Sunday, March 22, 2009
How Big a Deal is the internet's role in political campaigns?? Some are saying that its such a big deal that Obama would not have won the election if not for his internet campaigning....
Politics of today involve the sharply increasing their use of e-mail, interactive Web sites, candidate and party blogs, and text-messaging to raise money, organize get-out-the-vote efforts and assemble crowds for a rallies. The Internet, they said, appears to be far more efficient, and less costly, than the traditional tools of politics such as radio, tv and even some good old traditional door knocking. Internet campaigning strategies of today's modern era sees the use of Podcasts which features daily downloaded messages by a political candidate and "viral-attack" videos on opposition parties. The controversial nature of these videos are enough to attract an audience whereby these videos are made known via word of mouth. The best part of it all; its free publicity. Unlike most traditional media whereby huge sums of financial resources are needed for advertisements. Which brings me to my next point: An equal playing field for all. While the candidate with the biggest war chest( biggest wallet) would be able to afford the measures needed for greater publicity, the internet has ensured a level playing field for all.
In my point of view, the internet has had a positive impact on politics.Analysts said that the Internet appeared to be a particularly potent way to appeal to new, young voters, a subject of particular interest to both parties in these politically turbulent times.According to A New York Times articel entitled"Politics Faces Sweeping Change Via the web", what makes the internet so appealing is how it has enabled different political parties to discredit one another via youtube videos or web bloggers with their own respective candidate whom they support. The influence of these web bloggers should not be underestimated for they are influential and have their own group of die hard readers. Political campaigning has never been so interesting with all the subtle fighting in the background! There was once a time whereby the politics was won by the most capable candidate and his/her party. Today, victory is also determined by the party's supporters ,which consist of viral video makers and bloggers, who in their own right have the power to influence others.
In the Singapore Context,..... there is nothing much to say..really!!
Here is one instance from youtube with a political theme. See if it moves you as much as it moved me.. If it does, it just shows you how the effective the internet is as a political tool.
Baby Blogger,
3:11:00 PM
Sunday, March 15, 2009
I met an old friend of mine the other day. I said "hi" and he replied, " wait ah.I reply my email first,"and he continued typing vigorously on his mobile phone, The Blackberry Storm. I've had it with this phone man! In SIM alone, among my circle of friends, I think there are at least 4 people who own the Blackberry Storm. I absolutely hate it!! It makes my Sony Ericsson k850i i bought a year ago seem so obsolete. Let me tell you sth about the Blackberry Storm, it has instant messaging, push emails, an internet browser, a camera, a movie player, and i think a GPS?? I'm not sure..But i think there is a high possibility!! Basically what I am trying to put across is this; there is no longer a single dominant form of media, rather, today's media utilizes a combination of different content forms. This integration of the various media types is called Multimedia and today's technologies all have multimedia capabilities.
Let us examine how the multimedia aspect of a product is emphasized in the different adverts
I feel that the commercials by SOny and Nokia respectively are quite effective in bringing out the multimedia capabilities of their products. The Nokia handphone is depicted as having movie making and sound editing capabilities wheras Sony emphasizes on the superior picture and sound quality of its HD television. Ironically, the fact that both companies are using TV adverts is in itself utilizing the use of a multimedia platform. While it is hard to say which company is more effective in using multimedia to promote its product (cause it seems that everyone is harnessing its capabilities), I can tell you what I feel is effective.
Personally, I feel that Apple is one company which has been successful in its marketing efforts to reach out to consumers. However, what makes Apple so distinct in its marketing strategy is that they adhere to the concept of simplicity which reflects the nature of its product: Simple to use. The following ad is titled MAC VS PC.. and the ad highlights Mac's movie editing program: Imovie Maker(also a multimedia tool, no?)
Baby Blogger,
7:31:00 PM
Monday, March 9, 2009
This week we talked about cyber crimes. There are basically 4 basic types of cyber crimes.They are:
1) Viruses(Kana before)
2) Spams (Kana before)
3) Trojan (Kana before)
4) Spyware(KAna before)
5) Phising ( Not yet..not looking forward to it though!)
Ya so it was not surprising that I was all ears when it came to this week's lesson. We learnt more about the different types of cybercrimes and their consequences. SO what is SIngapore's take on cyber crimes?Professor Warren Chik a SIngapore Law professor in a 2006 paper comparing cyber crime laws in the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore, that Singapore adopted four approaches in combating computer crime. These are:
1) Passing new legislation that creates crimes where activity warrants it;
2) Imposing severe penalties as punishment and as deterrents;
3) Providing law enforcement agencies with additional powers, granting them extra-territorial jurisdiction, and creating new agencies with specially trained experts to deal with this technological crimes;
4) Making it a crime to abet or even to attempt to perpetrate computer crimes.
Source:
http://www.crime-research.org/news/01.04.2008/3286/Clearly, cybercrime is a prevalent problem even in Singapore but I never realized how prevalent it was until I stumbled upon a shocking but true fact:
SIngapore has the second highest rate of cybercrime in the world, coming in only second to the US!!!
While the authorities are taking imperative steps to deter hackers , it does not mean we should merely rest on our laurels and be complacent about computer security.Just to give u a brief idea how easy it is to be a hacker..this is a video teaching you how to be a hacker!!ON YOUTUBE!!!
As ironically as it sounds..there are videos out there which are promoting the importance of virus protection, however, THERE ARE also others teaching people to be hackers in 3 minsJust like that..in 3 mins..I have the potential to be a hacker!!ME!!someone who has zero knowledge on hacking prior to this video!
Having said that, I cannot elaborate the importance of taking measures to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of a cybercrime.
Baby Blogger,
10:44:00 PM