The TrueTalk Blog

Jonathan Zittrain Is A Fracking Genius!

No kidding. If you have any interest at all in what's going on on the Internet today, or even if you don't, you owe it to yourself to read Zittrain's fascinating book, The Future of the Internet -- And How to Stop It.

The book focuses on the power and vulnerability of "generative" technologies, networks, systems or cultures. Generativity is the ability (degree of flexibility actually) to create and distribute new ideas, methods or processes which, themselves, can be used to create even more ideas, methods or processes. An oven is a generative technology because you can use it to prepare many different kinds of foods or other products. A toaster is less generative because it can only be used for a much more limited set of functions.

I could cite many examples of wonderful insights in the book but this list was particularly pertinent for me at the moment. These are the characteristics of what Zittrain calls "the generative pattern."

1. An idea originates in a backwater.
2. It is ambitious but incomplete. It is partially implemented and released anyway, embracing the ethos of the procrastination principle. [The procrastination principle says that most problems confronting a network or culture can be solved later by others; take care of today's users and let tomorrow's take care of themselves.]
3. Contribution is welcome from all corners, resulting in an influx of usage.
4. Success is achieved beyond any expectation, and a higher profile draws even more usage.
5. Success is cut short: "There goes the neighborhood" as newer users are not conversant with the idea of experimentation and contribution, and other users are prepared to exploit the openness of the system to undesirable ends.
6. There is movement toward enclosure to prevent the problems that arise from the system's very popularity. (99)

Eight weeks into the VloggerHeads experiment and I find this stuff now?!?

And, where's #7 on that list: How to maintain the balance between generativity and stability/security?

Here's Zittrain giving a talk about the book.

Well, Did You Ever Have The Feelin' That You Wanted To Go...?

I'm not sure how I feel about ambivalence.

But, seriously, folks!

The title of this post is from the lyrics of a Jimmy Durante song from this movie which went: "Well, did you ever get the feelin' that you wanted to go yet still have the feelin' that you wanted to stay?" <Repeat>

That's ambivalence.

And, that's the way I feel about the Loren Feldman parodies of Shel Israel. If you haven't been following this dustup among followers of social media, you might want to go over and listen to a podcast that Johnnie Moore and I just recorded.

One minute, I find Loren and his puppet hilarious; the next, I cringe.

Raises questions: When does satire become sadism? How have we evolved such that this kind of humor so appealing?

Bonus: the Durante clip isn't available, but here's a quickie that gives you a feeling for that terrific film which I now must watch again.

WoW is Right

Do women interact differently than men?

I think so.

Women have always seemed more eager to engage in conversations and almost always more civil with one another than men when they do.

Wowowow is a new site focusing on women. The founders, folks like Leslie Stahl and Liz Smith, are off to what looks to be a great start.

Semantically Graphic

Do you get the whole "semantic Web" thing?

Tim Berners-Lee (all hail the inventor of the Internet!) has written a beautifully clear description here. This is where all this talk about "the Graph" is coming from.

The Web? Depicts connections between computers. The Net? Connections between documents. The Graph? Connections between content.

For me, this line captures the new attitude that will pervade the level of information access demanded by the Graph:

It is about getting excited about connections, rather than nervous.

But, in order for me to be excited rather than nervous, I'll need to be pretty comfortable with the kinds of protections in place. And, I'll have to own my own data.

Hat Tip: Kevin Kelly.

Update: Here's a site that starts to graph the relationships among Twitter followers. Very cool.

Google's Christmas Present

I'm sure no one at Google intended it to be this way, but, if you look at this...

You will see that GMail has gone over the 6 gigabyte storage plateau. If I would have told you two years ago that you would have as many 6 gig storage bins as you wanted on the Web, free, you'd have told me I was mad.

Imagine what's coming next...

Twittering My Thumbs

I've been a Twitter user for several months but didn't really spend all that much time using it. In the last couple of weeks I got serious about it and have found it much more interesting than I expected. Twitter's metaphor of "following and being-followed" is apt: when I follow someone who doesn't follow me I have a vague sense of stalking that's both weird and fun at the same time.

If you haven't done so as of yet, I suggest you join Twitter and follow me. I'll be happy to follow you, as well.

Now, excuse me, I have to go to lunch. Oops, that was supposed to be a "tweet," not a line in a blog post.

This is all getting pretty complicated!