Twitter As a Newsource: Sweat the Big Stuff?

What is Twitter in the business of? Arguably, the news business. One of the most suitable, and perhaps the most valuable, uses for the social networking site Twitter is as a newsource.

As a news aggregating and delivery service, Twitter is extremely adept at delivering a news-stream that is localized, topic-specific, and individualized according to each user's needs and interests. The major advantage(and maybe a limitation) is that you, the user, is charged the responsibility of choosing the news sources, i.e. choosing who you will follow.

I primarily use Twitter for following the news. For instance, my feed is localized...I follow local venues, breweries and restaurants in order to stay informed about upcoming concerts or new seasonal brews. My feed is topic-specific... I follow prolific members of the tech-media industry and respected lawyers to keep apprised of the latest technological and legal developments. And, my Twitter feed is individualized...I follow my friends, who both comment and share on both news related and personal topics.

Still, it is global breaking news (the Big Stuff) where Twitter truly excels. When something really big happens, I frequently hear about it first on twitter. It is only after seeing a tweet, that I will then shoot-off to a news site (BBC, HuffPost or ESPN, depending on the topic) for more information than can be gleaned in 140 characters. The only problem, however, is that Twitter has become too good at this, it has become too popular a landing spot for the discussion of these breaking stories. Historically, Twitter has not handled these massive emerging new stories well. Massive, but still relatively 'non-critical' stories such as Apple announcements and Michael Jackson's death have the tendency overload the Twitter servers and 'fail-whale' the site.

My concern is that, if a critical, emergency situation arises (I'm thinking on the level of Hurricane Katrina or 9/11), where Twitter could actually serve to help connect the individuals affected, or provide aid to those who need it, Twitter will not be able to handle it. Apple iPods and Michael Jackson are important stories, but they are not critical situations.

If Twitter is overloaded by the 'non-critical' stories, can it survive a true emergency? Can it handle the Big Stuff? Will its potential, as a social tool for effective and efficient responses to catastrophic or emergency events, be wasted?

An(other) "I'm Feeling Lucky" Patent

Today, Techcrunch reports on a story that an Israeli company, Netex, has been issued a patent on an Internet search option, the issuance of which could generate massive licensing/royalties fees from the likes of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other companies involved in Internet search. [story here]

In essence, the patent covers one specific search technique, whereby a user simply inputs a search term (e.g. 'Phish') directly into an address bar, or search field, and that input will lead the user directly to the web page represented by that term (Phish.com). Many browsers, such as Firefox and Chrome, enable this search option through the use of their address (or "wonder") bar. Google further makes use of this searching option through their "I'm Feeling Lucky" search choice, featured underneath the search box.

First of all, this story is a strident example of the patent system's failure to disclose an invention until well after the invention has been in use. PTO workload and patent disclosure issues are seemingly both at fault here. Sure, this Israeli company cannot impose royalty or licensing fees retroactively, but it can (and will) stifle current usage of innovation by 'holding hostage' the search companies, requiring them to pay the licensing fees in order to continue implementing this search option.

This development is striking similar to the i4i/Microsoft office patent situation. i4i claims not to be out to 'destroy' Microsoft, however, their actions appear to be sickeningly extortionate in nature. Here, the business model appears to be to make money off a patent, while not producing further innovation or working the invention ourselves. The "lucky" issuance of a questionable patent allows for this to occur.

Netex's statement regarding their patent is also disheartening. The 28-year old face of the company states that they plan on "entering the American market " and "try[ing] to make the most of our patent." Again, this sounds like a business model based on collecting royalties from a (questionable) patent. The company will not work the invention, and will not significantly add anything new to Internet search.

Sadly, the "lucky" issuance of this questionable patent gives this misguided company a monopoly over this particular search option (ironically, one that is relatively insignificant, besides the addition of a slight modicum of convenience).

Google is in the business of adding, not removing, search features; naturally, the Mountain View company will not be happy to yank this search option. They also will not be eager to pay an extortionate licensing fee, especially to a company such as Netex. It will be intriguing to see whether an amicable resolution is forthcoming, or whether Google (or Microsoft) will initiate some form of challenge or protest.

