Future of the Internet

The Internet is one technology which have evolved so much in so little time. In not more than 50 years, the Internet has made itself kown to almost everyone. Even within the past fifteen years, the Internet has reinvented itself in many ways. There have been various ways of innovation since the Internet started. Right now, we not only shop, bank, work, play, and meet people online, we can also share information about what we do every single minute (I.e Twitter). We read online, watch videos online, listen to music online etc... Simply put, almost everything can be done on the Internet. So what's next?

It is difficult to predict how the Internet will grow. But, one thing for sure is that the Internet will continue to grow. Some observations made by experts are that the current addressings system - called IPv4 - which has about four billion possible IP addresses will not be enough in the next two years. Hence, researchers have been working on the next generation of addresses, known as the IPv6. In addition, the number of wirelessly connected devices worldwide will rise from an estimated 4.6 billion today to 50 billion by 2020. Mobile 3G networks are also faced with the issue of increasing users and this have proved to be a strain on their networks. All these observations point to the trend of the increasing growth of the Internet.

So what are some of the predictions for the future of the Internet? There are some very interesting discussions on the web about what may surface with the growth of the Internet.

For one, audio web surfing. This means that as opposed to reading and clicking, the audience can tell the browser where they want to go with spoken commands. With this, it may also generate opportuinities for web developers for multi-lingual sites. Secondly, the web may be surfed on just any device. In addition to surfing the net on the computer and phone, the Internet may be integrated into every device such adding a touch screen to ones refrigerator. This would definitely create new opportunites and challenges for interfacing. Thirdly, there may be the use of satellite television through the Internet. There are different ways for people to watch shows from the computer linking to the television. However these methods more than often require a lot of loading time. Having the Internet provide satellite television shows through the Internet, users can easily connect to a wider screen of clearer quality faster and conveniently.

As the saying goes: "Nothing is impossible." The future of the Internet may be unknown as of today, however, it is without a doubt that the future of the Internet is going to be an interesting one.

Gogoyoko

This week's blogging:

1) Visit a new social network site and write about its usefulness.

When posed with this topic to blog about, I was wondering what constitues as new? Must it be a brand new site or would it be considered new as long as it is unfamiliar to me? If it was the latter, things would be much easier because almost all social network site are consider unfamiliar to me. Even the site which is considered as most common today, 'facebook'. To be honest, I do not have any facebook account or accounts with any social network sites. However, even if that's the case, I highly doubt I'll be exempted from doing this blog post. So let the research for social network site start proper! I chanced upon gogoyoko.com and immediately fell in love with its name. It's a very catchy name and I thought it sounded cute. Hence decided to blog about this particular website. Gogoyoko is a social music marketplace where music fans can listen to music online and buy music directly from the artists. In July 2009, the site became available for everyone in Ireland, and in October 2009, it was made available for those in Scandinavia.

Apart from the music store, the website incorporates social networking properties where artists, record labels, music fans and professionals can create profiles, interact and contribute to the music scene and the store.

There are various reasons as to why users of Gogoyoko fall in love with this social network site. First and foremost, the 'ratings & reviews' section is an area whereby users can browse through to see the comments of others who have bought particular albums. In addition, users who wish to write a review may also be given a prize if they are deemed as the top rater! Next, the 'Artist + Album Recommendations' section allows the user to create a section on the left side of their personal profile. With regular participation on the site, Gogoyoko will recommend possible albums that the user may like base on their streaming and buying records. Users are able to create and fix their own personal playlist so it will have more flow. In addition, the site have brought in a whole lot of German electronica and British indie into the store, thereby giving users an option of importing a whole load more of great music into their playlist.

In essence, as a social music marketplace, Gogoyoko brings interaction to a new level for music lovers in Ireland and Scandinavia.

Internet ends traditional journalism?

It seems that as people are increasingly engage in the wired world, journalism falls to its death. Does the Internet really kill journalists? Though no one can predict what will happen in the future, but it is a growing trend that news organizations like newspapers and television news can no longer provide the same value to their customers as before. Journalists see their career paths die right before their eyes. There are even websites like Newspaper Death Watch and a Google Maps project that track job layoffs at newspapers across the United States. Because the Internet trains readers to consume news in ever-smaller bites with the rise of micro-blogging. This means the death of journalism as the Internet capture audience's attention and stop people from looking to newspapers and television for news. In addition, local newspapers have also been deeply weakened by the availability of free information on the Internet.

