Tuesday, November 15, 2005
"Ninety percent of everything is crud."
KingLeonard The Weblog - Doing our bit for Sturgeon's Revelation!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Things that annoy me
Political rant. Nothing spectacular or life-changing, just a few things that have bugged me today.
First up, the NBL's promotional game in Singapore (and I'm not mad because my team got beaten) when the Singapore government is about to hang an Australian citizen. Yes, the kid got busted bringing drugs into the country, yes he should have known the repercussions. As Australians we live in a country that believes that Capital Punishment is wrong, legally and morally. Why, then, would the NBL send two of their teams to this country for promotional purposes?
I know that a lot of people believe that Sports and Politics don't mix. That one should not be used to gain ground on the other. I don't agree, mainly because this goes beyond being a political issue. As an ethical issue I believe that it's well within the player's right to say that they will not play there, whether it's basketball in Singapore or Cricket in Zimbabwe.
I'm just disappointed that there hasn't been more made of this is all. Perhaps it's because hoops in this country has such a pathetic marketing department they figured they'd do whatever it took to get some eyes on them.
Second, a few comments from NewsCorp bigwig Rupert Murdoch when questioned on their new internet acquisitions.
Having just mentioned the companies that NewCorp have bought recently, such as MySpace.com, and the kind of demographic using these resources, he had this to say;
via PaidContent.org
"These are the very people traditional advertisers find difficult to reach in traditional media.
… With them, we now have the opportunity to reach and target mass audiences both on and offline."
Why does it always have to be about exploitation? I'm not naive, I understand the way business works. It's just that I hear terms like "folksonomy" and "Web 2.0" and how the hacker/post-modernist mentality of deconstruction is allowing citizen authorship and a cultural shift, but all I see is the same thing; "Show me the money!"
Sorry. In a bit of a down-mood today.
First up, the NBL's promotional game in Singapore (and I'm not mad because my team got beaten) when the Singapore government is about to hang an Australian citizen. Yes, the kid got busted bringing drugs into the country, yes he should have known the repercussions. As Australians we live in a country that believes that Capital Punishment is wrong, legally and morally. Why, then, would the NBL send two of their teams to this country for promotional purposes?
I know that a lot of people believe that Sports and Politics don't mix. That one should not be used to gain ground on the other. I don't agree, mainly because this goes beyond being a political issue. As an ethical issue I believe that it's well within the player's right to say that they will not play there, whether it's basketball in Singapore or Cricket in Zimbabwe.
I'm just disappointed that there hasn't been more made of this is all. Perhaps it's because hoops in this country has such a pathetic marketing department they figured they'd do whatever it took to get some eyes on them.
Second, a few comments from NewsCorp bigwig Rupert Murdoch when questioned on their new internet acquisitions.
Having just mentioned the companies that NewCorp have bought recently, such as MySpace.com, and the kind of demographic using these resources, he had this to say;
via PaidContent.org
"These are the very people traditional advertisers find difficult to reach in traditional media.
… With them, we now have the opportunity to reach and target mass audiences both on and offline."
Why does it always have to be about exploitation? I'm not naive, I understand the way business works. It's just that I hear terms like "folksonomy" and "Web 2.0" and how the hacker/post-modernist mentality of deconstruction is allowing citizen authorship and a cultural shift, but all I see is the same thing; "Show me the money!"
Sorry. In a bit of a down-mood today.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Aaah, sweet context...
What a week it's been so far.
Normally I'd write this sort of personal account on my LJ, however given that I've decided to start usng that for other purposes I'll be venting here.
There's something to be said for the cold grip of aged adrenaline. It's a queezy, sickening ice cube that sits somewhere between your stomach and your balls, causing you to start at every shadow and every sound. Whoever said basketball is not a physical game is working without a clue. Unfortunately it can also be a game that brings out the idiots and the schoolyard bullies.
Monday night was the regular Veterans League over 35's game at Carina. Our team, the Turtles (the name alone should give you an idea of how seriously we take all this), was ready for another fun event to start the week with a bang. W play a physical, yet fair, style of play, knowing that not even the refs take the game too seriously. So it was a bit of a shock when the first play of the match had one of our guys and one of theirs tangled up together, with our guy being shoved to the floor.
