Make sure you're connected

Much of my research, and now my daily life is centred around forms of contact across of social media. Social media, is that Web 2.0? Well, Web 2.0 was a nice generic, commercialised label, but I think that its more appropriate to refer to the action of social software, rather than a ‘version change’ of the web.

So social media, is like web 2.0 and refers to our use of media that means we are always on and always connected. Which brings me to an interesting issue, raised by the popular press this week. What happens when our Profiles remain in place after death?

I’m reminded of the case of Sophie Lancaster, a young woman (just) who was beaten to death for ‘being a goth’, and her boyfriend that was left for dead during the attack. Such was the brutality of the circumstances of Sophie’s death that her MySpace page is now a home for messages of support, condolence and now heads a campaign for, Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere (S.O.P.H.I.E).

For the Profile’s of those who have not died in such dramatic and heartrending circumstances, these stay in place. As David Lee reports in today’s The Guardian newspaper at a family’s request a Profile can be removed. Interesting to note is the language that Lee uses, he queries ‘what will become of our online lives’. One of the main appeals of social media is that these transgress the online and offline. We are not living in a ‘cyberspace’ anymore. The social acts that take place across social media bear as much weight as those that occur in-person.

So what do we make of social acts that occur on a Profile when a user is not there anymore? Culturally, in the United Kingdom we tend to pussy-foot around death. So it is easy to see how such Profiles quickly become shrines and hold a certain revere in the eyes of friends. Perhaps this is a new form of public mourning, and a way to be able to visualise an out-pouring of grief.

At this moment, we all appear confident with our new found penache and love of social networking in daily life. Another SNS, Respectance breaks this mold, and is a 'memorial community for the dead'. The site allows users to create an online tribute for a lost loved one. Included is a written description, and invitation for others to share their memories. You can also submit photos and videos to remember your lost friend or relative by. So it seems social networking will live on. Even the loss of a user will stay alive and can be cultivated by family and friends.

Perhaps in the future there will be a way to prepare a Profile for when your time is up. An automatic update that you can put in place, much like a last will and testament. Or is that too creepy?


In the long-term we may be ‘absent’, or ‘gone’, but we will always be connected. And we will remain connected. Even after the ultimate disconnection, death.

Taking a stab at Facebook

There are various popular press ‘buzz words’ that are bound to gain attention. Charlie Brookers article in The Guardian a couple of weeks ago ‘Online POKER marketing could spell the NAKED end of VIAGRA journalism as we LOHAN know it’. Ooo sensationalist. And that is exactly his point.

In the last couple of hours I’ve been forwarded the noisy foray of commentary on ‘the shank’, the not-so-super superpoke on Facebook. If you don’t know ‘shank’ is the street slang to stab someone. The word on the press street that include, The Telegraph, Sky and Channel 4 shouts are that Facebook is responsible for knife crime. Well masked by the story are the complaints by Facebook users from months ago about the shank poke. One of the discussion board topics ‘Campaign to remove the Shank poke’ had already gained momentum. Although, reading some of the discussion comments this was with surprisingly muted support as this became conflated with freedom of expression discussion rather than 'good' taste.

Attempts in the press to lay blame at Facebook’s door are over the top. These mask many of the generational contexts of socialisation, particularly in terms of youth crime. The circumstances of a knife-crime ‘culture’ and value orientations lack the consistent definition and careful consideration of potential causalities. This means the relevant constructs of ‘good taste’ become entangled with different social effects, opinions and assessments from parents, politicians and the young people themselves. An attitude of ‘our generation’ versus ‘their generation’. Something that was bought out by Rowena Davis's article in The Guardian, How can our politicians understand blade culture?

'Young people' are just as shocked and concerned about knife crime. Some are even in the unhappy contingent of knowing the victims. There is suport to challenge this trend. Already there have been organised demonstrations and yes even Facebook groups such as the: ‘Stop our young people killing each other’.

In short, knife crime is a serious issue, but it’s not Facebook’s fault.

Google's obscene machine

The judgement of good taste and social values is something that is usually left up to the individual who is considered to have their own set of ‘good taste’ preferences and can be trusted to know right from wrong.

In the states this might be all about to change. Matt Richtel reporting for the New York Times: 'What's obscene? Google could have the answer', outlines how in the trial of a pornographic web operator jurors have been given insight into most Google’d search terms of the residence of Pansacola. Here they are more likely to Google ‘orgy’ than make searches for tamer and less politically incorrect terms. I had to contain my amusement when ‘watermelon’ was given as the yardstick contrast to ‘orgy’, although perhaps the fruitier connotation is lost on our American counter-parts.

Amusement aside, this case has serious implications for the rest of us in the Google world. Privacy is an obvious area for debate especially in terms of the storing and observing of individual data. Only this week councils in the UK have been reprimanded for using surveillance technologies for ‘minor’ deviant activities such as dog fouling and littering, accused of being; 'intrusive, ineffective and expensive'. The prospect of having measurements and judgements against Google searches can be viewed as invasive. However, it is worth while keeping in mind that the very appeal of Google that is THE ubiquitous search engine is in itself significant and perhaps mean that the site should (rather unsurprisingly) carry the expected insidious inspection of all our actions.

