Reality is Relative

Once again Sam Harrelson talks me into a late night look at Next-Gen Marketing with a few practical examples over at Revenews. Long one- so good time to change the oil on the car (time shift) and listen…some might find it very relevant- no matter what reality you exist in, or think you do.

Sam says: “The podcast runs about 90 minutes and we discuss Wayne’s conception of Next Gen marketing and possible futures of online and affiliate marketing.”

Wayne says: “As usual, this podcast runs about 90 minutes and we discuss science fiction books, Next-Gen, games, my experience with ARGs, multi-verses, engagement from twitter to Second Life, Sam finds value in an OPML file, engagement metrics, incubation of fan bases, engaging smart people, Twitter, personalities, a bunch of books like: The Book of Zines, The Adventures of the The Stainless Steel Rat, Media Virus, etc. Not that many would care, but for the observant we also plod into Assyriology, cuneiform, ancient civilizations and why that crap is important to us. As usual I interrupt too often (why does he always catch me tired?), but we move along and didn’t even touch Mobile Marketing or iPhone stuff or blending it with RSS. At any rate this is sort of what “industry insiders” talk about…sort of.”

Stainless Steel Rats MP3 File

Another good cast, and Pinnacle Best Blog Award Winner- Sam Harrelson, speaks (what are you cloned or what?) at AffiliateFortuneCookies.com giving more clarity as Next-Gen, Virtual, Affiliate, and A Whole Bunch of Stuff Most Can’t Even See are heading for a whacked out, giant ajax-style real-world mashup collision thing. Maybe.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share This

I left a response for Jason Calacanus here on feedback. No, I am not angry at Jason, but I don’t need to thank him for what I, and others have been blasting on about for several years…in the trenches fighting some very, very bad stuff. Search engine spammers and good content taking over ranks? I have a collection of busts that make SERP spam child’s play. Nor do I need to benchmark myself- but feel free. I open sourced myself awhile ago. Painful to do, but I did it.

What I really want to do is to be able to thank Jason, Mike Arrington, Robert S, and all the other technical evangelists in the valley, for getting involved and dialing up the pressure- but doing so in a way that preserves those who act with integrity, and not wiping them out because they are “small”. We can usually spot spam right away, but the idea that people can define the quality of my aesthetic is not where we are going. The leaders need to lead and smaller is fine.

I also see no problem with Mahalo and as noted below, and blogged here somewhere, it passed my annual “malware” around “game cheats” stress test. Admirable. I even offered up Caledon at Revenews as a prototypical community of curators and content makers. Sam Harrelson notes the challenges and I simply say Jason- don’t forget community. Community is content. It might be hard to grok, but you have my digits now- happy to explain what I discovered.

I didn’t make it to the keynote, nor did we get a chance to speak at the dinner, which is a shame…what you said is nothing new to me however. Actually, in many ways it seemed to be naive….e.g. “but also the FTC, which doesn’t take nicely to covert marketing.”

Really? I was on the Spyware Panel with MSFT, AT&T, MIT and Webroot…two or three years later, at Esther Dysan’s summit, I sat in line with Eric Howells and said “WTF? Why are we still playing this game of semantics? Three years later?” No- the government is not going to stop it.

At any rate I am preparing a blog post on what Sam archived, plus some additional rambling stuff…but obviously I just don’t have as much social capital as you and that is ok- my job is to influence the influencer here. You can help by listening because I know the core of the problem far better and if a strong influencer, like you, and others in your sphere would talk with the right people, work with the “affiliates” (btw- merchants are my affiliates- that is how I see it.) and understand the issues on a very granular level- we might win this war. Because as one who started very small and has been all over the major press for years, at panels, summits even speaking at RSA. I feel I have failed…and I am worn out.

This is why I hate the A list label and think it is bad. Basic network theory says elitist groups becomes cliquish and homogeneous and there are no bridges for carriers of new ideas or viewpoints to enter. (Network gets too big- you can’t control it.)

Hopefully I can stay up long enough to finish it at Revenews. Creating Mahalo is nice, and hey it passed my malware test for gaming cheats, but it isn’t enough. I expect more from you and I think you are missing a core component.

If you and other tech. evangelists, etc do not step up TOGETHER and work with others- it will be toast or the reaction is going to be full of collateral damage that really sucks because there is nothing wrong with starting out small and working hard and doing it on your own dime. Every giant company was small once.

This is beyond money, this is Snowcrash, this is a digital society in decay.

Old books show us the pattern and we are at an inflection point- pay attention at the very least, but I am asking for action instead of apathy. It isn’t all about search and content and how timely for Esther Dyson to invest in the social- the same Esther I spoke with years ago. I don’t need to search and click as much if I have a community of trusted peers to ask. Steve Boyd notes “years ago” and we are about to pass over that horizon. The pattern was written long ago:

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor Books): Ender Wiggin battles it out with the Formics in this Hugo-Award-winning novel that is perhaps the quintessential guide for the new blogging metaphor. Pay special attention to Peter and Valentine as they control the nets through alternate personas. Make special note of the protagonist’s psychological development and monitoring by the “Mind Fantasy Game.”

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson (Putnam Adult): The science of pattern recognition aims to classify data based on previous experience and through statistical mining of patterns. In this contemporary novel, the readers explore the concept of “cool spotting,” which has been in use in marketing for many years, through the eyes of Cayce Pollard. Pollard is an incredibly intuitive market-research consultant. Marketers should get an idea for new metrics and perhaps new ways to measure the efficacy of campaigns as well as the importance of looking ahead for future trends.

And it is…all in the context of a virtual world experiencing a state of rapid decay. Who do you blame?

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share This

Having a history analyzing data and metrics for real world charities I was very interested in how virtual worlds, in particular Second Life, have or are using lindens to do the same.

