Experiments in Cyberspace

"I experienced the web as a powerful tool of organizing life and at the same time as a toy for organized waste of time." These are the words I bookmarked[1] when I read Elliot's The Screen Generation at cDc. Web as a medium of communication, hence a mere tool, cuts both ways. The underlying difference that sets it apart from other media is participating in content creation. Unlike TV for example, where you are forced to consume whatever the producers broadcast, content can be generated collectively. I consider any attempt that tries to push content, a state where the user is passive just like a TV viewer, as hostile and destructive for Internet culture. Sharing, participating, recommending, including your own input, searching, etc are the trademarks of Internet, they are what make it tick, and wonderful. I have recently come across a discussion about copyright, for comments to be specific. Who owns the copyright to a comment made for this post, the author or the do...

Once a palm reader , a gypsy true to tradition said, "You will live until 2032, 80 years of age." She was wrong this time and a swan sang out sorrow. Web is a strange place. You cry for a friend whom you never met; yet you like him, just as sure as you will miss him. A +seeker has died yesterday. Short URL for this post

Have you ever spent the last day of the year on-line? Instead of partying, hitting the streets or freezing your privates out in the snow (this obviously rules out the people of the southern hemisphere), have you tried celebrating the New Year in front of your computer in peace and tranquility? Well, before you call the men in white coats let me explain. It happened to me once, about 5 years ago if my memory serves me right. Surprisingly, I was not alone. There were quite a number of souls who were in need of psychiatric help apparently. I will go on and say - at the risk of being called anti-social, cynical, narcissist or a similarly appropriate term for the occasion - I enjoyed it very much. For reasons I will not go into, I had to stay home and rather than watching TV and testing the alcohol barrier, I punched the keys until the early hours of the day while the fan was humming gently in the background, trying to cool the system. This is for those who will spend the evening of Dec...

I sometimes come across in blogs an add-on which shows the mood of the owner, the song she listens and the book she reads at that particular moment. Now that Christmas is due and the New Year is imminent (apparently the economic crisis affected my vocabulary), if I had a similar plug-in, mine could as well read: Mood: Gloomy Listening: Sound of Silence Reading: For Whom the Bells Toll Still, in spite of ominous signs, tightened budgets, shrinking profits and accelerating unemployment, this is the time of year to hope, and to reflect . Capitalism, just like it does not distribute wealth equally, does not distribute peace, happiness and joy with a conscience. Well, let me stop before this turns out to be anything but a Christmas post. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happier New Year.