The problem with a lot of "intelligent" content-driven sites, is that they create an almost obsessive focus for the user. In truth this is occurring in lots of places, not just on the web, but there seems to me to be something of a rush to make it real. Google's Desktop News Gadget proudly explains that it will provide you with news stories that are tailored against what you have been looking at. If I read lots of sports stories then it will increase the number of sports stories made available to me. Not a bad thing you might think. But at what cost?
Assuming I only have a limited time available for the consumption of news (or any information really), then it follows that if I spend more of that time reading sports news, then something else that I would have read will disappear. For someone like me that's a bit worrying, but at least I'm aware of the problem. Read lots of stories about sport - get nothing but sport - which means I read lots of stories about sport - etc, etc. Fine if all I want to read about is sport, but it does rather imply that I miss out on some "random discovery" opportunities.
The prevalence of data and the ease of personalisation that abounds on the Internet makes it something of an extreme example, but this has actually been going on for a while now. Newspaper editors have long influenced the views of their respective readerships, but theirs was always an inexact science. Market research helped tell them a bit, but not in quite such an efficient way. And it wasn't that long ago that most of our TV news came from short, broad-interest, telecasts from the BBC or ITN. Nowadays, with the advent of 24 hour news, it is entirely possible to find a news channel that focuses on the type of news you like, and maybe even with the political slant you like. Again, you may well be saying: "So what? I never cared about the silly story with the dog that can say 'Sausages' anyway". Perhaps, but by appealing to a broad range of interest, the editors of these services were almost always showing you something you might not have sought out when left to your own devices. And it may be that it turned out to interest or influence you.
An abundance of choice, which is certainly what the Internet provides, theoretically leads to a broader range of knowledge. But when that choice becomes overwhelming and tools are put into place to help filter it for you, then a strange kind of censorship occurs. The truth is not as bleak as I'm making out here. There will always be external influences that affect us and the things we're interested in, otherwise my daughter will end up with a lifetime of reading about Polly Pocket. However, it's not easy to guard against something unless you're aware of it.
Be careful how you set your preferences..
Monday, 4 February 2008
Monday, 28 January 2008
Scrabulous..?
I have no idea how I feel about the great Scrabulous debate.
For info, Scrabulous is a game that has been added as a third party application running on Facebook. It has, seemingly, more users than the entire population of the Earth and is currently free (except of course that it generates ad revenue for its developers). The problem is that it is blatantly a rip off of the classic board game Scrabble (almost including the name).
There are a number of arguments floating around in my head. I'm someone who wants to dream big dreams, and come up with great ideas that (hopefully) might make me some commercial gain as well as change/save the world. And the way that happens is through the process of IP (intellectual property) protection - patents and the like. Now these two guys who built Scrabulous have taken someone else's IP and stolen it. I don't really like the precedent that this sets. As someone who might someday have a Big Idea, I wouldn't want the free-for-all notions that the Internet has enabled (and somehow morally justified) to be applied to my innovations. What's the incentive for me? The trouble is that this, of course, has been going on since time began and a lot of progress is actually built off the work of others. A computer operating system that uses "windows", electrically-powered vacuum cleaners, etc, etc.
Some of the defence of Scrabulous is that it hasn't taken any business from the makers/owners of Scrabble, indeed people are saying that they discovered the joys of the game through the Facebook version and have subsequently gone out and bought a real-life set (making money for the Scrabble guys too). That's a great example of a sort of virtuous symbiosis, a relationship where everybody wins.
And then I keep coming back to the central notion of "Yeah, but they stole the idea.."
I really can't decide.
For info, Scrabulous is a game that has been added as a third party application running on Facebook. It has, seemingly, more users than the entire population of the Earth and is currently free (except of course that it generates ad revenue for its developers). The problem is that it is blatantly a rip off of the classic board game Scrabble (almost including the name).
