In a result that would have looked unlikely even one year ago, let alone decades ago in the midst of the civil rights battles of the 60's, the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States of America owes a considerable amount to the power of the computer and the transformation of regular internet users into active contributors to persuade millions of disaffected younger Americans to place their vote.
In one of the most effective online political campaigns I have seen (and I have seen many), elements from both the official Obama campaign team and many online special interest groups developed exceptionally innovative strategies utilising a broad range of Web 2.0 tools to put their view across. One of the most effective I saw involved the 'viral' spread of a worst-case-scenario personalised news report: a person adds the name and email address of friends, who receive an innocuous email suggesting they are featured in a news report. This news report was fully personalised, and had their name Incorporated into the story as having been 'the person who failed to vote that handed John McCain the Presidency by one vote'.
Citizen journalism was also in play, and not in the usual 'letter-to-the-editor' way. Americans in record numbers used alternative platforms like blogs and YouTube videos to highlight errors made by candidates, put their opinion forward on issues that mattered most to them and persuade others to vote for their favourite candidate.
Obama rode a irresistible and nearly unstoppable wave of public emotion and determination, due in no small part from the ability of Obama supporters to utilise the internet for greater effect. Republicans will need to formulate strategies to engage voters using these techniques rapidly to ensure they have a hope of being competitive in future elections.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Applying core themes: my personal computer use
I was excited by the opportunity to do a blog as part of my final assignment for COMP1900 as it is something I already have some experience. As I have mentioned before, I already have a personal blog which enables me to broadcast the opinions that I have on topics of special interest to me that I don't get the opportunity to say elsewhere. Because I am doing five subjects, it has been a little quiet lately, but I plan to actively contribute in the months ahead.
I have set up my Facebook, another Web 2.0 app that I use frequently, so that my friends are alerted when I have a new opinion on something. This caused me a bit of grief when I wrote a particularly controversial post in September which caused a significant stir - while it significantly boosted my site statistics I will probably act in a more cautious fashion in the future.
This most exemplifies the 'From Consumer to Producer' theme of COMP1900. Paradoxically, I am by nature a very private person and very careful about what information is available to people I don't want it to be. I don't use my full name on my blog, and my Facebook is set to only reveal information to my friends. I maintain a PO Box which I use whenever I need to supply an address online. The personal information I feel most perturbed about releasing is my date of birth - I know from working in the medical and paramedical fields that the date of birth is a crucial way of identify a person and I worry about people unnecessarily holding that information.
I have been fascinated throughout this course by having the opportunity to look back over the history of computing and seeing how 'The Power of Computing' has grown, even in just the last decade. It has radically altered how I do my research, how I spend my recreational time and how I store my music - all of which articulate into the 'Interface as a Mediator' theme.
For me, I would have to say that 'Alternative Software' is not a theme that applies very much to my personal computer usage - apart from the occasional usage of my mum's Apple laptop. I love Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, and despite learning of new platforms that fulfill similar functions, I am very happy with the performance these tried-and-true programs afford me.
I have set up my Facebook, another Web 2.0 app that I use frequently, so that my friends are alerted when I have a new opinion on something. This caused me a bit of grief when I wrote a particularly controversial post in September which caused a significant stir - while it significantly boosted my site statistics I will probably act in a more cautious fashion in the future.
This most exemplifies the 'From Consumer to Producer' theme of COMP1900. Paradoxically, I am by nature a very private person and very careful about what information is available to people I don't want it to be. I don't use my full name on my blog, and my Facebook is set to only reveal information to my friends. I maintain a PO Box which I use whenever I need to supply an address online. The personal information I feel most perturbed about releasing is my date of birth - I know from working in the medical and paramedical fields that the date of birth is a crucial way of identify a person and I worry about people unnecessarily holding that information.
I have been fascinated throughout this course by having the opportunity to look back over the history of computing and seeing how 'The Power of Computing' has grown, even in just the last decade. It has radically altered how I do my research, how I spend my recreational time and how I store my music - all of which articulate into the 'Interface as a Mediator' theme.
