NSFW. A Hunter Shoots a Bear

Social media is a great medium for executing viral marketing. The latest viral campaign is a YouTube clip titled “NSFW. A Hunter Shoots a Bear”.

The video was created for Tipp-ex; a brand of ink-correction fluid and is one of the most clever and most entertaining YouTube clips I have ever seen. The scene takes place with a guy encountering a bear at his campsite while brushing his teeth. He picks up his gun and aims it at the bear, but two interactive buttons appear on the page where the viewer can either “Shoot the bear” or “Don’t shoot the bear”. These buttons actually link the viewers to another page where the guy uses a Tipp-ex to erase the work “shoots” and allows the viewer to enter their own action to play another video that corresponds to the action entered.

This clever YouTube video was created by an agency called Buzzman and is the most engaging and fun viral campaign ever. It creates an interactive “choose-your-own-adventure’ experience. I believe this is an example of immediacy and hypermediacy because it urges the viewers to engage and take part in the act of mediation. It allows individuals to determine the outcome of the story and give them a sense of ownership by allowing them to redefine the way the story ends.

Here is the YouTube clip:

Can we survive without our mobile phones or smartphones?

A Stanford University survey confirmed that iPhones have become an indispensible part of lifestyles. Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed in the study said their iPhones felt like an extension of their brain or body (1). The results were interesting and they were as follow:

85% of iPhone owners used their phones as a watch

89% used it as their alarm clock

75% admitted they fell asleep with the iPhone in bed

69% said they were more likely to forget their wallet than their iPhone when leaving in the morning (1).

Most of the students that participated in this survey acknowledged their reliance on their iPhones. When they were asked to rank their dependence on their iPhones on a scale of one to five (five being addicted and one being not at all addicted) they responded accordingly:

10% acknowledged full iPhone addiction

34% ranked their dependence on their iPhones at four on the scale

6% were not addicted at all

32% admitted that they were concerned that they would become addicted in the future

41% also confessed that losing their iPhone would be ‘a tragedy’ (1)

Sherry Turkle is a faculty member of MIT who states that computer culture has grown familiar with the experiences of passion, dependency, and profound connections with artifacts. Although designers have focused on how computational devices will help people better manage their complex lives, users are beginning to see these devices as ‘extension of self’ and often a ‘second self’ (2).

Today, mobile phones and smartphones are not just for voice calls, text messaging, capturing photos and listening to music; individuals are constantly exploring the mobile internet to email and engage with social networking sites to keep in touch with their community. For most, it has become an inevitable part of our everyday lives to the extent that the boundaries between the offline and online worlds are vanishing. Due to the new generation of mobile internet services that leverage the social web, individuals are progressively living their lives on their mobile phones and they feel an increasingly emotional attachment with it.

The new generation of mobile internet is commonly referred to as Mobile 2.0. Many assume that Mobile 2.0 simply means bringing Web 2.0 to mobile devices, but it is much more that. Mobile 2.0 is where the social web meets mobility, it is the extensive use of user-generated content, it is about leveraging services on the web through mash-ups and delivering rich mobile user experience, but most of all it is about personalization (3). Internet access has expanded beyond the personal computer and individuals now have the option to mix and match networks, devices and content that bring a richer and more personalized experience, and for that reason we feel we need to have our mobile phones with us at all times. Our reliance on mobile devices has become prominent as we rely on it for our personal and business needs. It is hard to believe that someone in this day and age can live without a mobile phone.

1. Dan Hope (2010), ‘iPhones can be addicting, says new survey’, viewed 17 October 2010

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35768107/

2. Sherry Turkle, 2004, ‘Wither psychoanalysis in computer culture’, Readings in the philosophy of technology, pp. 415-429

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

3. John Strickland, ‘How Web 3.0 Will Work’, viewed 10 October 2010,

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm/printable

The Future Web

According to Netcraft (www.netcraft.com) the World Wide Web currently comprises of more than one hundred million websites (1). As the proliferation of website continues to expand, the amount of information also continues to increase but unfortunately the management of information has not advanced. At this point in time web search engines are unable to understand a search; it only has the ability to list webpages that contain keywords entered in search terms. Current search engines like www.google.com are incapable of identifying whether a webpage is in fact relevant to the user’s search. For example: if a user searched “Apple” it may return a search result that lists information about the fruit “Apple” and the computer manufacturer “Apple”. It is simple for an individual to visit a webpage and comprehend the information but computers do not have the capacity to understand how keywords are used in the context of the webpage (2).