For the record this does not leave me feeling entirely comfortable with how my data is recorded, the loss of control in terms of the where, when and to whom such records are disclosed should be highlighted and are an important topic for public consideration. Of course in the Pansacola community case, it is hard to argue anything against privacy considerations when Internet porn and misappropriate web surfing is involved.

All we can do for now is Google and watch this space…

That nasty little Facebook habit

The future social habits of Facebookers

Living, playing hey even ‘making out’ (both in the American 'pashing' overtone to the more British undertone of finding your own way) on SNSs has had unexpected consequences and influences in social life. More specifically it has been possible to see how the politics of social contact have changed as social networking went from connecting to Facebook friends, to peers, family and anyone.

Some of the implications of the use of such social resources hold particular opportunities between what can vary as proactive and defensive types of social engagement. Perhaps then we are entering a world that is informed by our social presence that affords new forms of social exclusion in the changing scape of Internet spaces.

Take for example any vague notions of attachment that you used to have to your email account. You didn’t have any? No neither did I. But pause for a moment. Reflect on the attachment and value that you hold of your Facebook account. Imagine if over night you were denied entry to all your connections and networks. Scary stuff. Perhaps more debilitating than losing a mobile phone and sim, or forgetting the password to an email account Facebook represents in a very emotive way not only the points of contact to others, but the ‘keep sakes’ and trails of communication as they have emerged from just one poke or wall post. These (sometimes very personal) precious instances hold an important place for You. Popular commentary in the media has debated that Facebook is ‘bad for the health of friendships’ as they damage the time spent together. More damaging would be the loss of such a resource and ability to instantly (and intuitively) connect, communicate and converse with one another. It used to be the case that one would ‘log on’, ‘enter’, ‘exit’ and interact only ‘within’ the gated walls of anyone SNS. In today’s Technology Guardian Kate Bevan speculates as to whether Friends Connect by Google that allows users to link all '(...) their stuff’ back to social networking profiles will be the downfall of Facebook. Clearly she hasn’t played around enough with Facebook’s Share amongst other applications that already congregate the latest moves and shakes of users.

The consequences for shared interactive flows of communication? Instead of being more ‘fragmented’ and ‘alone’ connections will be seduced by the sophisticated levels of immersion and convergence of all networking sites and user identities. Increasingly flows will overlap. This might sound repetitive, but it is worth drawing distinction between the more hungry side of Web 2.0 that will evolve into Web 3.0. A space from which one is never disconnected, and can think and feel enough to foresee for you what you will be interested in. Most importantly a Web 3.0 will continue to share what your friends are up to, live, as it happens in real time. Ultimately then things become more compact. More real. More about You.

Image: uwadmnweb

Masculine Parade

And so the iphone.

Now some of you are going to say that its only ‘envy’, and yes there is a certain level of lusting involved, but did anyone else find Apple’s launch of the iphone a tad over-masculinised?

I appreciate that as a Girl Geek, I am rather a rare creature compared to my male counterparts. Just take a look at the iphone queue; male geek, male geek, male geek, male… And I do hate to divide things along girl n boy lines; but runs through the store, high-fives, cheers and body slams does this not smack of testosterone over kill?

Where if I was queuing was my token Apple massage for example, free goody bag with say Burberry’s perfect accessory for the savvy and protective minded geek chic this season an iphone studded phone cover.

It doesn’t have to be everything for the boys, us Girl Geeks want in on the action too! Not least as my (male) friends’ iphone cover is well such a thing of horror that its encasement immediately transforms his most proud ‘appendage’ into something so unsightly that Ms Ugly Betty herself would be hard pressed not to gag at its vulgarity. Still there’s method in his bad taste inspired madness as his device is less than likely to be stolen, or drooled over for that matter. Apart from by me.

Too shallow? I hear you cry. Girls and boys this is the iphone, a gadget that (surprisingly for Apple) is not at the top of its innovation tree in terms of spec, but a device designed and destined for the beauty hall of fame of most desirable gadgets. Where ownership is about the ‘experience’ of the object and means a glazed look of satisfaction just by sending a text. I never thought SMSing could be so sensual. Mmm yummy. Plus if as my Silicon Valley contacts would have me believe for the first few days of iphone (pre)release lets just say there was a lust influx of above average male geek success in the courting department. Or maybe that just says something more about a lack of technique rather than any real ‘super’ powers of the iphone.

In terms of device appeal the iphone holds a high level of pure beauty fluidity, exquisite and feminine traits indeed. And yet on an unscientific account via The Guardian reporting only 7% of the queue were female. Does this mean that this device holds less Girl Geek appeal? Or did we all send our boyfriends down to sit in the queue and cold for us? Maybe we’ve already got ours via the States, unlocked it and marvelled at its key strokes. Whatever our reasons I hope we weren’t put off the crowds of male geek noise and parade of consumerism that Mr Apple sought to expertly concoct on a cold November morning.

Another version of this post appears on the Girly Geek blog, but I thought it particularly potent that it deserved exposure here too.