One stellar success sticks out- http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/relay/. Here is an official blog post from avatar, Fayandria Foley on relayforlife.orgin Second Life. As I understand it they raised $140,000 US last year. That is quite an accomplishment and one worthy of note.

I started thinking on how non-virtual entities leverage the web to generate funds, the performance marketing industry in general, and some quick bullet points came to mind as raw ideas. I realize some of these tactics have been probably been used before, like items created by “top content creators” in a vendor, but I feel it could be more efficacious to activate the content creators who tell me- “I would never sell this- it is personal- but I would get involved if it raised funds for a charity I believed in.” I also understand that if you do not have a background in online advertising or marketing that some of this can be confusing. Don’t worry- focus on the larger concepts.

I, and others, noted AM Radio’s success. In a previous post about AM Radio’s The Far Away how many avatars told me they would 50L (lindens- a form of fiat currency) for the identical item priced at 10L if it went to a worthy cause. IDENTICAL. The Second Life group is a giving bunch…so I put together some quick bullets and what might be accomplish by adopting or experimenting with some of these ideas.

Caveat- some of these concepts are based on many years of real world experience, however one or two years is not enough time for me to study what all that has or can be done in a metaverse. Also let it stand that some of it is purely anecdote and not scientific.

1. Pay More - Give More: People will pay for a digital item, and more for it if it is for a charity or cause they believe in. Pay more is really- give more.

2. Release Dark Content: In my talks with some content creators, both “top guns” and “lesser knowns” (that produce quality none-the-less) many tell me never sell their items or intend to. However, if it were to benefit a cause- they would be inclined to do so. This is great because great content or ideas that might never see the light of day enters into the marketplace and raises the bar. It also helps galvanize a diverse world around causes which is important as the world seems to disagree on so many things. Altruism and good will are aspects avatars seem to be in sync with. I call this the release of “dark content”. The content exists, most never see it. This adds value to the world and attracts new people. Sustainable builds means less population attrition as more time is allocated to teaching or indoctrination.

3. Bi-lateral Exchange & WOM (Word of Mouth Advertising) over Time: There is a tangible value exchange beyond altruism in the form of a digital item or “gift”. This does not weaken the altruistic spirit, but serves as a reminder or a viral “totem” to propagate the cause through word of mouth as this item moves into virtual space. After all, much interaction occurs in small group clusters inside of residences or small parties. The item itself could be scripted so that anyone can make a donation at any time. There are other risks, but I am positive they can be solved. At the very least you have a contextually significant virtual item injected into the discussion mix.

4. Old Systems Adapted to New Metrics: To do this you would need robust tracking vendors that can analyze the efficacy of campaigns and goods. Useful metrics can be produced, in a non-invasive manner, that would provide insight into future deployment. This is something I have been working on with Bleys and we are very near completion of two of the last primary components- gifting an item and multiple splits.

5. Sustaining the Sustainer: I raise the issue of multiple splits because some charities may allow or enable content creators to split revenue on their creations- thus solving another problem, or helping solve it. I call it bi-lateral altruism others might call it brand equity transference. The content creator, can help sustain their build, adding longevity to a world in flux and this makes the build or exhibit sustainable. In turn it lowers the churn in a system by imparting a boost from the brand equity of a charity to the creator- a fair exchange. Some merchants, like Amazon, have rejected this on the web, but I don’t see it being a problem in a metaverse on a micro-content scale. Also many large name merchants have no problem with this e.g. Wal-mart. I plan to talk to igive and upromise when I attend Affiliate Summit this month.

6. Metrics with Meaning: We would now have granular metrics with meaning. For example some creators may only wish to donate a portion of an item’s proceeds to a cause. We designed it so it was web based in control (color, shape, reload, kill, title change, FPS delta, etc) and merchants (fund raisers) can run metrics, at least metrics I CAN’T FIND, on efficacy.

For example, The average spend from an avatar of greater than two years age from a single prim vendor in a plot size less than 2000 m2 or the average Earnings Per Teleport (EPT) on a set of thematically created content residing on mainland versus estate. There are so many missing pieces to the puzzle it is difficult to make decisions or plans. This is because Virtual worlds are young, but I am seeing the exact pattern in CPA/CPS (Cost Per Action - Cost Per Sale) driven Performance industry that is now a multi-billion dollar powerhouse.

EPC Calibration Tangent: I realized the value of not only performance metrics but engagement metrics years ago while developing EPC calibration (earnings per click), a technique to select placement of merchant relationships on performance by comparing return to a median eCPC (effective cost per click) in a thematic shopping vertical- for example many flower merchants. (The article is archived at CJ University- perhaps I can talk them into liberating it as it was commissioned). Merchants falling below the “calibrated EPC” could be retained by renegotiating either coupon or commission raise. It set a meaningful bar for negotiation. Some, like Tim Storm, took this to a dynamic level and used it on the fly! It also led to other concepts like network concentration risk or merchant mix concentration risk.

7. Evangelism of a Platform: This process advances many other needed causes in a digital world struggling to prove its worth to the outside. Insiders get it- they are indoctrinated- outsiders do not and it is completely alien. Anyone can get behind goodwill and for avatars the added benefit of what I called earlier “dark content”, more interaction, sense of personal involvement beyond giving lindens and moving on, and the production of thematic and contextual items that are aligned with a particular niche or “land”.

8. Uniting on a Personal Level: Because content creation is not limited to few, but many, and control lies in the hand of the charity, there is far less potential for brand damage or non-alignment, yet the system scales and again a metaverse is more united and on a more personal level. I not only gave- I gave something even more valuable- time, a creation, a piece of one’s DNA- legacy. Giving to a world attaches one to a world.

9. Diversity is Strength: We now have Virtual World involvement on many different levels. Content creators, artists, singers, music creators, essay writers, performers, can choose to participate on a level they desire and they are the subject matter experts. Charities can select brand equity transferral or not. The more diverse the offering, the more robust the market and the more money will change hands- it is bi-lateral.

