Friday, July 11, 2008 . 7:49 PM

Sunday, April 6, 2008 . 9:09 AM

Multimedia in marketing and newsML and google tools~!

A quick word on these three aspects of the Internet.

North East West South

NewsML is an XML standard designed to provide a media-independent, structural framework for multi-media news. NewsML was developed by - and is a registered trademark of - the IPTC.

2008 saw a new version of NewsML being created. It's called NewsML-G2 2.0.

The cool thing about this "news exchange" is that it is a method of conveying not only the core news content, but also data that describe the content in an abstract way (i.e. metadata), information about how to handle news in an appropriate way (i.e. news management metadata), information about the packaging of news information, and information about the technical transfer itself.

Google tools

One thing I noticed about Google is it gives a sense of a personal touch in all its services. A tone of friendliness and informality are what come across when i read the instructions for Gmail and other tools.

Google tools are fun and all, but Google tools should really start coming out of Beta soon.

I think Gmail is a great and user-friendly mail service but it's still in Beta for don't know how long! I think about 3  years already. I've also tried out Google docs (it operates on wiki technology and allows others to view and edit a document), which is pretty cool but it's in Beta too.

Google Earth is my favourite tool (thankfully not in beta), although I don't particularly like the long streaming times. I am going to Buffalo for the Fall Semster and had a good long time exploring my campus... virtually =) . Highly useful stuff.

Google's networking site Orkut is nowhere near the standard of Myspace, although that fact that it's quite big in India should count for something...

Multimedia in marketing

In my opinion, one of the key features of multi-media marketing is this - how effectively the multimedia is used to deliver a coherent message to the consumer. If it is delivered successfully, the effects are magnificent, as every sense of the consumer is being engaged by the multimedia.

However, if not handled properly, using all kinds of multimedia can backfire if it is not exploited enough so as to deliver an effective message to the consumer.

END OF ENTRY

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Cybercrime and "computer crime"

Can we, in Singapore, imagine a world without our connectivity, let alone computers? It'd be hard.

Singapore is known for its high computer usage and high broadband Internet penetration rates.

Thus, it may not be a surprise that cybercrime is on the increase in Singapore.

Instances of successful hacking in climbed from 10 in 2000 to 19 in 2001 and 41 in 2003, he said. In 2003, there were 24 cases in just the first half of the year.

There is also prevalent "computer crime". The differnce between cyber and computer crime is that computer crime involves acts that attack the functions of a computer, access to a computer or the Internet, and similar items. They might be called “cyber-trespass”. They are viewed as crimes against a computer. Examples of these crimes are hacking, denying another access to Internet usage, and sending unsolicited or virus-causing electronic mail. Cyber crime, on the other hand, is traditional crime such as fraud, theft, extortion, and the like in which the computer is used as an instrument of the crime. These acts are traditional crimes that are facilitated through the use of a computer.

The Law

We all know the adage, "Low crime doesn't mean no crime." Dealing with cybercrime and computer crime can be very tricky, but that fact, coupled with high usage rates, does not deter Singapore from attempting to stop it. A 2006 study by independent author Jolly John identified Singapore as “the most network ready country” in the world. This has lead to both a proliferation of computer-based crime in Singapore and to efforts by the Singaporean government to combat such crime.

According to the Computer Crime Research Centre, Singapore, in combating cybercrime, Singapore passed the Computer Misuse Act (Chapter 50A of the Singapore Statutes) in 1993. This has been amended four times, as recently as 2005. This Act addresses computer crimes and provides for stiff penalties for the violation of the law. It has applied its existing Penal Code provisions for activities that are deemed cyber crime. For example, the release of a virus would fall under the jurisdiction of the Computer Misuse Act, whereas an economic crime (e.g. extortion or securities fraud) would fall under the aegis of the Penal Code.

The Computer Misuse Act is a law that prohibits the obtaining of unauthorized access to computer material, modifying the contents of a computer, obtaining or intercepting any computer service or function, interfering with or obstructing the lawful use of a computer, impeding or preventing access to or impairing the usefulness or effectiveness of any computer program or data, or disclosing a password, access code, or other means of gaining access to a program or data.

