I’ve been a big fan of Clay Shirky since I watched his video on the participatory potential of the Web.
I’ve also become a huge fan of TED.com and have been watching entirely too many videos up there as well (including the Johnny Lee talk).
But here’s another, earlier talk given by Shirky back in July 2005. I think he had some prescient things to say about how the Web has evolved over the past couple of years, as well as some of the threats the Web poses to institutions.
Forgive me in advance if my thoughts are a bit incoherent this morning…I’m on my second cup of coffee and still not feeling fully awake…
So I ordered my infrared pen from Penteractive for the wiimote whiteboard hack from Johnny Lee, but I’m still awaiting the pen in the mail. The site was slick, payment via Paypal seamless, and I’m still within the promised 2-5 business days – but man, am I getting antsy!
More to come…
I recently helped a friend (whose name I shall not mention) sign up for Facebook, and walked said friend through the process of setting up an account.
It occurred to me (through observations among friends and colleagues) that the most recent wave of Facebookers in the U.S. are by definition those who are late to the game, and therefore are least comfortable with the idea of ceding some of their privacy for the benefit of increased connectedness with friends and family.
Here’s a great tutorial that walks through recommended privacy settings on Facebook, although it’s a little outdated. My tips are below:
Privacy settings, privacy settings, privacy settings
Walk through these as soon as you sign up, and make sure you’re comfortable with the amount of information you’ll be sharing with your friends. Here’s an article (with a cool graph) that indicates how few Facebook users visit the privacy settings.
If possible, sit down with a friend who is already on Facebook and have them walk you through it first before you even sign up.
“I just want to be friends…”
You’ll have the option to share a lot of your information on Facebook with your friends, their friends, your entire network (school, city, etc.) or anyone on Facebook. When in doubt, choose “only my friends.”
Better to pick that one by default, because the immense growth of Facebook means that the other options offer ultimately no control over who sees your stuff.
Crawl before you walk…
In general, pick the most limiting privacy settings first. If you’re uncomfortable with an option, opt out. If you’re not sure you want to share something, don’t.
You can always add more later, adjust your privacy settings or upload more information. Better to start prudent and open up more down the road.
Got any more tips to add…?
Feel free.
In the wake of multiple appointments made by President-elect Obama as he readies his transition to the White House (Clinton for Secretary of State, Daschle for Department of Health and Human Services, Timothy Geithner as Secretary of Treasury, etc.) one question still lingers in my mind:
Why wasn’t Clinton considered for the the department of Health and Human services, where she could put her experience with health care to work? Is that not the top post in the land for reforming health care? Is that not her legacy?
Don’t get me wrong, I think she’ll make a fine Secretary of State. And I think Tom Daschle will do fine at the department of Health and Human Services. My point is, I just haven’t heard anyone ask that question. Am I missing something? Is there a plain reason why a simple explanation isn’t given by any reporter’s story of Obama’s picks?
Enlightenment welcomed…
When I first saw this video by Johnny Lee, I thought it was awesome, futuristic-looking, but completely irrelevant to anything I might care about.
Two weeks later I saw it on Ted.com, where Lee describes the outburst in experimentation on the part of teachers and students alike in classrooms across America to expand on his innovation. After that, I basically assumed a personal responsibility to get my wife (who is a teacher) her very own multi-touch whiteboard in her first grade classroom. First watch:
Here are my steps for making this a reality for her, but realize that (1) I’m only about 3/4 of the way through the process and (2) this is in layman’s terms. I don’t program. I know little about hardware, and so if I’m come off as less than schooled on these matters it’s because, well, I am. (Much better support provided in the forums at WiimoteProject.com.)
Step 1: Bluetooth
Make sure you have Bluetooth on your computer/laptop. Seems silly, but if you don’t, then you’ll need to go out and get an external device that enables Bluetooth file sharing.
Step 2: Wiimote
Get a Wiimote. Again, sounds silly but hey, I gave up gaming with the eclipse of the Sega Genesis by faster, better game consoles. I don’t own a Wii, but I got one at BestBuy for $40.00. I’m sure you can get them online for much cheaper, but I was impatient.
Step 3 Sync ’em Up:
Sync your Wiimote with your computer. This is way more difficult than it sounds. Read the forum above, where I plan to detail the process I went through to do it, but suffice it to say that the Wiimote is not designed to sync with a PC. All other problems stem from there.