10. Terrain that Blends: Obviously this sets the stage for a web (HTTP) blend or terrain cross-over. I have seen nothing of this, or very, very little in the virtual world and that is probably because concepts of Signature Tracking, Flex Tracking or SID* usage are all new to them. They speak a language all their own. Some argue not breaking the “magic circle”, I argue the circle is as large as we make it and metaverses are not isolated. Right now we see their trails like comets, the particles are tweets, Flickr photo streams, and forums. (*The tracking systems above are proprietary mechanisms used by major networks to match transactions in charity, cash-back, or point systems.)

11. The Door Opens: These are ideas not only for RFL, but for other charities that are entering the virtul like Kiva and another lady I was speaking before my client crashed (please feel free to contact me).

12. Reset The Market: This is where we can start an important “reset” and possibly alter a model in a way that sustains the sustainer, grows virtual worlds, and enhances our existence or life- no matter what number you give or what you give. I know networks are interested in this as I have talked to their executives about it, yet the virtual terrain is so alien to them they don’t know where to begin. Executives- you will know where to find me in February.

Anyone else is welcome to contact me about these ideas or leave their comments, or educate me. wporter@gmail.com or skype wporter. In world Corwin Chevalier (notecard please) or linkedin.

P.S. Yes Tim Storm- that is what that e-mail was about- and hopefully I will see you at the summit. $140,000 is a powerful proof for an emerging virtual world, but knowing that much more can be done and that charities can enable the very pioneers of a struggling digital space is a compelling value proposition in my eyes. These worlds are educational, they break open new ideas, fuse new relationships and they are on the horizon.

Addendum: I heard colleague Jiminy Roo on the RLFL cast- so Mr. Roo- expect an IM on this buddy and I am glad you are leading the technological team.

Addendum Two: Additional edits made for clarity, and some explanation of acronyms.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share This

Bots and Second Life

This should give everyone alarm and reason to pause to think for a bit.

“When calculating the online now number,” Jim told me, “we do not filter out users/bots who are logged in through thin clients like libsecondlife, but we know through closely monitoring the user data, that they represent a very small percentage of the overall number.”

“By design,” studio director Jeff Linden added, “the exact version of the viewer is not integral to the login process, just as different web browsers should still allow you to login to your bank’s online site. Viewers do voluntarily self-identify (like browsers do), but this is not authoritative, so we can’t be 100% sure which versions are connecting. Because of this, it’s difficult to provide an estimate of what percentage of the ‘online now’ number may be bots logged in… That said, anecdotally, we’ve noted that connections made with clients that self-ID as libsecondlife are generally very brief, and very few of these clients are logged in at any given time.”

Interstingly enough linden Labs posted, per Zee Linden, some new data.

Concurrency. Peak concurrent users, shown in the red line on the chart below, grew 12.5% in the fourth quarter to more then 58,000 - up more than 210% for the full year. We’ve seen a growth in concurrency almost every week since the beginning of September. Growth continued last weekend when concurrency grew another 5.3% to 61,500.

Data is Data

The problem with this data is, and I commend Linden Labs for releasing it, that it really doesn’t tell me what I need to know. Actually in December I need metrics from post Novemeber to end of December if I am to make meaningful comparisons to virtual and web-based shopping behaviors.

Zombies Walking Around in Sims

Timeless Prototype notes the SL Polymorphism Proxy with Imaginary Friends for SL. The developers plan on including support for animating the proxy, saving the local users appearance preferences, tweaking controls, etc. From Timeless’ site…

In the true sense of the original meaning of hacking (not malicious), Thoys Pan has achieved over 100 avatars in a simulator. But there’s something ghostly about it all. Concept by Fw0rd Utorid. Thoys very kindly demonstrated to the technology to me, see screenshot attached to this post (credit to Thoys). The code is now open sourced, and the project is here

(http://www.secondlife.com). The product enhances the user experience by providing user control over avatar appearances, and further by allowing the placement of avatars anywhere in the virtual environment. Both of these events occur only to the user running the software.

and here you go: Scene from the living dead or that Shaun movie thing.

Metrics & Web

Jeff took the topic to a broader perspective, noting that this is a problem with measuring general Internet usage. “It seems the bigger question is: how do we know that Second Life isn’t filled with bots and devoid of real human activity?” As he puts it. “Turns out this is a statistic problem that’s well solved by the web world– we can determine this in much the same way that a website would determine that visitors are real users rather than automated webcrawlers.

I would not go so far as to say it is a “statistic problem” nor well solved- I would have to say it is quite the inverse- ask the IAB. Especially if you want to get down to the nitty gritty and get people to understand the difference between say- crawlers, bots, botnets, agents, virtual botnets and some of the really damaging things some of these things can do. Of course not all agents are bad- it is all in the eyes of the beholder. For example is Cyveillance’s agents good or bad? It all depends on the relationship, need, and value delivered.

The Obvious Lesson

I have tried to make this post as short and concise as possible. Second Life leads us to consider the death of old metrics and more meaningful new metrics- good- it needs to go there. I am less concerned about “traffic” and more concerned about “engagement”. Thanks to Sam for pointing out my annual rants about “clicks”. Not that bots cannot be engaging…but concurrent logins simply does not cut it as a meaningful stand-alone metric. Plenty of conclusions can be drawn, but without looking at the type of agent logging in, its activity and posting this data- one really cannot draw a meaningful “anything”.

Much more could be said, but I am trying to keep it brief…

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share This

I find this almost laughable that it took them this long to consider that virtual worlds held risks… let me respond to a few without revealing too much e.g. object entry and sit.

U.S. intelligence officials are cautioning that popular Internet services that enable computer users to adopt cartoon-like personas in three-dimensional online spaces also are creating security vulnerabilities by opening novel ways for terrorists and criminals to move money, organize and conduct corporate espionage.

