Virtual politics

This is a short blurb that I have written for a new project I'm working with, "Change by the People." Short, but certainly something that is worth considering, particularly in this day and age of technology. The "Age of Reason" if you will ;) Plus, it's an easy way to update the blog! hehe

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The Internet has truly revolutionized the transfer of information. What once used to take months to travel from one side of the globe to the next can now be sent within seconds. Email, chat forums, social networking sites have all combined to make the Internet the newest tool in communication, education, entertainment, and grassroot campaigns. With this growing technology, many have turned to the Internet as the newest political tool.

President Obama's election campaign differed from previous presidential election campaigns in one very crucial element. He utilised the power of the Internet to mobilise and encourage the youth to vote. As the youth tend to fall into the lowest voter-turnout bracket, President Obama's grassroots Internet campaign was truly revolutionary. Through his campaigning, people gathered together under one collective cause. The energy spread infectiously from one individual to the next, resulting in a massive overturn of political ideology in the States. Obama's ability to affect people on a personal and individual basis was the shining light of his election, as he proved that by impacting and motivating people individually they can become the change they want to see around them. His “yes WE can” slogan was visible literally everywhere, from t-shirts, to TV ads, to Internet banners, and the belief that it inspired was truly extraordinary. As a result of this collective movement of people, voter-turn out soared, and finally, the people were the ones speaking for themselves and pushing forward with the change they themselves desired to see.

Learning from Obama's example in his ability to mobilize and motivate a group of people, many political parties and activists are now spreading their ideals through the Internet. Egyptian political activists are no different. Facebook has become one of the primary means of organizing the political youth, with calls for demonstrations and strikes being posted on the social networking site. To what extent Internet political activism will impact the Middle East remains to be seen. It can, however, be heralded as one of the great leaps forward in spreading understanding and dialogue around the world, allowing people from entirely different cultures to meet and exchange ideals. Using the U.S. Presidential campaign as an example, it clearly points to the tremendous impact that people themselves can have. What difference does one person make? Only all the difference in the world.

Netiquette netiquette

The number of people who use the internet now is phenomenal. It never fails, when you are bored, log into MSN, Facebook, Gmail, any median of social networking, and there will be at least one person to talk to. Net lingo has evolved rapidly, with many being able to boast of speaking a new language fluently, net-speak, chat lingo.

Now, I won't lie, I chat all the time. But one thing that I have never grasped is the "short-hand" language that many use. Perhaps it's because I'm not exactly a slow typer, but the shorthand has never appealed to me, it makes my head hurt trying to read it. Not to mention you look stupid trying to write like that. Would you speak like that? NO, then why the hell should I suffer reading through that?!

Taking into consideration how frequently we all use chat medians, the 'netiquette' that comes with it bears its own intricate rules of language. CAPS is of course seen as 'shouting,' your virtual bitch out if you will. The manner in which we interpret netiquette was put to the test for me the other day. One of my friends was attempting to chat with me, while her Caps lock was broken. Rather than a friendly conversation, I was reading her typing as shouting at me, as if from across a ravine...."SUZ. HOW ARE YOU? IS EVERYTHING OK?" Why are you shouting! I'm only on the other side of the monitor! Turn your virtual voice down! gah. Fortunately, she has now remedied the problem, and our usual "inside voice" conversations can resume. It truly makes you realise however, how much our communication skills and conversations have taken on an "internet" aspect if you will, where having a conversation on MSN or the likes, is just as stimulating, emotionally involved, and interactive, as a face to face conversation. Imagine what the communication medians of the future will bring us, and what new levels of language will evolve to support the new system...

And that...is my thought for the day.

Gaming Geek and Google's masterpiece!

What a news day, the geek in me has been wholly satisfied. With the date announced for the release of Dan Brown's new book, "The Lost Symbol," Google's new operating system scheduled for release in 2010, Harry Potter only a few weeks away, and an awesomely new interactive application on the iPhone, the inner nerd sits back and smiles.

So, first comes first. I have loved Dan Brown since I first laid my hands on a copy of "The Da Vinci Code." I ate the book up, literally couldn't put it down. I followed up with his prequel, "Angels and Demons," which proved to be - if even possible - better than the Da Vinci Code. Robert Langdon, Brown's central character in both novels, is an engaging, charismatic, intelligent leading man, and Brown promises nothing but a great read. I have read his other works as well, but there's something special about Robert Langdon that just adds to the story. The Lost Symbol's storyline has been kept under close wraps, but rumours abound that it deals with the Freemasons in the US, the original "old boys club" if you will. September 15, PLEASE get here soon!!! My hands are itching to get a hold of this book!

Google. You are my hero. I have long been bleating about gmail, in my opinion, the best free e-mail service offered out there. Built in chat, loads of space, very easy to navigate and manage, I was instantly hooked. Fortunately now, many other people have fallen prey to the power of gmail, so I'm no longer alone in my enamour for it. Google has truly revolutionized the Internet, and what better company to develop a web-based operating system than Google! Chrome OS is set for release in 2010, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy! Take that microsoft. What is certain to set this OS apart, is the process in which it was developed. Rob Enderle, industry watcher and president of the Enderle Group commented that "Google is coming at this fresh and, because it is based on a set of services that reside on the web, it is the first really post web operating system, designed from the ground up, and reconceived for a web world." I couldn't agree more. Finally, no more Vista! No more Microsoft bugs! I wash my HANDS of XP.

Ok so check this out. In this day and age of techno-savvy youth, and constant access to new and innovative technologies, it's not surprising that many children's lives revolve around the computer or tv screen. Now, in my personal opinion, I believe that it is the responsibility of the parents to monitor their child's TV/Computer time, and encourage them to get outside and about. I had limited TV time when I was younger (course, there wasn't the channel selection back then that there is now, so really there was only an hour a day when something was on that I would actually want to watch :p). Most of my days were spent outside, either in the wood behind our house in the UK, or out in the fields in Germany. That rant aside though....squeal I want an iPhone! "The Hidden Park," is an interactive application for the iPhone, designed by Australian company Bulpadok. Using the built-in GPS on the iPhone, users can take to the streets so to speak, and explore their alternative reality game. Getting around requires solving riddles and puzzles, pointing your iPhone at certain locations to reveal secret clues, creatures or objects. Scavenger hunts while avoiding dragons, finding hidden treasures, solving riddles and puzzles....who wouldn't want one of these!!! (Image courtesy of Popular Science)

Finally, I just think this is really cool. A group of Spanish scientists have successfully managed to isolate a protein that allegedly increases your visual memory. Their subjects thus far (all mice :p) had a memory increase from roughly one hour, to around 2 months! (hmm...how do you possibly test that on a mouse...does anybody know? haha) Either way, effin sweet! No more written directions, just take a peek at your map and VOILA. Instant visual memory retention. Taking tests would be so much easier. Why couldn't this have been developed, oh, 5 years ago or so. :p

My inner nerd is smiling today :)