Entry 12: What does the future hold for the Internet?

“In only a few short years, electronic computing systems have been invented and improved at a tremendous rate. But computers did not ‘just grow.’ They have evolved… They were born and they are being improved as a consequence of man’s ingenuity, his imagination… and his mathematics.” — 1958 IBM brochure

The Internet is a medium that is evolving at breakneck speed. It’s a wild organism of sweeping cultural change. It’s transformative: it has transformed the vast globe into a ‘global village’ and it has drawn human communication away from print-based media. Here’s a video by the European Union to better explain the future of the Internet and the evolution from web 2.0 to web 3.0.

Right now, its perils are equal to its potential. The debate over ‘net neutrality’ is at a fever pitch. There is a tug-of-war going on between an ‘open web’ and a more governed form of the web (like the Apple-approved apps on the iPad/iPhone) that has more security but less freedom. With this, here’s a video about the grim future of the Internet by pro net-neutrality organizations.

Ultimately, through technology, we hold the reins to our own evolution.

For the first time in history, it might be said that there are moral implications in the act of evolution. The Internet is an extension of our senses and our minds, and its progress is propelled by our own creative and intellectual efforts. The future of the Internet will be shaped by millions of choices and decisions by people from all walks of life. Designers and programmers like us have the advantage of technical skill and specialized knowledge. Given the increasing presence of the Internet in our lives, our choices can have deep reverberations in human society.

To end this blog and this semester of fun and a experience filled learning journey with in you class Mr Abel Choy, I leave with you a funny parody of the first video on the future of our digital age!

Entry 11: Cyber Slacking

Ever just walked in the office and the first thing you do is just check your Facebook and Twitter page? Followed by watching the latest trailers on YouTube all whilst chatting to your friends on MSN Messenger? Before you know it, it’s 5pm and it’s time to knock off and go home. Amount of work completed? Naught. This is the definition and epitome of cyber slacking; a waste of company resources and your time and effort to work hard and excel and get the promotion that you have been yearning for. In this new digital generation of ours, it has given birth to an extraordinary phenomenal; cyber slacking.

This is exceptional and unique to our generation where we are extremely interconnected to all the things we like through the use of the Internet. It is also a current and growing dilemma among corporations, whom efficiency and productivity have gone down, causing company losses, which can eventually lead to retrenchment, Thus creating a vicious cycle back to the employees themselves. Here’s a video of cyber slacking by news corporation CBS on the problems of cyber slacking in the workplace.

With this becoming a growing dilemma in companies, it has promoted them to take more deterring and regulating actions despite it being unpopular among employees. According to Wikipedia:

Many firms employ surveillance software to track employees' Internet activity in an effort to limit liability and improve productivity. Other methods used to reduce cyber slacking include installation of proxy server to prevent programs from accessing resources like Internet Relay Chat, AOL Messenger Service, or some online gambling services, strict disciplinary measures for employees found cyber slacking, and carrot and stick measures like providing free or subsidized Internet access for employees outside of working hours.

This video about a company in the United States is one such example.

With this, cyber slacking can become a problem if companies do not assert enough control over the use of Internet in the office. However, employers must also understand the limit in which how much control they can assert. After all, humans are not robot input machines and we are not made to work every single second the moment we step into our offices. That is not how our brains were created to function. A few minutes of rest periodically can still allow room for productivity to flourish within the workspace.

Entry 10: The changing role of Journalism in the Internet era

Journalism used to be confined to the boundaries of paper, television and radio. But in this digital age of ours, the birth of the Internet has changed the face of journalism. Here’s an introductory video of how Internet has played an integral role in journalism.

With this, the question now is will journalism be able to seamlessly integrate itself and keep pace with the evolving digital age or will it just slow to a halt and degrade the integrity of journalism itself? Chris Ahearn, president of Media at Thomson Reuters shares his opinions on the critical issue journalism in the Internet age:

First, journalism is not synonymous with newspapers and today the discussion has focused too much on newspapers alone. Second, journalism will do more than survive the Internet Age, it will thrive. It will thrive as creators and publishers embrace the collaborative power of new technologies, retool production and distribution strategies and we stop trying to do everything ourselves.

I agree that the bold will survive and the timid will fail. However, the newfangled aggregators/curators and the dominant search engines are certainly not the enemy of journalism. Nor are they the salvation. They do not always refrain from doing evil in their pursuit of profit and audience. And they do fail to “do unto others” at times -– some do steal and use complete or near-complete copies of our and other work and use ad networks such as AdSense to unlawfully monetize without sharing.