Step 4: Get the Pen
Fashion, or purchase, an IR LED pen. There is a great schematic on Johnny Lee‘s Web site, but this company, Penteractive sprung up in the wake of all of this and sells them for $8. Again, I’m not good with hardware so I opted for the easy way out.
Step 5: TBC…I’ve yet to get my pen in the mail, or download Lee’s free software, but I’ll leave an update and probably a video response to Lee’s once I do.
Why this is awesome
Lee didn’t invent. He innovated. What’s more, he made it in an open source way, promoted it on YouTube, and stands to provide every classroom in American with the tools to create a reasonably inexpensive interactive whiteboard.
To paraphrase the man himself, his solution is only about 80 percent as good as a commercial one. But it comes at about 1 percent of the cost.
So cool…
I had high expectations for the movie “Traitor” and, unfortunately, felt more than a bit let down. The film follows Samir Horn (played by Don Cheadle) as a devout Muslim with a storied past; born in Sudan, trained by the U.S. military, fought with the mujahideen in Afghanistan, turned explosives runner around the world, and eventually rises the ranks of a high profile terrorist network plotting attacks against U.S. interests abroad and, eventually, closer to home. Throughout the story, Horn’s story evokes a number of issues: Western prejudice toward Islam, racial profiling, U.S. empire building, and misunderstandings and ignorance on both sides.
In an interview on NPR, Cheadle explains how he reconciles the serious issues of the film with its summer-blockbuster-action-film marketing efforts, saying “movies like this, I always want to smuggle in those kinds of ideas. We don’t have to lead with them, but I like it when people can walk out of the theater with something to talk about.”
Shame on Cheadle
I agree. And I think the more people who can be introduced to a dialogue that I believe is crucial to our foreign policy, then all the better. Then I saw this YouTube clip. (It’s too shameless to embed). In it, Cheadle presents a parody of the movie (aired on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show) where his stunt double, an overweight mustachioed Latino, receives the brunt of the abuse during Cheadle’s interrogation scene. This may get more folks in the door, but it trivializes an important scene in the film.
What do you think?
Am I being too hard on Cheadle? The movie’s marketing efforts? Cheadle turns in a great performance, no doubt, and the film provides a great launch pad for some serious issues. Am I being too harsh?
(I’m targeting this query primarily at my friends involved in the space of social networking, attempting to glean insights ahead of a speech I’m giving on the topic.)
Is it a Facebook group? Is it Twitter? Is it a more targeted approach, like listing something on ThePoint.com? Is it good old fashioned e-mail?
There’s no one size fits all
I realize this. That’s why I’d like to learn what specific ways you’ve tried to organize people online, and how that affected what tool you chose to do so.
Thanks in advance.
iPod Touch is great, but…
Blogger Mark Evans describes why he opted for an iPod Touch rather than an outright iPhone.
One thing that would make the iPod Touch even greater, however, would be VoIP – or the ability to essentially use the iPod Touch as a phone via a software download from Skype. Evans makes a good point though: that would probably anger the wireless carriers a little too much for Apple right now. And a follow up comment points out that the Touch lacks a built-in microphone. Alas, technology gets us so close…
Start-Ups: Follow the Opportunity, not the Plan
Blogger Bret Terrill offers a great aphorism for those hoping to succeed online: ditch the business plan and follow the opportunity. Business plans, he argues, are useless when the whole game can change under your feet with the launch of a new platform (iPhone, Facebook) or a new technology. Click through to read his analogy; it’s too good to rip off here.
WSJ reports that the two giants may strike a deal that would see Verizon Wireless serve up Google as the default search engine on its mobile phones. (Note: that link may only provide a sneak peak of the article if you don’t subscribe, but you get the gist, and the rest is just background).
Could it be true? Anyone who owns an LG Dare, Verizon’s version of the iPhone, no matter what their sales associates tell you, can attest to how cumbersome the search process is. Half the time I launch the browser and just navigate to Google anyway.
According to WSJ, the deal is still in the making and wouldn’t close for a few weeks, at which point it’s anyone’s guess how soon they’d roll out Google on their phones.
But a guy can hope…
Matt Bigelow 
