#12

8 November 2011

The Last Session

Can't believe we are nearing the end of the sem!! Anyway back to the last session, well it was yet another round of group presentations and my group, Technolitics presented in today's session. Preparing for this group presentation has been a challenging but a meaningful one. I learnt how to create a website on wix, learnt more about the political landscape in Singapore and also gained experience with working in a diverse group made up of members from different backgrounds. I liked the other group presentations, for example the group on Beauty. They had a really interactive style and got the class interested by giving out samples. Their website is also really pretty and nice to navigate around, so I believe my group has a lot to learn from them!

It has been a long and enriching journey the past 11 sessions and its kind of bittersweet that we've arrived at the 12th and last session of twc. I have really learnt a lot throughout these 12 weeks and its really fun seeing all the interesting updates on our FB page. When I first walked into this class, I really had no idea what this mod was about. That has changed and I realized that there are so many things that relate to this mod (just that I never knew that before taking this mod). I hope that the learning process in this aspect will never stop and I will be able to apply what I have learnt from this mod to my daily life.

#11

1 November 2011

Lesson 11

Wow, we are already into Lesson 11, it seems as though it was just yesterday that I first walked into TWC class and typing out my first post for this blog.

Well, today's lesson was the start of the group presentations! It was really interesting to see the websites of the other groups and learning from them! Most of the groups have used videos effectively and I learnt that it is important to include relevant videos as they help to sustain interest while emphasizing and supporting the content of the website.

The groups' websites are really professional looking and I am amazed by the effort that they put into their presentations. For example, the Techmerce group came up with several original videos and even put on a short skit. These additional work really added value to their presentations and made it even more interesting to listen to. Another group, the Ricebowl group, also gave out sweets to emphasize one of the ideas; sweets that give full flavored meal aka Willy Wonka's sweet. Chewing on the sweet that they gave out, it really helped me imagine of that possible future.

In all, I think that the groups did well and my group has definitely learnt from them while preparing for our own presentation and website!

A 8/10 for this lesson!

#10

25 October 2011

Lesson 10

This session was on Technology Assessment, giving us a clearer idea of how we can better understand future trends as we are currently in times of exponential growth of new technologies.

"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind" -Winston Churchill

I love how Prof shares quotes that are relevant to the topic of the day and I particularly like this quote from this session. Indeed it is what we can imagine or dare to dream of that will be the future for us all. In fact a video shown during class describes future in an innovative way:

F = Fast
U = Urban (moving into cities)
T = Tribal (not ethnic divisions, but people with common interests)
U = Universal (change is happening all over the world)
R = Radical (change)
E = Ethical (ethics in business)

As the above points out, radical change is happening fast, and it is happening all over the world. Indeed, change is the only constant in life. And it is necessary to be able to predict future trends and assess the road ahead.

I liked one of my classmate's presentation for this session, about using story telling to predict the future trends. It was an interesting perspective that the writer of the article took. I never once considered that it was indeed because of our need to tell a story that resulted in technologies that enable us to tell stories. One very clear example would be the social networking platform, Twitter, that allows one to update about "What's Happening" right now. Our constant need to share about something interesting/bad/happy/sad/angry that happened in our lives is a key driver for such social networking platforms. Thus, I feel that story telling is indeed a new and relevant perspective in predicting future trends. Of course, we should not limit ourselves to just this method.

Like what Prof said, through his example of a crushed ball of paper vs a clean sheet of paper, where the creases on the crushed paper are the constraints that we trap ourselves in. That would be limiting our view of the future and we should instead dare to dream beyond those creases and view the world as the blank sheet of paper. Anything is possible if we dare to dream it, after all "the empires of the future are the empires of the mind". I think this has been my main takeaway throughout the 10 sessions and what Prof has been conveying to us all; to dream big and to believe in the impossible. In fact, be the ones creating the impossible and take advantage of summit opportunities!

I rate this lesson a 7.5/10! This topic was rather technical and a little hard to understand fully.

#9

18 October 2011

Session 9!