Over the last few years, “virtual worlds” such as Second Life and other role-playing games have become home to millions of computer-generated personas known as avatars. By directing their avatars, people can take on alternate personalities, socialize, explore and earn and spend money across uncharted online landscapes.

Security researchers have known this for a long time. It was clear to me that it was easier to jack a WoW account, chop shop and move it for far more than a card deal…and trying explaining the theft of your 60 level mage to the cops. “Barney Fife saves the day and takes down another WoW accounts jacker….please return to saving your sector”

The virtual world is the next great frontier and in some respects is still very much a Wild West environment,” a recent paper by the government’s new Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity said.

“Unfortunately, what started out as a benign environment where people would congregate to share information or explore fantasy worlds is now offering the opportunity for religious/political extremists to recruit, rehearse, transfer money, and ultimately engage in information warfare or worse with impunity.”

Any medium that gathers mass is going to gather bad apples. In 2003 I explained how they could subvert CPA deals, through rogue networks and generate self-sustaining cells that could launch blended attacks through this funding- trivial. In 2003 accountability just wasn’t that high on the list- it will be now.

Virtual worlds could also become an actual battlefield. The intelligence community has begun contemplating how to use Second Life and other such communities as platforms for cyber weapons that could be used against terrorists or enemies, intelligence officials said. One analyst suggested beginning tests with so-called teams of cyber warfare experts.

The IARPA paper concurred: “What additional things are possible in the virtual world that cannot be done in the real world? The [intelligence community] needs to ‘red team’ some possible scenarios of use.”

Virtual worlds are battlefields- what additional things are possible that cannot be done in the real world? Everything.

compliance

Quick conclude. Publicly traded companies need to ensure communications, now matter how ephemeral are logged. SOX, HIPPA, and e-discovery ensure that is so- this includes IM. Even so it is not hard to jack into a world and run parallel with something like Skype that uses AES encryption and exhibits port agility to evade. I am not sure about SL’s native voip, but again if they wish to offer compliance as a publicly traded company in the US, they MUST log all of this traffic.

Spyware

Spyware abounds in second life and i will bet other worlds. Commonly the use of zero mass tortured-prims, some use alpha textures, or are darted into an Avatar or sprinkled on an area where having zero-mass helps them hide. Best extraction I performed was multiple zero-mass tortured prims using sand as a texture and buried into the beach- each tested positive as scripted- kind of obvious- make your spyware big and. This was a smooth move, but when confronted he was hard pressed to say much. Women are commonly targeted, i frequently get requests for help and based on my experience, it goes on in shops, anywhere.

These can record ambient chat conversation (channel 0) or open chat. Nor does moving up channels help. Brute force channel scanners can help you find commands, executions or conversations. Silent Life sounds quiet, but listen to the right channels and it is quite noisy. Bleys and I built an encrypted HUD (keyboard) as proof of concept. It works great, although requiring mouse input (evades keyboard loggers) it is too slow yet, but was fun in meetings sending messages encrypted and watch scanner rats go WTF? i had another application that would send in all kinds of crazy reports that brute scanner guys must have been puzzled by as I would flood channels in the low range with messages that were worrisome.

Communication is going to happen, it will route around the damage, the best offense is awareness…the list goes on, but Virtual Worlds need more time to mature.

A good start, beyond accountability, would be to allow people to sandbox scripts to see what all they really do- code hygiene…I know it is a script, but what does it do or send?

Coming soon- social engineering in virtual worlds. Far too easy…people need more training…after that prepare for an epic battle…

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share This

I was introduced to this video piece via Steve Rosenbaum. If you have not seen it, or even if you have- read before watching.

Since viewing the piece and mapping the various social chain reactions just from ‘viewing the piece’ and ’sharing’ I can get a better grip on the potency of the message- Each time we forge a link we teach it an idea.. Intrigued I went hunting to see what else turned up in the ‘machine’ and I was not disappointed. I give you a version of the video sort of like Metallica’s Garage Days Re-Revisited cut. This would put it into a Master of Puppets era if you are into heavy metal trivia, if not- no matter…(Frankly I am a KMFDM fan myself…)

I discover there exists a poetic transcript of the video text at mediatedcultures.net…perhaps someone will put it into a formal song (Lars? Wait this is creative commons- scratch that)… Until then we can settle for some cadence and deconstruction courtesy of Tanya Witherspoon from Wichita State University or if you prefer another version courtesy of Jesper Rønn-Jensen, front-end web developer, usability specialist at Capgemini Denmark. Actually I’ll quote his version and add my refrain.

Pay attention to how the transcription of the text in a video can change the tenor of the message…and why do it anyway? I am sure scholars of media theory have this down…I was sort of surprised…(Bonus move- Mess around with the capitals and meter and you can have your very own E.E. Cummings, avant-garde, Web 2.0 is using you version.)

Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us

[time codes in square brackets]
[0:00]
Text is linear
Text is unilinear
Text is often said to be unilinear

Text is unilinear
when written on paper

Digital text is is different
Digital text is is more flexible
Digital text is is moveable
Digital text is is above all … hyper.

Digital hypertext is above all ….
hypertext is above all ….

hypertext can link
here
here
or here …

virtually anywhere
anywhere virtually
anywhere virtual

http://yahoo.com
Take me Back

Oct 17, 1996

View source

Most early websites were written in HTML

HTML was designed to define the structure of a web document

is a structural element referring to “paragraph”

[1:00]
< LI > is also a structural element referring to “List Item”

As HTML expanded, more elements were added.

Including sylistic elements like < b > for bold and < i > for italics

Such elements definded how content would be formatted.

In other words, form and content became inseparable in HTML

Digital Text can do better.

Form and content can be separated.

