Sunday, August 19, 2012

Topic 6 - Semantic Web

DGTL 12002 Assignment Task 6

10 July 2012

Semantic Web

Week 6 questions
1) Personal comment about the advantages and risks involved in social graph technologies.
2) Using readings from this week and other items you may have researched for yourself about ‘Social Graph’, discuss the pros and cons of this kind of personal data interlinking.

Advantages and Risks in Social Graph Technologies

A social graph describes "the global mapping of everybody and how they're related", Fitzpatrick, 'Social Graph: Concepts and Issues' (viewed 20 August 2012).

Social media sites and apps being downloaded and accessed to this date are growing at a rapid rate. Many of these applications require a social graph to link people and information together. Social graphs are important as they contain viable information needed to allow apps and other software to work together synergistically.

ADVANTAGES

I believe some advantages associated with 'social graph' technologies are

the ability to make web data more accessible to users,
they can make the web more user friendly,
it is easier to find new friends and understand how people relate to you.

As Brad Fitzpatrick explained in 'Introduction to the social graph' (viewed 20 August 2012), Graph API will be able to suggest friends to you through your online identity website. This could be either a social media or your personal/business website. It will expand your network and link many friends to you.

RISKS

Risks involved with social graph technologies include

privacy issues around the security of your information,
ownership of information,
possibilities for hackers to get into your account and access your information.

In his blog 'Social Graph: Concepts and Issues', (viewed 20 August 2012), Iskold quoted Fitzpatrick "One problem is that you currently need many logins for all the different social media sites you are a member of”. He also speaks of some risk issues “Another issue is portability and ownership of an individual’s information, explicitly and implicitly revealed while using social media”.

The impact of this I feel could be extremely negative.

FOAF

3) Why you might or why you might not make such a foaf file available to the world at large?

It may not be a good idea to make a foaf file available to the world at large because of the risk of allowing the computer thinking for me. There is a risk my information could be too easily available for others to see.

If my foaf file were in cyberspace and connected with other types of electrical gadgets and smart accessories, chance meetings with other foaf members would happen too often and would seem completely unnatural. It could also be a problem because there may be too many friend suggestions coming through and links to people you may not like. I could feel loss of control and my freedom could be taken away and the integrity of my social site-map out there in cyberspace could be compromised.

Other issues could arise such as privacy, information and identity theft. Programs could be created to bypass the security and use my information for data analysis.
As a casual social networker I would be quite annoyed with interference from a computer source and could do without the friend prompting.

Figure 1 shows the application form for a foaf profile. This page can be embedded into any webpage.

Figure 2 shows visually what a foaf network looks like.

figure 1: FOAF-a-Matic (viewed 20 August 2012)

figure 2: FoaF: the 'friend of a friend' project (viewed 21 August 2012)

References

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Brad Fitzpatrick, Introduction to the Social Graph (viewed 20 August 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LabCylbapuM&feature=youtu.be

FOAF-a-Matic (viewed 20 August 2012)

http://www.ldodds.com/foaf/foaf-a-matic

Foaf Project Blog 'A purpose of Foaf' (viewed 20 July 2012)

http://blog.foaf-project.org/page/4/

FoaF: the 'friend of a friend' project (viewed 21 August 2012)

http://rdfweb.org/foaf/

Social Graph: Concepts and Issues (viewed 20 July 2012)

http://www.readwriteweb.com /archives/social_graph_concepts_and_issues.php

What is a social graph- Concepts and Issues (viewed 20 August 2012)
http://hackingalert.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/what-is-social-graph-concepts-and.html

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Topic 5 - Api and mashups Web Generations

DGTL 12002 Assignment Task 5

10 August 2012

Api and mashups

Week 5 question
1) Familiarise yourself with the range of API's in the Google Maps family
2) Find a site of significance via google maps
3) Imagine a unique service that could be provided linking maps to other programmes or data.

What is an API?The editors from 'Programmable Web' (viewed 10 August 2012) suggests an API (application programming interface) to have a set of functions that one computer program makes available to other programs so they can talk directly.

Seeking a deeper understanding on how APIs work, I found the description of the Facebook API to clarify this.
"The Facebook API is a platform for building applications that are available to the members of the social network of Facebook. The API allows applications to use the social connections and profile information to make applications more involving, and to publish activities to the news feed and profile pages of Facebook, subject to individual users privacy settings. With the API, users can add social context to their applications by utilizing profile, friend, page group, photo, and event data. The API uses RESTful protocol and responses are localized and in XML format" 'Facebook API' (viewed 10 August 2012).

Site of Significance A site of significance that shows google mapping is 'mibazaar' (viewed 10 August 2012).

The site has 3 API's.

