Where to next?

The impact of the changing nature of digital technology is clearly visible in every sphere of life.  Think about films - not only is digital technology changing how movies are produced and what it actually looks like but it is also changing how we watch movies.  The days of film are over as digital projection are taking over at cinemas.  Image quality has improved tremendously and the wonders that can be created through digital special effects exceed even the wildest imagination (Dargis and Scott 2012).

James Cameron's Avatar.  Source: herocomplex.latimes.com

Social media opened up the world to us.  It also changed our expectations of society and of the web.  Just consider our changing views regarding copyright.  A huge amount of content is continuously shared on the net.  One would think that implicates infringements on copyright.  Yet, when you embed or share content, you are not breaking the copyright law.  The content never passes through your server, but is streamed directly from the host site.  Be careful though, as this does not apply to content that you copy.

Social media brought forth infinite access to free speech.  This can quickly turn into a liability in countries where no criticism against the government is tolerated.  Even in countries with freedom of speech it can still land you in hot water ... think of how many people has lost their jobs after ranting about their boss, work place or colleagues via social media.

The question now remains how social media and digital technology will influence our future?  Schaffer (2012) points out that humans are by nature social creatures.  We are turning away from mass media and are once again turning to one another with the help of social media.  He speculates that SoMo (social mobile) will be the focus point in the near future as more and more people are using their smart phones as their primary communication and web access tool.

Nosowitz (2012) argues that we will be able to control our daily activities from our phones with great ease.  We will turn off lights, change the temperature inside our homes, cook dinner, make the beds, brew coffee and feed the dog all with a few clicks on our phones.  Innovations like the Satis toilet from Lixill are able to connect to an Android smartphone via bluetooth.  All that is required of you to lift the seat or flush the toilet is to scroll on your phone.

For me the real potential for the future lies in the application of technology in warfare.  The Pentagon spends huge amounts in an effort to create superhuman soldiers.  While teams of geneticists work on a pain vaccine that will block pain for months at a time or figuring out how soldiers can regrow limbs, Raytheon has already developed an exoskeleton that turns ordinary soldiers into cyborgs.

Contemporary war has a new frontline, one where war is no longer fought physically but virtually, where the actors involved on both sides have increasingly started to replace bombs and bullets with weapons in the form of bites and bandwith.    Dr Kaempf 2010

The main focus of technology is to make our lives easier.  IBM will certainly achieve that once it figures out how to bring the power of Watson to smartphones.  Watson is a cognitive system that will change how we think and operate in the future.  In agriculture it can aid farmers by analyzing precipitation and scientific data as well as location trends before recommending which type of crop to plant.    It also looks very promising for the medical sector.

Whether you like or dislike the role technology plays in our lives, it has become so entrenched in the idea of modern society that the two are virtually inseparable.  My hopes for the future is not that development of technology should slow down, but that we should take the time to analyze its impact on our lives.  Is it still a tool enriching lives or are we enslaved by it?

References
Dargis, M & Scott, AO 2012, 'Film is dead?  Long live movies', The New York Times, 6 September, viewed 4 February 2013,
Kaempf, S 2010, 'Digital media technology changes nature of war', Phys Org, 21 September, viewed 4 February 2013,
Nasowitz, D 2012, 'Smartphone controlled Japanese toilet keeps a personal poop diary', Australian popular science, 19 December, viewed 4 February 2013,
Schaffer, N 2012, 'The future of social media in 2013: six points to consider', Social media today, viewed 4 February 2013, -six-points-consider>   

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies. It is a fast growing trend that is believed to be more harmful than traditional school yard bullying. The nature of the technology means that bullies have access to their victims 24/7 (Webster n.d.).

No bullying is harmless and can in some cases even constitute criminal behaviour. In the Australian legal system using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence is a relatively new cyber-stalking offence punishable by a maximum jail sentence of 3 years. Two Australian defence cadets will face trail in August 2013 under this law over sex acts being broadcast to other men without the knowledge or consent of the female cadet involved.

You should also reconsider sending foul-mouthed, derogatory and inflammatory text messages as this can result in hefty fines. Miko (2011) reports on a pair being fined $300 each for this very act. England cricketer Kevin Pietersen experienced backlash over his derogatory emails to South African players. Pietersen was dropped from the team over emails that he considered to be bantering at the time he sent it. He has since apologised.

Tragically sometimes cyberbullying leads to suicide as was the case for Sheniz Erkan and Megan Meier.  I mention these two specifically to illustrate the intricacy of the situation and the extent to which cyber-bullies go. Investigations into the circumstances leading up to the death of Megan revealed that she was bullied by a boy she really liked, or so it seemed at first. In reality that boy never existed. It was a fake personality orchestrated by the mother of one of Megan's friends. Yes the mother.