Tim Berners Lee envisions the future web to be a Semantic Web. His theory of the semantic web relates to the way computer will be able to scan and interpret information in webpages through software agents; which are programs that crawl through the web and search for relevant information. It will have a collection of information known as “ontologies”; files that define the relationship among a group of terms. Tim Berners Lee’s explains that the Semantic Web is about “giving information a well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in a cooperation” (1).

Some Internet experts predict that instead of multiple searches, users will be able to enter complex sentences into a Web 3.0 browser and the rest will be done for them. For example: if an individual enters “I want to shop for expensive designer clothes and have lunch with the girls at a well-known café. What are my options?” the web browser would analyse the user’s response, search the World Wide Web for all possible answers and then organize the results.

In the article How Web 3.0 Will Work John Strickland states: “Many of these experts believe that the Web 3.0 browser will act like a personal assistant. As you search the Web, the browser learns what you are interested in.” (1)

Therefore, Internet experts also predict that the browser will learn each individual’s interests, create a unique profile for each user and tailor their browsing experience accordingly. The individual may ultimately type in “Where should I go shopping?” and the browser can then refer to the records in their profile and filter the their likes and dislikes, obtain their current location and then suggest a list of stores/shopping centers the individual would be interested in. Further more, if two individuals each performed a search with the same keywords using the same search engine, they would subsequently received a list of different results established according by their individual profiles.

Many believe Web 3.0 will be a giant database that will use the Internet to make connections with information as opposed to Web 2.0 making connections between people. It will provide users with richer and more relevant experiences.

Here is a great YouTube clip that provides a great introduction to “Semantic Web”

1. Alexander Mikroyanndis (2007), ‘Toward a Social Semantic Web’, pp.113-115
University of Leeds.

2. John Strickland, ‘How Web 3.0 Will Work’, viewed 10 October 2010,

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm/printable

3. “Web 3.0 Concepts Explains in Plain English”, views 16 October 2010,

http://www.labnol.org/internet/web3-concepts-explained/8908/

4. “Intro to the Semantic Web”, viewed 16 October 2010,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGg8A2zfWKg&feature=related

Contemporary Human-Computer Interfaces

In 2001 Lev Manovich quoted “Contemporary human-computer interfaces offer radical new possibilities for art and communication”(1)

Originally computer monitors were used for data processing and television receivers for entertainment. Nowadays the screen has rapidly becoming the main means of accessing any kind of information whether it is still images, moving images or text. We are now using it to read newspapers, watch movies and/or communicate with others.

The contemporary computer monitor has become a lot more dynamic and interactive and has allowed us to experience virtual reality. It has become a ‘window’ where we are able to enter other worlds and environments. Virtual Reality refers to the computer-generated artificial or synthetic environment that stimulates the user’s aural and visual perception (2). It is a human-computer interface where the computer creates a sensory immersing environment that interactively responds to and is controlled by the behaviour of the user (3).

Certain screens have additional characteristics that can further the user’s experience, such as the touch screen feature. Monitors with touch screen capabilities use ‘touching of the screen’ as an input method. Objects displayed on the screen can be selected, moved or activated with a finger and finger gestures can also be used to convey commands.

Screens have progressed even further since the touch screen was established. Recently featured on ACA was the Virtual Mirror, which they predict will be featured in future retail. ‘Ezface’ by IBM was one of the new technologies mentioned in the story.

Ezface is an augmented reality system that merges live video images with virtual or digital elements on the same screen (4). It allows customers to try on make-up ‘virtually’ rather than putting it onto their face, and helps them choose the product that suits them best. For instance, a customer could have their photo taken in a kiosk and their face will be captured and displayed on a computer screen. For this purpose, lets just say that the customer has a basket of make-up products in their shopping basket, which they selected from the shelves. Ezface gives them the facility to scan the product barcode for the screen to show them what the make-up product would appear like on their skin. The screen becomes the canvas for the customers to virtually test make-up on their own face.

Here is a YouTube clip that shows another example of future shopping using a clever human-computer interface.

It is obvious that screens are not only for the simple function of data processing anymore - they are all around us. We are inundated with human-computer interfaces and it has become a vital part of our everyday lives. I believe it is only a matter of time until the Virtual Mirror becomes an essential screen in future retail stores.