Our topic for today's session was about future and emerging technologies, basically anything under the sun and that made this session really interesting!

“You see things; and you say, 'Why?'

But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'”

- George Bernard Shaw -

This quote shared by prof was an interesting one that I felt really relates to the topic at hand. After all, future innovative technologies can only come about with a mentality that asks "Why not?" rather than "Why". This signifies a need for us to constantly question the status quo and be dissatisfied with whatever we have now. It is only through this that we will strive for excellence through creativity and innovation. Such continuous improvement will allow us to make breakthroughs in the technology aspect. In fact, with a "why not" mindset, we will be able to achieve breakthroughs in every other areas. Creativity is definitely an ingredient in achieving this because it takes great imagination to create products that people do not realize they need until they see it in action. This, we have learnt, is summit opportunity. I liked what Prof said about "When you can imagine it, you can potentially make it happen!" -the limitations are boundless and in the area of future and emerging technologies, the sky is really the limit.

For example, the video showed in class about The Perfect Woman and augmented reality. The researchers of the perfect woman decided that there is a need for this and they dare to dream about creating such a product, resulting in this successful invention. Augmented reality was also an interesting concept. In fact, I have read up a little about augmented reality while deciding on a topic for my individual review paper. There are many mobile apps which use this technology, for example giving users reviews of dining/shopping places as mentioned in the video. Such practical uses of this technology is really useful for the public and indeed, there is a viable future for this augmented reality.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm : this website provided me with a really good overview about what augmented reality was about and the future as well as limitations of this technology. Worth reading! (:

There have also been interesting ideas about how augmented reality could be used, such as allowing you to see information about strangers (something like what prof mentioned about seeing another person's information to determine if he or she is worthy of befriending). One idea was using this technology to identify sex offenders in your vicinity, an iPhone and andriod app called "Sex Offenders Tracker". The ability to see information about your neighbourhood or the place you are at is indeed valuable. But it is without doubt that with such application of the technology, there will be concerns about privacy issues. Do we really want apps that use augmented reality to pull up a person's criminal history and other life details and show it to us in real-time as we watch them walk down the street? Sure, it is currently only limited to a sex-offender tracking app but there will be no stopping other companies or apps from pulling up anyone's credit history, tax records or a list of criminal offenses while superimposing on your face as you shop for groceries. These are just some concerns that may arise with the use of augmented reality and undoubtedly, with the emergence of new technologies, there may be similar and/or other concerns as well. Thus, it is important that the usage of new technologies is guided and not be misused!

Overall, I would rate a 8/10 for this lesson!

#8

11 October 2011

Lesson 8

This week's focus was on energy and we had a sit-in guest again! His work deals with the use of wind energy and it was really good having him as a guest because of the interesting perspectives and alternative views that he gave. It really enriched our learning on the whole!

We talked about renewable energy and how there is a need for a shift towards the use of renewable energy like solar energy and wind energy. It was alarming to find out that Singapore's energy consumption was similar to that of America's. This really highlighted a need for us to move towards renewable sources of energy as our current sources of energy are fast being depleted.

I found this lesson's presentations really fascinating, especially the presentations on tornado energy and energy coming from the collision of anti-matter. These are really non-conventional forms of energy, and it would be cool if one day we would be able to harness energy from these two sources safely and efficiently. Safety is of course a concern that cannot be neglected when dealing with non-conventional sources of energy. Like what was brought up in class, it would be terrifying if man-made tornadoes ran amok, or if the energy from collision of anti-matter was not harnessed properly and we end up annihilating the human race :/ I guess the question is, do we dare to take this risk and should we? I think it is perhaps a good idea to continue research in these areas, so that we will have alternative sources of energy to rely on and need not have to depend on the energy that we can find "below the ground" and "above the ground".

On a side note, i found the anti-matter presentation really interesting, imagine, a whole new periodic table of anti-matter! It would really take our knowledge of science to a whole new level and science textbooks would have to be edited to fit in all these new knowledge. I guess when it comes to science textbooks, it will always be evolving with newer editions as we make new scientific discoveries (like how Pluto was no longer acknowledged as a planet).

