Monthly Archive for November, 2008

LitC Part 2: Why Web 2.0?

Published
by
Kabren
on November 19, 2008
in Internet
. 1 Comment

A few weeks ago I announced and introduced a series I’m starting on the blog called “Life in the Cloud.” This series talks about how one uses Web 2.0 and cloud computing in his or her daily life, whether at home, work, or school. This weeks installment will (hopefully) answer the question “Why Web 2.0?” and inspire a philosophical discussion about Web 2.0.

Honestly, I do not know why Web 2.0 is happening - these days, technology (particularly the Internet) moves very quickly and people are not able to think about the changes that are occuring. Web 2.0 and cloud computing is about making the Internet and the Web more social. Ideally, Web 2.0 enhances relationships, discussions, and communities, but does not replace them. Web 2.0 is “happening” because the Internet is capable of it - most of the programming languages people design Web 2.0 services in were around twenty years ago. This is only the beginning - there is still a long way to go, but users and developers are finally taking advantage of the full potential of the Internet.


Global Network

Fifteen years ago, the Net was not being fully exploited. Because the Internet is so decentralized, it is a perfect mode of communication; if one user, section, or part goes offline, the entire network is not affected. Web 2.0 and cloud computing is the “true destiny” of the Internet - it was meant for this type of community building. In the past, technological revelations in the fields of communication have enriched only one-to-one communication or mass one-way communication. The Internet enables people to create global communities but still remain attached to themselves, their families, and hometowns.


Desktop Computer

Web 2.0 decereases dependence on desktop computers. Cloud computing makes technology more mobile, portable, and ultimately, more human. In its essence, Web 2.0 is the experession, using the Internet, of a basic human need to talk and to create. One could say cloud computing is happening because up until now, technology, including the Internet, has been very mechanic, systematic, and uncreative - humans have had to adapt to technology instead of technology adapting to us. The Internet makes mobile computing on devices like the iPhone and Google’s Android more useful and successful - there is no longer a need to sync a device with a desktop or laptop computer. Because of the Internet, mobile devices are actually mobile devices.


Democracy

Web 2.0 also represents a shift of power on the Internet and has enabled, or reenabled, I should say, old and new ways of personal expression that have been lost in todays world. Cloud computing is democracy on the Internet - no one is really in control, but the Internet doesn’t just run on its own, either. The Internet is a managed decentralized network, if that makes sense.


Web 2.0 Services. Image Source.

Though this barely breaks the ice on the question “Why Web 2.0?,” I hope this post provides a good philosophical basis for some of the questions surrounding Web 2.0, cloud computing, and the Internet in general. I will answer more of these questions in Part 4, where I will address what is missing from Web 2.0. Check out the Introduction for more info about the series.

As always, please email me, Twitter me, or otherwise-me your feedback.

Government 2.0

Published
by
Kabren
on November 9, 2008
in Government, Politics and Vote
. 1 Comment

This past Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, at about 11:30 PM, the United States of America elected its 44th President, Barack Obama, in a near-landslide. For the past almost two years, Barack Obama has led an extraordinary campaign based on the idea of hope and change in America. “Yes We Can!” was chanted by hundreds of thousands supporters at rallies around the country. I can finally truly be proud to be American.


The American flag. Photo Credit: vector1771.

Barack Obama had a very humble entrance into politics as a community organizer in Chicago. Having been somewhat of a community organizer myself at my Temple in 2006-2008, organizing and social action gets you engaged and attached to a community. Obama and his campaign directors never forgot that civic engagement is key to democracy. Not only was there amazing grass-roots organizing and campaigning going on, Obama’s Internet campaign was just as strong, if not stronger. Obama’s website was designed to help people get involved, not by simply donating, but by offering time in the shape of phone calls, organizing events, and arranging house meetings. Obama presents a brighter future for traditional politics, but also for finally involving technology in the political process using “Web 2.0″ and new media tools available on the Internet.

The Problem

The problem with mass contemporary democracy is people don’t care any longer - they may get upset, but they never act upon their anger. Over the past twenty years and particularly over the past eight, the government has acted independently from the people, only using mainstream media as an interface to the general public. Even serving in the Army, offering your life for your country, is no longer honorable. Public service holds no meaning today. There has been a frighteningly large feeling and atmosphere of apathy in the United States. We don’t care about the government, and the government doesn’t care about us.

A Solution


Change.gov.

I truly believe things will change when Barack Obama moves into office. This change won’t come quickly or easily - it will rely on the continued and increased involvement of the American people. Barack Obama plans to appoint a Chief Technology Officer of the nation, as a cabinet position. Why not? Obama has already demonstrated he knows how to use the Internet well in connection to political matters. His campaign website didn’t replace face-to-face contact with and between voters - it enhanced it and made it easier. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have already set up a website called Change.gov that offers easy access to government related information, lets people apply for jobs, and encourages us to get involved with our government. This the first time I have seen such a website, and the first time such a website has been appealing to the eye. The government is and will finally reengage with its citizens. The Internet is and has helped people think globally but act locally.