1. Manovich, Lev. (2001) The Language of New Media, Cambridge,Mass.; London:MIT Press. (‘The screen and the user’ pp. 94-115)

2. www.twinity.com/en/glossary. Last accessed: 12th September 2010

3. www.hitl.washington.edu/scivw/EVE/IV.Definitions.html Last accessed: 12th September 2010

4. http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=7947796 Last accessed: 12th September 2010

Open Source

Open source refers to the procedure in releasing and making the source code of a program available free to users and other program developers. They can then utilise and appropriately tailor the source code to suit their needs. Another name for open source would be “free software” as it can be obtained at no cost. Open source can be customised, modified and redistributed to fulfil the user’s needs and requirements; whether it is corporate, educational or personal. The foundation of open source is to share and permit everyone and anyone to analyse and modify the code if necessary. It is software that is relaxed or made free from copyright restrictions; therefore any public body has the right to lawfully obtain information by request or observation. There are no restrictions on the use or distribution by any organisation or user; some examples of open source include Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL.

The philosophy of open source is the freedom of distribution within a community of programmers and the liberty to modify and improve the code. It is a free commodity due to the absence of copyright and patent laws. It is a method of launching a product where the material is accessible and shared by the community who creates and uses it. Rather than a proprietary secret, source codes are made complimentary for public to obtain, analyse, modify and further enhance.

Open source has given businesses the ability to achieve a more profound entrance into the software market. There are companies who offer open source software in order to establish an industry standard and secure an advantage in competitiveness. Developer loyalty has also prospered due to their sense of ownership of the completed product. Marketing and logistic expenses are not necessary for open source software, as a result companies have the aptitude to concentrate and invest in the technology developments to generate reliable, high quality software that is faster and more economical. There will also be greater potentials for technology flexibility and rapid innovations. Open source allows thousands of independent programmers to collaborate, test and repair errors found in software. This will of course better the quality of software due to the considerable collaboration of diverse users, programmers and other active individuals from an extensive range of backgrounds.

References:
Deitel & Associates. Internet & World Wide Web: How to Program. Third Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc, 2004

What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 has always been just a buzzword for me. I’ve always known it to be a generation of the web, but I have never been too sure about it’s characteristics and what it exactly offers to the average Internet user. To answer some of my questions and to kill my curiosity, I decided to perform a quick research on the meaning of Web 2.0.

This is what I discovered…

The expression Web 2.0 is frequently associated with web applications that assist interactive information sharing, interoperability, collaboration, user generated content and design on the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 does not only allow users to retrieve information, it presents a more interactive user-interface that encourages user-generated content. Some examples of Web 2.0 includes: Social networking websites, wikis, blogs and video-sharing websites.

On the 30^th September 2005, Tim O’Reilly wrote an article titled “What is Web 2.0. Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software”. He states ”Web 2.0 doesn't have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core.” My interpretation of this statement is that Web 2.0 is a lot more robust compared to Web 1.0. Due to the enhancement of user interactivity of the Web 2.0 platform, users are given the stand to collaborate within a virtual community where user-generated content can be shared within a network and stored in a collective pool of social knowledge. The Web 2.0 platform fundamentally supports the idea of collective knowledge because it can generate new knowledge as well as enhance the capacity to codify, store and retrieve knowledge by collectively accessing networked databases. Collective intelligence is the enhancement of group intelligence due to the ever-expanding degree of human collaboration and interaction.

My conclusion is that Web 2.0 is not just a generation of the Web it is connected with the way software developers and the end-users utilise the web. This time we are not just users of the Internet we are actually becoming part of the Internet.

Here is a great YouTube clip that gives a great technical summary of what Web 2.0 means.

Political Campaigns Benefit from Social Media

Social media has become a popular platform for those in a political office whose work and very professional survival is dependant on the needs and perceptions of their constituents. It is obvious that social media is fully fledged with opportunities for politicians to connect with voters.

Jonathan O’Dea was elected the Member for Davidson for the Liberal Party in 2007 and is currently exploiting the power of social media to collect feedback and thoughts from his constituents. You can visit his website at: www.jonathanodea.com.au

I have been privileged enough to work with a great team who designs and develops disruptive technology and one of our initial projects was to develop an online survey for Jonathan O’Dea. This survey is concerned with the issues of combining same-sex couples and adoption that was introduced by Independent MP Clover Moore. It is a topic that is certain to attract considerable community interest and attention.

As member for Davidson, Mr O’Dea has potential concerns regarding the proposed Bill. He decided to use the power of social media in order to objectively ask his constituents about their views on the topic before stepping forward and exercising his conscience vote in the New South Wales State Parliament.

The “Survey on Adoption Amendment (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2010” consists of three questions where the responders can answer using multiple choices and/or send a ‘confidential’ message to Jonathan O’Dea. If you have a few moments, be sure to visit this online survey and have your say on the topic. Make sure you have your speakers turned on, as Mr O’Dea would like to speak to you. He is a live ‘Avatar’ who will aim to respond to your comments if you decide to leave your contact details with him. http://2d.homeunix.com/couples/

‘Photoshopping’ – A Contemporary Style of Art

'Photoshopping’ is a common slang for photo manipulation and the term originated from the popular graphics-editing program known as Adobe Photoshop.