We see a world that opens up the newsroom and news gathering process to allow the highest quality and valuable content to flow better from creators to publishers. This new network of syndication is predicated on serving the needs of publishers and their audiences – not what one organization or another simply wants to produce. It is inherently multisource, with rights defined and carrying multiple revenue streams, be they subscription, a la carte, bulk purchase, link-back or revenue sharing. This is a network based on choice and it must be collaborative.

This is the B2B content network the world needs now – and that is what we are building.

We see this platform as an open network that applies consistent metadata to create “intelligent information” designed to help publishers and broadcasters better manage their own and 3rd party content. This is not about locking publishing partners down or blocking search engines – but is about helping all content producers to develop new revenue streams as both a publisher and syndicator of their content. It is about letting the creator choose the most appropriate monetization model for he or herself. We fervently believe that value must always be conferred to the original creator – whoever that is, big or small, incumbent or insurgent.

It will allow publishers to right size their coverage efforts and stop wasting resources on writing the umpteenth undifferentiated story that is available elsewhere. Let’s be honest, too much resource and money is spent on regurgitation as opposed to unique and differentiated labor. It will allow creators to specialize on meeting the unique needs of their audience and will foster creativity. Coupled with responsible behavior by all participants in the link economy – and I do mean all, both incumbent and insurgent – we will see the evolution to a new golden age of journalism and much, much more.

Future of Journalism

With so many differentiating methods of receiving news, be it via Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, online news websites, and even citizen news, traditional journalism has to accept all these changes and adapt themselves to it. In this digital age of ours, it allows us to watch first hand of crisis or world events happening thousand miles away and really observe through the eyes of the average person and the honest opinions that rumble within them. What do YOU think will happen to journalism in the future?

Entry 9: Politics in the Internet

Politics have now gone broadband and wireless! Politics around the world including Singapore and the United States have set up accounts in social networking and media sites with the aim of reaching out a wider audience and the younger Internet savvy generation. In addition, it diminishes the communication gap experienced by pervious administrations and their respective voters. Here’s a video about the impact of social media in American politics.

The Obama victory in the 2008 presidential elections was truly a remarkable feat that set new benchmarks for people who set their sights on impossible goals. The whole excitement surrounding the election has definitely brought about changes in American politics and this entire experience can definitely lend tips to other governments who are planning to use the same tool that Obama used that contributed considerably towards his victory: Social Media.

Here are videos of President Obama using social media to his advantage.

The White House even has it's own Youtube page!

The success of social media in Obama’s campaign definitely provides a great learning point for other governments who wish to go the same way. While the results of social media usage might be unpredictable to begin with; if used wisely social media can become an unrivalled medium that can change the face of national politics.

Entry 8: A Visual Orgasm

People only retain 20% of what they see and 30% of what they hear. But they remember 50% of what they see and hear, and as much as 80% of what they see, hear, and do simultaneously. -Computer Technology Research, 1993

What is multimedia? Multimedia is a fusion of any of the combinations of text, graphics, sound, animation, and video with links and tools that let allows the presenter to navigate, interact and communicate with the audiences through the means of a computer. When you allow the user (the viewer) to control what and when these elements are delivered, it is interactive multimedia. When you provide a structure of linked elements through which the learner can navigate, interactive multimedia becomes hypermedia.

Although the definition of multimedia is simple, making it work can be complicated. Not only do you need to understand how to make each multimedia element stand up and dance, but you also need to know how to tie the elements together using educational multimedia computer tools. If done properly, interactive multimedia excels in leaving lasting impressions in the teaching/learning process. Retention rates increase by 25% to 50%.

To practice what I preach, here’s a video on what multimedia is all about!

Importance of multimedia

Multimedia is fast emerging as a basic skill that will be as important to life in the twenty-first century as reading is now. In fact, multimedia is changing the nature of reading itself. Instead of limiting you to the linear presentation of text as printed in books, multimedia makes reading dynamic by giving words an important new dimension. In addition to conveying meaning, words in multimedia serve as triggers that readers can use to expand the text in order to learn more about a topic. This is accomplished not only by providing more text but also by bringing it to life with sound, pictures, music, and video.

Multimedia will help spread the information age to millions of teachers/learners who have not yet used the computer. Multimedia educational computing is one of the fastest growing markets in the world today.

Fueling this growth are advances in technology and price wars that have dramatically lowered the cost of multimedia computers. The growing number of Internet users has created a larger market for multimedia. The new tools are enabling educators to become developers. Noting how multimedia is used to enable individuals to create course material, that once required teams of specialists, individuals can now produce multimedia desktop video productions.

