Burma Update

The BBC has claimed today that Burmese officials are trying to disrupt (i.e. control) communication flows - internet access has been cut off, blogs blocked, and people searched for mobile phones and phone signals disrupted more generally.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7016238.stm

An interesting story is developing that indicates both the potential of new technologies for creating different forms of journalism that can open up previously "unseen" worlds. However, at the same time, it also appears to highlight how governments also try to control such usage of the net. In Burma, where foreign media are banned, recent protests, marches, and alleged brutality have been shown to the world through blogs, short videos made on telephones and the like. However, according to reports on BBC Breakfast this morning, the government there (and apparently Thailand) were closing down internet cafes and the like in an attempt to control the flow of information.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7012984.stm

There is a handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-dissidents (I've not read it yet): http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542

Scott

The $100 Laptop and the Digital Divide

The launch of a $100 laptop (if, indeed, it does end up being sold at this price) marks a potential turning point in faciliating broader access to new technologies and the internet. This has as much to do with the business model and technological design as it does the price: the computers will be sold as pairs to buyers (at the moment North America) with the second being given to less developed countries. On the technical side, the laptops can be powered by solar energy; have screens that allow outdoor usage; and have no moving parts. How successful the initiative will be remains to be seen - but attempts to decrease barriers of entry to the digital world can only be welcomed.

Scott

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6994957.stm

Cyber-bullying

The internet provides a virtual space to foster and extend social networks. However, the problems that exist in offline relationships can extend into the online world. Take bullying. Not only does the internet extend the potential for bullying, it may also alter how bullying is conducted. And that creates new problems for managing relationships.

Ed Balls MP (Schools Sec) "Cyber bullying is a particularly insidious type of bullying as it can follow young people wherever they go and the anonymity that it seemingly affords to the perpetrator can make it even more stressful for the victim." It also opens up the question: what constitutes cyber-bullying? What do you think?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7005389.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6677657.stm

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2173987,00.html

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2053648,00.html

Virtual worlds/virtual communities

Two interesting developments today:

1) Sony will be launching a virtual world with its Playstation 3 next year (delayed): a 3d social networking service. "It's about community, collaboration and customisation," Sony's Phil Harrison http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6429039.stm

2) The second is a free tool to allow anyone to build their own virtual world for whatever ends they see fit - be it a book club reading room, or an online sociology society: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7002479.stm

Internet Gambling

The internet is said to have made gambling a lot easier; gone are the days when people had to go to a male-dominated, smoky "bookies" to place a wager. We can now gamble in the comfort of our own home - that is, in the private sphere, often in isolation. What are the social (and other) consequences of this? It was widely speculated that deregulation and internet gambling would lead to increases in addiction and "problem gambling". However, a recent report suggests that this is not the case: 6% of people questioned used the internet to gamble online and around 250,000 in total were problem gamblers (of internet gamblers 7.4% weere considered to have a problem.

See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7001329.stm).

Regulating the Net?

The BBC reports today concerns that criminal web-traffic may overwhelm the web. Trojan worms (viruses etc) are used by criminals to infect and control computers, allowing them to use the bandwidth power to send out spam email and the like. The questions are: who is to blame and what can be done to stop this? Should we regulate the internet or is another solution needed?

"Despite all that, the net is still working, which is amazing. It's pretty resilient," said Mr Cerf.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6298641.stm

Scott

This is the first post to my brand new (and first!) blog - New Media and Society. This will be a resource for people interested in how new technologies shape (and are shaped by) society. I research and publish in the fields of e-democracy, political blogs, online discussion fora, internet censorship, moderation and how website design affects deliberation. For those of you particularly interested in political blogs, I'd point you to a forthcoming special issue of Information Polity that I am editing with Stephen Coleman on this subect. If you want more details of these, please check my UEA home page.

Scott