What really gets to me about Sheniz (and countless others since) is that they are being bullied even after death. Tribute pages set up in their memories are being desecrated by so called trolls. Trolling refers to any Internet user behavior that is meant to intentionally anger or frustrate someone else in order to provoke a response.

Although hailed as heroes with great intelligence and a sense of humour by some, in the eyes of the law they are offenders. In 2010 Jessica Cook was given a suspended sentence for posting offensive material on the tribute page of Justine Jones. In 2011 Bradley Hampson was the first Australian convicted of internet trolling and sentenced to three years in jail for posting child pornography on the tribute pages of two slain schoolchildren.

In the above mentioned cases autism and loneliness were offered as explanation to justify their actions. However, not all trolls are created equally it seems. Insight ran a very educational program on this very topic.

 I learned a lot about the psyche self proclaimed trolls like Jamie Cochran. She classifies herself as a performance artist on the prowl for scalps. It is important to note that all trolls interviewed on Insight distance themselves from the desecration of tribute pages or hate campaigns. They do not classify behaviour like that as trolling but as vitriolic bullying. In Cochran's own words:

"Most of what I do, I do with great jest and playfulness. I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, I just want to make people think and laugh along the way.  I also look at [trolling] as a form of culture jamming, in the sense that it can disrupt the status quo to hopefully stop and make people think for a moment."

I doubt whether this play on semantics will impress Charlotte Dawson though. The ferocity of the death threats she received resulted in her ending up in hospital. She bravely tracked down her abusers in real life later. Their response once again highlights the severity of the problem. Some of them claim not knowing that things said on the internet would have a real impact in reality others claimed to have gained confidence in doing this.

For me the solution to cyberbullying lies in teaching compassion, because like Campbell (2005) I view bullying as a social problem. Only when we care enough about another being to imagine the pain we can inflict with our words, can we expect to turn this bullying trend around.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
― Dalai Lama XIV

References
Campbell, , M 2005, 'Cyber bullying: an old problem in a new guise?', Australian journal of guidance and counselling, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 68 – 76, viewed 27 January 2013, <http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1925/1/1925.pdf>
Miko, t 2011, 'Texting lands couple in court', Central Queensland News, 29 April, viewed 4 February 2013,
Webster, C n.d., What is cyberbullying?, viewed 4 February 2013,

Produsage

Remember the old saying that two heads are better than one?  Produsage is the modern, digital equivalent of that saying.  It is a continuous cycle of improving ideas or information that already exist.

"...once you start contributing and sharing and connecting

with the work of those who connect with yours,

you're engaging in something called produsage." 

Bon Stewart (2010) 

There are four core characteristics to produsage:

1.  It is community based

2.  The roles are fluid.  Over time different leaders will emerge based on their skills, interests and knowledge.

3.  The result is an unfinished artifact that is subjected to continual development.

4.  It remains common property with individuals being rewarded by the status capital they gain for their contributions (Bruns 2007).

From the fourth characteristic it is clear that produsage is fundamentally at odds with the underlying premises of traditional intellectual property.  Produsage has contributed to an emergent ethic of sharing that demands such laws and the economies they generate, be revised (Sinnreich et al nd).  Accompanying this there is also a deep social need currently rising for media ethics (Couldry nd).  Couldry sums up it by saying that we no longer know how to live together without media, yet we haven't figured out how to live well with media.

Bruns (2008) points out a few key principles for future and continuous development of produsage.  He stresses the importance of organizations working with produsage communities to respect the characteristics, principles and conventions which apply to the produsage process.  The future will require well educated producers, therefore educational institutions should equip their graduates with produsage skills.

 Clearly produsage currently works well for sites like Wikipedia, open source programs, game development and even through interaction on blogs.  However I do believe that the true potential of produsage is yet to be experienced.   Most of us just repost links without commenting or exploring the ideas contained in that link.  Yet this reposting is very useful for sites like Google to determine what people deem important or interesting.  It seems that people are less able to create and more willing to share.  In fact some sites exist purely because of this like Pinterest.

For me producing your own content is the opportunity to materialize that what matters to you.  This is then maintained and expanded by the attention and comments of others.  Distribution and production opportunities are more available than ever, to more people than ever.  Once we all get involved the opportunities for greater application of knowledge, greater quality control and greater socialization are endless.

References

Bruns, A 2007,  'Produsage - key principles', Produsage, viewed 8 January 2013,

 
Bruns, A 2008, 'The future is user led: the path to widespread produsage', The Fibreculture Journal, vol. 11, viewed 8 January 2013,

Couldry, N nd, 'Why media ethics still matters', John Wiley, viewed 8 January 2013,

Sinnreich, A, Latonero, M, Gluck, M and Riley, N nd, 'Nowadays it's like remix world: the hidden demography of new media ethics', Academia, viewed 8 January 2013,