and our friends. Personally, I don’t want people knowing that I’m out shopping, away from my house because the gps on my phone let’s everyone know that automatically. I also don’t want the location of my home (which I’m currently away from) known just because it’s been posted on Google Earth.

Technology is great and when used properly can help propel our species into a new and prosperous age. But don’t abuse it. And definitely don’t do stupid things to put yourself and your friends at risk. Technology is to help us learn and progress, not to hurt, control, or profit from those who can’t defend themselves either virtually, financially, or physically.

Week 7 BOC: Companies that spy on you

Two companies that can spy and take your personal information right off the internet are Google and Microsoft.

In the case of Google, geotagging, that is, the portion of metadata that is sent when pictures are taken or apps on your mobile phone use your current location are sent to the host server. The risk that this presents can be very serious depending on how the features are used. It can also be less serious. In the case of Google, which is a company that has always unashamedly sought your personal data so that it can use that data to sell you products and tailor advertising directly to you, it can now send you these ads to you based on your location, where you are up to the minute you are there. “Security experts are particularly worried about the pictures posted on social networks, since they are usually accompanied by real-time statuses. They say that anyone with a modicum of programming knowledge can write a program that could search for the combination of geotagged pictures and "On vacation" statuses” (Net Security).

Microsoft on the other hand, has just recently debuted their newest gaming flagship, the Kinect. Almost immediately an online uproar of articles an opinions came out claiming Kinect’s ability to see what you are doing in the comfort of your own home, how many people are there, the types of gestures being made, who left during specific advertising messages, and so on. “He seemed to suggest that Kinect could tell the Imperium how many people were in the room when an advert was being shown and how many got up and went to the loo.” (Tech Eye).

All of this comes for the sake of information gathering, whether it be for financial gain in relation to targeting advertising to specific people, or political motivations and household numbers. Information is king, and these two mediums can get it from your if you’re not careful about what you put out there.

Week 7 BOC: YouTube Video

This video is a short video intended to be a funny parody of the online gaming community surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops. It is a game that I play with friends on occasion, and it can be quite fun and challenging if this type of entertainment appeals to you.

However, one element that I have noticed surrounding the game and its so called community is the lack of respect and politic that is fostered by it. For the most part, people forgo be polite and nice with a desire to have a good time for being rude, childish and unquestionably insulting. It can be, and is in many ways, pathetic.

A game, by definition, is supposed to be fun and entertaining. Unfortunately some of the lesser elements of the community don't take it as fun, but as a means to insult and degrade other people, simply because it is part of a community that is for the majority, anonymous and virtual. It becomes sad to see that many people in our culture get more enjoyment out of using games and forms of online entertainment such as this as more of a digital shouting board for their rude, juvenile opinions rather using them as they were intended, for fun. And for the record, no, just because you have a good time insulting other people online does not mean it's a valid form of fun or entertainment.

All in all, the game is still fun despite the negative aspects of the community that have surfaced because of these types of services. But it is still worthy of play from time to time.

Week 6 EOC: Video Challenge, Tentative Plans

As of right now the plan is to record a small video game playing session on the newly released and highly popular Call of Duty: Black ops. This game is one of the single most popular game franchises, if not THE most popular, and has recorded record breaking sales number on its initial launch of Tuesday of this week (11.9.10).

As for the theme of the short video it is a spoof of some of the more serious (and annoying) of the over five million active users who play this game online on a regular basis. As a sporadic player myself(for fun and entertainment) I have born witness to some of the more juvenile and irritating personalities who tend to get online and take the experience either far too seriously, or are simply intentionally irritating.

The video will feature a shot of the TV screen as I (or someone else) plays the game (intentionally losing), and a shot of hands manipulating the controller while in the background there is a set of running commentary set to parody some of the more annoying personalities found during online play. It is intended to be a fun and funny spoof of the game experience, likely to be entitled “The World’s Greatest Black Ops Multiplayer.”