I am a man not given to violence. I abhor displays of machismo and testosterone-laden stupidity. There was a time when something like that would have had me going over to our guy, picking him up off the floor and ignoring the other team. However, one thing I realised playing with my old team is that once you are on that court you are bound together; you need to trust each other and stand up for each other. it sounds kind of stupid, but I guess it's kind of like, in an insignificantly minor way, the bond that builds between soldiers in a war zone. You need to know that you can trust the people around you when push comes to shove.
And while it didn't quite come to shove (at least not with me) I felt obliged to stand up and say "not on. Not with my teammates. You attack one of us you attack all of us."
O.K., maybe I didn't say all that, but the squared shoulders and the stare kind of made my point for me.
I don't know what it is that can turn some grown, mature men into school kids. the rest of the game was spent with taunts and threats of carpark violence. Just pathetic. However, the best bit of the evening was that we came back from a deficit, took the lead and held it in the last minute to score the win. The worst bit? Smallest player on their team, with the biggest mouth, misses the game winning shot just before the buzzer. Grabs our guy who's been the target all game and throws him to the floor. A one week ban from the ref means he ain't playing next week.
Adrenaline's fine in the moment, but knowing that you've just come off the court with a bunch of guys who not ten minutes before were ready to king-hit anyone in a black and red singlet kind of applies the freezer to the breadbasket.
Went to bed sweaty and couldn't sleep (partly residue adrenlaine, mainly running around in near-Summer humidity all night).
----------------------------------------------
The worst possible thing you can say when you wake up and look at your alarm clock;
"That time I'm looking at right now. That's the time I'm supposed to be at work."
Welcome to Tuesday.
Lunch and a meeting with the new Head of Development for ABC New Media, Dan Fill. Looks to be a cluey guy and it should be good working with him (even if he is Canadian ;-p ).
Coffee after work with Col who's just back from a three week holiday to Middle Earth. He and Kel spent the whole time scoping out locations from the movie. I'm now looking forward to having a large dollop of the "Kiwi Fruit Chili Sauce" he brought me back.
---------------------------
Second worst thing you can say when you get up in the morning;
"You mean that front door's been open all night?"
Batting 0-2.
It's all because I tend to fall apart when I'm by myself. Ellen is spending three weeks at a Pain Clinic trying to deal with the ongoing nerve issues with her cheek. As a result she needs to stay at a hospital as an inpatient for the Private Health cover to pony up the dough. As a result I'm spending my weeknights alternating between visiting her in the hospital and heating up pre-cooked dinners.
I really miss her. I can't wait for the weekend when I get her back for three nights.
----------------------------------------
The one shining light is my new purchase. After much searching I am now the proud owner of the first (and only) series of the Joss Whedon production "Firefly." This is the series that leads into the recently released movie "Serenity." As a result I now find myself getting to know the characters in that wonderful manner which makes Joss Whedon such a gifted storyteller, learning the backstory and the motivations that play out in the film. I'm already telling people, after having watched 4 episodes, that it's the best TV show ever made. I'm loving it that much.
Enough! Time to go and pull my pre-cooked dinner from the oven and enjoy another episode!
Normally I'd write this sort of personal account on my LJ, however given that I've decided to start usng that for other purposes I'll be venting here.
There's something to be said for the cold grip of aged adrenaline. It's a queezy, sickening ice cube that sits somewhere between your stomach and your balls, causing you to start at every shadow and every sound. Whoever said basketball is not a physical game is working without a clue. Unfortunately it can also be a game that brings out the idiots and the schoolyard bullies.
Monday night was the regular Veterans League over 35's game at Carina. Our team, the Turtles (the name alone should give you an idea of how seriously we take all this), was ready for another fun event to start the week with a bang. W play a physical, yet fair, style of play, knowing that not even the refs take the game too seriously. So it was a bit of a shock when the first play of the match had one of our guys and one of theirs tangled up together, with our guy being shoved to the floor.
I am a man not given to violence. I abhor displays of machismo and testosterone-laden stupidity. There was a time when something like that would have had me going over to our guy, picking him up off the floor and ignoring the other team. However, one thing I realised playing with my old team is that once you are on that court you are bound together; you need to trust each other and stand up for each other. it sounds kind of stupid, but I guess it's kind of like, in an insignificantly minor way, the bond that builds between soldiers in a war zone. You need to know that you can trust the people around you when push comes to shove.
And while it didn't quite come to shove (at least not with me) I felt obliged to stand up and say "not on. Not with my teammates. You attack one of us you attack all of us."