Photo manipulation has been around for a very long time but with the advent of sophisticated digital imaging products such as digital cameras, powerful personal computers and sophisticated photo-editing software, photo manipulation has become a common practice. Due to the advancement of digital imaging hardware and software, the manipulation of photos have become a much easier and efficient procedure and fake photos are becoming more difficult to detect.

The following YouTube shows some great examples of digital photo manipulation and retouching produced by Rodrigo Bressane.

'Photoshopping’ is a common term used to describe digital photo manipulation and it has become a contemporary style of art. A perfect demonstration of this new style of art is Photoshop Tennis where a pair of artists start of with one original photo between the two of them and they take turns manipulating it to produce a new meaning. This game is sometimes referred to as Photoshop Pong and Photoshop Battle as it follows a similar concept to the ‘DJ battle’ except the game is played by editing and remixing images. Photoshop tennis initiated during the late 1990s and early 2000 on graphic related internet forums.

Here is a great example of a Photoshop Tennis game. It was a battle between Danielle Russel and LJ Jun.

In my opinion, digital photo manipulation is a practice to craft illusion and deception, which makes it very difficult to distinguish which photos or artworks are authentic. But the power of digital imaging has become a contemporary style of art that has allowed us to further express ourselves to the world.

Gesture Search

In March, Google launched an experimental application called Gesture Search for the Android. The Android is a Smartphone that has the capacity to store an abundance amount of data and information. This makes it difficult for users to access specific items on their phone such as a bookmark, contact, application or music file. Gesture Search allows Android users to search their device by simply drawing gestures on the touch screen – for example, they can basically use their finger to write the title of the item they wish to find. The entire word does not need to be spelt out because the search results are continuously updated as the application registers each letter drawn by the user. The Gesture Search is known to provide a quick, fast and fun way to perform searches on a phone where great quantities of items are found in the one place.

Have a look at this YouTube video to understand how the Gesture Search works

It is obvious that Google is profoundly competing against the Apple iPhone in the Smartphone market. Smartphones have become one of the most popular categories for consumer technology. The Android is establishing exciting and innovative applications for users to interact further with their phones and therefore connect with the rest of the world in an easier, faster and more efficient manner. At this very moment the Gesture Search only works for contact, bookmarks, applications and music searches. I will not be at all surprised if Google decides to take a larger leap and come up with an efficient method for searching information on the entire web. What else does Google have in store? It is never ending!

Triple Play

Triple play is a concept that refers to the combination of voice, high speed data, and television services over an IP network. This is a term commonly used by many broadband service providers to describe the sending and receiving of real-time data, voice and video traffic over a single IP network.

One example is VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). This is a digital telephone service that utilises a combination of private backbones and the public internet, as opposed to the traditional telephone network. They are telephone calls that use the internet to completely bypass the traditional phone system, and are relatively cost effective. Calls within the country are charged at a fixed fee and international calls are typically charged at a low per minute rate. VoIP packages commonly consist of features such as voice mail, caller ID, call forwarding softphone options. Softphones are software based phones that entails a computer to receive and make calls. VoIP requires a broadband internet connection and a typical home phone plugged into an analogue telephone adapter.

VoIP is a term widely used for the actual service offered. IP telephony refers to the technology behind it. It is the term used to describe all real-time applications such as voice over instant messaging and videoconferencing over an internet protocol.

http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/552/images/voip-station.jpeg

References:
Paul Zucker. “VoIP Superguide” NETT#: Take Your Business Further Online, April 2008 1 (04): 76-82

Free Rider

Free rider describes those people who take advantage of a certain goods without having any intentions of purchasing it as they are aware they cannot be excluded from the consumption process. It is an individual who avoids the cost and expense and acquires it without the ordinary effort. They are consumers who take advantage of public goods without contributing sufficiently to its production or creation; they consume more than their fair share. This is known as the “free rider problem” and has the capability of destroying common goods. It is an economic issue when it leads to an under-production of a public good or excessive use of a common property resource.

National defence is a public good that gives people incentives to be a “free rider”. The benefits of national defence must be distributed among a large mass of people, it is barely beneficial to those who serve the nation exerting the efforts to defend. They must put their personal health and lives on the line during their military service for the sake of the nation and its large population.