RSS

View source

XML was designed to do just that.

< title > does not define the form. It defines the content.

Same with < link >

and < description >

and virtually all other elements in this document.

They describe the content, not the form.

So the data can be exported,

free of formatting constraints.

[2:00]

With form seperated from content, users did not need to know complicated code to upload content to the web
(I’m feeling Lucky)

Create a blog
Blog title: Beyond etext
URL: beyondetext.blogspot.com

Hello World!
Posted by Professor Wesch at 8:14

There’s a blog born every half second

and it’s not just text …

YouTube
Flickr

Anthropology Club
Created by you

XML facilitates automated data exchange
two sites can “mash” data together

flickr maps

Who will organize all of this data?

We will.
You will.
[3:00]

XML + U & Me create a database-backed web
a database-backed web is different
the web is different

the web
we are the web (I’m Feeling Lucky)

We are the web

When we post and then tag pictures

we are teaching the Machine

Each time we forge a link
we teach it an idea.

Think of the 100 billion times per day humans click on a web page

teaching the Machine

the Machine

The machine is us

Digital text is no longer just linking information …
Hypertext is no longer just linking information …

The Web is no longer just linking information …

The Web is linking people …

Web 2.0 is linking people …

… people sharing, trading, and collaborating…

Web 2.0

Edit this page…

You can edit this page

[4:00]
We’ll need to rethink a few things …
We’ll need to rethink copyright
We’ll need to rethink authorship
We’ll need to rethink identity
We’ll need to rethink ethics
We’ll need to rethink aesthetics
We’ll need to rethink rhetorics
We’ll need to rethink governance
We’ll need to rethink privacy
We’ll need to rethink commerce
We’ll need to rethink love
We’ll need to rethink family
We’ll need to rethink ourselves.

by
Michael Wesch
Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology
Kansas State University

Music by D E U S
There’s Nothing impossible
[4:31]

I could chime in with a refrain!

We’ll need to rethink a few things …
We’ll need to rethink copyright
We’ll need to rethink authorship
We’ll need to rethink identity
We’ll need to rethink ethics
We’ll need to rethink aesthetics
We’ll need to rethink rhetorics
We’ll need to rethink governance
We’ll need to rethink privacy
We’ll need to rethink commerce
We’ll need to rethink love
We’ll need to rethink family
We’ll need to rethink ourselves.

Probably more than a few things…and rethinking is just the starting point…we may not get a do-over.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share This

Arguments were strong in the back waters of the SLDEV and Metanomics groups over Linden Labs new policy. e.g. This post…. odd I remember covering in Revenews’ long ago and it didn’t ripple.

Linden Labs says:

Please read this if you operate, or have transferred L$ to, an in-world “bank” or financial company.

As of January 22, 2008, it will be prohibited to offer interest or any direct return on an investment (whether in L$ or other currency) from any object, such as an ATM, located in Second Life, without proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution charter. We’re implementing this policy after reviewing Resident complaints, banking activities, and the law, and we’re doing it to protect our Residents and the integrity of our economy.

Since the collapse of Ginko Financial in August 2007, Linden Lab has received complaints about several in-world “banks” defaulting on their promises. These banks often promise unusually high rates of L$ return, reaching 20, 40, or even 60 percent annualized.

Usually, we don’t step in the middle of Resident-to-Resident conduct – letting Residents decide how to act, live, or play in Second Life.

But these “banks” have brought unique and substantial risks to Second Life, and we feel it’s our duty to step in. Offering unsustainably high interest rates, they are in most cases doomed to collapse – leaving upset “depositors” with nothing to show for their investments. As these activities grow, they become more likely to lead to destabilization of the virtual economy. At least as important, the legal and regulatory framework of these non-chartered, unregistered banks is unclear, i.e., what their duties are when they offer “interest” or “investments.”

There is no workable alternative. The so-called banks are not operated, overseen or insured by Linden Lab, nor can we predict which will fail or when. And Linden Lab isn’t, and can’t start acting as, a banking regulator.

I did converse with a representative of First Meta Card who I have had some conversations before (mostly over RPG’s and not banking) and she provided me this statement via note card. (no mod I think).

First Meta comment on Linden Lab’s New Policy Regarding In-World “Banks”

9 January 2008

First Meta fully supports regulation of financial services activity in the virtual economy. We agree with the statement by Linden Lab that in-world “banks…offering unsustainably high interest rates…are in most cases doomed to collapse – leaving upset ‘depositors’ with nothing to show for their investments.” We believe that the removal of non-credible players from the financial services sector of Second Life’s economy will benefit all of its participants.

First Meta’s approach differs radically from the “banks” as described by Linden Lab. We offer a full range of financial services focusing on credit products, including MetaCard(TM), backed by a robust real-world system, run by professionals with real-world financial expertise, and focusing on providing customers with transparency and accountability. We are a real-world company, registered in Singapore, one of the financial centers of the world. First Meta’s operations are supported by the Singapore government and we are funded by real-world private investors, not by our customer’s deposits.

We are in discussions with Linden Lab about our MetaSavings(TM) accounts. OurMetaSavings (TM) deposits are more than 100% funded, which means that no First Meta customer will lose any money as a result of the new policy.

Since our MetaCard(TM) does not “offer interest or a rate of return on L$ invested or deposited”, it should not be affected by this new regulation.

As First Meta’s business is not dependent on savings accounts or other investment instruments which are addressed by the new policy, we believe that the new policy will not have any adverse effects on our company. Insofar as the new policy strengthens the virtual economy, we believe this will actually benefit First Meta. As the leading provider of financial services in virtual economies, First Meta will continue to provide a trusted partner for our customers.

Sincerely,
Douglas Abrams (JP Mougin)
Chief Executive Officer
First Meta Pte. Ltd.