O.K., maybe I didn't say all that, but the squared shoulders and the stare kind of made my point for me.
I don't know what it is that can turn some grown, mature men into school kids. the rest of the game was spent with taunts and threats of carpark violence. Just pathetic. However, the best bit of the evening was that we came back from a deficit, took the lead and held it in the last minute to score the win. The worst bit? Smallest player on their team, with the biggest mouth, misses the game winning shot just before the buzzer. Grabs our guy who's been the target all game and throws him to the floor. A one week ban from the ref means he ain't playing next week.
Adrenaline's fine in the moment, but knowing that you've just come off the court with a bunch of guys who not ten minutes before were ready to king-hit anyone in a black and red singlet kind of applies the freezer to the breadbasket.
Went to bed sweaty and couldn't sleep (partly residue adrenlaine, mainly running around in near-Summer humidity all night).
----------------------------------------------
The worst possible thing you can say when you wake up and look at your alarm clock;
"That time I'm looking at right now. That's the time I'm supposed to be at work."
Welcome to Tuesday.
Lunch and a meeting with the new Head of Development for ABC New Media, Dan Fill. Looks to be a cluey guy and it should be good working with him (even if he is Canadian ;-p ).
Coffee after work with Col who's just back from a three week holiday to Middle Earth. He and Kel spent the whole time scoping out locations from the movie. I'm now looking forward to having a large dollop of the "Kiwi Fruit Chili Sauce" he brought me back.
---------------------------
Second worst thing you can say when you get up in the morning;
"You mean that front door's been open all night?"
Batting 0-2.
It's all because I tend to fall apart when I'm by myself. Ellen is spending three weeks at a Pain Clinic trying to deal with the ongoing nerve issues with her cheek. As a result she needs to stay at a hospital as an inpatient for the Private Health cover to pony up the dough. As a result I'm spending my weeknights alternating between visiting her in the hospital and heating up pre-cooked dinners.
I really miss her. I can't wait for the weekend when I get her back for three nights.
----------------------------------------
The one shining light is my new purchase. After much searching I am now the proud owner of the first (and only) series of the Joss Whedon production "Firefly." This is the series that leads into the recently released movie "Serenity." As a result I now find myself getting to know the characters in that wonderful manner which makes Joss Whedon such a gifted storyteller, learning the backstory and the motivations that play out in the film. I'm already telling people, after having watched 4 episodes, that it's the best TV show ever made. I'm loving it that much.
Enough! Time to go and pull my pre-cooked dinner from the oven and enjoy another episode!
Sunday, November 06, 2005
New Beginnings in "New Media"
Tomorrow is another week. Another fun time back at the coal face playing with the cutting edge stuff; the stuff that only a few people will actually get to, or feel obliged to, see. The fact is, compared to the mainstream media forms the stuff we do on the internet has a pretty small following. The stuff we do for Broadband connections is even smaller. But that's not the point.
Every now and again you get the chance to be a part of something that really feels like it's part of something bigger. To this end, I've had the opportunity recently to be a part of a pilot project for an enhanced online presence for one of the ABC's flagship programs. Said pilot was shown to the powers-that-be through the week and, if what I'm hearing is right, it will be unleashed upon the world tomorrow night.
I don't want to say too much because at this point I believe it still hasn't been officially announced, and for all I know between now and then sanity will ensue and we'll be given a little more time to sand off some of the rough edges before it gets its debut.
What I do want to say is this. This little project is not really groundbreaking from a user perspective. It's not in the same area as the BBC's Annotatable Audio Project I linked to last week. This is not some new and exciting way for users to interact with media. In fact, from a user's perspective it's really no more exciting and innovative than a DVD. Where this project excites me, and it's only something that I really came to understand last week as it was being demostrated, is in the creation.
The ABC does its fair share of Broadband Specials, in particular the 4 Corners specials, based in a Flash interface. If you have the time and the connection, check them out. They're really well made, solid, sturdy and really quite pretty. Where they fall down is in the time, energy and budget it takes to get them up and running.