Entry 7: Cyber crime in the little red dot

Cyber crime in Singapore does exist. Not many of us think or want to believe so since we are so confident with the laws pass by the government and the security set up. With all the security measures and laws laid down, it does deter many a number of cyber crimes from even happening, but that does not mean that cyber crime in Singapore is non existent. In fact it’s the very opposite. Here’s an alarming statistic for you. According to Channel News Asia,

A new study, released by Symantec consumer division Norton, revealed that 70 per cent of Internet users in Singapore have fallen victim to cyber-crimes including computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft. And, 71 per cent do not expect cyber-criminals to be brought to justice. Despite its prevalence, most victims are staying silent about cyber-crime. Internet safety advocates term this as the silent digital epidemic.

Symantec's head of consumer business, Effendy Ibrahim, said: "People don't really talk about it. People don't really report it. Because the way the cyber-criminals work today is they steal very little amounts from you such that that you don't feel the loss. When you don't feel the loss, you say, 'Well, I'd let it go. I won't report it to the authorities'. So there's a lot of cyber-crime going on around us that goes unreported.”

The first study to examine the emotional impact of cyber-crime, it showed that Singaporean victims' strongest reactions were anger (58 per cent), frustration (51 per cent) and feeling cheated (45 per cent). Although one in four Singaporeans blamed the criminals behind the cybercrime, one third felt highly responsible for cyber-criminal activities that resulted from their response to online scams (30 per cent) and phishing attacks (24 per cent). 



Solving cyber-crimes can be highly frustrating. According to the report, four in 10 of the victims in Singapore have never fully resolved cyber-crime. This, it said, is no surprise, considering that it takes an average 24 days and an average cost of S$1,660 to come to a resolution.

Close to three in ten of the respondents said the biggest hassle they faced when dealing with cyber-crime was the time it took to resolve an incident. And, more than half said their biggest fear when it comes to being a victim of cyber-crime was financial loss.

So why is Singapore such a prime target for cyber criminals? According to the Herald Tribune:

Singapore’s global profile and overall affluence inevitably attracts a lot of attention – and not all of this attention is good. Cyber-criminals see this vibrant nation as a lucrative target for their ever-evolving, increasingly noxious array of scams, tricks and deceptions.

The destructive potential of the threats developed and unleashed by today’s expertly organized cyber-crime ‘industry’ should never be underestimated. Any organization – big or small – can become a victim. And any victim can pay an enormous price as a result.

Loss of funds, leakage of sensitive data, compromised intellectual property, erosion of competitive edge, damaged reputation – these are some of the business-busting traumas that Singapore-based firms, like their counterparts worldwide, may suffer if just one virus, spyware or phishing attack, for instance, hits its target.

The attacks and the potential danger of cyber crime occurring are so high that MessageLabs, one of the leading internet security services in Singapore, on average, blocks visits to 15 malicious domains for every one of it’s Singapore clients from April to August 2009. This is three times the APAC average and four times the global average. Below shows a breakdown of statistics of Singapore compared to other countries.

With this, we have to be vigilant in preventing cyber crime from occurring. It doesn’t just happen to business and corporations. Cyber criminals can attack the average person as well. We can’t just depend on the laws and security services provided in Singapore. We have to ensure that our private information is protected and change every so often. That way we can deter cyber criminals from doing the unthinkable.

Entry 6: Maps, Compasses and protractors?

Ever felt lost? Like extremely lost? Never fear! The maps and compasses are here! WHAT?! ARE YOU FROM THE STONE AGE?!

Just a decade ago, maps, protractors and compasses were used extensively to guide us through places and travels. But now, with the introduction of Google Maps, you can literally just click your way to you desired destination! Here’s an introduction of the amazing Google maps! Something that I used extremely often as well!

So what is Google maps all about? Here’s a detailed description of Google maps by our dear and reliable online encyclopaedia Wikipedia!

“Google Maps (formerly Google Local) is a web-mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free (for non-commercial use), that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API. It offers street maps, a route planner for traveling by foot, car, or public transport and an urban business locator for numerous countries around the world. Google Maps satellite images are not in real time; they are several months or years old.”

There you go! A simple yet detailed description of Google maps all in one paragraph. And that’s the end of this entry! Hahaha… I’m just kidding. Here’s my personal experience with what I consider a godsend of an Internet tool.

I run a lot. But in order to do some proper running with a sense of direction and how far I ran, I needed something useful and user-friendly that could aid in my quest to find the perfect running rout around my area. So that was when I turned to Google maps! With Google maps I could map out all sorts of running routes and according to my different preference in distance and elevation in roads (well the elevation in roads were up to my own personal knowledge of the area, but they will probably implement that feature within Google maps soon, I hope!) here’s a few visual aids to show you the amazing Google maps and the easiness to plan out a route! So here’s an example of how I choose my own route, and this is real! It wasn’t done just for this blog; I actually do use this route!!

First go to Google maps itself. Here’s the link : http://maps.google.com/

Now type in the address of you choice as shown in the red circle above. Naturally mine would be Toa Payoh since I live there.