Google Mapping - Google map code embedding,
Yahoo Geocoding Web Service - This allows you to find the specific latitude and longitude for an address,
YouTube - It provides the capability to search for videos, retrieve standard feeds, and see related content.

figure 1: mibazaar (viewed 10 August 2012)

Mibazaar site provides information on celebrities. Details such as where the celebrities are from, star popularity through TV/web and how much the individual earns.

My idea for an API
A Google Maps API would be a great implementation in an App for a music concert or festival. I could imagine a service providing mashups and APIs being of 'value' servicing people who will attend different types of events. The mashup site will then allow the user to feel at ease knowing they can pre-programme for the event they are attending. There will be a need to obtain the App through good marketing when people know of its availability.

Some of the key features would include:

Google Map display of the venue,
who's playing on what stage, where and when, lost and found, St Johns Ambulance, location of restrooms,
alerts and reminders to go off prior to start of individual concert event. An addition to a Map will help predict the time it will take to get from the point where you are at to the next place you want to be,
a programme planner could automatically be created when the user types in the band names they wish to see while at the concert,
Others logged on will be able to see if anyone from their contact list is at the venue (but only if they allow it) through using their Google Maps API.

I would use a mashup of combining data from BOM(Bureau of Meteorology), Google Maps for venue and location services, public services affecting the area such as news, internal sources of data including customer alerts.

The user would need to download this app through a website or app store.

figure 2: example of working Google Map.

View Larger Map

Figure 3 shows example of where you would go and get the Australian Bureau of Meteorology API.

The button on the left that suggests clicking it tracks the API. The site offers a search menu to find other APIs, mashups and code developers. It is an informative website.

Figure 4 shows a search page for an API.

figure 3: (viewed 6 August 2012)

figure 4: search page for a news API (viewed 6 August 2012)

References

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Mashups in the Enterprise (viewed 6 August 2012)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb906060.aspx

mibazaar (viewed 10 August 2012)
http://www.mibazaar.com/top100celebrities/

Facebook API (viewed 10 August 2012)
http://www.programmableweb.com/api/facebook

Programmable Web (viewed 10 August 2012)
http://www.programmableweb.com/faq#Q2

Search page for a news API (viewed 6 August 2012)
http://www.programmableweb.com/search/news

Monday, July 30, 2012

Topic 4 - Innovation

DGTL 12002 Assignment Task 4

30 July 2012

Tracing Innovation in Social Media

Week 4 question
Social media music video project. Discuss wether or not you think this is innovative in terms of Social Media, produsage and crowdsourcing.

Does the music video from the website 'One frame of Frame' show innovation through social media, crowdsourcing and produsage?

I agree the music video 'frame by frame' (viewed 30 July 2012) is innovative and a great concept however I do not believe it is classed as a 'new to the world innovation'.

figure 1: Frame by frame video (viewed 30 July 2012)

I found the video to be interesting yet annoying. The flickering of the images started hurting my eyes and I didn't really know what was going on. I could only watch half of it and could not take it anymore. I was concerned there were no warnings on the site about the possibilities of the video causing epileptic fits.

On the positive side, the website is well set up for social media. It seems like a great place to participate in a working piece of art. The concept of getting people to do all the work for a little piece of recognition and fame and for the love of art is brilliant. It seems the concept has been done before so it does not sit in the 'new to world' category. The website is useful and a creative way for the public to be a part of an ongoing crowdsourcing project. The video seemed to be a good example of crowdsourcing. This was evident through the use of getting many people actively involved in the creation of the video. People will visit the site and show their friends resulting in the cycle being created again. At the time of viewing this video, there had been 36735 people who had participated. That is an amazing effort for crowdsourcing.

Examples of produsage are evident through the dedicated individuals and management teams who have distributed content of the video through the community of participants. The video is an ongoing project and is aways under development. This is a key figure of produsage.

Another example of Crowdsourcing

When googling for more information on crowdsourcing I found another really good project. It is called the 'Johnny Cash Project- Crowdsourced video at its best' (viewed 30 July 2012). What I liked about this example was that the crowd (public) was given the chance to recreate scenes for Johnny Cash's last song. The scenes had been drawn by hundreds of artists and then pieced together to create cartoon like images that would make up the entire video clip. The art was amazing and the images produced were of quality. The dedication of fans contributing to Johnny's life as a musician is unbelievable.

figure 2: Johnny Cash Project(viewed 30 July 2012)

figure 3: Johnny Cash Project(viewed 30 July 2012)

Both images above are a few seconds apart from the Johnny Cash Project. There are approximately 8 frames a second. I recommend viewing it.

References

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Frame by frame video (viewed 30 July 2012) http://oneframeoffame.com/

Johnny Cash Project (viewed 30 July 2012) http://www.reelseo.com/johnny-cash-project/

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Topic 3 - Interactivity

DGTL 12002 Assignment Task 3

18 July 2012

Identifying types of Interaction and their uses in social media

Week 3 question
Write a review analysing the types of interactivity that the campaign engaged.