The project I've been working on allows the program makers to start thinking about creating additional online content every week, supersizing every show they make, without the need for huge additions to staff and budgets. It's highly template based, where the standard shell sits in its spot on the web page and the producer just fill it each week with whatever's relevant and useful. With the ABC's encoding and publishing software in place all of a sudden it makes it easier to create content rather than spending time integrating and coding, and when it comes down to it people come to sites for content, not because they're well coded (but that's another argument for another time). Moreover it means that the TV editors start thinking about preparing, creating and submitting this content without making it difficult and time consuming for them. That way their part in the project doesn't just revolve around broadcast time.
I want to stop for a second and make it quite clear that my part in this has been kind of incidental. However, I'm glad to have been a part of it if only as a learning experience and to make me realise how fortunate I am to be working with some of the most innovative media professionals in the country. Congrats to Jess Daly, Martin Southgate and Tim Madden for bringing the proposal to fruition and for opening my eyes a little about what I'm part of.
[Edit]This item was held over until now because the finished product needed to be given the official thumbs up to be shown to the public. You can find the page for the "WIlliam McInnes Australian Story Special" that I'm talking about right here.
Every now and again you get the chance to be a part of something that really feels like it's part of something bigger. To this end, I've had the opportunity recently to be a part of a pilot project for an enhanced online presence for one of the ABC's flagship programs. Said pilot was shown to the powers-that-be through the week and, if what I'm hearing is right, it will be unleashed upon the world tomorrow night.
I don't want to say too much because at this point I believe it still hasn't been officially announced, and for all I know between now and then sanity will ensue and we'll be given a little more time to sand off some of the rough edges before it gets its debut.
What I do want to say is this. This little project is not really groundbreaking from a user perspective. It's not in the same area as the BBC's Annotatable Audio Project I linked to last week. This is not some new and exciting way for users to interact with media. In fact, from a user's perspective it's really no more exciting and innovative than a DVD. Where this project excites me, and it's only something that I really came to understand last week as it was being demostrated, is in the creation.
The ABC does its fair share of Broadband Specials, in particular the 4 Corners specials, based in a Flash interface. If you have the time and the connection, check them out. They're really well made, solid, sturdy and really quite pretty. Where they fall down is in the time, energy and budget it takes to get them up and running.
The project I've been working on allows the program makers to start thinking about creating additional online content every week, supersizing every show they make, without the need for huge additions to staff and budgets. It's highly template based, where the standard shell sits in its spot on the web page and the producer just fill it each week with whatever's relevant and useful. With the ABC's encoding and publishing software in place all of a sudden it makes it easier to create content rather than spending time integrating and coding, and when it comes down to it people come to sites for content, not because they're well coded (but that's another argument for another time). Moreover it means that the TV editors start thinking about preparing, creating and submitting this content without making it difficult and time consuming for them. That way their part in the project doesn't just revolve around broadcast time.
I want to stop for a second and make it quite clear that my part in this has been kind of incidental. However, I'm glad to have been a part of it if only as a learning experience and to make me realise how fortunate I am to be working with some of the most innovative media professionals in the country. Congrats to Jess Daly, Martin Southgate and Tim Madden for bringing the proposal to fruition and for opening my eyes a little about what I'm part of.
[Edit]This item was held over until now because the finished product needed to be given the official thumbs up to be shown to the public. You can find the page for the "WIlliam McInnes Australian Story Special" that I'm talking about right here.
Comment Spam
In a bid to deal with the occasionally overwhelming comments spam that I have to keep clean I have activated Word Verification. That just means an extra step on the unlikely chance that anyone feels a compulsion to leave a real comment.
That is all.
That is all.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
"Stimmhorn" | Rocketboom
You ain't never heard yodelling like this before. Captured by Rocketboom's "German Field Correspondent", Stefan M Seydel, this clip shows a different side to the ancient Teutonic artform, sounding more like Mongolian throat singing than your average Bavarian Oktoberfest Polka.
Rocketboom
Rocketboom
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Return to Bug City - over at my LJ!
Betchya didn't know I had one of those, huh? That's because I've used it three times since I created it, which I did basically to give me an identity to comment on other LJ user's posts without signing in as "anonymous."
Well it's time to start using it for something worthwhile. I'm ready to start running my Shadowrun sequel "Return to Bug City." As such, I'll be using it for information dissemination, stories and reviews of gameplay.
I didn't want to use this account for that sort of stuff. This place has a different purpose, i.e. Spam catcher! Drop in and have a look as the game starts up.
Well it's time to start using it for something worthwhile. I'm ready to start running my Shadowrun sequel "Return to Bug City." As such, I'll be using it for information dissemination, stories and reviews of gameplay.