Simultaneously ‘free-riders’ are acquainted with the fact that he or she will not be excluded from the benefits of national defence regardless of their absent contributions. The advantages of national defence cannot be divided to favour particular individuals either. Free riders may refuse and avoid making payment for national defence, despite the familiarity that they are well guarded by other individuals that contribute; therefore the government has to rely on voluntary donations and taxes. Majority of free riders would never pay for a free benefit or put forth any voluntary assistance unless they were guaranteed a reward; such as an imbursement from the government.

References:
http://www.lse.co.uk/FinanceGlossary.asp

Walled Garden

John Malone; a former owner of Tele-communications Inc was the founder of the term “walled garden”. In regards to media content, a walled garden refers to the barricaded or exclusive selection of information services provided to consumers. This method is applied to generate a monopoly or is used to protect an information system. This opposes the idea of providing consumers with content and e-commerce via the access of an open internet.

A walled garden is also used to portray an internet environment that directs the user’s access to particular content or service on the web. The effects of a wall garden steers user navigation to certain areas of selected material and prevent them from accessing material from other websites. Internet service providers may construct ‘virtual fencings’ to restrict users from entering specific websites or gardens for various motives; such as shielding users from certain information example; pornography, or directing consumers to paid content that only the ISP supports and away from competing websites.

Today, schools are introducing walled gardens to develop browsing environments in their network whereby students have limitations in relation to the websites they are able to access. A password is required in order to leave the wall garden and browse the internet without restrictions.

This walled garden concept is quite unpopular with many consumers. Although it offers an easy-to-navigate selection of services and content, it is only a small portion of what the internet can potentially offer. It will only provide a confined user experience and a lack of diversity in regards to what the web has to offer the consumers.

http://www.travel-tuscany.net/images/monteriggioni.jpg

References:
Dr Gerald Goggins. Virtual Nation: The Internet in Australia. New South Wales, Sydney: UNSW Press, 2004

Network Neutrality

Network neutrality is a term used to describe the way users of the internet ought to have control over the content they view and the applications they utilise. Individuals should have the ability to access any web content they aspire and utilise any applications they prefer, free of restrictions or any limitations set by their ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Network neutrality should be preserved due to its vast significance in the success of the internet. It is an issue that will potentially shape the future of the internet. The internet’s design concept was to maximise user choice, innovation and introduce an explosion of consumer benefits. It has become a gigantic worldwide mechanism for economic growth and prosperity, user choice, innovation and global competitiveness.

Fair Vs. Foul in Net Neutrality Debate. America.
The Moderate Voice. November 24th, 2007
http://themoderatevoice.com/media/internet/16239/fair-vs-foul-in-net-neutrality-debate/

Common or Public Goods

There are occasions when common goods are also considered as public goods, but it is important to comprehend their dissimilar definition.

Public goods are somewhat like “private goods” however, they are provided by the government for all individuals to enjoy and benefit from. Private goods are by and large traded in markets through a price mechanism where the ownership of a good or service is transferred and its benefits tend to be exclusive to the owner’s consumption. Public goods are non-excludable and non-rival in consumption. Once a public good is accomplished, they are there for all to enjoy without private actors having to contribute to its production. Benefits from public goods stretches across country boarders, generations and population groups. Some examples of public goods are postal services, national defence, telecommunications, and on a smaller scale; street signs and traffic lights.

The term common good is a concept established more than two thousand years ago. It refers to objects and conditions that functions in a manner to benefit all members in a given community. It is something that is equally available, shared and satisfying to all. A society’s common good is something which all members have access and such enjoyment of the good shall not be excluded from any individual; regardless of their status. They are conditions that are equal to everyone’s advantage. Some examples include accessible and affordable public health care organisations, public society and security, legal and political systems, thriving economic system and an uncontaminated natural environment.

In regards to economics, a common good is something that positively impacts a society’s living condition; such as renewable resources. One great example of a renewable resource is water. In order for a society to benefit from such resources, all members must make the effort to cooperate. They must preserve the resources by consuming it efficiently and using it in a controlled manner so that it maintains an adequate level of availability. Such goods are available for groups and individual members of the community to readily access the benefits and fulfil their satisfaction. Common goods will vary from one given community to another. It is concerned with the type of society one wants to become and it is a way to further their common goals.

The inconsistency of opinions and ideas that comprises in a given society is a problem for common goods. Every human being has their own idea about what constitutes to a ‘good lifestyle’. Agreeing on society values is unattainable, and even if an agreement could be reached there will be disputes on the relative values things may have on varying social groups. Due to the large range of personalities, beliefs, lifestyles, tradition, culture and values it is not easy to convince someone to forgo their self interest for the basis of a common good.