In the red circle, you can type in a specific location for you starting and endpoint of running route. For me, since I just want to run a huge circle around Toa Payoh, I’ll just type in the same address for both “A” and “B”.

So as you can see, I typed in the same address and this is what you get, shown by the black arrows. The blue line between the two green pointers is your route that you can click to hold and drag around.

So this is what happens after you play around with dragging the route; as shown in the red circle!

Viola! I have created the running route of my choice! A mini circle around half the estate of Toa Payoh! How do I know how long this distance is? Simple! They show you the distance as well as indicated by the red circle!

EASY RIGHT? Now go create your own routes, or just play around and have fun with Google maps! Google should pay me for this promotion that I’m doing for them.

Entry 5: Instant connection on the surface, anywhere, anytime

Technology has made leaps and bounds over the past decade. With these advancements, it has not only affected and improve our lives, its has wormed it’s way into every single aspect of life. In this day and age, without technology, life will literally just slow down to a standstill. The thought of this is mind-blogging. As I sit here and type, it makes me ponder over an interesting thought, that without a portable technological device, I would not be able to leave my house to sit comfortably at a Starbucks coffee house with a nice cup of coffee and do my work. Nor would I be able to refer to any information that I require as and when I want and I would just look like a lost sheep on the streets of Singapore! In addition, I would not be able to revise for exams, or do my work, or hand in assignments, or do my research or or or…. The list goes on!!! By now you should have an idea of where this topic is leading. Education! E-learning! Before I continue, just sit and think, how would you be able to EFFICIENTLY AND PROFICIENTLY progress our academia learning without technology? This is why the term “digital divide” exist. There have always been issues brought up in news about countries that do not have access to technology that inhibits their people’s learning and education. But that’s another topic altogether. Anyways, can you see how important technology is now? Without it, connectivity will be lost!

With this, people have always been improving technology so as to achieve better connectivity and sharing. The aim of the game in this technological era of ours is to strive for better inter-connectivity, because knowledge is shared and passed between each other. That’s the way people learn best. That’s why we go to schools to attend lectures. :) So without further ado, let me introduce you to a groundbreaking design: the Microsoft Surface Technology!

Here’s an introduction of what the Microsoft Surface Technology is all about!

With this kind of technology, only more opportunities and improvements can follow in its wake. Just imagine every school being fitted with this “table”, with students being able to communicate easily and efficiently with their teachers and being able to do group discussion and edit and work on projects and consolidate ideas with the simple sift of you fingers! Here’s a video to show you the visual wonders of Microsoft Surface being integrated into a classroom.

So can you see how the two go side by side so well? Quoting Microsoft: “Microsoft Surface and education are like peanut butter and jelly. Microsoft Surface is like that with a number of markets, but there's something about kids interacting with a computer in a very accessible way that seems right.”

In the near future, once this technology is available at an affordable price, education will be taken to a new level. Basically, it will change the face of education and how people learn and interact with each other. Wouldn’t that be awesome? :)

Entry 4: Privacy and ethical issues unique to e-business

The whole concept of e-business is quite difficult to understand, especially for me. While some may view the e-business environment as effortless, I am not surprised that others do not find it complex and problematic!

In this day and age, business has evolved and adapted itself to the wonders of modern technology as most businesses today is conducted through computers, wires, and the Internet. This has transformed the way we perform purchases and transactions and the new unique issues brought abut by this form of doing business. Ethical and privacy issues in e-business have changed the face of consumerism compared to the traditional storefront business where issues were more straightforward and much simpler!

You see, unique of e-business, the private information of individual consumers and other business are protected and enforced more considerably. Along with this is the cost of actually maintaining this privacy as it cost more to maintain privacy with e-commerce security measures compared to a traditional storefront security. For example if you have a load of private computerised information, wouldn’t it be easier to just store them in a computer with the click of a mouse rather than print out copious amount of paper information (in turn destroying the environment!) and storing them in a physical safe? Personally, I would rather spend more money protecting the privacy of consumer information on computers with electronic security programs!

Ethics covers a whole wide range of topics in e-business. It’s close ties to privacy for the e-business organisations and especially for its consumers. Organisations have made it a point to ensure that their consumer’s information is well protected and in strict confidence. UNIQUE to e-business, consumer information is EXCHANGED AND PROTECTED ELECTRONICALLY in secure websites and databases. In addition, it is our duty to make sure that the information that we provide is truthful.

The list goes on on the dos and don’ts regarding the ethics and privacy issues in e-business. But the core requirement or for lack of a better word, the core focus of these issues is naturally the protection of information of it’s customers, other e-business organisations and the organisation itself. Without this, it can lead to identity theft and whole load of legal issues.