It does meet one of my acid tests. Douglas Abrams is a real name, and only uses his avatar name INWORLD. Also Lindens aren’t the only “fiat currency” they will be chasing I detect…but more to come! Monolith 8 is kicking off…

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share This

Are you paying attention?

Fleep has been. In via Google Reader. Too intriguing not to just rehash with bolds. (Mine)

For those of you concerned that some of the time you spend on the web is a complete waste of time, you may now sleep at night. It turns out that the countless hours we devote to browsing the web and using web-hosted applications will benefit us in a new way—every minute we invest in using the internet will pay off in an increasingly relevant experience.

Programmers are leveraging APML (Attention Profiling Mark-Up Language) to allow users to share their “attention profile”—a compressed file of Attention Data such as browsing history, shared photos, blog posts, tweets, social bookmarks, and more—to reveal their ranked interests in order that they may receive more relevant information from content providers. Put simply, Attention Data tells content providers what we pay attention to the most so that they can align their efforts with our exact tastes.

Sounds brilliant? It is. Attention profiling has the potential to revolutionize an individual’s browsing experience. Currently, we are in an age of hyper-saturation in which searching for relevant content is a burdensome task. The APML standard will give you greater control over your Attention Data, allowing you to choose what is recorded in your attention profile—favorite websites, frequently used search terms, content you link to—and share it with your favorite websites and online services.

APML will provide marketers with a highly coveted wealth of information and users with a better web experience and control over their personal information in order to prevent exploitative data mining. The benefits are clear, which is why many new and existing sites, including many popular social media and networking sites that collect a magnitude of information, are on board. For a good example of how powerful it can be, check out Idiomag, the beautifully designed, highly interactive music magazine that shows you music news and media relevant to your favorite musicians.

Here’s a couple of links with more details about APML and other revolutionary open standards to appease the inner geek in you.

Miles Lennon is an entrepreneur and innovation enthusiast.

Remember this blogs title from the simple equation. Attention = Revenue.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share This

For Anthony, my son. Hopefully he won’t see it for awhile and I know he is more into immersive 3D-Worlds (e.g. Club Penguin scooped by Disney) than blogs. Perhaps when he sees the shortcuts you can find by paying attention to others…or perhaps he will discover them on his own as all hard core gamers (and their community) always find a way to accomplish.

Variouns Guitar Hero III Cheats for the Wii as I found them- search ease use and attention getting winner was alpha status Mahalo. Guitar Hero III is the third installment in the popular Guitar Hero series developed by Neversoft…

Known Cheats (Key Series)

1. Large Gems: G, R, G, Y, G, B, G, O, G, B, G, Y, G, R, G, GR, RY, GR, YB, GR, BO, GR, YB, GR, RY, GR, GY

2. Hyperspeed: O, B, O, Y, O, B, O, Y

3. Performance Mode: RY, RB, RO, RB, RY, GB, RY RB

4. Precision Mode: GR, GR, GR, RY, RY, RB, RB, YB, YO, YO, GR, GR, GR, RY, RY, RB, RB, YB, YO, YO

5. Unlock All Code: YO, RB, RO, GB, RY, YO, RY, RB, GY, GY, YB, YB, YO, YO, YB, Y, R, RY, R, Y, O

6. Air Guitar: BY, GY, GY, RB, RB, RY, RY, BY, GY, GY, RB, RB, RY, RY, GY, GY, RY, RY

7. Bret Michae:ls Singer: GR, GR, GR, GB, GB, GB, RB, R, R, R, RB, R, R, R, RB, R, R, R

8. Easy Expert GR, GY, YB, RB, BO, YO, RY, RB

9. No Fail: GR, B, GR, GY, B, GY, RY, O, RY, GY, Y, GY, GR

10. Unlock Every Item GRBO, GRYB, GRYO, GBYO, GRYB, RYBO, GRYB, GYBO, GRYB, GRYO, GRYO, GRYB, GRYO

Guitar Hero 3 Wii aka Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Cheats

More Notes: There are many guitars not in the store but are available for purchase after completing tasks. How to unlock the guitar is in bold

Bat Guita- Five Star every song in Career Mode on Easy
Beach Life Bass- Beat Co-Op on Hard
El Jefe Guitar- 5-star all songs in Expert mode.
Jolly Roger Guitar- Five Star every song in Career Mode on Medium
Moon Shot Guitar- Beat Career Mode on Easy

Nemesis 13 Guitar- Beat Co-Op Career Mode on any difficulty
Neversoft Skateboard Guitar- 5 star every song on Expert Co-Op Career
Pendulaxe- Beat Co-Op- Career on Expert
Radioactive Beat- Co-op- Career mode on Hard
Risk Assessment Guitar- Complete Expert mode.
Rojimbo Guitar- Beat Career Mode on Hard
Saint George Guitar- Beat Career Mode on Medium
Tiki Guitar- every song in career on hard mode

Through the Fire and the Flames you can beat Career Mode on Any Difficulty

To unlock TTFAF, you must beat Career mode on any difficulty.
While the credits role, you will play TTFAF in no-fail From then on, TTFAF can be found in the bonus songs section.

Malware Free Game Cheats Resource Sites

NO malware or foistware, notorious on some even large “cheat sites” found.

Yes- dad checks.

GameFAQs: Guitar Hero III Cheats & Secrets
GamePro.com: Guitar Hero III Cheats
NeoSeeker: Guitar Hero III Cheats

Thanks again to Maholo billed as human search and how do I know?

Evan D made a Guitar Hero 3 Song List.

Mark B found all the best Guitar Hero III Cheats.
Adam created a page on How to Play Guitar Hero 3..

I am pleased they found nothing on me, for a change, and exactly what I wanted. Hat Tip Jason Calacanis for propogating a malware free “god mode” while even under Alpha status. I got the alpha, alpha, alpha…can’t wait to see beta, beta, omega…if you are Google everything is perpetually beta and if you are Microsoft it is called “shipped”, or a feature, or has a code name that changes three to four times coupled with twice as many skunkwork operation codenames signed in triplicate with lots of NDAs.