Anyway back to the topic at hand, I think that the video Prof showed us regarding Germany's solar energy plan was really eye-opening. I believe that solar energy is indeed a viable alternative source of energy and Germany's cash incentive plan seems like a good example that other countries wishing to pursue solar energy could follow. After all, people need motivation and most of the time it comes in the form of financial motivation. Some reckon that this may not be a good idea because this may result in higher taxes. But, if by providing some cash incentive, people can be encourage to adopt solar energy, a form of renewable energy, I don't see any harm in it at all. Especially since there are high costs involving the implementation of renewable sources of energy. The use of solar and/or wind energy currently appears to work only in countries with large land space available because of the need to build solar panels and wind turbines. It would be interesting if Singapore could work towards integrating solar panels into buildings, be it commercial or residential.

I rate this lesson a 9.5/10! Really interesting presentations and the varied opinions regarding energy was also enlightening!

G13 Shereen Woo (Social Geo-Location Sharing - Draft)

Executive Summary

Geo-location technology has been around for some time now, where it was initially developed to meet military needs. However, new ways to use geo-location technology in our daily lives have been constantly established and the application of geo-location technology has evolved over the years. The rapid advancement of Global Positioning System (GPS)[1] enabled smartphones has sparked off a change in the way that geo-location technology is used in our everyday lives. Geo-location technology is now increasingly used in social media platforms, whereby users are able to share their real-time location for others on the web to view. This has drastically altered the social networking scene. There are several risks that come with social geo-location sharing and as users become more aware of these risks, social networking sites will feel the pressure to enhance their privacy settings. This will help to minimize the risks that come with sharing one’s location and it is only then that we can then safely explore the potential benefits offered by social geo-location sharing. Potential benefits would include stronger marketing opportunities, and we can all look forward to what geo-location technology can offer the commercial world in the future. Indeed, the true value will be in how we make use of the technology and this paper aims to explore the possible uses of such technology through platforms such as social networking sites and mobile apps.

Introduction

Geo-location technology is the identification of the real-world geographic location of people via Internet-enabled devices, determining a meaningful address, helping to determine the geo-location of the other party.[2] With the emergence of geo-location technology on mobile handsets, social media platforms like Facebook[3] and Twitter[4] have increasingly tied in this technology with the services they provide on their respective platforms. The social media is a social instrument of communication and is a two-way interactive communication platform.[5] With the integration of geo-location technology, the real-time interaction between each individual through social communication platforms has undoubtedly been enhanced greatly. This has resulted in a dramatic revolution of the social media scene.

Historical Perspective

Geo-location technology first existed with the introduction of GPS on handsets. Historically, this was used in many military operations as well as weapons systems for craft orientation and manoeuvring purposes. The application of geo-location technology then evolved to be used in everyday lives mainly for mapping, routing and assisted navigation purposes. It was also used to track vehicles and traffic so as to ensure travel efficiency. In times of emergency, the usage of geo-location technology has also helped to save lives and properties. For example in the case of a fire or accident scene, the nearest police car, fire truck or ambulance can be quickly identified to ensure a swift response to the emergency.[6]

Current situation

In recent years, the pervasiveness of 3G networks as well as GPS enabled smart phones has seen an increase in mobile social networking. Social networking platforms took advantage of this rising trend to incorporate geo-location technology. This resulted in a trend that had people sharing their location through social networking platforms wherever they go. Thus, it can be seen that the use of geo-location technology has greatly evolved from when it first existed. Examples of social networking sites that use geo-location technology include Foursquare[7], Gowalla[8], Facebook and Twitter. People who choose to share their location via social networking platforms do so because it allows them maintain a more interactive social lifestyle where friends can see where they are at and vice versa, and they can also discover new trending places to visit.