For me, I would have to say that 'Alternative Software' is not a theme that applies very much to my personal computer usage - apart from the occasional usage of my mum's Apple laptop. I love Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, and despite learning of new platforms that fulfill similar functions, I am very happy with the performance these tried-and-true programs afford me.
Applying core themes: my current study
I am about to graduate from my undergraduate Bachelor of Science majoring in Pharmacology. While this will mark the end of one phase of my studying, I have been accepted into the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery program next year, so I still have a long road of study ahead.
In the field of biomedical science at UQ, probably the largest computing hurdle relates to the COMP1900 themes of 'Interface as a Mediator' and 'Alternantive Software': my faculty (Biological and Chemical Sciences) and in particular my school (School of Biomedical Sciences) almost exclusively run Macs. The need for Macs is apparent in the wet labs in my School - many of the instrumentation used in physiology and pharmacology experiments are designed for use with Macs. With all due respect to the academics in my School, however, I also have a sneaking suspicion that a large number them are a bit bolshie and like being different to the rest of the university. This generates numerous problems for students even in third year who are not familiar with the peculiarities of the foreign operating system.
Literature reviews are a frequent mode of assessment in the subjects that I have done, and in this regard the theme 'The Power of the Computer' comes to the fore. The ability to rapidly search a wide array of journals from across the world all from a computer in Brisbane is an extraordinary advancement compared to the situation even a decade ago. Lecturers now frequently expect students to use the phenomenal resources available through the computers and databases to find the latest information on topics they present, so that we are always at the cutting-edge of knowledge in our field.
In the field of biomedical science at UQ, probably the largest computing hurdle relates to the COMP1900 themes of 'Interface as a Mediator' and 'Alternantive Software': my faculty (Biological and Chemical Sciences) and in particular my school (School of Biomedical Sciences) almost exclusively run Macs. The need for Macs is apparent in the wet labs in my School - many of the instrumentation used in physiology and pharmacology experiments are designed for use with Macs. With all due respect to the academics in my School, however, I also have a sneaking suspicion that a large number them are a bit bolshie and like being different to the rest of the university. This generates numerous problems for students even in third year who are not familiar with the peculiarities of the foreign operating system.
Literature reviews are a frequent mode of assessment in the subjects that I have done, and in this regard the theme 'The Power of the Computer' comes to the fore. The ability to rapidly search a wide array of journals from across the world all from a computer in Brisbane is an extraordinary advancement compared to the situation even a decade ago. Lecturers now frequently expect students to use the phenomenal resources available through the computers and databases to find the latest information on topics they present, so that we are always at the cutting-edge of knowledge in our field.
Areas for expansion in COMP1900
The four core themes of COMP1900 this semester have each been covered in recent blog posts. I've been really interested in what the semeste has entailed. I am a third-year student in my final semester of university, so this subject has been one of considerable personal interest, yet I can see the benefit this course can present to students in their first year of study by exposing them to the technologies that are going to be of use in later endeavours.
To improve on the mix of skills already learnt in the course, the following are three other topics that could be taught that would be of benefit to students studying COMP1900 in the future:
To improve on the mix of skills already learnt in the course, the following are three other topics that could be taught that would be of benefit to students studying COMP1900 in the future:
- An overview of how to contribute videos to YouTube.
This is a key Web 2.0 tool and is a site that will access at least once a week, yet I have absolutely no idea about how to contribute to it. While there may be some students who already know how to go about this, others I'm sure will not and this may be beneficial. - University IT protocols
Students at the start of their degree would benefit from a broad understanding of the online facilites available at UQ, including the Library and Student Services. It might also be beneficial to inform students of UQ IT policies, and what can and can't be done on UQ computers. - Financial literacy
A primer of facilities available on the internet to aid financial literacy and manage finances would be useful to first year students who may be independent for the first time.
From consumer to producer
In weeks 11 and 12 of the semester, the content of COMP1900 switched to the recent development of Web 2.0 technologies and crucially how the individual computer user is now beginning to switch from being a passive consumer of information to now being active producers of content in their own right.