NFL - Why Ban Social Media?

It seems counter-intuitive that the NFL (also, the SEC) would be fighting social media's eventual arrival into the stadium and onto the football field. Recently, the National Football League has announced plans to implement various social media policies that would effectively attempt to ban or limit the use of social media services, like twitter, by players, fans, reporters and even refs.

Sports (especially football) are, inherently, a social phenomena. You need at least ten other individuals to comprise a football team (a QB "tweets" the play-call in the huddle). You need another team to play against (the NFL creates a Facebook "event", inviting teams to participate). Then, the true glory and excitement of a NFL football game is not achieved without the presence of thousands of screaming, die-hard fans cheering for the home team ("add friend", "Follow", "join group").

The social aspects surrounding the game are arguably more important than the game itself; tailgating outside the stadium or gathering at a friends house or a bar to watch a big game, hanging over the stadium arm rail to high-five your favorite player, the Monday-morning talk around the office water cooler...the weekly NFL football experience is all about people connecting on various social levels.

Banning social media only serves to stifle these social connections--between both and fans and between fans and more fans. By doing so, the NFL is (purposely?) limiting one of the best aspects of the sport.

Sure, the NFL is not at risk of going out of business. They make a tremendous amount of profit. They do not need to embrace or accept social media. This certainly does not mean that they should suppress it[or that they will even be able to...]

Falling Without an (Inter)Net

My transition from Japan, back to the States, has been difficult for myriad reasons, none more frustrating and disabling than the lack of Internet at my apartment. This lack of access, in combination with my insomniac/jet lagged sleep patterns, has driven me into a hazy, timeless fog.

Unfortunately, I have been forced to seek relief and get my Internet “fix” at Heafey Law Library on campus, a location at which I certainly have not been pining to spend more time.

Since it has been quite some time since Internet connectivity has been this difficult for me to obtain, these past few days have been quite interesting(terrible)...

First, I feel as if I am constantly falling behind. I cannot download any podcasts (two dailies, and two weeklies) and I cannot stream any of the weekly shows I like to watch (content from Revision3, hulu, Daily Show/Colbert, etc.). When I log into Facebook or onto Tweetdeck, the list of updates is so long and daunting that I just ‘mark as read’ and quickly page through them. Particularly frustrating is when an update or tweet referencing an earlier entry catches my eye... I will sit there and try to decipher a peculiar reference only, to realize that the subject matter is already moot, or the posting is just plain moronic/waste of time. Google Reader is adding up new posts to a number that is absurdly high, and I have been forced to clean house there as well (Really slashdot, 96 post-worthy entries?! Or, how surprising is it that TechCrunch has 15 new posts concerning twitter?)

Now granted, I know that the amount of information I am actually missing is relatively insignificant, so much so that I am probably saving time and energy in the long run. However, not staying up to date with things creates a cognitive dissonance, wherein I am almost guilty when I feel that there is just too much content to try and parse through (but...it is still content that I genuinely am interested in and want to read/view/listen!).

Second, I find that my Internet usage has become surprisingly more focused and streamlined. In order to reduce the time spent at the library over my “summer vacation”, I get in, sign on, TCB (take care of business), and get myself out of there! I will sometimes even bring a checklist of stuff that I know I need to do online, and run through it as quickly as possible. (This post was written at home, and I threw it up during a brief Lib visit...)

My limited access feels like a reversion to a time when dial-up connections were all that was available, and that clicking blindly at links (or opening multiple tabs...wait a TAB!?!) was an inefficient way to surf the web. Whereas currently, my web-habits are more of a "I want it all, and I want it now"/pack-rat hoarding mentality towards collecting and viewing online information. I feel like I am starving for connectivity, but the runners at the buffet are too slow in refilling my favorite dishes.