I didn't want to use this account for that sort of stuff. This place has a different purpose, i.e. Spam catcher! Drop in and have a look as the game starts up.
Monday, October 31, 2005
How to delight customers | BJ Fogg's Weblog
I'm no businessman. I have no idea about products and the like, however I was interested to read BJ Fogg's article on what he believes it takes to keep customers truly satisfied with a company.
"This morning I went outside to retrieve the New York Times in my driveway. Walking back to my house, I noticed a brown box sitting by my door. When I saw the box said "Amazon," I experienced a moment of delight.
Ah, delight! -- that sweet, happy spark. Delight makes you smile inside. Delight makes you feel -- at least for a moment -- that everything is right in the world."
"This morning I went outside to retrieve the New York Times in my driveway. Walking back to my house, I noticed a brown box sitting by my door. When I saw the box said "Amazon," I experienced a moment of delight.
Ah, delight! -- that sweet, happy spark. Delight makes you smile inside. Delight makes you feel -- at least for a moment -- that everything is right in the world."
On the BBC Annotatable Audio project | plasticbag.org
Good luck to Tom Coates as he leaves the Beeb and starts his new job at Yahoo. We've never met Tom, but I enjoy your work.
On his last day working for the BBC, Tom Coates describes a project he and the Radio and Music Interactive R&D team have been working on as a means of allowing users to annotate and index BBC audio content.
"First off, imagine yourself as a normal user coming to a page about a particular programme or speech. What you see is a simple interface for playing and scrubbing through the audio at the top of the page with marked 'segments' highlighted. If you hover over those segments they brighten up and display the title of that section. If you click on them, it starts the audio playing from that point. This correlates to the sections below which could be filled with any amount of wiki-style content - whether that be links or transcripts or background information or corrections or whatever. Beneath that are tags that users have added to describe the programme concerned. If you click on any of the segment permalinks to the left it starts the audio at that point and changes the URL to an internal anchor so you can throw around links to chunks of a programme or a speech. So basically you get a much richer and fuller experience of the audio that you'd get by just listening to it in a media player"
On his last day working for the BBC, Tom Coates describes a project he and the Radio and Music Interactive R&D team have been working on as a means of allowing users to annotate and index BBC audio content.
"First off, imagine yourself as a normal user coming to a page about a particular programme or speech. What you see is a simple interface for playing and scrubbing through the audio at the top of the page with marked 'segments' highlighted. If you hover over those segments they brighten up and display the title of that section. If you click on them, it starts the audio playing from that point. This correlates to the sections below which could be filled with any amount of wiki-style content - whether that be links or transcripts or background information or corrections or whatever. Beneath that are tags that users have added to describe the programme concerned. If you click on any of the segment permalinks to the left it starts the audio at that point and changes the URL to an internal anchor so you can throw around links to chunks of a programme or a speech. So basically you get a much richer and fuller experience of the audio that you'd get by just listening to it in a media player"
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Web Two Point Oh!
Via XyroX
You've no doubt heard that most latest of buzzwords doing the rounds, "Web 2.0". The idea is that the post-bubble internet is a tool to assist society through collaborative folksonomies, open-source everything, tags, XML, love and bubbles.
Oh yeah, there's cash to be made as well.
So if you're keen to get capital for your very own Web 2.0 company, but all you're lacking is a name and a business idea, this page can help you get started! With every reload, millions of dollars of ideas flow off its page! Now THAT'S Web 2.0 in action; helping users help themselves (to big piles of steaming cash).
Web Two Point Oh!
I should take this opportunity to point out that the above was written as farce. The referred page is a joke. A nifty one, but a joke nonetheless. It WILL NOT make you tons of money. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to register "Goohub", my new business for "rss-based shopping via XML".
You've no doubt heard that most latest of buzzwords doing the rounds, "Web 2.0". The idea is that the post-bubble internet is a tool to assist society through collaborative folksonomies, open-source everything, tags, XML, love and bubbles.
Oh yeah, there's cash to be made as well.
So if you're keen to get capital for your very own Web 2.0 company, but all you're lacking is a name and a business idea, this page can help you get started! With every reload, millions of dollars of ideas flow off its page! Now THAT'S Web 2.0 in action; helping users help themselves (to big piles of steaming cash).
Web Two Point Oh!