Week 11 introduced the cohort to the concept of Web 2.0 and the tools that underpin it. It was clear to most that people we were all active users of Web 2.0 without really being aware of the significance of it. For me, I believe the crucial tenet to Web 2.0, and the idea of being a producer rather than a consumer are tools that make it easy to create a web presence. A few years ago, to have a web presence required investment in a desktop webpage program, perhaps the purchasing of web space to host the site and the technical know-how to upload the site you made. This could never, of course, be done quickly and required a great deal of effort to even update the site when you had something new to say.
Now through the use of blog sites, Myspace, Facebook and the like, people now have easy-to-use tools to create a web presence without the rigmarole it used to involve.
With the power to create content easily, however, comes the responsibility to act in an ethical manner and the concern that too much personal information being broadcast to the world engenders serious privacy issues. This was the focus of Week 12. The ability for people to create web content available to the entire world in the space of a few minutes means people who do not hold concepts of ethical behaviour in high regard can post whatever distasteful, rude, slanderous or defamatory items they want with very little recourse available to others to have such content removed. This situation is actually being played out by one of the fellow class members, who is using his blog to denigrate the course and question the merits of this assessment piece.
There was considerable concern a few short years ago that the development of the internet would lead to the leaking of personal information. What might not have been envisioned then, however, is the reality that at the moment people are readily volunteering often very personal and intimate information about themselves on social networking sites such as Facebook. I'm not an exceptionally large user of too many of the slew of Web 2.0 platforms and technologies as I simply would prefer to limit the number of separate organisations that hold details like my name, date of birth and credit card information.
The transition of computer users from consumers to producers provides a new and exciting opportunity to interact with people in the same neighbourhood or even across the globe. With this opportunity comes the requirement to post content in a responsible fashion, be respectful of copyright and intellectual property and ensure that personal information is only revealed where necessary and only to web presences of good repute.
Week 11 introduced the cohort to the concept of Web 2.0 and the tools that underpin it. It was clear to most that people we were all active users of Web 2.0 without really being aware of the significance of it. For me, I believe the crucial tenet to Web 2.0, and the idea of being a producer rather than a consumer are tools that make it easy to create a web presence. A few years ago, to have a web presence required investment in a desktop webpage program, perhaps the purchasing of web space to host the site and the technical know-how to upload the site you made. This could never, of course, be done quickly and required a great deal of effort to even update the site when you had something new to say.
Now through the use of blog sites, Myspace, Facebook and the like, people now have easy-to-use tools to create a web presence without the rigmarole it used to involve.
With the power to create content easily, however, comes the responsibility to act in an ethical manner and the concern that too much personal information being broadcast to the world engenders serious privacy issues. This was the focus of Week 12. The ability for people to create web content available to the entire world in the space of a few minutes means people who do not hold concepts of ethical behaviour in high regard can post whatever distasteful, rude, slanderous or defamatory items they want with very little recourse available to others to have such content removed. This situation is actually being played out by one of the fellow class members, who is using his blog to denigrate the course and question the merits of this assessment piece.
There was considerable concern a few short years ago that the development of the internet would lead to the leaking of personal information. What might not have been envisioned then, however, is the reality that at the moment people are readily volunteering often very personal and intimate information about themselves on social networking sites such as Facebook. I'm not an exceptionally large user of too many of the slew of Web 2.0 platforms and technologies as I simply would prefer to limit the number of separate organisations that hold details like my name, date of birth and credit card information.
The transition of computer users from consumers to producers provides a new and exciting opportunity to interact with people in the same neighbourhood or even across the globe. With this opportunity comes the requirement to post content in a responsible fashion, be respectful of copyright and intellectual property and ensure that personal information is only revealed where necessary and only to web presences of good repute.
Alternative software
One of the key things I have been able to discover as a result of this semester's work in COMP1900 has been the broad range of alternative software packages to complete tasks that I would ordinarily not have given a second thought to. At the very least, this exposure means that I have more choice available to me to complete uni tasks and means there is less learning curve for me if I intend to use these tools.
