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Up one levelFlickr Fans
I've been using Flickr for a while, but it still takes me by surprise sometimes...
The best of both worlds...
I study surveillance in society. I study computer games in society. And now, we have reports of computer games that are implicated in surveillance schemes. Hmm. Looks like my lucky day!
Get Your Vote On!
I am quite sure that young people have a hard time getting motivated about municipal politics. Isn't it all about property taxes and school board issues? The folks at Get Your Vote On are working hard to make it more fun.
Computers in schools: A question of balance
I spent some time at a high school November 1, talking about the use of computers in schools. These are my notes and reflections based on that visit.
iPodtoon?
I have seen an upsurge in online availability of short videos and cartoons. Apple says they sold 1 million videos in the first 19 days of video iPod sales. Is this a trend or just a coincidence? Are people going to be spurred to produce new content or are they just dragging out a lot of old stuff?
Are we zombies?
A recent project argues that new media use in public spaces and in particular laptops in cafes was turning us all into zombies. They argued for a technological response that built community. The recent MP3 Improveverywhere event in New York City's Central Park provides another illustration of how new media isn't *necessarily* all about isolating and fragmenting people.
When five minutes becomes an hour
If you live on an island you have decisions to make, every day, as you head for home. And your decisions are always gambles. I lost my bet tonight.
Moon setting on Collingwood Channel
It seems hard to believe, but the moon was so bright one morning a couple of months ago that it woke me up at 5am.
The Candidate
My spouse is running for municipal council here on Bowen Island. She was in an "all candidates" meeting this past weekend, and has lots of campaigning ahead of her in the coming two weeks, before the election on the 19th.
Watch your language
I am saddened when people misuse words. Not an honest mistake - we all do that - but deliberate misuse that is hurtful or harmful. There is one on my mind right now. I wrote this as a letter to the editor of our local paper, as a plea for people to engage in honest conversation and real dialogue. I have modified it to include some links to further information.
Charmed in Montreal
I don't know what it is - I seem to be on a "perfect light" jag these days. I was in Montreal briefly this week and happened across some wonderful light, in a park I was crossing. It was just before sunset and the sun was able to peek under the clouds and catch this building before it was cut off by the mountain.
What's more valuable than the dark?
You could be the richest man in Vancouver, living in a great big Shaughnessy mansion, but you couldn't buy yourself the dark I have, for free.
First frost
We're close the the water - most of us - on this island, so frost comes late. As far as I know, there has been no frost in our neighbourhood until this morning - November 14.
The Fog
We're now in our third day of fog in Vancouver. Not unheard of, but unusual to be sure.
CMNS 253 Course Outline available
I have posted my course outline for CMNS 253 (finally). My apologies to students looking for it earlier. I didn't realize that I hadn't done this yet - I sort of assumed they would post my spring outline.
Florence and Helene defend
Two more MA students are "out the door" successfully this week. Helene Leone on Monday and Florence Chee on Tuesday. Well done to both of them, it is a milestone achieved and on to bigger and better things for both of them.
Much Honour
I have a great bunch of honours students this year and they are all presenting their work this coming Tuesday.
The textbook is coming. Promise.
The textbook for CMNS 253 has been discontinued. But a solution has been found. Read on for details.
Bowen Bay Polar Bear Swim - 2006
I have done this a couple of times before, but haven't done it for a few years, because of being out of town and so on. This year I braved the winter waters once again - and started the year off with a splash.
Max and I are heading to the BC Winter Games
My son and I are going to be at the BC Winter Games this February. The games are in Trail, BC.
How long is it?
Thus began a famous Monty Python sketch (about men adrift in a life raft). In our case it is days of rain. 22. With no end in sight.
The Life Boat Sketch, Monty Python
When I was a teenager growing up in the 1970s, my link to global culture seemed to be mostly through the comedy albums of British sketch comic group Monty Python. We didn't have the television shows - no cable in those days, where I lived - but the LP's were played over and over again (and repeated by us, in faux British accents), endlessly. The Life Boat Sketch was a favourite.
CMNS 253 has begun
Had my first lecture with the CMNS 253 class - a record 110 people this year. Seems like a good bunch, and they were pretty good humoured about the inevitable crowding in the classroom.
Recipes: Turkey Pie
Who said you can't use your personal web space for completely off topic things? Actually, this isn't that off topic. I have been doing more baking lately and so have referred to my mother's recipe book more and more. This one, which my wife made after Christmas, comes from that book and my cousin asked for it so - having typed it up - I pasted it in here. Disregard if you don't like turkey...