Professor Warren Chik, a Singaporean law professor states, in a 2006 paper comparing cyber crime laws in the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore, that Singapore adopted four approaches in combating computer crime. These are:
1) Passing new legislation that creates crimes where activity warrants it;
2) Imposing severe penalties as punishment and as deterrents;
3) Providing law enforcement agencies with additional powers, granting them extra-territorial jurisdiction, and creating new agencies with specially trained experts to deal with this technological crimes;
4) Making it a crime to abet or even to attempt to perpetrate computer crimes.

The Agencies

The agencies created to fight computer crime in Singapore include the Computer Crimes Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department, the Computer Forensics Branch of the Singapore Police, and the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team. The creation of these specialized units was deemed necessary as a result of the ever more sophisticated nature of the technology involved in such crimes.

The Penalties

Most of the provisions of the Computer Misuse Act carry a maximum fine up to $10,000 Singaporean dollars and/or imprisonment up to three years for a first offense. For the second and subsequent offenses, the penalty is a fine up to $20,000 Singaporean dollars and/or imprisonment up to five years. If there was damage caused as a result of the crime, the penalty is a fine up to $50,000 and/or imprisonment up to seven years. If the crime involved a threat to Singapore’s security, or to the banking or other financial, communications, or transportation industries, or to public services including utilities, safety, police, civil defense, or medicine, the penalty is a fine up to $100,000 Singaporean dollars and/or imprisonment up to 20 years.

Further measures
Singapore has created new law enforcement agencies with specially trained personnel to keep pace with the rapid advances in technology and the resulting proliferation of computer-based crimes. It has given its police force additional powers, including extra-territorial jurisdiction to aid in their efforts at apprehending computer-based criminals.

References:

http://www.crime-research.org/news/01.04.2008/3286/

Sunday, March 30, 2008 . 9:08 AM

How does Internet shape the future of Journalism?

Journalism is something close to my heart as I have been an on-and-off student journalist since 2001.

So before I state anything else, I'd like to offer my personal opinion: GOOD journalism is never about the technology. Good journalism is about a search for the truth or an insight that is stunning, even if it means relying on traditional tools of journalism. It is a clarification of what really happened at an event. It offers a perspective which is valid and credible.

For example, Manfred Rist, a journalist who is also a lectuer at uniSIM, went on a trip to Burma during the recent Saffron Revolution (when there were riots and rebellion) as an "undercover" journalist. A simple pen, paper, and camera was all he chose to equip himself with - no posting articles on the Internet while he was there, no blogging, nothing. He also referred to the local newspaper, The New Light of Myanmmar, for news. Other journalists who did rely mostly on the Internet were sorely disappointed because the Burmese government shut down Internet services and these journalists were handicapped without their tools. Many of their articles that were supposed to be posted online were lost too.

That, in my opinion, is the true essence of journalism.

But I may be wrong. An analysis of journalism requires an analysis of the audience it is reaching. And the nature of the audience in the case of online is totally different from that offline.

Citizen journalism is a facet of "participatory culture" on the web.

Participatory culture is a new culture emerging due to new technologies allowing ordinary people to “participate” in mainstream media content. Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT, describes this cultural shift:

“The term, participatory culture, contrasts with older notions of passive media spectatorship. Rather than talk about media producers and consumers as occupying separate roles, we might now see them as participants who interact with each other according to a new set of rules that none of us fully understands.”

Author Russel highlights that there is a “changing relationship between cultural production and consumption.” In participatory culture, consumers turn producers and vice versa, giving rise to the word “prosumer” to describe the participants in such a culture. Ordinary people create cultural content and upload this onto the Web, and others in turn view and react to this content.

The Decline of Quality of Journalism?

~"Bottom-up journalism"~

Of course the fact that ordinary citizens act as journalists is scary to many people, especially intellectuals and the elite who believe that only professionals are able to report credibly. "Free content, and especially citizen-based journalism and peer-production, is a huge threat to the media industry — not just on an economic level, but on a social one," says Kenneth Neil Cukier, technology correspondent for The Economist in London.