The only way to reach an agreement is to take the total sum of all the private interests of each member of a community; therefore the greatest possible good will be attained for the greatest number of people. Many declare that the endorsement of common good is the aspiration in democracy and socialism. Common goods are available to everyone; including those individuals who do not contribute to the maintenance of the good this is known as the “free-rider” problem.

The only way to reach an agreement is to take the total sum of all the private interests of each member of a community; therefore the greatest possible good will be attained for the greatest number of people. Many declare that the endorsement of common good is the aspiration in democracy and socialism. Common goods are available to everyone; including those individuals who do not contribute to the maintenance of the good this is known as the “free-rider” problem.

References:
The Common Good. Santa Clara. Santa Clara University. 1992
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/commongood.html
(Article appeared originally in Issues in Ethics V5 N2 (Spring 1992))

The Power of Network Society and Cyberterrorism

Various organisations and professions around the world embrace a profound aspiration for the power of social networking. The study of social networks and the propagation of social networking tools have developed into a popular approach for accomplishing individual and communal goals. Social network analysis refers to the study of social structure by methodologically mapping the relationships, interdependencies and information flows between associated agents through the representation of nodes (dots) and ties (lines). The study of social networks has become a profound and dynamic method for collaborating, collecting and piecing together information about network structures. It is a prevalent technique used to understand the underlying patterns of interaction between individuals, organisations, communities and groups of various scales. Investigating social network structures are essential in the process of understanding and identifying emerging or existing patterns within a network; the associated agents, their behaviours and their relationships. The steady proliferation of innovative technology has certainly contributed to the power of social networking and the trend has been predicted to flourish in the future. This expanding phenomenon of social networking has become significantly important in many case studies undertaken by a variety of fields; such as national security, terrorism, business development, marketing and political campaigns. The power of social networking has become imperative in the global network; whether the intended goals are classified as positive or negative.

The global network is a relatively large social network that consists of individuals, communities and countries sharing social, economical and political relationships. We are all tightly connected in this world and linked to an immeasurable amount of individuals, sometimes closer than we expect. The small world phenomenon is omnipresent in the global network. A social psychologist by the name of Stanley Milgram conducted the “small-world experiment” and discovered that the human society can be referred to as a ‘small world’ due to the short path lengths connecting any two individuals in the world. By tracing chain letters and investigating the short chain of acquaintances, Milgram established that a chain letter required five to six intermediary steps before reaching the desired destination; this is commonly referred to as “six degrees of separation”. “Six degrees of separation” is a fundamental principle that suggests that every actor in the world is connected to another actor via a chain of acquaintances of no more than five intermediaries. The associated agent and the relationships they share can influence the behaviour of their social network to a great extent. The actions or behaviours of a single agent could potentially affect the entire network. This is evident in the event of the 2001 September 11 attacks of the World Trade Centre in the United States. The world instantly collapsed from a robust connected network to one that was immediately fragile. The countries that share a social, economic or political relationship with the United States were instantaneously affected by the exhaustive terrorist attack. They did not have to be physically situated in the vicinity of the horrendous event to experience the effects. This horrendous incident clarifies that distant events can be closer than we imagine.¹

National Security Agencies implements social network analysis in their case studies on terrorism. Countless unconfirmed conspiracy theories in relation to the September 11 attacks continue to circulate, particularly on the Internet. Mapping out terrorist networks is a vital procedure when investigating, analysing and understanding the structural operations of a terrorist group. Valdis Krebs, the founder and chief scientist of orgnet.com and the developer for social and organisational network analysis, uses the power of social networking to map out the terrorist network that attacked on September 11 in hope to uncover and confirm the underlying conspiracies. While there are individuals like Krebs exercising the power of social networking aspiring to uncover the conspiracy theories of terrorist attacks, there are groups of harmful individuals simultaneously exploiting the power social networking and its technology with the ill intensions of initiating what is known as ‘Cyberwar’ or ‘Cyberterrorism’.

