How could mashups serve international governance? Would mashups serve to make government more effective?

“A mashup is a web page or application that combines data or functionality from two or more external sources to create a new service” (Wikipedia, 2009). This form of information integration is beneficial for individuals. It allows the viewer to receive and view all information at once instead of having to browse and search through various sources. This can be less time consuming for today’s fast paced world, especially governments. An example mentioned in the tutorial was one of the war in Afghanistan. Mashups help provide maps which combine data from various perspectives into one collaborative form of the overall affects of the war as well as the locations in which improvements are taking place within the country.

Mashups help serve international governance by providing the government with the ability to combine information through e-governance—modernizing service provision to citizens or businesses. As mentioned in lecture, a government is the organizational manifestation of ‘the state’—the apparatus of power. As a result of the authoritative role of the government, information is essential for international governance. It provides the government with the ability to communicate overseas and it is also cost-effective. As technology expands throughout the world, more and more countries are adapting similar ways through e-governance. This allows information technology (ITs) to grow in the public sector resulting in improved communication; a government to government connection (G2G), government to business (G2B), and government to consumer (G2C), as mentioned in the readings by Holliday. Further, mashups serve international governance through a greater flow of information and variety, which is easier to access on a national as well as a global scale. Such methods of international governance are used by international agencies such as the World Bank and the UN (United Nations). These agencies allow easy access for citizens to view information in a feasible manner.

Mashups serve to make the government more effective because they are efficient and cost effective. On a local scale, e-democracy enables greater participation in decision-making by the state. As mentioned in the lecture, it is a response to the perceived ‘legitimating crisis of governments’; seeks to improve citizen participation in decision making; and improves impact of policies as well as transparency and accountability. For example, a website set up by the government which allows its citizens to import personal inputs helps improve participation on a local level, and also improves legitimacy of the government. Therefore, mashups serve international governance as well as make the government more effective.

Links to some mashups: http://www.sadakmap.com/ http://www.mashupsongs.com

What does global civil society look like?

 A global civil society refers to nongovernment structures and activities. Global civil society emerged in the final decade of the 20th century. It consists of individuals, households, non-profit organizations, and many more. In the lecture, the professor defined global civil society as being different from the government, and consists of institutions as well as organizations such as NGOs (Nongovernment Organizations). A global civil society allows individuals to voice their opinion. As emphasized many times in this course, the shift of power from one to many has provided people with the ability to communicate on a large scale, rather than restricting communication for government purposes. For example, if there is political unrest in a country, the people of that nation can use communication tools/engines such as facebook or twitter to voice their opinions as well as the affects the conflict has and connect to other individuals on a large scale. This emphasizes the role which ICTs (International Communication and Technology) in the global civil society. Also, ICTs help NGOs promote social justice, this can be accomplished through: observation, education, mobilization, and collaboration. For instance, in order for change to take place in a nation, an NGO would first go to the country and observe the conditions which have caused unrest. Later, by educating the people of that nation on such issues as individual rights; economic, social, and political conditions; and the environment, it will empower people and encourage them to take action towards improvement. Organizations such as the Red Cross work on improving human life and health; often referred to as humanitarian institutions. It has approximately 97 million volunteers around the world providing sustainable living conditions. In conclusions, global civil society consists of social movements, social justice, and involves national civil networks such as NGOs.

Link to map: http://www.mapbuilder.net/

Does Internet Democratize the Consumer?

Here is a link to the audio version (podcast) of this blog: http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/2648/episodes/11611

Below is the written version:

The Internet does indeed democratize the consumer. In the video “Story of Stuff”, the presenter defines the government as being democratic—a government is of the people, by the people, and for the people; it persists of equality of rights and provides privileges and power is exercised by the people or their elected representatives. I found this definition to be of importance because it allows us to have a better understanding of the term and how it contributes to consumers. In our lecture this week the Professor defines a ‘consumer’ as the purchaser or renter of goods and services provided by a producer in the marketplace. Now that we have a general idea of the two terms we can move towards answering the question. The lecture this week also provided three ways in which the internet has changed market economy. They are as follows: globalization, production, and marketing. Let us take a closer look at each one step-by-step.