As a side bonus, friend and kung-fu, smack down, security ace, Chris Boyd doesn’t have to beat the crap out of any asshat with the much used “beat down stick” or my personal preference “the baton of reason”…for a nice change…

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share This

Obsession with Tests

Lately I have received a lot of links in my e-mail to online personality tests, compatability tests, etc. It seems that Facebook is one giant “fun quiz”. I left school because of all of the tests- still they haunt me. However for all you gluttons of punishment here is a battery of OOS tests. (Read the privacy policy.) They charge nothing and try to provide you with the results as soon as you submit your answers. Your privacy is important to them, per them, and in some cases the results are often used in research. ahem- on with the the tests. My favorite was Find Your Star Wars twin. If I found them- I would run.

Twins: An Interactive Personality Test
This site lets any two people, regardless if you’re actually twins, compare your personality and behaviors on a number of criteria. This test utilizes well accepted psychology instruments and gives you instant, free, and anonymous feedback on some aspects of your personality and behaviors. You’ll learn a bit about your personality, and optionally, a bit about some of your past behaviors and experiences.

You don’t need a twin or second person to fill our survey out: you’ll still get meaningful results in the preliminary results. The data from this site is being used for twin research.

Are you a Freak?
A psychology test which measures your need-for-uniqueness level. Take this freak test to find out just how unique you really are! Please, this is for posterity’s sake, so honesty counts — you won’t get an accurate answer unless you actually answer seriously!

The Morality Test
Discover what your morals say about your personality! This test examines those aspects of thought and behavior that relate to commonly accepted notions of right and wrong. The following survey assesses your moral attitudes, particularly as they relate to your religious and cultural background. By “moral” they mean those aspects of thought and behavior that relate to commonly accepted notions of right and wrong, and to selfish and unselfish actions.

One need not be religious to be “moral,” although religions do tend to espouse moral codes of behavior. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions, and your responses are anonymous, so please be as honest as you can.

You will receive feedback about your moral attitudes, relative to those of other respondents to this survey. You will also receive feedback about your personality, relative to other survey respondents. Read their consent form, which explains your rights as well as the benefits of this free, anonymous test. Answer these questions honestly; otherwise you won’t get an accurate answer.

Do-Re-Mi’s: What Your Music Tastes Say About You
Find out what personality traits you have based upon your musical tastes! This test reveals your music tastes on four different dimensions and explains your personality based on these factors. What does your taste in music say about your personality? Find out with this quiz! This psychology test will tell you how other people see you based on what types of music you listen to. Results are instant, free, and anonymous.

Big Five Personality Test
This test measures what many psychologists consider to be the fundamental dimensions of personality.
Take this psychology test to find out about your personality! This test measures what many psychologists consider to be the five fundamental dimensions of personality. As you are rating yourself, you are encouraged to rate another person. By rating someone else you will tend to receive a more accurate assessment of your own personality. Also, you will be given a personality profile for the person you rate, which will allow you to compare yourself to this person on each of five basic personality dimensions. Try to rate someone whom you know well, such as a close friend, coworker, spouse, or other family member.

Are you a blurter or a brooder?
…and how this affects your love life
Who is right for you? How does the way you deal with your emotions influence your relationship satisfaction? This test measures a personality characteristic that determines who you relate to most effectively. Who is right for you? How does the way you deal with your emotions influence your relationship satisfaction? This psychology test will give you information about yourself and also act as a guide to your relationships. This test, the Brief Loquaciousness and Interpersonal Responsiveness Test (hence b.l.i.r.t.), measures a personality characteristic that determines who you relate to most effectively.

The test was written by psychologists at University of Texas and is valid according to rigorous scientific standards.

Find Your Star Wars Twin

Using a standard personality psychology test, this website can tell you which traits you have in common with characters from the Star Wars movies.

Read our consent form, which explains the benefits of this free, anonymous test and your rights.
Answer these questions honestly; otherwise you won’t get an accurate answer.
This test is free; your results will be displayed as soon as you submit your answers.
The test will take around 5 to 10 minutes.
The test was written by a psychologist at U. C. Berkeley — it is well-accepted and widely used in the personality field of psychology.
Learn more about the Big Five by reading answers to commonly asked questions.

About the OutofService.com Tests

From the site and creator Jeff Potter.

OutOfService.com, created by Jeff Potter, has run personality and self-awareness tests since 1997. The tests are derived from scientific psychological research and the feedback provided to participants is based on statistical analyses of large amounts of data, unlike many other “tests” on the web.

Many of the tests on OutOfService have been developed in collaboration with several respected researchers and professors as parts of ongoing research. Most notably, Dr. Samuel Gosling of the University of Texas has provided thoughtful guidance and opportunities. [But any errors on the site are mine and mine alone! -Jeff] The site has been featured in everything from tabloids and underground zines to the New York Times, US News & World Report, CNN, the London Metro, the BBC, ABC News, Slashdot, and even the SciFi channel. In the first five years, the site has received many millions of unique visitors, and word continues to spread.

The feedback given to visitors like you is based on the average scores of tens of thousands of responses, taken from this same website. Your results are generalizations that show only how your responses compare to those of an average web surfer. We’ve done comparisons between traditional and web-based methodologies, and while differences do exist, they are very minor. This means that your results are good representations of your personality, in general.

We want to emphasize that we are talking about generalizations here, and these generalizations don’t apply to all people. To illustrate, consider the generalization that men are generally taller than women. This does not mean that every man is taller than every woman. Instead, it means that, on average, men are taller than women. This same logic applies to the feedback that is given on this site: it generally describes your personality quite well, but if it doesn’t fit, you may be an exception to the rule!

