The number of Internet users in the world officially passed 1 billion visitors in December 2008, according to a report from a group called ComScore.
Asia-Pacific Region Accounts for 41 Percent of Internet users and China Ranks as Largest Internet Population in the World.
Here are the stats:
Worldwide -- 1,007,730,000 -- 100.00%
China -- 197,719,000 -- 17.8 %
US -- 163,300,000 -- 16.2%
Japan -- 59,993,000 -- 6.0%
Germany -- 36,992,000 -- 3.7%
United Kingdom -- 36,664,000 -- 3.4%
France -- 34,010,000 -- 3.2%
India -- 32,099,000 -- 2.9%
Russia -- 28,998,000 -- 2.7%
South Korea -- 27,256,000 -- 2.7%
“Surpassing one billion global users is a significant landmark in the history of the Internet,” said Magid Abraham, President and Chief Executive Officer, comScore, Inc, in a recent press release. “It is a monument to the increasingly unified global community in which we live and reminds us that the world truly is becoming more flat. The second billion will be online before we know it, and the third billion will arrive even faster than that, until we have a truly global network of interconnected people and ideas that transcend borders and cultural boundaries.”
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
doc advertising
Another theme I've been following is the convergence of documentary sensibilities with American popular culture. We see documentary styles and techniques being copied in the most popular feature films -- see Slum Dog Millionaire -- and also being widely used now in advertising. Reality tv -- first person testimonials -- it's all about authenticity -- or a sense of authenticity -- be it true or not.
check out IBM's Documentary project for some great short web documentaries on a range of subjects. From Harley Davidson Motorcycles to the NYPD's Real Time Crime Center to China's Forbidden City.
check out IBM's Documentary project for some great short web documentaries on a range of subjects. From Harley Davidson Motorcycles to the NYPD's Real Time Crime Center to China's Forbidden City.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Insights: Confessions of a Gaming Addict
This one is worth reading -- one of the most articulate expressions of what its like to become game addicted I've seen so far.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Visions of the Future: 2020
Pew Internet Project's report about the future of the Internet.
Here are the key findings on the survey of experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020:
* The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.
* The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.
* Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
* Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing arms race, with the crackers who will find ways to copy and share content without payment.
* The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.
* Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch.
Here are the key findings on the survey of experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020:
* The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.
* The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.
* Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
* Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing arms race, with the crackers who will find ways to copy and share content without payment.
* The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.
* Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
mass protests in south korea citizen bloggers
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Moving Docs to the Web, part II
How is a webumentary different from a documumentary?
1. Expand beyond linear narratives. The linear, time-born form of the documentary arose in the age of movie theaters and evolved to fit the scheduling demands of broadcast television. A single linear narrative is NOT essential to the Web – now we can create multiple narratives offering different points of access into a complex topic. Different audiences have different interests and information needs. Viewers also bring different kinds of intelligences to their viewing – some are visual, others intellectual, some mathematical, others engage through emotional connections – and while a single narrative style can often hit many of these notes – some audiences are inevitably lost when their needs or interests aren’t addressed. The web allows us to present multiple story lines that offer news and information in a variety of way to appeal to different ways of apprehending information.
2. The Story never ends. Once production stops and editing is completed – the story telling ends for a traditional documentary – even though the story itself continues to evolve and change. Web technology now allows for continually evolving storylines. This means that new story elements can be continually added, revised or supplemented as events unfold. The story telling – and the shape of the narrative – doesn’t have to end until the story is played out.
3. Truly engage your local audience. Most films are only seen after they have been completed. This means that the only interactive possibility for community engagement or comment occurs after the film is finished. The rise of easily accessible community-generated content (from simple text comments to uploading photos and videos) shifts the interactive dynamic entirely. Webumentaries can directly engage their audience and take advantage of user generated content to increase the depth and scope of the coverage.
4. Making Connections. In addition to actively educating different audiences, a webumentary can also act as a resource for connecting different stakeholders. Working closely with existing social service providers, webumentaries can provide interactive tools that link people in need with responsible and well-vetted service providers – or community members with journalists – or politicians with the citizens they represent.
5. Sharability. Each story element will be “actionable” meaning that it can easily be easily shared – emailed, exchanged, printed, downloaded or embedded in another web site or blogg – so that element – and the story line it is embedded in can be travel freely on the web. Snagfilms.com has a very developed example of this concept.