Problems of Social Geo-Location Sharing

Threat to privacy

Our society is now at a point where our lives are continuously under observation with powerful, miniaturized surveillance cameras and other storage devices and databases. For example, in lifts and workplaces, our every action is being observed through closed circuit televisions. In fact, most of such surveillance happens beneath the conscious awareness of many citizens. Google’s android smartphones and Apple’s iPhones have been in the news recently for storing the location data of users and transmitting the data back to the companies to build databases that will competently pinpoint people’s locations via their mobile phones.[9] This brought about much furore from the general public about the problem of prying eyes, intensifying concerns over privacy. Yet, with the rise of social geo-location sharing where we love to publish our locations onto the web for all to see, there seems to be a paradox in the social media culture. In fact, Facebook’s mission is “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”[10] Such a phenomenon really leaves one wondering if there can actually be a balance between privacy and social geo-location sharing.

The threat to one’s privacy with regards to social geo-location sharing is a problem to be treated seriously. One’s privacy is very much under threat when the details of their location are available for the entire web if the necessary privacy settings have not been put into place previously. Privacy is defined as the quality or state of being free from disturbance or observation in one’s private life or affairs. With the increasing usage of geo-location sharing through widely used social media platforms, the freedom from unauthorized intrusion is at risk. On some social networking platforms such as Facebook Places, one is able to check-in their friends to places. Thus even if one does not actively share their location, they still face the risk of losing their privacy.

Threat to personal safety

Another concern when one chooses to share their location for the entire web to view is the threat to personal safety. Social geo-location sharing gives rise to opportunities for crimes such as stalking and burglary to happen. A website mockingly entitled pleaserobme.com[11] has even been setup to ridicule the privacy flaws of location based social networking sites, like Foursquare and to raise awareness about over-sharing. Most social geo-location sharers are mature enough to be discreet about their sharing. The concern lies with preteens and teenagers who make up a significant portion of social geo-location sharers. Social networking sites have especially target this demographic by using geo-location sharing as a game concept, for example in Foursquare where one gets points for checking into places. Thus, there is a concern that preteens and teens in volunteering information about their location on social networking sites may view it as simply being a game and overlook the dangers that come with social geo-location sharing.

Approaches to reduce these risks

As we move towards a future where social geo-location sharing is likely to increase due to increasing usage of social networking sites and smartphones, the risks that come along with it cannot be ignored. It is important for us to be able to establish means to reduce these risks so as to be able to fully benefit from social geo-location sharing.

Enhanced Privacy Settings

The onus is on social networking sites to enhance their privacy settings. For example, Foursquare rolled out the off-the-grid check-in which gives users the option to hide their location from their friends but the places they check-in to will still show up in their history.[12] Another example is Facebook which has put into place enhanced privacy settings whereby users are given the option to control what others see from personal information to individual photo albums, as well as the places they check into. The controlling of the flow of information to others will help to minimize the risk that social geo-location sharers are exposed to.

Items posted online will each have their own sharing settings[13]

Users can also disable the setting which allows friends to check them into places. This will help to prevent unwanted disclosure of personal information against their will. Social networking sites are also responsible for informing users of the privacy settings that are available for them to enable so as to maximize security. Privacy settings would be of no use if social networking sites merely established them but do not play an active role in encouraging users to implement the appropriate security settings. Facebook is one example which has recommended privacy settings for its users and also reminds users to heighten their security settings.

Educating Users

There is an increasing need for users to realize the dangers of social geo-location sharing. Users have to be forewarned about the risks that they put themselves into by sharing their location on social networking platforms. This is especially so for the preteens and teenage users who tend to be less than mature users. Schools could take action by having forums to educate students about the dangers and also teach them how to use such websites safely.

Moving Forward

Despite the risks that come together with social geo-location sharing, it is undeniable that there is a viable future for it and the value of it outweighs these possible downsides. Currently, the trend of social geo-location sharing is driven by location based social networks but in the near future, this is likely to take place not just on social networking platforms but also on geo-location mobile apps, ranging from lifestyle to political apps. The increasing usage of such apps has indicated this to be the trend for the future. These geo-location apps will help to transform the way users experience, navigate and better this world that we live in. Thus, be it social networking, commerce, politics or recreation, location helps to add a whole new dimension when it is merged with the Web. By sharing our location through these various mediums, it has the potential to change the way we behave, for example where we dine, who we talk to and where we go.