Aunty Ina's Pastry
My Aunti Ina is famous for baked buns (and cinnamon buns) and pastry. This recipe is in my mother's recipe book, but comes from Aunti Ina.
Bowen Blogging Workshop
I was at a workshop on bloggging (and other forms of social software) today. It was organized by Boris and Roland, of Bryght. They held it on Bowen Island, making my attendance easy.
So kids make money while playing computer games... so what?
I was interviewed the other day about professional computer gamers. The reporter seemed to want to hear about how this was apocalyptic. I tried to encourage him to keep things in perspective.
Bowen Forecast - Jan 30, 2006
From my desktop widget. Worthy of preserving, don't you think?
The Yam Roll launch party
Yam Roll is a new animated television show for kids, drawn by John Izen and Jono Howard and written by Izen and Doug Sinclair (and others). My friend, Dan Hawes, is the Executive Producer. They have a funny web site: http://www.yamroll.com. I was at their launch party this week, held at a Skateboard shop in Vancouver.
Wayfaring.com for maps
Wayfaring.com is a google maps mashup, and I've started one to replace my gmaptrack map that was a record of the research on surveillance cameras in Vancouver high schools.
Catching up is hard to do
I have a bunch of things that need doing, lots that has been happening, and several things that I mean to put down here. Two things that popped up in the last couple of days: a new Moleskin, and moonlight.
The piranah brothers
Doug and Dinsdale of the digital age? Is it paying for preferential treatment or paying for protection? You decide.
New issue of CJC
The latest issue of the CJC (Canadian Journal of Communication) is now available. It features some great photographs on the cover and excellent articles.
Hera: Or Empathy
Bill Leiss' new book, Hera, is out. I have a number of copies in my office, or you can get it from Chapters.ca. As Bill says, this is "a product of intelligent design."
Mobile and wireless communication: An introduction
Our book is back from the typesetters and it looks good! Just a few more months before it will be on a bookshelf near you...
Favorville
A social networking site called Favorville got me onto Global Television News this week. Some comments on the site, my experience being on television, and the favours that I gave/got.
Are we honouring our students' abilities?
I had a small epiphany the other day, after watching a movie about a professor in a private college, who was blown away by the preparedness of her students. What can I do to make that possible for my students?
What do people use the data for on their mobile phone?
There has been a recent flurry of interest around the use that people put to the data capabilities of new phones. Bob Mackin, a reporter for Business in Vancouver, contacted me about this and I wrote a short reply to him. I enclose it here.
Gaming as Culture
Florence Chee, Marcelo Vieta, and I have a chapter in a new reader on games. I think you might enjoy it, if you have an interest in games and culture.
New issue of the Canadian Journal of Communication
A new issue of the CJC has been released. Check it out!
Social Bookmarking, photoblogging... now in Plone
I haven't done anyting magical, in fact I haven't done anything at all really - just installed and configured a "product" in plone. It is called CFSin and it enables plone to "subscribe" to an RSS feed. In this case, the feed is something that I create, using software that is easier to use than plone's built in tools. So, for example, I can add bookmarks in del.icio.us and photos in flickr, but make them appear here. Try it.
Whither the iPod?
As I was asked about the impending doom of the iPod - a question brought on by the closure of the original Walkman plant in Japan, no doubt, I responded with a little bit of an essay about iPods, digital media, and general purpose technologies. In short, the iPod is no Walkman.
What is new media?
I was in Montreal last fall and - based on a question from the audience during my talk - came up with some impromptu thoughts on 'what is new media?' I kept them, even though they were just scribbled in my notebook, done as I answered, and have decided to post them here in the hope that they might evolve into something more formal and well defined.
The latest news
This is a reverse chronological listing of my comments/news items
What is iPod fame?
An interview request, as in the past, has prompted me to set down some thoughts on my views on iPod fame. If the interview goes well, they might be using me on Global National tomorrow (May 2, 2006). On the other hand, they might cut me off at 15 seconds, like last time...
Travel Questions
As I board the bus with my bag, the neighbours (my bus is a neighbourhood one, I know everyone on it) want to know where I am headed. And can I sleep on the plane? Sure. Why not?
On Liberty
For some time now I have been including a section in my course on new media in which I tell students about the philosophical and political tradition of seeking to create social conditions that encourage human beings to realize their potential. Such a position depends, of course, on believing that human beings have potential. I frequently refer to thinkers such as John Stuart Mill in making that case.
