Now this is just the tip of the iceberg.. the underlying theme herein will be expanded upon over future posts and so this is an introduction of sorts. I think a lot about the direction we are going in with social media et al, or whatever it will be called in the future. The wheel is turning faster and faster and everyday we are seeing more and more innovations to make our virtual lives and communications easier. But there is the rub. Just because it is easier (more convenient) doesn’t necessarily mean it is any more useful, it may just make room for more distraction. Much of what we invest in is worth nothing when something better comes along.

If we are in a global recession, then why and how can we afford to keep buying virtually nothing? We are upgrading and obsoleting technology quicker than ever and piling up rubbish that was once worth substantial amounts (of course it still is to those in the lucrative recycling industries) so we can move on to the latest trend and give ourselves a false sense of belonging. The question is though, do we own our purchases or do they own us?

The Law of Distraction may sound familiar to those of you who have explored the realms of self-improvement on the information-super-highway. I’m putting this out there as a mirror on that and on our internet use (also, wider media consumption) in general. How much of what we consume is useful? How much of it is useful enough to improve our livelihood and advance our career path?  How much of it is distraction? Of course we individually know the answers to these type of questions. We are living the same experience, that of the information age, but we are not all on the same page and that is largely the point. Whether you are an early adopter or a noob, the net has become a part of daily life for a large amount of people and within that there is a sense of pressure that you need to be part of the latest trend or get left behind. But what do we leave behind?
Read more

Today is the 4th July, most famously known as “Independence Day” in the U.S of A. It would have been apt therefore today that I claim my independence from a new American multinational “service” known as Facebook. After some thought I have decided to postpone my exit…. a least for a couple of weeks.

Giving up Facebook is not an easy decision to make. At present I do have a use for it, for communicating with people about one or two of the projects I am working on. I don’t need to communicate with them though on this particular platform, but as it is the place where people spend a large chunk of their online time, then it is the easiest way to communicate with them. Note I say “easiest”, as it is far from the best. We are at a crossroads when it comes to looking at the internet landscape. It’s commercialisation is in full swing and technologies for our convenience get better and better each day. But at what price? Privacy, human rights, and creativity all have something to lose.

Who reads the Terms & Conditions anymore? Are they so long as to maybe make sure we skip them and sign up? Would you eat a meal in a restaurant if you were presented with a ninety page document to sign before you ordered? Ok I’m on a bit of a tangent with that but that’s food for thought surely?

My reasons for exiting Facebook are twofold, the first being a need to remove distractions from my life so I can concentrate on my own work and do a bit less of consuming and sharing that of others. The second and for me most important is that I am an advocate for net neutrality and for a fair and open internet and much of what I see nowadays with Facebook, Apple and Google is contrary to this.

There is much talk bandied around about openness and collaboration in the last few years and I see it as being largely a ruse. This is just a ploy to get you sucked in, it will cost you something, you just don’t know it yet. It really annoys me when I hear someone sully these good words with some sales pitch drivel.

The internet was and is social, these new networks are just an expansion, an evolution if you like of the many to many protocol the internet is based on, peer to peer.

My own work has been for a long time focused on the genuine collaborative and open uses of the internet. Therefore I welcome new approaches that can change things for the better. The Diaspora project is very promising as are other open source approaches to social-networking like Elgg.

[to be continued…]