I should take this opportunity to point out that the above was written as farce. The referred page is a joke. A nifty one, but a joke nonetheless. It WILL NOT make you tons of money. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to register "Goohub", my new business for "rss-based shopping via XML".
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Happy 1st Anniversary Rocketboom
A typically understated edition to mark one year of informing, entertaining and generally pushing the button on media creation.
Congratulations, and thanks for making my mornings so enjoyable for the last year.
Congratulations, and thanks for making my mornings so enjoyable for the last year.
Who owns the wisdom of the crowd? The crowd | BuzzMachine
A very interesting piece by Jeff Jarvis on the economy and significance of collective value in the New Media society. When you, for instance, search on Google and visit a page from it, those results are used by Google to make the search engine more effective for everyone. The issue is, if you or I are doing the work to make someone else's product better then shouldnt' we get paid in some way?
Jarvis answers that we already do; by having a more effective tool in the future to use in our work.
"On the individual level, I want to own or control my stuff, don’t you? That is a given that too many companies and institutions forget. Thus my first law of media and life: Give us control and we will use it. The corollary: Don’t give us control and you will lose us.
So I want to control the things I create: my content (e.g., this blog); my identity (e.g., my addresses); my collections of neat things (e.g., my bookmarks); my analysis (e.g., my tags); my reputation (e.g., my eBay rating), my behavior (e.g., my history, my clicks). What does control mean? I want to be assured that somebody else can’t muck with or kill it. I want to be able to use it wherever I want — and that means I need it to be portable.
I also want to control the things I consume: my content (obviously, I pick the sites, shows, words I take in); my advertising (I’d like transparent targeting… and so should advertisers, because it would be a helluva lot more effective).
Other players may try to get in the way — keeping me form (sic) my stuff, or pushing me to this page instead of that, or showing me this ad because they get paid to do so — but, again, if I ruled my world, this is what I’d want. Less interference means less friction means less inefficiency means greater value… for everybody."
He then goes on to talk about the other two parts of this equation, the "collective," or group of users, and "entities," the creators of products and services that allow this interaction. Jarvis then winds up with an interesting thought that I think kind of encapsulates the optimistic attitude of Web 2.0.
"This is no longer a centralized world, a world controlled by those institutions. This is a decentralized world, a world controlled by us.
And if you try to take control away from us, you will lose. It used to be that you could take control away from us and we had nowhere to go. But in this post-scarcity world, we can always go somewhere else for content or information or service. There’s always another news story, always another email service, always another search engine."
My problem is, to my mind, that this whole network of user-generated influence is based on a very tenuous link, governed by too few people with too much power, whether it's the electricity companies switching off power, telecommunications companies controlling the fiber lines or governments controlling the lot. Should we be able to progress down this line further, all well and good. My question is, will this online mentality of community and shared wisdom translate to the real world, when people are forced away from their screens to interact with their neighbours?
Jarvis answers that we already do; by having a more effective tool in the future to use in our work.
"On the individual level, I want to own or control my stuff, don’t you? That is a given that too many companies and institutions forget. Thus my first law of media and life: Give us control and we will use it. The corollary: Don’t give us control and you will lose us.
So I want to control the things I create: my content (e.g., this blog); my identity (e.g., my addresses); my collections of neat things (e.g., my bookmarks); my analysis (e.g., my tags); my reputation (e.g., my eBay rating), my behavior (e.g., my history, my clicks). What does control mean? I want to be assured that somebody else can’t muck with or kill it. I want to be able to use it wherever I want — and that means I need it to be portable.
I also want to control the things I consume: my content (obviously, I pick the sites, shows, words I take in); my advertising (I’d like transparent targeting… and so should advertisers, because it would be a helluva lot more effective).
Other players may try to get in the way — keeping me form (sic) my stuff, or pushing me to this page instead of that, or showing me this ad because they get paid to do so — but, again, if I ruled my world, this is what I’d want. Less interference means less friction means less inefficiency means greater value… for everybody."
He then goes on to talk about the other two parts of this equation, the "collective," or group of users, and "entities," the creators of products and services that allow this interaction. Jarvis then winds up with an interesting thought that I think kind of encapsulates the optimistic attitude of Web 2.0.
"This is no longer a centralized world, a world controlled by those institutions. This is a decentralized world, a world controlled by us.