To top it up, the Internet is slowly taking over the role of "see it here first" journalism. 24-hour news station do not have the ability to cover all aspects of news. However, the Internet does. In a way, the Internet is like filling the blind corner of traditional journalism.

Furthermore, advertisers are not longer willing to waste money on a mass produced product. The technology revolution has allowed markerters to target advertising by gathering information about potential customers and then matching a product to customers' needs or desires. The Internet can do this, but newspapers and television can't. In all industries, high profit and low cost matters the most. Advertising on the Internet makes 10 times less revenue than in paper for the same audience.

Is this really the end of traditional journalism? Take into consideration this: Journalism is living a deep crisis. Internet is part of the problem. It destroys value. Google, and other web search engines are "stealing" content from online newspapers and index them in their databases, republishing without asking for consent and gain revenue by putting advertisers below them. Journalists who have went through all the hard work are not paid for this new support. It is as plain as it is. Their work is used but no new revenue is coming.

Youths and Politics

It seems in general that youths are experiencing a disengagement from the world of politics. There's growing apathy towards political activites and politicians from the youths these days. I am unable to speak on behalf of all youths around the world, but based on what I gather (given I am a youth myself living in Singapore), this rising trend stems out from the education system in Singapore as well as the media.

Why do I state the education system in Singapore as a reason? Our education system focuses largely on results and academic accomplishment. One is viewed as a successful youth only if s/he gets good grades in school as a student. Due to the lack of proper motivation to gather knowledge, youths drag their feet to school everyday trying their best to cramp as much information provided to them by their teachers.

Because youths view reading and learning as something dry and boring, they prefer not to dabble with political issues during their free hours. Parents also discourgae their kids from doing anything else which is not related to their academics. With the increasing stress and pressure faced by youths, it is no wonder they would choose to veer away from politics.

Media also plays an important role in the growing apathy in youths towards politics. Youth channels or news which is directed to youths are usually not about politics, but about music videos, wannabe stars and tips on becoming beautiful or sexually attractive. Seeing that the media portrays youth as uniterested in politics, it becomes unfashionable for youngsters to be intellectual and/or dabble in political issues.

This objectification of youths pressurises them to conforms to a social stereotype of being 'cool, young and happening'. In addition, with materialism being the main aim of most youths, youths are becoming vested in its interest. Values like patriotism and interest in knowing more about countries decline as youth are turning towards MTV, McDonalds and money making.

Besides, the media portrays politics as something which is so complex and far away. Seeing that it is associated with so many negative factors including riots, violence and death, young adults may choose to divert their attention to something more positive and 'hip'. The mindset of many youths also evolve the idea that political issues are not for them and it only concerns the adults or those old and mature enough to handle.

Knowing that the media can bring about such indifference towards politics in the youths; the media can play a great role in motivating the youth to join politics as well. Attitundinal changes need to be brought about by reporting positive changes and developments in politics and not just negative or cynical news stories. By covering events where youths has helped in shaping the course of important political issues also help to change the stereotype that being involve in politics is not cool. In summary, by changing the focus of politics to the younger generation, the media may be able to compel changes in the existing mindsets as politics would no longer be deem as dry and/or boring.

Multimedia on the Internet

Multimedia, being a computer-based interactive communication process incorporates text, graphics, sound, animation, and video. As it is interactive, this type of communication process enhances communication and aids in transmitting messages across to audiences. Therefore, multimedia has become the latest marketing tool in recent years.

No matter what sort of industry one is in, what service or product one is promoting, multimedia always comes in handy. Taking the sale of music products as an example; how does the use of multimedia promote great music products?
I chanced upon the webpage of Nevada music (http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/) and thought they cleverly utilize technology and bring music and the visitors of their site to a higher level of multi-sensory experience. Nevada music, located in Portsmouth on the South coast, stocks a massive range of guitars, keyboards, drums, amplifiers etc... Nevada has great products and the design and layout of their website reflects this. In addition, their webpage gives visitor the same kind of rich and immersive experience as if they were actually walking into the store itself.

