A Memo From The Future

Back in 2014 when Google released the much anticipated ‘Google Glass’ which brought wearable computer screens into reality for the first time, very few were aware of the potential and eventual changes these devices would make to the way we live.  Originally listed for sale at $750 they originally competed with the Apple iPhone until google began letting them go for free, with one catch… advertising.  Now everywhere you went, and anything you did would potentially trigger an ad targeted directly at your action at that moment.  Along with this, google was able to top Apple and Facebook who would trace your location, by recording everything you looked at every moment you were wearing Google Glass.  What was already the biggest data mine in the world became incredible.

But in a world where fighter drones were able to be operated from remote desks on home laptops and even children were able to operate their own cyborgs through the power of the internet, geography began to mean less and less.  And traditional country and their political systems suffered.  Along with the power provided by Google Glass, Google and profited greatly from the downfall of the USA and the west, creating tax havens for their employees whilst allowing them to work independent to their location in their own virtual country.  And who was to stop them?  Creating a country allowed google to create an army, but while the country may have been based mostly in a virtual world and the army operated by virtual soldiers, it was a very physically real army, operated by an organisation who knew everything about us.

So why didn’t we get rid of the google glasses?

It’s an interesting question, and one that involves social media heavily.  Our desire to stay connected to each other at all costs, not to miss anything in our networks and to present the best possible side of ourselves has left humanity slaves to new technologies and offerings from social media organisations.  No longer do we come home from holidays with stories for friends.  Our friends already know.  Catch ups have become discussions about what everyone else is doing, because we already present everything we want friends to know to them in easily digestible social updates.  Google glass took this to the next level and was even able to automate these updates for us.  What a world…

Alas, there comes a time when any good idea can become too powerful and currently Google have the power and resources to take over the world if they choose to.  And what if they do?  Is social media independent enough from google’s domination of the internet that a human uprising could be brought about in the style of the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings of a decade ago?  As humankind continues to streamline there existence, chasing the perfect meld between reality and virtual reality it may be important not to put all the eggs in one basket, even if it means compatibility issues.

Theses musings, while highly imaginative are based on the realities faced in today’s increasingly digital landscape.

Noff, A 2011, ‘What’s Next In Social Media’, TNW, 14 June, viewed 17 February 2013, <http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/06/14/whats-next-in-social-media/>.

Rebeliouspixels 2012, ‘ADmented Reality - Google Glasses Remixed With Google Ads’, video, Youtube, 5 April, viewed 17 February 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_mRF0rBXIeg>.

Rivington, J 2012, ‘Google Glass: what you need to know’, Techradar, 15 February, viewed 17 February 2013, <http://www.techradar.com/au/news/video/google-glass-what-you-need-to-know-1078114>.

Shirky, C 2009, ‘How Social Media Can Make History’, video, TED, June, viewed 17 February 2013, <http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html>.

Townes, F 2008, ‘Revealed: Google’s Plan For World Domination, Mashable, 8 December, viewed 17 February 2013, <http://mashable.com/2008/12/07/googles-plan-for-world-domination/>.

Turkle, S 2012, ‘Connected, but alone?’, video, TED, April, 17 February 2013, <http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html>.

The Dark Side Of Social Media

In days long past a high school student could walk into a new school and pick the bullies within their first day.  The big kid poking fun at students two years younger than himself, or the group of girls looking down their noses at everyone they consider beneath themselves, which is usually… everyone.

However in today’s school yard much of the bullying takes place online, which mean…

1. It’s less visible to teachers or other authorities.

2. It doesn’t end when the bell rings.

3. It is stored forever and can be seen by a much wider audience.

Now, not to belittle what goes on at schools, because we all know the effect this cyber-bullying can and has had on young adults, but when you take this mentality out of the school yard to actual adults it’s possible to end up with something like the London street riots.

Social media played a major part in this uprising, as a mob mentality gripped the streets of London (Olenski 2011).  What set this apart from many other uprisings was that a lull in what was happening in the streets did not necessarily mean the mob had lost interest or moved on.  It had temporarily moved online where anger was redirected into more rioting.

Beyond the mob mentality, extremest groups use the internet to communicate and cause havoc, both online and offline.  With the ease and immediacy of online communication, these groups are able to run negative campaigns or to quickly organise illegal actions before authorities are able to get a wind of what is going on.  However at present it seems there is no active recruitment efforts by these groups and children are not being targeted (Ray & Marsh 2001).  It seems individuals generally make contact with these groups through forums and chat sites when contact is made through the internet.  

With all this going on, why don’t governments attempt to control it?  The problem is to control, or censor these incidents you need to censer the entire internet.  And without disregarding the magnitude of that undertaking, the other problem is this takes away an individuals online freedom.  Instead awareness needs to continue to be raised.  Websites such as StopCuberBullying are helping students to understand the realities they face and the potential issues with a large online footprint.

Individuals need to be aware allowing a free flow of information can provide huge benefits, but the same mediums that made Kony famous, or raised over $700 000 for a bullied Greek bus driver can also be used to harass fellow students and co-workers or spark mob mentality behaviour.

Olenski, S 2011, ‘The Dark Side Of Social Media’, Social Media Today, 15 August, viewed 11 February 2013, <http://socialmediatoday.com/steve-olenski/336775/dark-side-social-media>.

Ray, B & Marsh, G 2001, Recruitment By Extremest Groups On The Internet, First Monday, Vol 6, No 2, 5 February, viewed 11 February 2013, <http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/834/743>.

Taking Advantage Of Produsage

As a music producer I have had my work remixed, both with and without my consent.  I have also remixed others work, again, with or without consent.  This is the way of the music business and has been for a long time.  While it may seem to take control and potential profits away from the original artist more often than not artists are embracing this ability to share and are creating opportunities for other artists to create their own interpretations through remix competitions or just releasing individual parts of songs.  At it’s extreme the artist Beck recently released an album as just sheet music encouraging fans to upload their own interpretations of the tracks to youtube without even having heard the original tracks.

As this produsage branches out into other fields businesses could look at taking advantage of it.   Individuals could take photos, or create art within boundaries defined by a company to be included in a television commercial or ad campaigns can be designed in a way in which fans can interact and recreate the ad.  

As technology advance the ways in which interaction through editing can be achieved are becoming greater with a smaller barrier to entry.  While creating a viral campaign is not always straight forward, if a company is prepared to embrace produsage and interact with consumers there is a greater chance that an idea will spread.

Apologies for the lateness of this entry… I guess the internet doesn’t stop for illness.