The first week of the course presented the concept of alternative software in terms of the very well known battle between operating systems. Microsoft Windows is the most used operating system used by computer users around the world, however its main rival in Apple Macintosh is known to most computer users and has a loyal following, particularly in creative industries where the operating system is used almost exclusively. When attention turned to the internet in Week 2, again it was already known to most in the course the vanguard nature of Microsoft in the 'browser wars' over many years and the rise of Mozilla Firefox as the most serious threat to Internet Explorer dominance since the rise and fall of Netscape.
While these examples of alternative software were reasonably well-known to most, it was the introduction throughout the course of competitors to Microsoft Office that was the most enlightening. In week 4 we were introduced to alternatives to Microsoft Word, and this formed the basis of our first assignment, where were were tasked to compare a number of free word processors and compare them to Word, the industry-standard. Through this task we were exposed to the first time to Google Docs - a free word processor, spreadsheeting and presentation-creation programs are available free online, with the potential to facilitate easier collaboration than has previously been possible. This was then reinforced by separate lectures on spreadsheeting and presentation design in weeks 7 and 10 respectively.
Since the vast majority of computer users are connected to the internet, with a majority of those connected by broadband connection, it is no surprise that Google foresaw the opportunity afforded by web-based utilities, leading to their 2006 acquisition of IT startup firm Upstartle and their technology to form the core of the Google Docs engine.
In assignment 2 this semester, Google Docs was used by my group to enable group collaboration. I do not believe that I will get a great deal of use out of this platform in the future and remain a big fan of Microsoft Office. I do believe, however, that creators of alternative operating systems, web browsers and productivity tools provide choice for consumers and enhance innovation by all developers.
The first week of the course presented the concept of alternative software in terms of the very well known battle between operating systems. Microsoft Windows is the most used operating system used by computer users around the world, however its main rival in Apple Macintosh is known to most computer users and has a loyal following, particularly in creative industries where the operating system is used almost exclusively. When attention turned to the internet in Week 2, again it was already known to most in the course the vanguard nature of Microsoft in the 'browser wars' over many years and the rise of Mozilla Firefox as the most serious threat to Internet Explorer dominance since the rise and fall of Netscape.
While these examples of alternative software were reasonably well-known to most, it was the introduction throughout the course of competitors to Microsoft Office that was the most enlightening. In week 4 we were introduced to alternatives to Microsoft Word, and this formed the basis of our first assignment, where were were tasked to compare a number of free word processors and compare them to Word, the industry-standard. Through this task we were exposed to the first time to Google Docs - a free word processor, spreadsheeting and presentation-creation programs are available free online, with the potential to facilitate easier collaboration than has previously been possible. This was then reinforced by separate lectures on spreadsheeting and presentation design in weeks 7 and 10 respectively.
Since the vast majority of computer users are connected to the internet, with a majority of those connected by broadband connection, it is no surprise that Google foresaw the opportunity afforded by web-based utilities, leading to their 2006 acquisition of IT startup firm Upstartle and their technology to form the core of the Google Docs engine.
In assignment 2 this semester, Google Docs was used by my group to enable group collaboration. I do not believe that I will get a great deal of use out of this platform in the future and remain a big fan of Microsoft Office. I do believe, however, that creators of alternative operating systems, web browsers and productivity tools provide choice for consumers and enhance innovation by all developers.
The power of the computer
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."Of course, since 1949 personal computing has made extraordinary leaps and bounds. The laptop computer with which I am typing this post weighs a mere few kilograms, yet the power of this relatively small unit would undeniably leave the room-sized computers of those times in its wake.
- Popular Mechanics, 1949
While the history of computing and the power of modern computers was most explicitly covered in Weeks 1 and 2 of this semester's COMP1900 course, the demonstration of the power of the modern computer was made throughout the semester. This semeser our class experienced first-hand the key utilities relevant to 21st century computer users: use of the internet, word processing, the creation of meta-data for our digital information and the managment of our print resources, spreadsheeting and visualsing data, database use and the creation of presentations.
The earliest computers solely performed mathematical calculations. This function alone is now managed by handheld calculators, meaning that the abilites of the laptop or desktop computer is phenomenal, and only set to grow as a result of constant research and development.
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