However, as journalist Steven Levy points out, much of these concerns seem to blame the Internet for giving people “the freedom to flourish”. He concedes that while journalists and professionals in the media scene are imperative, participatory culture will not wipe them out.

My opinion

I think the Internet has the potential to groom journalists out of all of us in the future. For those reading news, citizen journalism can help us learn to apply critical thinking in reading news on the Web. For those contributing news, It will hopefully be an opportunity to groom us into responsible citizens who are aware of the issues around them and can report them with accountability. That would really be a true journalist.

Sunday, March 23, 2008 . 9:16 AM

Non-sequitur

Can I hear a yay?!!... for words of wisdom! :D These words constantly inspire me when I'm feeling low.

Have an attitude of gratitude. Be thankful, grateful, accepting and see the good in everyone.

Don't compete against others, compete against yourself.

You can't control others, only yourself is within your control.

=)

Reading interesting books called Neurosphere and The Wisdom of the Crowds. Good for anyone interested in learning about the social functions of the Web. Check it out from the Library! :)

Friday, March 21, 2008 . 5:47 AM

Power, change, and the internet

The power and limitations of Internet for political campaigning

politics. pol·i·tics \ˈpä-lə-ˌtiks\noun

1. power relations wherever they exist, including in everyday life

2. The distribution of power within a society; the forces behind a society-human or divine

Politics, as shown by the above definitions, is all about power. The Internet is constantly changing the rules of politics. It has created is a "flat" virtual space where hierarchy does not exist and power is decentralized - the epitome of democracy. Thus, people in power are trying to use and control this medium to suit their needs. The symbiotic relationship between "power" and Web2.0 is one of core features of the information revolution.

Yet, political campaigning in real life takes on another definition, in itself. Politics, traditionally speaking, is the science or art of government, the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy, the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government. So with what it has done to traditional conceptions of power, does Web2.0 affect political campaigning? Of course, it does.

In the US, no other word than "change" can accurately describe everything happening in the political scene. Not only are the candidates set to become pioneers in the history of US presidency (either a black or a female president), the entire world is engaged in one country's elections. Furthermore, the coverage of the primaries and proceedings is unprecedented. Hundreds of Youtube videos attempt polarise Internet users to either support or denounce a candidate, with exposés (like the Hillary Clinton one - click here) and opinionated "vLogs". Visually appealing, grassroots videos like the Obama Girl sensation will no doubt have an impact. (At least, on the male viewers :))

A sidenote: By the way, the Obama Girl has brought a new dimension to the traditional process of politcal campaigning: making politics "sexy". What more incentive for people to "get out and vote"? A sure-fire method to cure voter apathy? I certainly think so...

Like we got to know from our lesson, research has shown that 50 million Americans go to the Internet for news every day, compared to 27 million people in March 2004. The bottom line is... according to me... political campaigning certainly works in reaching a wide audience and has proven to act as a great fundraising tool. However, the dangerous part of it is it shifts the balance of power from the political campaigners to the people themselves. Which means unauthorised opinions with great power and influence. Which leads me to discuss about the...

Limitations of the internet as a political campaigning tool

According to a study done by the Bigivings group, the Internet has many limitations when it comes to political campaigning, in the US alone. First off, it is important to remember the demographics of the candidates running for office and the limitations of the campaigns’ themselves. Candidates are extremely
busy, and older Americans are unlikely to have the time or inclination to personally participate in the blogosphere. For many campaigns, having a blog just doesn’t make strategic sense. Many campaigns also have extremely limited resources, and are hesitant to devote these resources to an activity like blogging.

Second, there is a perception among many political consultants and candidates that blogging is a risky strategy. Candidates worry that by fully participating in the blogosphere, they will be dragged further to the left or to the right (politically speaking). Bloggers are typically the most active and ideological of Americans, so there is a fear by some that reaching out to these groups may turn away moderate voters.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 . 4:21 PM