Do you see change in the future of the United States of America? How should the Internet be used by the government, if at all?

I assure you I will keep writing about this topic. Please email me and follow me on Twitter!

Life in the Cloud: Introduction

Published
by
Kabren
on November 2, 2008
in Internet and Technology
. 1 Comment

Now that I am in college, I have a decently-fast Internet connection around the clock. I have noticed myself moving more of my activities online - I’m not using the desktop (or laptop, in this case) as much. I’m hoping to start a four or five part series about cloud life and what it’s like to compute only in the cloud. The four sections are as follows:

  1. Philosophy of cloud computing, Why Web 2.0?
  2. Web 2.0 tools I use
  3. Moving into the cloud, how to use all these tools
  4. Criticism for life in the cloud

The series will start in the next week or so, and will last over the next month or two. I’m going to start today by offering an introduction to the cloud - I will offer a succinct definition of Web 2.0 and the Internet in general.

The Internet


A section of a map of the Internet. Original Image.

The Internet is a series of tubes. Well, not exactly, but Ted Steven’s definition isn’t that far off. The Internet is a huge network of computer. Think about your network at home; you have two, three, or maybe four computers, that all share the same connection. In your house, you are actually running a mini-Internet - all the connected computers can share resources and send information between each other. There is no “center” or main-server of the Internet; it is a highly decentralized network designed for sharing information. Email, VoIP, and the World Wide Web are parts of the Internet. Email is a way to send messages between computers connected to the Internet, VoIP is a voice-message protocol, and the Web is a file-sharing network, designed for exchanging documents.

Web 2.0


Examples of Web 2.0 Services. Image Credit: Ross Mayfield.

I do not particularly like the term Web 2.0, because it creates a certain type of hierarchy in a system that is supposedly order-less. But, that’s what people are using these days. Web 2.0 is not actually a second version of the World Wide Web or the Internet - there is no major software or hardware difference between Web 2.0 and 1.0, or whatever was before these terms emerged. Instead, Web 2.0 is a shift in the way people use the Internet and the services offered by it. According to Tim O’Reilly, the supposed father of Web 2.0, “Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.” For more on the shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, the metamorphosis from the expert-driven Internet to a user-generated Internet, read a paper I wrote during high school called “Tubes.” Download it as a PDF, but please don’t steal my writing. Also, check Wikipedia, it does have lots of good information.

In short, Web 2.0 aims at connection more people and encourages collaboration. Examples of Web 2.0 websites or services are Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Blogger (or any blog or podcast), and Wikipedia - basically, any social networking site falls into the genre of Web 2.0. It is a shift in the way programmers write soft ware and how we, the general public, Interact with those programs.

Cloud Computing


Clouds. Image Credit: kevindooley.

The cloud is a way of talking about the Internet - when viewing at a map of the Internet or considering how the Internet works, it looks and to some extent, acts, like a cloud. Cloud computing is the development and use of Internet based technologies. It is a genre of computing that allows people to access services on the Internet, or the cloud, “without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them” (Wikipedia). Google, Amazon, and Yahoo! all are driving forces in the development of cloud computing. Cloud computing includes many, if not all, Web 2.0 services and is an example of the idea of “software as a service.”

Up Next…

I hope this gives you a better idea and greater understanding of the Internet, Web 2.0, and cloud computing. I hope these definitions will lay a groundwork for the rest of the series. Be sure to check out my paper about the Internet, “Tubes,” which I wrote during my junior year of high school. It is about the fundamental shift in the way people use the Internet. I’ve had fun writing this post, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it! In the coming weeks, I will publish “Part 1: Why Web 2.0?” detailing some of the philosophy behind Web 2.0 and cloud computing. I also made a video, watch it below. Be sure to comment and email me your feedback!

Video


Life in the Cloud: Introduction from Kabren Levinson on Vimeo.

Email Me!

Vote

Published
by
Kabren
on November 1, 2008
in Politics
. 0 Comments

Please, vote. I sent in my absentee ballot about two weeks ago, and I urge you to do the same, go to the polls on Tuesday. There is real opportunity for change in this election, in almost all directions.

I voted for Obama. I always liked him. When I met him with my family in Hawaii in December 2006, weeks before he was officially in the race, even though he obviously did not want to talk to us, he was a nice guy, and I could tell he cared. Oh, I ordered a T-Shirt with my photo of Obama on it, it’s pretty sweet, check it out on Flickr. Anyways, I hope you vote as well. Here’s a video, by MC Yogi, about Obama. I like it a lot, and I hope you will too.

Obama ‘08 - Vote For Hope from MC Yogi on Vimeo.