I know, I know...I should have absolutely nothing to complain about. There are many people who are forced to rely on satellite or dial-up connections. My high-speed broadband is installed Friday. Further, I think of the unemployed and those who cannot afford Internet, who have to trudge to the library to access the Internet, research jobs or fill out online applications. An Internet connection has become so ubiquitous, but remains so crucial to functioning in our society. It is often easy to take connectivity for granted, or to forget about the multitude of people who don’t have a connection, yet alone a computer.

Cultural Consequences

When my parents visited Tokyo, during my extended stay in the city on a Summer Abroad program, their trip generated an interesting and lively conversation amongst my family members about the “cultural consequences” of visiting a foreign country. Two of my Uncles, my Aunt and both my Mother and Father have each opined about the qualities of their international travel experiences and the efforts made to imbibe in the culture of their respective destinations. As I begin the final week of a nearly two-month stay in Tokyo, Japan, here are some thoughts on the cultural experience…

My trip to Tokyo was semi-structured from the very start, in that I had a class schedule, and later, I was thrust into a busy work schedule at my internship. To some extent, the Summer Abroad program, by definition, limited the cultural choices of each participant. Ultimately, however, every student in the program had an extensive degree of discretionary cultural freedom.

It is interesting to briefly look back on, and compare how individual students made use of their free time.

Some students came into the program with a laundry list of places to see and things to do; they had done their homework, and knew exactly what they wanted out of their visit. These students were really “tourists”, in the sense that they plowed through numerous tourist locales and other ‘destinations’ at an almost frantic rate.

Some students had been to Tokyo before, and knew what they enjoyed most about the city. Whether it was going out to specific clubs, or visiting certain clothing stores and restaurants, these “comfort-zoners” knew what they wanted to do, and simply did it; why mess with success?

And, further still, another group of students did very little on their own. These “programmers” focused on classes, choose to attend social functions in large groups, and only really interacted and associated with people from the Study Abroad Program.

If we try to assess which of these three groups most experienced the true culture of Tokyo, it is difficult to determine a clear winner. The “tourists” have amassed giant online depositories of pictures and certainly have great narratives to tell. The “comfort-zoners” have experienced (again) what they found most to be pleasurable about Japanese culture, be it the food, shopping, night life, etc.; we all have times where we say ‘if I could do it again, this is what I would do…’ And, the “programmers” have learned a great deal about Japanese law, they have toured the Supreme Court and the National Diet, and they have been out with American students to explore the city and culture of Tokyo.

Overall, the cultural consequences of any visit are difficult to define, quantify or measure. I think that is extremely difficult for anyone to actually grasp an understanding of certain elements of the culture of a foreign country. That is why it is called a “foreign” country (once your visit extends past a certain length, it no longer a foreign country…what that length of time may be, however, is genuinely debatable and probably varies depending on the location…).

As for me, there were only a few specific moments during my stay that stand-out as times when I definitely felt like I was absorbing the culture, when I was witnessing Japan at its pure and raw cultural level. Further still, these moments were highly limited due to Japan’s somewhat inherent view of foreigners as outsiders. One of my co-works remarked to me today that to the Japanese, you are seen an outsider whether you have been here for 15 days or for 15 years. In my case, this view was no doubt exaggerated because of my appearances (it is fairly obvious that I am an American) and my inability to speak Japanese (language being such a HUGE part of culture).

These fleeting moments came at times when I would not consider my activities to fit into one of the categories, either “tourist”, “comfort-zoner”, or “programmer”. These moments hit me strongest at times when I was acting simultaneous as all three, and yet somehow acting within no category at all.

Additionally, I believe that the cultural consequences of any visit are invariably personal in nature. My opinion of Japanese culture reflects my moments, while every other visitor will necessarily generate their own perspective. Later on, it is the collective of these individual opinions and perspectives, as they mesh and blend together through the telling of stories and the showing of pictures, which creates a community vision and the ideal of the culture of a foreign country.

Over time, these community visions further blend together to create a national vision of foreign cultures, which eventually results in stereotypical and heuristic thinking, whether ultimately positive or negative in nature. While it may be impossible to ever experience the true culture of a foreign country, through these community and national visions, culture (at least in an amorphous sense) can be ascertained.