MASHUPS!

A mashup is a web page or application that combines data or functionality from two or more external sources to create a new service.

International Governance is the political interaction of transnational actors aimed at solving problems that affect more than one state or region when there is no power of enforcing compliance.
[Above definitions are from Wikipedia]
Information provided in mashups are updated within seconds when users across the globe update their activities. The site provides users with a space with all the information they want without them having to go to various sites to search.

Mashups can serve international governance through e-governance. This is done through better communication with its own country’s citizens along with the rest of the world. The government will be able to feel closer to their people and hear their voices as oppose to only doing what they feel is right. Vice versa, this allows for everyone to feel closer to the government and be more aware or informed of the events that are going around them. Also, the government can be more efficient when implementing projects, services and business with different countries around the globe.

It can provide the government with the right and effective tool for international governance.

Here are some mashups that I found, hope you like them!
Popurls
http://popurls.com/
MusicMesh
http://www.musicmesh.net/
Yahoo Newsglobe
http://developer.yahoo.com/

=)

What does global civil society look like?

Everyone is part of this global civil society whether we know it or not. A global civil society is formed when people fight together for a common goal all over the world via the Internet. the Internet and the World Wide Web allows peoples voices to be heard both domestically and internationally. On a larger scale it helps create transnational social movements that protect the local citizens and promote social justice. On the smaller scale they consist of neighbourhood communities which are networked organizations which represent the people’s interest.

In the article “International Institutions, the State and Global Civil Society in Age of the World Wide Web” by Craig Wakentin, he defines the civil society as “a set of ideologically variable mechanisms or channels of opportunity of political involvement”. What this means is a society that is not state-centric (where the decisions are only made by the government) but consist of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), charities, organizations, etc. that are more people centred. These people all share a common interest or believe in a common value. They take actions and protest against people and government who go against their beliefs. The Internet and the World Wide Web increases the effectiveness of NGOs and helps facilitates the communication of the networked society and politics. For example, the Ukrainian Orange Revolution used the help of mobile phones and the Internet to facilitate to revolution.

However, the downside of the Internet being so effective is that anyone can take advantage of it. The article “Cyber warriors: activist and terrorists turn to cyberspace” by Dorothy Denning talks about how terrorist and hackers use cyber space to cause destruction and show anger to the government and other institutions.

As new technologies and advancements of the internet and the World Wide Web continue the global civil society will develop further.

For my map I chose the World Wildlife Foundation and their head offices all over the world. Their mission statement is “To stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature”

Does the Internet demoticrize the consumers

Hey everyone, this is my podcast!

http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/2618/episodes/11499

I am sorry if there’s random screaming and loud music in the background. My internet crashed at home so I am at a family party doing my homework

enjoy!

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The podcast that I have been listening to is called Start Cooking video.

http://www.podcasting-station.com/rss2html.php?XMLFILE=http://feeds.feedburner.com/KathyMaistersStartCookingVideoCast

It bascially teaches people how to make basic foods. I like it because I like food and i like learning how to make food since i suck at it

Cosmopolitian, Radical or Post historical change views

There are 3 different views of historical change when it comes to our cyber land:
1) Cosmopolitian/Liberatarian
2) Radical/ Neo-Marxist
3) Post (Networked)

The cosmopolitian views the internet like a global village where there are no barriers. That is true to an extent … I mean everyone is connected in some way. They also associate the internet to enable democracy and freedom, enhancing prosperity and opening up markets; which is a very positive perspective on the internet.

On the other side of the spectrum we have the Radical Neo -Marxist view. They have a very negative perspective on the internet…opposite of the cosmopolitian view. They associate the media and internet as an expansion of capitalism where it foster exploitation. This overpowers the people and deepens inequality.