The Access Principle: The Case for Open Access to Research and Scholarship (Digital Libraries and Electronic Publishing)
John Willinsky is the brains and the impetus behind the Open Conferencing System and the Open Journal System. We use both here, and are thrilled to see his book on open access getting so much visibility.
Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games
I have several students studying games, and one in particular who is focused on the economy inside the games, which is, increasingly beginning to more closely resemble and even move into the "real" economy. Castranova's book is the best known and most thorough treatment of the reality of these virtual game environments.
Wikipedia article by Shannon Rupp
A reporter doing a freelance story for the Globe and Mail called me for an interview about wikipedia. She was exercised about something she read online by a 'fringe' journalist who was claiming to be more than he really was. She wondered what the impact of this sort of falsification of wikipedia was. I argued that the very fact that she was calling me, and writing an article about it, was evidence that wikipedia's premise, that open sourcing knowledge (or "all bugs are shallow, given enough eyeballs"), would work. Here is what she wrote.
Globe article on wikipedia
I was interviewed for a Globe & Mail article last week, and the results came out on Saturday, May 6. It was - as usual - the provocation of being interviewed that seemed to get me thinking about wikipedia in a new way and as a different form of knowledge than what people are used to. The position I tried to formulate with the reporter was that wikipedia represents "knowledge in process" rather than "knowledge as product." I will try to elaborate on that claim here.
Mobile and Wireless Communications
If you are looking for a good book the tries to tread some middle ground between technological underpinnings and social implications, try our "mobile and wireless communications." Gordon Gow and I wrote it over the past year, and it is now available from Open University Press / McGraw-Hill (London).
Mobile Communication and Society: A Global Perspective (Information Revolution and Global Politics)
Manuel Castells is the "big dog" in technology and society studies, especially following his network society trilogy. He's now got a new book coming out (November) on Mobile Society. I'll definitely have to get a copy of this. A good companion to "our book":mawc-amazon
The Social Life of Information
This is a great book for the business person or management researcher who is interested in the impact of digital information and networks in organizations.
A name like Smith isn't that distinctive...
With a name like Smith you live your life constantly being mistaken for other people. And, in the 21st century, search engines. No more, though. I am #1 with a bullet on Google. Whoa! I better savour it, though. This won't last. UPDATE: not 15 minutes later I fell to #2. Drat. Luckily I have a screen shot of the moment.
Cell Phone Civility
We think of "civility" as something to do with manners. But it is also something to do with civil society - politics - and many people think that cell phones are eroding civility in our society. I was interviewed by Amy Brown-Bowers, of the National Post, on this topic because of a paper I wrote for the Canadian Communication Association's meetings at the Congress of the Social Sciences and the Humanities, here in Toronton June 1-3. I argued that there is more to cell phones than just acting out in public. The trick is finding the positive aspects, and nurturing them.
National Post article
Amy Brown-Bowers wrote an article based on an interview with me on June 1.
NY Times on Wikipedia
A local archive of the story in the NY Times, June 2006, about Wikipedia's changing approach to the "anyone can edit" policy. Contains a history of Wikipedia and interviews with founders and commentators.
Under Technology's Thumb
A wonderful text on technology and technological change.
Kids today!
Vanessa Richmond, from Vancouver Magazine, is doing a story on how childhood is changing and how information technology is implicated in that. I have an interview with her this afternoon, so I put together some thoughts on the questions she has.
Jimmy Wales takes on democracy
Here is the mission statement for the new "campaign wikia": "It's time for politics to become more intelligent, and for democracy to really involve the people. Broadcast media tells you what to think and doesn't let you get involved. It's time to focus on what you need, what you care about, and the messages you want to get out." I reflect on this mission and some other things I have done in the past and some emerging research from my students.
Arago in the news...
I am not the only one using "arago" as a name for their projects. In this case the US National Postal Museum has created an online database of a noted stamp collector. I found this item in the Internet Scout Report, a lovely weekly collection of links and commentary.
IT and democracy - in action
Jimmy Wales is high profile, to be sure, but the forces of intelligence in democracy are many and diverse. You couldn't ask for a better example of how the internet can be used to explain difficult concepts effectively (audio, video, multimedia, all bound up with humour and sarcasm... sure hits with young people), than this piece on gerrymandering by "zefrank."
Surveilling our kids is not a good idea
Would you install equipment in a car or cell phone that enabled you to spy on your children? What, do you think, would be the harm in that?
Colleges surveill students via cell tracking
Lisa Cornwell's July 9 article on cellular surveillance of college students. Saved here in case the original goes off line.
more kids today....