Opportunities for Social Geo-location Sharing

Marketing

In the commercial aspect, social geo-location sharing is likely to play an increasingly important role. Geo-location technology puts things into geographic context which results in greater relevance and value. Marketers can now effectively target specific customers based on the location shared through social networking sites and mobile location based apps. Thus, location based apps are likely to be used increasingly as advertising forms for companies, whereby the information provided by geo-location sharers will be valuable to such companies. Yelp is an example of a major player in the location-based advertising segment. It offers special sales and offers to users based on the location that they have shared. Traditional media’s advertising base will most probably shrink as a result of companies shifting their advertising expenditure towards geo-location apps and social networking platforms. Companies can form strategic partnerships with them and by marketing through these mediums, the combination of mobility, personalization, and, greater relevance, presence and engagement will help in yielding greater returns.

On Foursquare for example, users are entitled to write reviews for places that they have checked into. This will play an important role in marketing the company across to other users, especially if the reviews are positive ones. People also tend to check out the places liked by their own friends. Thus, dining or shopping places will be able to increase their customer base through such marketing opportunities. Of course, bad reviews are also a possibility and companies would then have to work hard to maintain a good public image by improving their services or products.

Sustainability

Social geo-location sharing may also contribute to sustainability efforts through mobile geo-locations apps. One example is the CauseWorld app which enables users to earn points by checking into specific places and converting these points to charitable donations and other social goods such as donating a book or planting a tree.[14] Such apps add greater purpose to social geo-location sharing and encourage users to share their location for the benefit of others. A case in point would be Gowalla that ran a campaign in the year 2010, “Hearts for Haiti”, where Gowalla will donate $50 to American Red Cross in the name of the user that has checked-in to a specific selected location.[15] From this example, it can also be seen that social geo-location sharing can be incorporated as part of a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. This would be a double winning for the company as they are able to create a positive impact on the environment, consumers, communities or other stakeholders, and at the same time spread awareness about their CSR efforts to the public. Through this, companies will be able to gain support for their cause which will possibly result in customer loyalty. Consumers themselves are also able to feel god about their own contribution through something as simple as a location check-in. This is a win-win situation for both the company and for the movement towards sustainability.

Political Organizing

In recent times, it can already be seen that the political scene has changed dramatically due to the rise of social networking platforms. With the increasing usage of geo-location technology, the political scene is likely to experience yet another dramatic change. Politicians, volunteers and activists can share their location through social networking platforms and this will help in engaging voters on a deeper level than before. Politicians will also be more empowered and can better target their audience. Social geo-location sharing will thus give political parties an edge over their competitors and it is likely that in the future, social geo-location sharing will play a vital role in influencing the way campaigns are being organized and managed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as we continue to become a highly mobile society that thrives on constant social interaction, mobile apps will adapt and cater to these needs by incorporating geo-location social features, which have already been adopted by social networking platforms. This will move us towards a future whereby social geo-location sharing will become the norm and be an integral part of a user’s day to day life.

Bibliography

http://www.geoplace.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=13B2F0D0AFA04476A2ACC02ED28A405F&tier=4&id=8B71C6B88CB14B2B809449C92B3A94BB

http://www.maxgladwell.com/2010/07/10-ways-change-world-geolocation/

http://www.maxgladwell.com/2010/02/max-gladwell-geo-local-geolocation/

http://www.maxgladwell.com/2010/10/locationbased-services-save-local-media/

http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47907:privacy-security-risks-of-geolocation-technology&tmpl=component&print=1

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/geolocation-services

http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/digital-marketing-future-geo-tagged-marketing/141069/

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[1] GPS is a satellite-based navigation system that takes the signal information transmitted to earth to calculate the user’s exact location.

