Category: Geospatial

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Journal: Whither Twitter?

Collective Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Geospatial, Mobile, Real Time, Technologies

Twitter not all that popular among teenagers, report finds

“I don't know a single person who uses Twitter,” says Samara Fantie, 17, of Gaithersburg, who added that with so many of her friends on Facebook, Twitter seems beside the point.

Fantie listed its drawbacks, saying it appears to be less secure, more public and too condensed. “Teenagers like to talk, and 140 characters is just not enough,” she said. Facebook “does everything Twitter offers, only it's better. It would be like going backwards.”

Blogs Just Aren't Cool Any More, Teens Say

Blogging is slowly becoming the domain of adults, as a recent Pew study shows more teens abandoning the medium for social networks.

The study, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, showed a decline in the number of teens who say they blog, from 28 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2009, when the study was conducted. Just 52 percent comment on their friends' blogs, versus 76 percent three years ago.

By contrast, the survey found that about 10 percent of adults maintain a blog, a figure that has remained unchanged.

Phi Beta Iota: We appear to be in an interregnum, with some very serious perople such as Pierre Levy and Jeff Jarvis seeing the enormous potential of Twitter, while the run of the mill “crowd” may be bored.  Our view: Twitter is a game changer in part because geospatial location and identity are embedded, it is both mobile and real-time, and back office trends and aggregation and clustering can be attached.  Something really cool is happening, and Pew missed it.

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Worth a Look: GeoChat (SMS Plotted on Map)

Collective Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Geospatial, Mobile, Peace Intelligence, Policies, Real Time, Technologies, Threats, Tools, Worth A Look
Collaboration Tool

GeoChat emerged from a simple concept – can I send an SMS message and see it on a map?

From there the concept has evolved, and geochat has become a project to build a collaboration platform from the lowest common denominator communication tools, considering as highest priorities the needs of workers of humanitarian aid, international health and disaster response.

The main drivers for the project are the feedback of the InSTEDD programs in South East Asia, exercises such as GoldenShadow, and a growing community of humanitarian and health workers who spend their days in technologically austere environments. We invite anyone from any line of work to use and contribute user experience, technical, and any other kind of feedback.

Phi Beta Iota: InSTEDD [Innovative Support to Emergencies Diseases Disasters] is blessed with the participation of Cdr Eric Rasmussen, USN, a co-founder of STRONG ANGEL which has been allowed to die for all the wrong reasons.  He and Dr. Dr. Dave Warner are pioneers in M4IS2 [Multinational Multiagency Multidisciplinary Multidomain Information-Sharing and Sense-Making.]  See also UNICEF's RapidSMS.

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Event: 16-18 July 2010 NYC NY The Next Hope

Collective Intelligence, Communities of Practice, Computer/online security, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Geospatial, InfoOps (IO), Key Players, Methods & Process, Mobile, Policies, Real Time, Strategy, Technologies, Threats, Tools

HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH (HOPE)

The Next Hope (2010)

Pre-Registration Now Open

Call for Speakers

Links to Past HOPE Events

Phi Beta Iota: Hackers are like astronauts, pushing the bleeding edge of the envelope.  If the US Government had listened to us in 1991-1994, cyberspace would be secure today, and we would not be spending $12 billion a year on the cyber-scam game–outsourcing to beltway bandits fighting for the 100 folks that actually know how to do this stuff and can qualify for clearances.  Our solution for the regional networks is gong to be multinational and open everything.  This event is specifically recommended for young teens who show signs of intelligence and curiosity, and for mid-career officers beginning to realize that 80% of what they do is without merit, seeking a better way.  This is where we do the right things righter, not the wrong things righter.

Photo Gallery (Yahoo) Photo Gallery (Google)

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Journal: Experimental Cultural Geography

Cultural Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, Geospatial, Geospatial, IO Mapping, Multinational Plus
Full Story Online

Exhibition at Carnegie Mellon gives geography a new meaning

“Experimental Geography” is both the title of a mind-expanding exhibition and a term coined by contemporary artist/geographer/activist Trevor Paglen, who will speak tomorrow at Carnegie Mellon University.