The site is full of interactivity and its content feature-rich. The site uses targerted search using the familiar keyword route and the results presented by 'price', 'category', and 'brand'. This ensures that users find content which is absolutely relevant to them and avoids running through endless pages of search results. As customers, users will usually want to learn more about the brand, manufacture, and history of the product in addition to savouring the beautiful images of the product outlook. This was clearly thought for, as the webpage as a 'focus on' section that presents the background and key facts behind a brand.

On all product pages, there is also a 'customer product review' feature. This ensures that potential customers will be aware of what's good and what's not about each product. The 'related products' feature in the basket page and 'gig stig' feature, an independent review of all products sold by Nevada, also helps to create knowledge connection and promote an individualized experience.

What I find interesting about the use of multimedia for Nevada music is the fact that for this particular online site, many multimedia disadvantages have been overcome. There is a clear structure, and is not text intensive. Furthermore, feedback can be given, hence it is nowhere near non-interactive. Lastly, visiting this site does not make me feel overwhelmed by the information provided, thus I would say it does not promote cognitive overload. All in all, the use of multimedia by Nevada music for marketing and promotion impressed me greatly.

Low Crime Doesn't Mean No Crime

The overall crime rate in Singapore is low and the reported numbers for crimes such as murders, rape, rioting, vehicle theft, housebreaking etc... continue to decrease. Indeed, physical crimes against people are on a decrease, however, cyber crimes are on a rise. Reports have indicated that computer attacks can be classified as either active or passive. Active referring to an attack which involve modification of the data stream or attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer and networking systems. Passive, would then mean monitoring others data and eavesdropping on a transmission.

Because infocomm technology has become the nerve centre of Singapore's economy and an intricate componenet of infrastructure, hence Singapore has become a prime target for cyber crimes. As identified in a audit firm, KPMG Singapore, within 3 years from 2004 to 2007, computer related fraud has increased from 19% to 59%.

The top ten types of attacks would be as followed:

- Insider abuse of net access
- Virus
- Laptop/mobile device theft
- Phishing
- Instant messaging misuse
- Denial of service
- Unauthorized access to information
- Bots within the organization
- Theft of customer employee data
- Abuse of wireless network

Don't you think all these sound too difficult and technical? I wonder, how ever is it possible to break through a highly protected computer system such as that of an organization? In order to manipulate computer records, modify programs, engage in software piracy and identity theft etc... it seems that one have to go through endless technical training before one can be equipped with such knowledge to process these crimes. However, it seemed as though majority of cyber criminals are merely young adults and students. How astonishing! Unbelievable? Here are some examples:

1) Fraud: Two undergraduate students convicted of running a credit-card cloning syndicate.
2) Spamming: A 15 years old boy (Primary 6) hacked into a portal system for electronic learning services and sent out 161, 064 e-mail messages to one of his teachers, slowing down the e-mail service provided by the portal system
3) Hacking: A Polytechnic student piggybacked on neighbour's network and first to be charged with unauthorized wireless net access.
4) Harassment: An undergraduate student stole the passwords to several women's Internet Messenger accounts and told one of them that he would distribute doctored photographs of her unless she sent him her naked picture
5) Identity theft: A 27 years old man illegally accessed his former girlfriend's personal e-mail accounts and changed her password.

All in all, it illustrates that most cyber criminals are highly educated and are within the young adult age group. With the rise of cyber crimes, it is really hard to detect criminals. Becuase they do not resemble the stereotypical kind of "bad guys" we learn to identify when we were younger.

Movie making

With programs such as Adobe Flash Professional and Windows Movie Maker, it has become much easier for an average person to produce a video by their own. Inspired by COM 125 lecture, (and of course, my lecturer) I decided to make two videos by my own. The first being a motion video, and the second a compilation of still images. Although, the quality may be far from perfect, still I'm contented with my efforts because these videos serve as a remembrance of my memories with my love one.

It is inevitable for even professional musicians to err while recording a piece. However, now with the help of movie editing programs, one can slowly record section by section, pressure free and then join them together to form a beautiful recording.

This second video is a compilation of still images, in addition to a song in the background. There it goes to show, even people who lack IT skills can produce a small video as a gift for their love ones with the help of Windows Movie Maker!