Cyberterrorism arises when individual and groups of terrorist take advantage of information technology to further their agenda in achieving their detrimental goals. The foundation of their goals may surface from political, ideological, financial or religious issues. Cyber terrorists exploit information technology to organise and execute attacks against networks, hack into computer systems and telecommunication infrastructures, destroy websites, launch viruses into vulnerable networks and also exchange and formulate terroristic threats electronically. ²

Gerald-Mark Breen and Jonathon Matusitz are long-term partners who focus their research on emergency management, government, politics, health communication, and the prevention of terrorism and cyber terrorism. Gerald-Mark Breen is a research associate and doctoral student in the Department of Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida, and Jonathon Matusitz is an assistant professor in the Nicholson School of Communication.³ Matusitz states that social networking is a theory that analyses how people unite forces. The pair of research associates applies social network theories to investigate and identify cyber terrorist networking methods which traditional terrorist lack the ability to implement. Cyber terrorists and traditional terrorist networks adhere to extremely different social structures; however, they all function with similar goals to cause intentional harm and destruction. Traditional terrorists are controlled within a hierarchical structure often represented by a pyramid with the leader situated at the top. They are the superior individuals who control and command the associated terrorist positioned in the lower levels of the pyramid. The structure within a cyber terrorist network can be represented by a horizontal configuration where each cyber terrorist is situated on a common level and there are no leaders to manage the social structure. Every agent is equal without any superior or dominating individuals. Cyber terrorist networks are driven by common goals and operate at best when interacting with fellow cyber terrorists.

One of the greatest advantages for cyber terrorist is the anonymity they possess when using the Internet. Being anonymous makes it ever more difficult to trace and identify the source of a malicious cyber attack. Identify theft is one of the common issues in cyber terrorism. This is when cyber terrorists unlawfully acquires another individual’s identity without their knowledge and exploit it to attain their ill-defined goals. Breen states, “You can steal and destroy life.” ⁴

Furthermore, an additional advantage is their ability to prevail over time and space via the Internet. Distant and location is barely an issue for cyber terrorists. They have the capacity to maliciously attack another computer at any place or time provided they have access to a computer with an Internet connection. The vulnerability of infrastructure targets will persistently swell as the future of technology continues to advance. At this point in time, Europe, East Asia and North America are most accustomed to technology and are therefore the eminent cultures for producing cyber terrorists. Both Breen and Matusitz believe society will not realise the extent of cyber terrorism threats and outcomes until a disaster equivalent to the September 11 terrorist attacks strike the cyber world. Therefore, they have commenced collaboration with experts from a range of disciplines and have aspired to join forces with additional faculties in order to educate the public and promote cyber terrorism awareness. Breen and Matusitz have also begun executing their own social networking methods in action to prevent cyberterrorism.

Business organisations are also after the power of social networking to increase their level of efficiency, productivity, profit and performance. Many businesses sought the power of social networking to improve the structure of their organisation and further develop their general operations. Social network analysis is a technique that has the aptitude to visually map relationships between people in large distributed groups. This is a powerful technique, which assists business managers in drawing out the visual framework of associated agents and their relationships with their business structure. Activities may entail the way employees communicate, collaborate, accomplish tasks, and the way external entities react to the product or service the business offers to the market. Visual frameworks facilitate the identification of methods that may be applied to influence the performance and innovation process within a business structure.⁵ Social network analysts comprehend the vital importance of each individual and their aptitude to influence the behaviour and structure of their social network. Rather than studying a business network as a frozen embodiment of entities that revolves around the influence of social forces, it will be more effective to analyse the allied individuals and their behaviours. Existing and emerging social network patterns can miraculously be revealed through relevant and appropriate data collections; such as information on individual employees and their methods of interaction. Monitoring the structure of a business and collecting data can further assist business managers to establish effective approaches in altering the business culture to one that suits their goal. For example, they may establish the need to rearrange or restructure their business by introducing new technology or communication system. It is important to interpret the structure and goals of an organisation under the perspectives and goals shared amongst the individuals involved. Other than monitoring the current structure of a business, social network analysis can also aid businesses to apprehend and recover from unexpected catastrophes.

The power of social networking has become evidently popular amongst the many individuals who connect to social networking tools such as blogs, discussion groups, forums, social networking websites and many other websites that display user-generated contents. Social networking tools provide the public with the ability to generate and customise website contents. It allows us to amplify and express our personal opinions to a wider spread audience. Social networking tools have brought an upsurge of ‘customer power’ to society; where customers are presented with the power to share their perspectives and experiences on specific companies or brands. These personal opinions circulate through the power of online social networking and can be either beneficial or harmful to the subjected company or brand. Although positive statements can be ‘effective marketing’, negative statements may subsequently cause serious damage to their health. Techno savvy executives have simultaneously taken the upsurge of ‘customer power’ to their advantage by accessing data via social networking applications. Social network analysts utilise this to gain a clearer understanding of the links and relationships shared between the company and their external agents, such as their clients and customers. Collected data and information can be used to develop and examine the framework of a company or brand. Marketing, sales, customer support, operations, research and development departments would use this to their utmost advantage. The potential benefits of social networking tools have the capacity to assist companies in generating research insights, extending the reach of marketing, revitalising sales effort, eliminating support costs and encouraging the innovation process. ⁶ An enormous segment of the Internet revolves around users, the content they generate, the social networks structures they form and the online activities they exercise.