And if you try to take control away from us, you will lose. It used to be that you could take control away from us and we had nowhere to go. But in this post-scarcity world, we can always go somewhere else for content or information or service. There’s always another news story, always another email service, always another search engine."
My problem is, to my mind, that this whole network of user-generated influence is based on a very tenuous link, governed by too few people with too much power, whether it's the electricity companies switching off power, telecommunications companies controlling the fiber lines or governments controlling the lot. Should we be able to progress down this line further, all well and good. My question is, will this online mentality of community and shared wisdom translate to the real world, when people are forced away from their screens to interact with their neighbours?
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Should mention...
Assignment finished. Semester over. Relief sets in. Waiting for marks.
New program commissioned at work. Production just starting to ramp up. Exciting things on the horizon. Once we get the bugs out.
Time for planning. "Return to Bug City" running through my head. All sorts of incredible ideas. Plot twists. Narrative flow. Thematic elements. Characters. Shadowrun never felt so good.
Reading "Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering" by Robin Laws. Nothing new. Nice to have it written down on paper though. An enjoyable read. Then back to Eco.
Annoyed about ideas. Why is all my stuff so derivative? Great ideas. Based on someone else's work. Screw Newton and "standing on the shoulders of giants." Frustrating for someone for whom writing was once so enjoyable and simple. In school I won awards. I won awards I didn't even know about until this year. What did I do wrong?
Random thought - If the best idea the MSM has of "participatory media" is "Funnist Home Videos", why are we bothering? Sick of phone polls and call ins and "hitting the guestbook." No one's doing it right. In this country at least.
Had.
Enough.
Staccato.
Sentences.
New program commissioned at work. Production just starting to ramp up. Exciting things on the horizon. Once we get the bugs out.
Time for planning. "Return to Bug City" running through my head. All sorts of incredible ideas. Plot twists. Narrative flow. Thematic elements. Characters. Shadowrun never felt so good.
Reading "Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering" by Robin Laws. Nothing new. Nice to have it written down on paper though. An enjoyable read. Then back to Eco.
Annoyed about ideas. Why is all my stuff so derivative? Great ideas. Based on someone else's work. Screw Newton and "standing on the shoulders of giants." Frustrating for someone for whom writing was once so enjoyable and simple. In school I won awards. I won awards I didn't even know about until this year. What did I do wrong?
Random thought - If the best idea the MSM has of "participatory media" is "Funnist Home Videos", why are we bothering? Sick of phone polls and call ins and "hitting the guestbook." No one's doing it right. In this country at least.
Had.
Enough.
Staccato.
Sentences.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Another trailer remix - Scary Titanic Trailer
Via Craig's MovieBlog
Yet another remixed trailer. This time, it's "Titanic" as a horror/action film.
Yet another remixed trailer. This time, it's "Titanic" as a horror/action film.
Rules of Success - The Path of Least Resistance | Blog Maverick
About three months old now, but I just had a situation where I wanted to quote from it. Therefore, in keeping with the missionless statement of this blog, the link is put here for me to use down the track.
"I just read a note in CableWorld by Paul Kagan referring to George Gilders “vision” that in the future TV will die, regardless of delivery medium simply because people will watch only what they want to watch.
How wrong he is. Why he is wrong is a lesson in basic business.
It was Aaron Spelling I believe who said that “TV is the path of least resistance from complete boredom”. Which is another way of saying that its easier to watch TV, than to sit there and do nothing."
"I just read a note in CableWorld by Paul Kagan referring to George Gilders “vision” that in the future TV will die, regardless of delivery medium simply because people will watch only what they want to watch.
How wrong he is. Why he is wrong is a lesson in basic business.
It was Aaron Spelling I believe who said that “TV is the path of least resistance from complete boredom”. Which is another way of saying that its easier to watch TV, than to sit there and do nothing."
LR guide to the new newswriting | Lost Remote
Wouldn't be anywhere near as funny if it wasn't so true.
"In the old days (prior to, say, 1993 or so) there used to be specific guidelines at stations for use of on-air terminology. This was done so the viewers could understand the importance of stories in relation to each other. Now, so many of the terms are mixed messages... In the interest of public service, Lost Remote presents what news terms used to mean, and what they mean today.
"We interrupt this program to bring you a Special Report":
OLD: The president has been shot.
NEW: A cute girl is missing.
"Breaking News":
OLD: The president will resign.
