Community Mobilization

Destruction of the Grateful Dead community

As a former Grateful Dead tape trader I was mortified to see an article in Rolling Stone that the official licensing arm of the organization Grateful Dead Merchandising (GDM) was pulling all of the soundboard recordings off Archive.org , probably so they could license and sell the recordings to make a profit.  This is lunacy considering  these recordings were made with the explicit purpose of being copied and passed around to promote the band and the Dead Head culture.  The only thing that has changed in the distribution model is that they are digitized and available on the internet now.

I think there is nothing more counterproductive.  It is an ass-backwards use of technology aimed at breaking down the practice of community, of sharing, and replacing it with an i-pod.  The live tape-trade was a staple of being a Dead Head.  A great tape from a rare show, especially a soundboard tape, could get you food, tickets, and even a ride to the next show. They were a central part of a gift and barter economy back in the day and the disappearance of that economy does not diminish the value or cultural importance of tape-trading.

Thanks to Boing Boing.

Virtual World Economics - John Jacobs and Project Entropia

C-Net  has an article on John Jacobs, who recently bought a large space station in the game Project Entropia for $100,000.  This is a perfect example of how virtual world economies are gaining traction.  There is real world money to be made and the line between real and virtual economies is beginning to blur. 

More important are the legal issues that surround virtual land ownership, intellectual property rights, and taxation issues that could come from expansive economic development in virtual worlds.  As an entrepreneur Jacobs is addressing a very real need of people - a virtual 'game preserve' where users can hunt monsters, and store their gains.  The community building that takes place in these preserves may be incidental but it could be telling of how human recreation could shift more to the great indoors.

The purchase and business venture are of minor consequence currently.  I reckon them to the first sandwich.  Everyone is going to have one sooner or later but the novelty of the first one is impressive.  Sadly, John Jacobs is not the first virtual land baron, or the first person to plunk down monster cash for land.  Residents in other virtual worlds drop sizable amounts of money into real estate, and currency speculation daily.  The novelty is that there are so few of them.  The reality is that there are so many more to come.

Peroneus Brevis Surgery Scar

Picture014.jpg
Originally uploaded by randalcmoss.

I have been reporting on the progress of my wife's Peroneus Brevis Surgery, and today we got to see the incision.  She has had a plaster cast on for the last twenty days and I am so glad that she has been upgraded to a hot pink fiberglass cast.  We hope to bee free of this on in two weeks or so.  The photo is great since you can see exactly where they needed to go to explore the effected area.  Morbid I know but very educational.

Social Netowrk Analysis and Acting White

Stowe Boyd over at Get Real has a very interesting post on E-SNA, sociology, and economics. The article is from the Visible Path journal and it details the work of a Harvard professor who used E-SNA in determining if there were social consequences for African American youth 'acting white'.  In the study 'acting white' was related to having high academic achievement, and conforming to the integrated school settings.  Interesting enough these social consequences were not present in non-integrated schools where good grades amongst a homogeneous population was not seen as 'acting white'.   I am very interested in reading the complete article by Roland G. Fryer to understand how the social network analysis was completed.

All encompassing Avatar

After reading this article in the WashingtonPost.com I began thinking of the extent and scope of the avatar and how it may evolve in the coming years.  I feel that in the coming years we will be using a single avatar to conduct the sum of our daily on line transactions.  I see that systems will begin to recognize our one digital self and we will be able to move seamlessly through portals while shopping, paying bills, and ordering food.  Part of this theory dictates that the avatar we have now may be a vital asset to us in the future and creating a positive experience in the digital world may help us in the material world in the end. 

Social Capital is built through the interaction of people, be it mediated over tapas or through a virtual world. This capital may actually be more useful and have a longer 'shelf life' in the digital world depending on certain situations.  See ... computers never forget transactions the way people forget conversations, and consistent positive experiences may ensure smooth sailing for you and your avatar.  The point is that the virtual universe is an open frontier and long term success in this space may hinge on some real world manners.

U2 Vertigo Tour - SNM 86483

Over the weekend the wife and I went to the U2 Vertigo tour here in Atlanta.  I was just amazed at the set.  It was so simple yet so beautiful.  The backdrop was LED curtains that doubled as video screens.  I was especially impressed with how intimate the show felt even with it being a completely sold out arena. 

Now the Community Mobilization part of this is post is in the push for One.org.  I deeply respect U2 for their continued involvement with world poverty and social justice issues.  In the middle of the show the band asked for all cellphones to come out and light up.  It looked like we were in a constellation of blue stars - very cool.  The everyone was asked to text their name to 86483.  After the show we all got messages from Bono to go visit one.org and get involved.  I plan on doing just that!

No Tobacco on the web

I just spent that last few hours searching for any blogs being hosted or managed by the major tobacco companies (RJR, Altria) and I was surprised to find nothing.   I even searched their web sites hoping to find something lodged back in their corporate documents ... nothing.  I even was so bold as to search out sites such as camel.com, or Marlboro.com and got semi-luck with Luckystrikes.com ... only because it was a swing band and I do love big band music.   So for all of the research all I could come up with was a conjecture that tobacco companies are not permitted (I assume) to have a web presence.

AMA's Get Ahead of the Curve Hot Topic

I am speaking for the American Marketing Association and want to promote the Hot Topic Event titled Ahead of the Curve – High Tech Trends in Marketing.  I will be presenting on social network analysis and how it can be employed to better find target audiences.  This focus in marketing efforts will drive efficiency, increase personalization, and help companies better identify their target audiences.  All of this, in theory, should lead to the general public seeing less advertising that is unrelated to them.

More Great American Smoke Out 2005

Here is a third GASO blog offering, this one from the Easter Division of the American Cancer Society.  The division is highlighting The Clouded Smoker, a blog about a NYU senior trying to quit.  Again I applaud the continued effort of those trying to quit for the Great American Smoke Out. I also commend the Society for implementing cutting edge technology like blogs to educate the country about smoking and its hazards, and the difficult road that is quitting.

A Study in Innovation

Wired has a very entertaining article about MySpace in its November edition.  In part it tells the story of Hawthorne Heights, a band that found its fan base through MySpace.  The article talks about the evolution of the service but falls short of discussing why this is such an innovation.

First off which is the innovation - the site or the band and why?  I think both qualify and for good reason.  The site is innovative because it developed new technology to meet an old challenge of connecting people and allowing them to build community.  Tom Anderson dreamed to take the best parts of his favorite social networking sites and combine them into MySpace.  The Band is innovative for using the new MySpace technology to get in touch and market their music to fans.  Hawthorne Heights’s Eron Bucciarelli was driven to invention out of necessity - a limited budget and need to develop relationships with a mass amount of people. Their approach to the challenge was to repurpose a system to meet their needs. 

The one thing I do not like about the article is that it reinforces the 'Great Man Theory' that both Andrew Hargadon and I detest. The initial innovative spark probably came from individuals like Tom Eron, but it took a group to make the innovation materialize. Remember that Edison had a full compliment of scientists working with him to invent the light bulb.