There are a number of arguments floating around in my head. I'm someone who wants to dream big dreams, and come up with great ideas that (hopefully) might make me some commercial gain as well as change/save the world. And the way that happens is through the process of IP (intellectual property) protection - patents and the like. Now these two guys who built Scrabulous have taken someone else's IP and stolen it. I don't really like the precedent that this sets. As someone who might someday have a Big Idea, I wouldn't want the free-for-all notions that the Internet has enabled (and somehow morally justified) to be applied to my innovations. What's the incentive for me? The trouble is that this, of course, has been going on since time began and a lot of progress is actually built off the work of others. A computer operating system that uses "windows", electrically-powered vacuum cleaners, etc, etc.
Some of the defence of Scrabulous is that it hasn't taken any business from the makers/owners of Scrabble, indeed people are saying that they discovered the joys of the game through the Facebook version and have subsequently gone out and bought a real-life set (making money for the Scrabble guys too). That's a great example of a sort of virtuous symbiosis, a relationship where everybody wins.
And then I keep coming back to the central notion of "Yeah, but they stole the idea.."
I really can't decide.
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Information Penetration
I bought a shiny new toy the other day. And it wasn't even Christmas anymore.
The Asus eeePC (http://eeepc.asus.com/uk/index.htm) is a dinky little PC with a solid hard drive that makes it pretty robust. It's also very easy to use. The Linux operating system finishes start up within around 10 seconds of switch on, which means you're not faced with that "barrier" to surfing for something trivial.
The machine itself has been co-opted by a number of the family so far, with by far the most common thing being for web browsing. The screen is not big, but most sites work well enough on it (it is basically Firefox running on a smaller resolution). Tom & Jerry Flash games, browser-based email and cooking recipes have all been found to be very useful. And the machine has been dragged all round the house in a way that the other 2 laptops don't seem to be.
And suddenly I'm struck by the realisation that true "on demand" information is pretty much here (or at least in my house). The interface is one the family are all familiar with. They don't have to wait for 2 minutes for the machine to be ready to surf, it weighs so little (and is so small) that it gets lugged around in one hand (even by the 6 year old). Conversations that start in the kitchen with the line "oh, you should have seen what Bob emailed me today" end up with a physical demonstration of said email, and a view of the links that Bob sent.
So what? Well, the much-hyped UMPC (ultra mobile personal computers) may actually be getting here now, and indeed finding their way into the home. The beastie that I bought can be found in ToysRUs for £219 (when in stock) or even cheaper online. Time to start thinking about the commercial opportunities that may exist in this world. Is it just a bunch of people wasting even more time on Facebook? Or is it more than that?
The Asus eeePC (http://eeepc.asus.com/uk/index.htm) is a dinky little PC with a solid hard drive that makes it pretty robust. It's also very easy to use. The Linux operating system finishes start up within around 10 seconds of switch on, which means you're not faced with that "barrier" to surfing for something trivial.
The machine itself has been co-opted by a number of the family so far, with by far the most common thing being for web browsing. The screen is not big, but most sites work well enough on it (it is basically Firefox running on a smaller resolution). Tom & Jerry Flash games, browser-based email and cooking recipes have all been found to be very useful. And the machine has been dragged all round the house in a way that the other 2 laptops don't seem to be.
And suddenly I'm struck by the realisation that true "on demand" information is pretty much here (or at least in my house). The interface is one the family are all familiar with. They don't have to wait for 2 minutes for the machine to be ready to surf, it weighs so little (and is so small) that it gets lugged around in one hand (even by the 6 year old). Conversations that start in the kitchen with the line "oh, you should have seen what Bob emailed me today" end up with a physical demonstration of said email, and a view of the links that Bob sent.
So what? Well, the much-hyped UMPC (ultra mobile personal computers) may actually be getting here now, and indeed finding their way into the home. The beastie that I bought can be found in ToysRUs for £219 (when in stock) or even cheaper online. Time to start thinking about the commercial opportunities that may exist in this world. Is it just a bunch of people wasting even more time on Facebook? Or is it more than that?
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