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geolocation Last accessed 7 October 2011.

[3] A social networking service that lets you connect with friends, co-workers, and others who share similar interests.

[4] A social networking and micro-blogging service that sends short text messages called “tweets”, to your friends or followers.

[5] http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/social-media.htm Last accessed 24 September 2011.

[6] http://www.aero.org/education/primers/gps/uses.html Last accessed 10 October 2011.

[7] A location based service application that allows you to check-in to places to earn points and rewards as well as to see where your friends are. After checking in, one can also write reviews and tips for location which will be available to other Foursquare users.

[8] A location based social network that incorporates gaming elements and uses GPS data to verify that a user is in fact at the place he is checking-in to.

[9] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703983704576277101723453610.html Last accessed 10 October 2011.

[10] https://www.facebook.com/facebook?sk=info Last accessed 10 October 2011.

[11] http://pleaserobme.com/ Last accessed 10 October 2011.

[12] http://aboutfoursquare.com/off-the-grid-checkins-no-longer-earn-you-badges-or-mayorships/ Last accessed 10 October 2011.

[13] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14633427 Last accessed 10 October 2011.

[14] http://www.maxgladwell.com/2009/12/causeworld-geolocation-good/ Last accessed 10 October 2011.

[15] http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/03/gowalla-charity/ Last accessed 10 October 2011.

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Hello! This is my draft for the individual paper. Looking forward to comments to improve this paper! Thanks in advance heh (:

#7

27 September 2011

Lesson 7

Its agonizing midterms week yey

This week's session was BioBusiness Part 2. We discussed about blue (marine), green (agricultural), red (medical) and white (industrial) biotechnology.

"When we are able to grow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability" -Gurinder Shahi

This thought shared by Prof was agreed by most of us in class, and I too hold the same sentiments. Human beings have always been reliant on the available resources that Earth provides, like fossil fuels, and the problem with these resources are that the supply is not able to meet the ever-increasing demand. Especially with the growth in human population, demand will most likely continue spiraling upwards. One day, when all the available resources have finally be drained up, we will find ourselves in a precarious where we have nothing to depend on but ourselves. Thus, what prof said is indeed true; to ensure sustainability, we have to be able to grow the resources we need and that is to be self-dependent. It is heartening to find out through the presentations that day, that many organizations have already embarked on this learning journey to ensure sustainability. For example, gm food, lab grown meat and corn that can replace plastic. GM food has already been part of our lives for some time already, though many of us do not realize this (though we did find out that day during class!). With regards to the debate about whether GM food should be labelled or not, while I think that it really makes not much of a difference because ultimately consumers care more about the price in reality, it might be good to label so as to give people the right to decide and know what they are consuming.

We had a sit-in guest from Unicef for this session and one thing she mentioned about her work was that they focused on developing human resources, for example putting money into educating women as they are central to the family unit and thus more likely to spread the learning to their children. I believe that developing human resources is also very essential. We discussed about food security in class, and it was mentioned that the availability of arable land is shrinking over time, and there may be a threat to food security as one has to decide whether to grow food or biofuels. One solution to this mentioned in the a presentation would be Hydroponics, which have been employed by Singapore. And like our guest mentioned, the empowerment of women also helps in achieving food security for themselves and their families as they gain economic, sociopolitical and physiological access.

On the Facebook group, one of our friends from a different session posted the link to the McDonald's game which was part of her presentation. Basically the game allows you to run you own chain of McDonald's enterprise, which involves making decisions from the beginning of the process like using GM crops or not, how much soy crops or cattle to grow and whether to feed the cows with growth serum so that they become fatter, to the end-stage decisions like how to market the products so that people will consume them and whether to bribe respective people so as to stay out of bad publicity. It was a really fun game and at the same time really insightful to the workings of a corporation like McDonald's. It really made me wonder how much I know about what goes into my very very delicious McSpicy and McNuggets. Yikes!

A 7/10 for this session because I thought that the session could be improved by having more varied presentations that may further broaden our knowledge on this topic!