If a geographer informs us about the land that we move within, or study from afar, an experimental geographer considers that land from the creative vantage point of an artist.

“In a manner that deploys aesthetics, ambiguity, poetry and a dash of empiricism,” the exhibition text explains.

“Mappa Mundi,” a digital print by New York artist Lize Mogel, is part of a series exploring public space and cultural geography.

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Journal: GPS Finally Fully Integrated in Voice Comms

Geospatial, IO Mapping, Mobile, Tools

Full Story Online

Nokia Voice Nav Spells Doom For TomTom, Garmin

Jared Newman, PC World

Jan 21, 2010 4:18 pm

As Nokia takes on Google with turn-by-turn voice navigation on select smartphones, the worst nightmares of GPS device makers are coming true.

Nokia and Google are both using free GPS applications as a lure to their products. That means they're competing, which means those free applications will get better. As that happens, it'll be harder for TomTom, Garmin and Magellan to make their paid software or hardware seem attractive.

Already, Nokia claims to have one-upped Google in the crucial area of pre-loaded maps. While Google Maps Navigation requires a data connection, Ovi Maps uses a combination of pre-loaded and online maps, but can load directions even in a dead zone. When it does need to load information, Nokia says it's more efficient than Google's application, requiring only 200 KB of data over a 12-mile stretch of road compared with 2 MB for an Android phone.

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Journal: Intelligence & Innovation Support to Strategy, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, & Acquisition

Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Collaboration Zones, Communities of Practice, Ethics, Geospatial, History, InfoOps (IO), Information Operations (IO), Key Players, Methods & Process, Mobile, Policies, Policy, Real Time, Reform, Strategy, Technologies, Threats, Tools, True Cost
Robert David STEELE Vivas

Chuck Spinney is still the best “real” engineer in this town–almost everyone else is staggering after fifty years of government-specification cost-plus engineering.  Also, as Chuck explores in the piece on Complexity to Avoid Accountability is Expensive we in the “requirements” business are as much to blame–Service connivance with complexity has killed acquisition from both a financial inputs and a war-fighting relevance outcome point of view.  The Services have forgotten the basics of requirements definition and multi-mission interoperability and supportability.

The Marine Corps Intelligence Center (MCIC) was created by General Al Gray, USMC (Ret), then Commandant of the Marine Corps, for three reasons:

1.  Intelligence support to constabulary and expeditionary operations from the three major services was abysmal to non-existent.

2.  Intelligence  support to the Service level planners and programmers striving to interact with other Services, the Unified Commands, and the Joint Staff was non-existent–this was the case with respect to policy, acquisition, and operations.  The cluster-feel over Haiti and the total inadequacy of our 24-48 hour response tells us nothing has changed, in part because we still cannot do a “come as you are” joint inter-agency anything.

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Journal: MILNET Selected Headlines

08 Wild Cards, Geospatial, Government, InfoOps (IO), Methods & Process, Military, Reform, Strategy, Technologies

Taliban Overhaul Their Image In Bid To Win Allies

Phi Beta Iota: We've known since 9/11 that the asymmetric war is also marked by an asymmetric excellence in public relations, propaganda and perception management–not only do our opponents spend $1 for every $500,000 to $5 million that we spend, but they are better at this than we are.  The USA is spending billions (low billions) on Information Operations (IO) and Strategic Communications, and still has no idea how to do it in languages we still do not speak, from a moral base we still do not have in the context of a Grand Strategy that does not exist because we have a secret intelligence world that is incapable of thinking broadly and deeply or giving the President and the Secretary of Defense what they NEED to know rather than what our expensive ignorant technical systems make possible to give.  We are SO reminded of Catholic Mandarin Ngo Dinh Diem in Viet-Nam with his murderous sister Madame Nhu (Karzai's Brother….), only this time you have drugs, religion, and no competent Afghan military we can pretend we are supporting.  A reprise of Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam?

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