In revising her article, Vanessa has started to look at egocasting, the invention of an American professor from EPPC. My take on this - for every student wasting time on Facebook there is a student looking - and contributing - more widely on the web. I am more curious about people who think diversity is a bad thing.
Racism in computer games/government surveillance of internet
I was interviewed twice yesterday, on two different topics: racism in computer games, and government surveillance of our internet usage. One was for the radio (CKNW, on surveillance), and one was for a news service (Agence France Presse, on racism in video games).
Cell phone as social (de)lubricant
Misty Harris, from CanWest News, gave me a call the other day about a report that cell phones were being use to deflect unwelcome advances in bars and other social situations. Not as a blugeon to hit an attacker over the head - although I suppose that could work, too, since they are increasingly being used as projectiles at soccer games in Europe (!) - but as a way to indicate that you are busy and can't talk just then. I was asked to comment and provided a few suggestions. Something that didn't make it into the story, probably because it is a bit "academic," is my observation that this re-purposing of technology - and especially communication technology - is a hallmark of human intervention in the design process, even after the engineers and business people think that the design is fixed. The design, of course, is never fixed. It is socially constructed, on an ongoing basis. Of course, after a while things settle down, but when a new technology comes out, and especially when it has some design flexibility, we'll see a lot of public innovation. This is one reason that technological determinism has problems predicting technology in practice. We just don't do what we're expected to do all the time. Which is probably good, since it provides room for human agency, or initiative.
Statistics Canada Internet study
So, Canadians spend a lot of time on the internet. We know that now, based on a recent study from Statistics Canada. What does it mean, though? I received numerous calls from the media yesterday and today, as reporters tried to put some context on the latest report. Here are my thoughts.
Why do academics blog?
Alex Halavais has a new chapter out, in the book "Uses of Blogs," in which he considers the role of blogging in academic life. I offer some of my own observations to the mix.
The Cruisers (don't) win the tournament
We came close, but in the end it was the Firemen.
Who's on?
One of my honours students, Andrew Muir, did a lovely honours paper on instant messaging, buddy lists, and the evolution of user interfaces. Since lately I have been thinking about technology in historical terms, I got started on how did we do "presence management" in the old days? I happened to be in my academic department that day and immediately noticed the notes on doors and mailboxes. Of course - we used little pieces of paper. The doctor is... IN.
Six Cents - a year in the life of an author
A few years ago I published a book with Brian Lewis and Christine Massey. We share the royalties equally (.33 of a per cent each on each sale). I get about 7 cents on each book. What do you think happened last year?
The Tower Under Siege: Technology, Power, and Education
My first real book. With co-authors Brian Lewis and Christine Massey, this reflects research we did on the role of information technology in higher education.
iTunes U is at SFU
I had a chance to try out the iTunes U software last night and it is looking really slick. There are still a few things to work out, but it is pretty good.
iTunes U is at SFU
My 253 class is going to be "podcast" this fall and I have been fretting a bit about how I was going to manage the logistics of the whole thing. Sure, I could do it by hand (I did that last semester), but I was looking for something more sustainable. Something like the "iTunes U" that I had seen demo-ed earlier in the year. Well, thanks to Mike Sangster, our wizard of SFU's web, we now have the SFU version of iTunes working! Here is a demo of how it looks for a professor...
New logo, new acronym, new focus
An academic life is a life of evolution. This much I am sure of. Today marks the official launch - although the process began in the spring - of my new web "look" in support of a new research focus on social inclusion. I suspect the "pinkness" will be toned down in the coming weeks, but overall I am pleased with the result. Are you? More importantly, what does "social inclusion" mean to you? (UPDATE: the pink looks purple on a friend's IBM laptop. Ghastly. I'm going to do more testing...)
More and more del.icio.us
My mother used to call good food "scrummy" - a contraction of scrumptious, which itself is a bit of an 'informal' word, meaning very tasty or delicious. Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking tool, letting you quickly and easily mark web sites and - importantly - tag and comment them. Here are some of mine.
Association of Internet Researchers 7.0
I am leaving for Brisbane this evening. It is a long flight but I am looking forward to seeing the "old gang" from AIR and spending some time in the sun.
Much ado about GoogTube
I got a media call about google buying YouTube today. The reporter wanted to know what the impact might be on the "YouTube Community."
Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum
A very interesting workshop/forum held this past week in Ottawa. The event drew together representatives rom various industry, government, academic, and activist groups - all of whom have an interest in something different in telecom policy for Canada. Something that honours the remarkable transformations that are going on with free culture, peer production, and open access to broadband networks. The group met for three days and discussed many things. Highlights include...
The AoIR 8.0 (2007, Vancouver) Call for Papers is available...
Here it is, hot off the presses. Get those abstracts in...
CMNS 253 Course Outline for 2007
I am going to be revising CMNS 253 somewhat for 2007. The main impact is the switch to Wade Rowland's new version of the textbook and a closer coupling of the lectures with the textbook. I will continue the podcast version of the course, for those who need the extra flexibility.
CMNS 453 Issues in an information society
The course outline for CMNS 453 (on campus version, not distance) is now available.
A new issue of The Digest is now available
Amanda, Darryl, and Nisha deserve a big round of hurrah - the latest issue of The Digest is now available. Behind the scenes, Roman has brought forth another student project while studiously avoiding the limelight himself.
Gwenmar bread
My mother made bread at home ("Gwenmar" is the name of our home), and tried to teach me to do the same. I think she always was skeptical of the bread machine. When it finally broke, she offered to teach me again. I am glad she did - the results are fantastic.
Leiss Course outline for Spring 2007
Bill Leiss will be here as a visiting professor next semester and is going to be teaching a graduate seminar. Sign up now!
It is "buy nothing" day
My brother has reminded me - as he always does - that it is "buy nothing" day today. So get out there and start buying nothing!
Recent reads
A recent story about the distracted state of university professors made me think about what I do to remain focused. One of those things, ironically, is to do things that have nothing (or next to nothing) to do with my job. In this case, reading novels. Three novels recently on my bedside table - Lovely Bones, Unless, and Complicated Kindness - have been helpful in this regard.
A Complicated Kindness
A Governor General's award winning novel from a Manitoba (where I grew up) author.
The Lovely Bones
A sad, sad tale of a murdered child and her family's coming to terms with the loss.
Unless : A Novel
Carol Shields' last novel, about a young girl who loses touch with reality after seeing reality in the harshest light.
AoIR 8.0 Submissions
The AoIR 8.0 (2007, Vancouver) conference paper submission web site is now available. Get your submission in while there is still time!
Bel Canto (P.S.)
I don't remember buying this book - and perhaps someone else left it at our house - but it was one of the best, and most moving, books I have read in a long, long time.
Ubuntu clips in the news
The linux.com web site featured Michael's ubuntuclips.org site - great coverage of a great project.
Do you live with "cpa"?
Continuous partial attention is a term coined in 1998 by a researcher working for Microsoft. I think many of us have felt the effects of CPA, directly or indirectly. I know I do. This email message, which I received today from Trebor Scholz, describes the costs of CPA and provides some suggestions on how to combat it. If you like his style of writing - at the risk of more CPA in your life - you can subscribe to his mailing list. Information about that is at the end.
professional blogger
Made it!
Made it!
made it
Wow.
Peter articulated so many things very well--and I'm sure that's why you posted it here. I think these sentiments should be developed further and put on our School's homepage or something similar that articulates what -we- do for others who are curious and/or trying to find their way in CMNS research. What a morning pep talk. ;)
wikification
This is all very sound. While I agree with the concept of the wiki for refining collective knowledge, as I've posted before, I'm a bit more ambivalent about the idea of collective artistic works. This might sound strange coming from someone who's spent most of his life playing music in bands (where "jamming" is supposed to happen), but, probably because of my background among bozos and boozecans it's easier for me to come down on the side of auteur theory on this question. I think credit and remuneration are critical issues in both knowledge and art production, and that we need to devise new models for them in an age where derivative works can be created ad infinitum, and are so often done very badly.
But to address your main concerns, there's an excellent article here (PDF download), where the authors use the theory of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) and Activity Theory to account for the process of becoming Wikipedian. You might find this work illuminating. I do.
From Gary McCarron (via Facebook)
Follow-up posts
http://communities_dominate.blogs.com/brands/2008/05/gin-television.html
(I consider myself naive on this subject, so please feel free to correct me). I think since late 2003 (or so), blogging has become mainstream and the trend is increasing. Not only techies but people from all walks of life have caught on. I have always been tempted to start one but have been hesitant. I personally feel that the boundary between personal diary-like blogs filled with every day life's events vs. reflections on one's professional life is becoming increasingly blurry. After having kept a personal diary for many years, I feel nervous to something similar on line.
On the other hand, seeing Richard's wiki tempts me to start blogging, maybe I will...