Globalization as we all know is the process of production of goods and services in another part of the world, preferably where there is cheap labour. This allows corporations to produce goods at a lower cost. More importantly, it is because of the internet that corporations involved in globalization are able to manage better overseas. It allows for a buyer-to-buyer connection and a buyer-to-consumer connection; the internet provides a greater level of communication. Through effective communication corporations are able to operate and improve their businesses across the globe. For example, if a company such as Dell provides consumers with the ability to customize their products, the internet will allow producers to send this message overseas. Also, it is through the internet that the exact preferences of the consumer will be addressed leaving little room for dissatisfaction.

The internet has allowed the production of goods to increase. This form of communication provides the consumer with a range of choices; people are able to customize according to their preference. The internet allows consumers to communicate directly with producers and address their needs; this is viewed as the era of “direct information”. This forms flexible production lines. In this same article from this week’s readings and also in the lecture, the term “informationalize” is emphasized, which explains that effective communication has increased flow while reducing surplus production and costs. Continuing on with the same example, the ability of consumers to customize allows businesses from producing too many goods that might not actually get sold, thus resulting in a loss. Moreover, companies are able to directly ship the product to the consumer without the middleman, decreasing costs for the consumer.

Lastly, marketing focuses on satisfying consumer needs. Following through with the same example, the internet enhances consumer loyalty because customers are able to receive products of their choice and at low costs. This leads to greater consumer satisfaction. A personal occurrence in which I have seen this work is when my younger sister was experiencing technical difficulties with her new laptop. She contacted the company representative via the internet, and through this form of communication she was informed that there was a deficiency within her laptop. She was then asked to mail the product back to the headquarters, so that they can address the issue and ship it back to her. This was actually very successful, and the only reason that this happened was because of the internet. Thus, the internet allows for effective communication, which in term democratizes consumers.

What version of historical change do you believe in and why?

The historical change that I believe in is the networked position/society. It dictates that the Internet is part of a fundamental shift in the social, economic, and political order. It classifies this era as the ‘information age’ or ‘network society’. This theory predicts that by adjusting to this new order it will fundamentally change the social order, the structure of power, and social geography. One essential point about this theory is that it is a flat social structure rather than hierarchical, and by examining the history of the Internet, we will find this to be true. I completely agree that this creates flexibility and allows adaptation to take place. For instance, much of the corporate world is linked through the Internet, which is a society made of networks. This makes it easier for the global financial markets to process transactions and information in little time. It also allows a city, a country, and the world to connect through the Internet eliminating communication barriers and permitting social movements. One critique that can be made about a networked society is that even today; as technology has expanded all around the world there are still many parts of the world which have not been able to adapt to this technological change. Although the information age has created many opportunities for people in developed and many developing countries, it has however increased the digital divide between the rich—who can afford to buy computers verses the poor—who cannot afford such essentials. Not everyone has transitioned into this new era. It further opposes this idea indicating that the structure of power will not change, implying that those already in power are in best position to adapt. This sheds light on Charles Darwin’s notion of the ‘survival of the fittest’, those who are able to adapt to their environment are likely to survive whereas those who fail to adapt will become extinct. Thus, if poor countries do not reform their current structure and adjust into this information age, they will be left behind in this race of the fittest. Without adequate technology and the Internet will prevent many poor countries around the world from participating in the global market economy.      

Link to Podcast:  http://www.irrationalpublicradio.com/episodeguide.html

What determines the structure of a folksonomy and why? The code, the content or the social process?

A folksonomy is the combination of the words “folk” (person) and “taxonomy” (organizing). Hence, the definition of folksonomy is generated from its direct meaning; an individual can categorize online content by creating labels called tags making it easier to retrieve information. It was created by Thomas Vander Wal, whose objective was to make the process of retrieving personal information less time consuming. Tag clouds are most often used to classify folksonomy. Tag clouds are often categorized by the most popular searches. In addition, folksonomy eliminates hierarchy and creates a flat system; it consists of terms that are related. For example, when a person wants to search for information related to a topic of their interest, they would type one or more words which relate to their area of focus. Through this system of clouding it is easier for that individual to find information related to that topic rather than having an overflow of information about irrelevant subject matters. Also, on a social scale folksonomy allows individuals to reflect on their needs and keeps up-to-date with things that are most frequently researched (popularity).