NEW: There's a car on the side of the road with a flat.
"News Alert":
OLD: Man will land on the moon within the hour.
NEW: Man landed on Pam Anderson over the weekend."
"In the old days (prior to, say, 1993 or so) there used to be specific guidelines at stations for use of on-air terminology. This was done so the viewers could understand the importance of stories in relation to each other. Now, so many of the terms are mixed messages... In the interest of public service, Lost Remote presents what news terms used to mean, and what they mean today.
"We interrupt this program to bring you a Special Report":
OLD: The president has been shot.
NEW: A cute girl is missing.
"Breaking News":
OLD: The president will resign.
NEW: There's a car on the side of the road with a flat.
"News Alert":
OLD: Man will land on the moon within the hour.
NEW: Man landed on Pam Anderson over the weekend."
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Serenity - Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!
FINALLY got to go see Serenity. What can I say that hasn't been said before?
Is Joss Whedon a narrative and dialogue genius? Hell yes!
Is this film better than any of the Star Wars prequels? Without doubt.
Does it step past the Original trilogy as the best Sci Fi film of all time? Close one, but the fact it gets consideration says enough.
Can you tell it's based on a backstory? Yes you can.
Does the film deserve a motion picture sequel? No it doesn't.
Why? Because Joss Whedon works best in the longer form of the television series. This story deserves that sort of treatment. A second motion picture would be a disservice to a wonderful narrative vision.
If you haven't seen it yet, ignore waiting until you've seen Firefly first. Catch it on the big screen and THEN go watch the DVD of the series as a prequel.
Is Joss Whedon a narrative and dialogue genius? Hell yes!
Is this film better than any of the Star Wars prequels? Without doubt.
Does it step past the Original trilogy as the best Sci Fi film of all time? Close one, but the fact it gets consideration says enough.
Can you tell it's based on a backstory? Yes you can.
Does the film deserve a motion picture sequel? No it doesn't.
Why? Because Joss Whedon works best in the longer form of the television series. This story deserves that sort of treatment. A second motion picture would be a disservice to a wonderful narrative vision.
If you haven't seen it yet, ignore waiting until you've seen Firefly first. Catch it on the big screen and THEN go watch the DVD of the series as a prequel.
Friday, October 21, 2005
1st Birthday celebrations!!!
I let a rather important event pass by unnoticed.
It was 1 year ago that I stumbled in here and thought, "Hey, why not. Everyone else is doing it. Let's see what all the fuss is about." Since then this site has achieved almost nothing of value, other than to act as huge "Favourites" folder for whacky stuff I find during my internet wanderings. But then, I never really expected it be much else.
I don't use it as a "voice of citizen journalism" site. I'll leave that to those with more training in the subject than I. And while I have used it on occasion to express opinion, I've tried not to get into too much of a habit.
One thing that has happened, is that we've almost reached 2000 visitors, even though the majority seem to have been as a result of spammers and random passers-by. In fact, the ratio of spam to legitimate comment has gotten so bad that I'm thinking of switching off the comments altogether.
I really meant it when I said "Death to all Spammers!"
Then there's the ratio of Splogs to legitimate blogs on Blogger, which has caused more than a few places to ban Blogger sites from their search engines.
Fighting a losing battle here and no real fervour to continue the cause. The only thing keeping me here is inertia.
Happy birthday. Wheee!
It was 1 year ago that I stumbled in here and thought, "Hey, why not. Everyone else is doing it. Let's see what all the fuss is about." Since then this site has achieved almost nothing of value, other than to act as huge "Favourites" folder for whacky stuff I find during my internet wanderings. But then, I never really expected it be much else.
I don't use it as a "voice of citizen journalism" site. I'll leave that to those with more training in the subject than I. And while I have used it on occasion to express opinion, I've tried not to get into too much of a habit.
One thing that has happened, is that we've almost reached 2000 visitors, even though the majority seem to have been as a result of spammers and random passers-by. In fact, the ratio of spam to legitimate comment has gotten so bad that I'm thinking of switching off the comments altogether.
I really meant it when I said "Death to all Spammers!"
Then there's the ratio of Splogs to legitimate blogs on Blogger, which has caused more than a few places to ban Blogger sites from their search engines.
Fighting a losing battle here and no real fervour to continue the cause. The only thing keeping me here is inertia.
Happy birthday. Wheee!
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