Lastly we have the Post (Networked) view, where the internet leads to a networked society. This society has no centre and is a set of inter-connected nods where information can easily be shared by all with access. I personally believe in this historical change because with the world constantly changing, the quick and efficient communication of the internet can help us transfer information to all with access. Also, this helps out the society in economic growth because of all the money transfer using the internet and online banking. Business deals can be done accross the web with a click of a button – e-mail, money transfer, video conferencing, etc. =)

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The podcast that I am subscribing to has to do with food =) I love to different kind of food and experiment in the kitchen, although I am not really good at it. So hopefully these podcasts will help me learn more and hopefully I will be able to cook one day without having to follow a recipe! =)

http://www.podcasting-station.com/rss2html.php?XMLFILE=http://feeds.feedburner.com/KathyMaistersStartCookingVideoCast

The Structure of Folksonomy

Folksonomy – a system of classification derived from the practice and method of collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorize content. It is also known as collaborative tagging, social classification, social indexing, and social tagging. It is a characteristic of Web 2.0 services that allows users to collectively classify and find information. One way to visualize tags in folksonomy is the use of tag clouds, which is I learned in my ISTB01 tutorial. (Source: Wikipedia)

In the article, Code is Law; it tells us that the governance of internet (cyberspace) comes in three forms: code, the content, or the social process. The code in cyberspace are like laws of the real world, they are software and hardware that make cyberspace what it is and also regulates it. They act as the backbone and are made to determine which people can access which digital objects. The content is the data packets – music, text, voice, images, etc. Lastly, the social process is the driving force behind the existing concepts in the cyber world.

Now which one of these governing tools determines the structure of a folksonomy? Well I think that the content of the tag is the main reason why people would choose to click and find out. The code is in the background and unseen by most people, although without it the folksonomy system wouldn’t be possible. The social process helps by popularizing the website, blog, etc. However, it is the content of the folksonomy that captures the attention of the audience. It leads them find other articles that relates to single content that they were looking for. Thus, I believe that the content is the most important part of the structure of a folksonomy.

Is Wiki a good source of communication?

Whenever someone is googling a topic for their essay/papers, you will usually find a Wikipedia site listed somewhere on the first page. This is because people turn to Wiki as the first source of information for a general background on their topic, well at least I do at times.

I feel that Wiki is a good source of communication, and at certain times reliable. However, this highly depends on the information that you are searching for. I feel that it’s a good general source of information where a person can read about and determine by themselves whether or not it is reliable, since random people can edit the information. This really tests out a person’s skills/ability to extract information. Also it causes them to do more research, which hopefully educates them more =) Even professors and teachers tell students to start their research through google and Wikipedia for general information and then use links to find more accurate information!

Our world and theirs

As I sit here with my lap top, I consider myself pretty lucky. I have my own laptop with wireless internet connection at home and at school. Then I see a commercial on the tv and see commercials about fostering a child in Africa. This reminded me about the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) campaign that I learned about in ISTb01, which got me thinking about whether or not it really helps.

The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to a computer and internet and those that do not. This mainly occurs in the developing countries where they don’t have the resources to have these benefits. The kids that the OLPC are giving the laptops to would be part of that world. Regarding the question of whether or not we should be worried about this divide, I feel that we should be.

The developing countries are already falling behind in regards to many variables. They do not have sufficient financial funds for them to sustain themselves without financial aid, there is not enough adequate health care, they lack proper space for education, and there certainly isn’t any form of advance technology lying around. If they continue to fall behind, they will always have to rely on developed countries for help, therefore falling into further debt with them. Which will make it even harder for them to stand back up on their own. With the case of the OLPC, this type of help will benefit the children and hopefully help them in the future. Also, they will not have to be paid back, so there is no debt involved =)

We should support any means of helping those that do not have access to computer or internet so that we can minimize the gap! This way we be connected to everyone! =)

Communication then and now

Born and raised in Vietnam, my grandparents did not have the same means of communication as we do today. Back then, Vietnam was still just starting off and did not have much technology. There were no computers, no internet access and telephones were just starting off. Their main way of communicating was traveling on foot or bicycle and talking to the person or writing them mail and getting them delivered. This was simple, but an easy way of communicating with everyone because they all lived so close together.

Unlike my grandparents and parents, I grew up here in Canada where I have internet access at the tip of my fingers. I am able to search up information about places all over the world or just local restaurants that I want to try. With the creation of web 3.0 coming up, searching for a restaurants for me and my friends to eat will become a whole lot easier. Instead of getting random useless information, I could actually get decent results! =)

Not only is the internet great for me, my grandpa even uses it to check NBA stats! =)