Are wikis an effective means of communication?

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopaedia which allows its users to contribute or edit the articles that are posted. Loads of information are provided and are accessible by everyone. Wikis are an effective means of communications, but to a certain extend. There are advantages and disadvantages of wikipedia which will be outlined below. The advantages of wikipedia is that it is accessible to the general public. There are lots of information provided that can be used for many purposes such as for school or for the benefit of ones knowledge to increase. For example, there are articles posted on all the topics, and if a student does not know how to start an  assignment, the student can always use wikipedia for a headstart. This enables the student to feel comfortable and have a better understanding on the topic. The other advantage is that everyone is given the right to express their freedom of speech. Since wikipedia allows everyone to post, there are not any barriers against any individual to comment or post on it. Everyone is given the opportunity to write anything they wish to. The disadvantage associated with wikipedia is that it is not necessarily reliable or accurate. Everyone is able to contribute to this site, however the information provided is not guaranteed to be correct. This is the reason why wikipedia is not considered a reliable secondary source according to the professors. Wikis are an effective means of communications but it is not accurate or reliable on all occasions.

Should we be worried about the digital divide? Why or why not?

The digital divide is the informational and communicational technological differences between rich and poor countries, and the degree to which an individual has access to such technologies. When international communications were established in the 20^th century, only a limited number of countries were able to reap the rewards technological advancements. Third World countries such as Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa were not privileged enough to participate in this information era. Following the Debt Crisis of the 70s and 80s, many countries were robbed of its finance and thus fell behind leading nations making way to its current poverty situation. As a result of this chain of events Third World countries were deprived for many years as the digital divide widened. However, over the past couple of years Third World countries have adapted to innovative ideas by making technology such as the Internet available to millions of people. Although, the access to such technology is limited, it has nonetheless decreased the gap of the digital divide. In India, for example, many farmers have the advantage of using telecommunications as a form of seeking assistance regarding agricultural activities. India is one of the few countries that has been able to submerge itself into the information age through various ideas such as the one mentioned above. With that being said, not a lot of other countries have been able to keep up with India in terms of manifesting this technological advancement, for example, some African countries. The overall literacy rate in comparison to the past has shown much improvement. Without the education not many people would be able to use technology to its full potential. However, with this rise in literacy rate and as it continues in countries like India, many individuals are able to better access to these technologies. Therefore, if this trend continues the digital divide will also continue to decrease, making technology available in Third World countries.

Blog 1

How did my grandparents communicate?
International communication was not established worldwide until the end of the 20th century. Being able to own a phone or a computer—things which we take for granted today—was considered a privilege for previous generations. During my grandparent’s time, communicating over long distances was very difficult; people would have to travel long distances in order to communicate with family members living in different regions. Yet another example includes the writing of letters; if someone wanted to get it touch with another, writing letters was considered a norm. However, this norm also provided the lack of security; not knowing if the letter will arrive on time or whether it will arrive at all. In addition, writing a letter also meant that someone would have to travel in order to deliver the letter. Thus, communication in previous generations (my grandparent’s time) in comparison to the current generation—whom can communicate instantly via hypertext—was a lot different and difficult.

How could Web 3.0 change my life?
Web 3.0 will change the world and life of the current and future generations dramatically. In comparison to the technology provided during our grandparent’s generation, Web 3.0 will create a life a lot different for the future generation. Marc Prensky, writer of the article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” illustrates that Digital Natives—current generation constantly surrounded by technology—are able to perceive information instantly. The author further emphasizes the importance of inventing games to teach a wide range of subjects, which will allow students to comprehend and perceive information which they otherwise found boring to learn. Thus, Web 3.0 will provide greater opportunities for learning. In addition, it will serve an important role in fields such as the life sciences making it easier to collect, perceive, and act upon data related to the study of health disease. Thus, Web 3.0 will not only change my life, but it will also present the future generations with better opportunities to attain knowledge instantaneously. However, there is a downturn to Web 3.0, which includes social and physical barriers. Even with Web 2.0, many young generations are constantly engaged in technological activities. This prevents children from spending time with their parents creating social barriers. Also people spend more time indoors rather than outdoors, which takes a toll on their physical health. Overall, Web 3.0 will have positive affects in the educational field, but will create social and physical barriers.