6. Empowering Communities. Knowledge is power. So is the ability to express oneself publicly. By creating a local forums for education, information, and self-express individual community members can extend their social and political reach. And since it is a local forum, it also has the ability to hold public servants and politicians accountable to the people they represent.
7. Personalization. Each movement can be tracked and can be used to generate personalized “story paths” that can guide the viewer/participant through a meaningful educational experience. This guidance can be ignored, of course, depending on individual interests – but each user’s movements and interests will be tracked via a smart content rating systems so site can make smart recommendations about new relevant material or story developments that advances or complements their interests– like the Netflicks.com movie recommendation system.
1. Expand beyond linear narratives. The linear, time-born form of the documentary arose in the age of movie theaters and evolved to fit the scheduling demands of broadcast television. A single linear narrative is NOT essential to the Web – now we can create multiple narratives offering different points of access into a complex topic. Different audiences have different interests and information needs. Viewers also bring different kinds of intelligences to their viewing – some are visual, others intellectual, some mathematical, others engage through emotional connections – and while a single narrative style can often hit many of these notes – some audiences are inevitably lost when their needs or interests aren’t addressed. The web allows us to present multiple story lines that offer news and information in a variety of way to appeal to different ways of apprehending information.
2. The Story never ends. Once production stops and editing is completed – the story telling ends for a traditional documentary – even though the story itself continues to evolve and change. Web technology now allows for continually evolving storylines. This means that new story elements can be continually added, revised or supplemented as events unfold. The story telling – and the shape of the narrative – doesn’t have to end until the story is played out.
3. Truly engage your local audience. Most films are only seen after they have been completed. This means that the only interactive possibility for community engagement or comment occurs after the film is finished. The rise of easily accessible community-generated content (from simple text comments to uploading photos and videos) shifts the interactive dynamic entirely. Webumentaries can directly engage their audience and take advantage of user generated content to increase the depth and scope of the coverage.
4. Making Connections. In addition to actively educating different audiences, a webumentary can also act as a resource for connecting different stakeholders. Working closely with existing social service providers, webumentaries can provide interactive tools that link people in need with responsible and well-vetted service providers – or community members with journalists – or politicians with the citizens they represent.
5. Sharability. Each story element will be “actionable” meaning that it can easily be easily shared – emailed, exchanged, printed, downloaded or embedded in another web site or blogg – so that element – and the story line it is embedded in can be travel freely on the web. Snagfilms.com has a very developed example of this concept.
6. Empowering Communities. Knowledge is power. So is the ability to express oneself publicly. By creating a local forums for education, information, and self-express individual community members can extend their social and political reach. And since it is a local forum, it also has the ability to hold public servants and politicians accountable to the people they represent.
7. Personalization. Each movement can be tracked and can be used to generate personalized “story paths” that can guide the viewer/participant through a meaningful educational experience. This guidance can be ignored, of course, depending on individual interests – but each user’s movements and interests will be tracked via a smart content rating systems so site can make smart recommendations about new relevant material or story developments that advances or complements their interests– like the Netflicks.com movie recommendation system.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Infodemic
Here is a new vocabulary term from South Korea, the vanguard of global web-interactivity, and my newest fascination.
Infodemic threatens civil incivility
By Peter Larsen @ Thursday, October 09, 2008 11:01 AM
South Korea plans to pass a number of draconian laws in a desperate attempt to regulate the Internet. The proposed legislation requires all news sites to follow the same restrictions as newspapers, TV and radio. All forum and chatroom users are required to create verifiable real-name registrations, while Internet companies will be forced to publicise their search algorithms in an effort to improve "transparency".
The Korean Communications Standards Commission has also been granted the authority to suspend the publication of articles suspected of fraudulent or slanderous content for a minimum of 30 days. Perhaps most shocking of all, Seoul has decided to subject innocent school children to government sponsored courses on proper Internet etiquette and ethics.
Jean K Min of OhmyNews International accused ruling party lawmakers and government officials of attempting to "save the deeply unpopular government by intimidating netizens from posting free online opinions with a variety of new legislation and legal threats."
However, South Korean president Myung-bak Lee defended the pending legislation as necessary to protect against "infodemics, a phenomenon in which inaccurate, false information is disseminated; prompting social unrest that spreads like an epidemic."
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