The name OutOfService can mean two things: a sign that something is in disrepair, or that the matter at hand has been done out of service for the benefit of all. Hopefully you will find the fun nature of the tests on this site to be thought-provoking and the results enlightening.

Privacy and The OOS Tests

Again from their site:

outofservice.com respects your privacy! Any information regarding you collected from this site will be treated as confidential as described in this document.

This site collects the following types of data on visitors: web log files detailing which web pages are visited and psychology data recording visitor’s replies.

Web log files are kept for my use in analyzing traffic patterns on this site and improving the site for users like you. They are not shared with anyone, nor is any attempt made to link the log data with individuals who browse the site.

Psychology test data is recorded for psychology tests on this web site and is used for academic purposes by professors and research staff at accredited universities and reviewed institutions. The results of this data is analyzed and released in aggregate statistics, usually in academic journals and conferences. By submitting a survey to outofservice, you acknowledge that your answers will be recorded. Your answers are entirely anonymous and you will never be identified individually; your answers cannot be connected with your name or identity.

- Free IQ Tests with Social Networking. Tickle offers tests on relationship, career, style & beauty, mind & body and family. Their most popular tests, per their ranking methods, include: Are You a Secure Lover? ,The Attraction Factor, How Bright Is Your Aura? , Ayurveda Body Type Test , The Influence of Birth Order, The Brain Test ,The Brainteaser Test,The Chakra Test ,Career Personality Test ,The Communication Style Test,The Confidence Test ,The Corporate Culture Test , and What’s Your Destiny?

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share This

An interesting reflection by RoboJiannis on Torrentspy and evidence, Apple and ChangeSecret and Yahoo!, Baidu, China and infringement. Is this really all about putting the Web (the Net) under control? (ChangeMod (abbreviated from change mode) appears to be a play on words on the shell command in Unix and Unix-like environments known as Chmod)

Jiannis’ piece quotes some snippets from Barlow’s manifesto- the critical Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace written in 1996…

Snippets from the Manifesto

Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather….

…Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us. They are all based on matter, and there is no matter here….

…In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States, you are trying to ward off the virus of liberty by erecting guard posts at the frontiers of Cyberspace. These may keep out the contagion for a small time, but they will not work in a world that will soon be blanketed in bit-bearing media…

…We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before.

John Perry Barlow, of Davos, Switzerland, penned this manifesto on February 8, 1996, A declaration of the independence of cyberspace. Barlow is also known as a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization which promotes freedom of expression in digital media where he now serves as its Vice Chairman.

Do you recall the words of the declaration of the independence of cyberspace- written over a decade ago? That is a long time in the computing era. (I have made some edits made for clarity based on today’s ChangeMode feedback post and comments. This shows that I am suffering from dementia perhaps…

(While we are at it I would love to find a definitive source on the lost art of netiquette.)

The Triad of Developments

The Changemod.com piece goes on to recap a triad of disturbing developments:

TorrentSpy, a Peer-to-Peer Network, according to the verdict of a California judge has violated copyrights owned by the MPAA. TorrentSpy was also found guilty of destroying evidence e.g. example deleting logs of user IP adresses. In the Blogosphere- recall the debate over Apple getting the Think Secret blog shut down- although the settlement was “amicable”. A quick stop to China which found Yahoo! guilty of copyright infringement. The rub is that China wasn’t actually serving up any pirated music. They were simply engaged in “deep linking.”

Further Reading

Chris Marshall of Gadgetell’s Torrent Spy and Guilty Verdict

Mashable’s Kriten Nicole Torrent Spy Loses Cast Against Hollywood Heavyweights

Mashable’s Andy Angelos: TorrentSpy Defies Court Order and Rekindles Hollywood Angst

Apple and Think Secret Settlement

Mashable’s Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins Yahoo! China Found Guilty of Copyright Infringement

Bryan Gardiner from Wired Apple Kills Think Secret: Publisher Nick Ciarelli Talks

Philosophy behind Freenet Covers free flow of information, communication is humanity, knowledge is good, democracy assumes a well informed population, censorship and freedom, solutions, anonymity, copyrights, rewards, alternatives and new approaches like Fairshare.

Eff.org: From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990 — well before the Internet was on most people’s radar — and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.

Books on Freedom of Speech

Conclusions…

The author of the ChangeMod.com piece concludes:

I believe it all comes down to this: The cyberspace is increasingly gaining in popularity and everybody wants a piece of the pie; and control is the way to get that piece.

My own Conclusion

I found this quote from EFF’s Mike Godwin located on the The Free Network Project. Freenetproject.org provides free software which lets people publish and obtain information on the Internet without fear of censorship. The network is entirely decentralized and publishers and readers of information are anonymous. FreeNet believes without anonymity there can never be true freedom of speech, and without decentralization the network will be vulnerable to attack. Some may disagree with anonymity but I find decentralization to be technically on target.

“I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though she’s too young to have logged on yet. Here’s what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 years from now, she will come to me and say ‘Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press away from the Internet?’”
–Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share This

Following was passed to me from a trusted colleague. As with any coordinated attack in Second Life it may or may not materialize. I would recommend SIM owners being alert. If none of this makes sense to you then it is not a problem you have to contend with. For some reason this reminds me of my interview with the SLLA (Second Life Liberation Army). so long ago .They apparently have NOTHING to do with this “Raid”, and again this is a general warning. Take it for what it is worth…

ADDENDUM: Per the original author’s request I have redacted certain parts of the notecard, which is academic given this threat has passed.

=== PN Raid Warning ===

When :
* Friday, November 16th, 2007

* Starts at 17:00 hours EST (22:00 hours GMT, 14:00 PDT) and is
expected to last around 4 hours.

* Even after the raid is over, there may be increased levels of
griefing the rest of the day and the following weekend.

Where : (Redacted at Publisher Request)