Companies savvy enough to profit from the power of social networking comprises of Ernst & Young, Hewlett Packard and BMW’s Mini Cooper. These companies take part in the social trend where people employ technologies to exchange their wants and needs. Ernst & Young recruits their team of college graduates via a careers group on Facebook. This careers group permits job information postings and additionally answers any individual questions from prospective employees. Hewlett Packard possesses fifty executives who log onto their individual blogs on a daily basis to join the continuing online conversations in regards to their product lines. They use the power of online social networking as a platform to provide customer service by responding directly to postings about customer problems and concerns. Mini USA captures every comment made about their brand online and uses this data as effective customer feedback. They use the collection of customer feedback to further guide their advertising campaigns. Comments can be collected via blogs, discussion groups, forums, MySpace pages and many other websites that display user-generated contents. Companies are encouraged to go well beyond the traditional user surveys and further study the manner in which people interact on the web and their approach to utilising online collaborative tools. The understanding of complex and rich social network requires both qualitative and qualitative data from large and small scales. Quantitative data is collected from large groups and answers ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘how’. Qualitative data answers ‘why’. Companies who understand their customers and their underlying criticisms are able to use the new social networking phenomenon to their maximum advantage. ⁷

Politics are also after the power of social networking to gain more control in their operations. Various political parties are searching for effective ways to adopt the power of social networking. Social networking websites are effective tools for reaching individuals from various communities in the global network and is constantly accessible at almost any location and time. One of the most successful political campaigns is the Barack Obama online campaign: my.barackobama.com. This customised networking tool adopts new media strategy through the inspiration of popular social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook. This political online campaign permits supporters to join local groups, create events, sign up for updates and launch fundraising pages. The online campaign raised over two million donations and brought together masses of supporters from various locations. The tremendous success acquired numerous new members and triggered an abundance of real-world behaviours. Obama personally credits the Internet social networking tools as an essential part of his success.⁸ Many other political parties are attempting to employ the new media strategy to amplify their political party, directions, goals and their need for support. Powerful online campaigns require the community to engage with its social networking capabilities in order to effectively reach an audience at a large-scale. Therefore, the scale and culture of the intended audience needs to be considered in the implementation of customised social networking websites. A political campaign must determine and estimate whether an online campaign will have enough members to actively participate and engage with the website to support their party. The democratic potential of social networking applications is still uncertain but perhaps in the very early stages of its revolution.

The power of social networking has become imperative in the global network. Many organisations and professionals are taking part in this ever-developing phenomenon. Social networking connects agents, individuals, entities, communities and organisations situated around the world. Every person is considered an agency and a critical entity of the global network. Social networking studies and applications have become a popular method for examining and understanding network structures of real-life phenomena for both small and large scaled structures. We are able to employ social networking studies to sample and simulate real-life situations and detect the underlying benefits that may accelerate the achievement of individual and group goals. Investigating social network structures are essential in the process of understanding and identifying emerging or existing patterns within a network; the associated agents, their behaviours and their relationships. Simultaneously, the information obtained from these studies can assist in the efforts to influence and change certain trends and behaviours within a network. The steady proliferation of innovative technology has certainly contributed to the power of social networking and the trend has been predicted to flourish in the future. There are many benefit and possibilities that underlie the power of social networking, some that are yet to be defined. At this point in time, we can only live, learn and experience this evolving social networking phenomenon that continues to escalate with the constant proliferation of innovative technology.

References:

1. Duncan J. Watts (2004).
Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age
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2. National Conference of State Legislatures (2008). Cyberterrorism.
Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/cip/cyberterrorism.htm

3. Selected Works (2008). Selected Works of Gerald-Mark Breen
Retrieved October 18, 2008, from http://works.bepress.com/geraldmarkbreen/

4. William Richards (2008, August 25). Seeing Facebook’s link in cyberterrorist hierarchy strategy.
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5. Robert L. Cross & Andrew Parker. (2004).
The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organisations.
Harvard Business School Press.

6. Josh Bernoff & Charlene Li (2008, February 14). Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web.
Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/smr/issue/2008/spring/01/

7. James M. Kaplan and Kreg Nichols. (2008, July). Tapping The Power of Social Networking
Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.ciozone.com/index.php/Editorial-Research/Tapping-The-Power-Of-Social-Networking.html

8. Brian Steller (2008, July 7), Obama harnesses power of web social networking.
Retrieved October 3, 2008, from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008036639_obamaface07.html