The marketing campaign for the 'best job in the world' was created by a very clever marketing team. What made it successful was the usage of already established communications avenues and the brilliant idea of landing a 'dream job' in a beautiful place. The hype around the world was huge and people were interacting with various social media wanting to know more. Queensland's tourism industry was strengthened while advertising went world wide. People from all over the world were encouraged to apply for the position.

Tourism Queensland started their global job campaign in newspapers, online job recruitment agencies and posters. There were TV ads, news coverage and brochures from all over the world promoting it. A short time later the advertising was put online and onto the social networking sites. It then went viral.

Through 'User to User interaction' (Mc Millan's Traditions of Interactivity) and visitations to various websites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Youtube and 'Bens Blog- The Caretakers Blog' (viewed 20 July 2012), I was able to understand the important role social media has in advertising and communication. I agree with Hepburn, 'Best Job in the World Campaign Study' (viewed 21 July 2012) that it was a huge success. The marketing team cleverly linked all ads back to their webpage 'islandreefjob.com' to keep the interest running. It was also stated it was the first campaign to ever win top awards.

To this date, the ourawardentry.com webpage states that 34,684, one minute video job applications from 197 countries had entered and over 475,000 votes for Wild Card applicants.

Web stats also showed of 8,465,280 unique visits, 55,002,415 page views with an 8.25 minutes average time spent, Best Job, 'YouTube' (viewed 21 July 2012).

figure 1: Online Recruitment Ad, YouTube, (viewed 20 July 2012)

Interaction proved successful in the marketing. The popularity of YouTube was a key strength in spreading the campaign. The video tempted people into visiting Hamilton Island and Queensland through the use of images of Island life such as snorkelling, fish feeding, island hopping and other relaxing activities. The interest was there and people were posting in their 60 second videos at an astonishing rate. Numerous people applying for the job or not were enticed into watching others application videos, resulting in an interactive 'frenzy'.

Matthijs Roumen adds on his blog site 'Best Job in the World Viral Success', (viewed 20 July 2012) "The fact that the video is highly entertaining and the underlaying thought of actually applying for the job makes it go viral. People simply love to spread things that are This statement really drew me into the world of 'viral videos'.

Lexi Klain also states 'The Best Job in the World:social media and destination marketing' (viewed 20 July 2012), "In order to apply for this dream job, the candidates had to create and submit a 60-second video of themselves!"

Social Networking sites such as Facebook also received many his.

figure 2: Facebook page, (viewed 20 July 2012)

Facebook was a great tool to promote the job. Pictures speak a thousand words and many people across the globe being members access this. It was a great way to get people talking. It suggested interests into other linked sites that were also good for Tourism Queensland.

figure 3: Twitter, (viewed 20 July 2012)

Twitter was also effective in spreading the hype. The tweets promoted the job, holiday packages, competitions and up-to-date information on the whole campaign.

The 'User to Document Interaction' in this instance was only for the shortlist of applicants who made it through to the next stage. Those that got through were then required to upload a short video about the islands or watch the cd, 'Get the Best Job in the World' (viewed 20 July 2012).

The competition was won by Britain's Ben Southall. He continues to promote the area through Tourism Queensland and has a regular blog at blog.queensland.com. I also discovered another of Ben's sites at www.bestjobben.com.

figure 4: Bens Twitter page
(visited 20 July 2012)

Ben is still keeping us informed with his daily adventures. His exciting life will keep people tuned in for a while to come. He has turned into a celebrity. It's hard not to feel a little envious of his endeavours.

figure 5: Best job in the world, (viewed 20 July 2012)

References

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Bens's Blog (viewed 20 July 2012)

www.islandreefjob.com

Ben Southall on Twitter (viewed 20 July 2012)
http://twitter.com/Bensouthall/

Best Job in the World, YouTube (viewed 21 July 2012).
http://www.ourawardentry.com.au/bestjob/results.html

Best Job in the World Campaign Study (viewed 21 July 2012)
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/best-job-in-the-world-case-study/

Best Job in the World Viral Success (viewed 20 July 2012)

http://www.viralblog.com/social-media/best-job-in-the-world-australias-viral-success/

Facebook (viewed 20 July 2012)
https://www.facebook.com/visitqueensland

Get the Best Job in the World (viewed 20 July 2012)
http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Office/Story/A1Story20090111-113776.html

Online Recruitment Ad, YouTube (viewed 20 July 2012)
http://www.ourawardentry.com.au/bestjob/youtubechannel.html

The Best Job in the World:social media and destination marketing (viewed 20 July 2012)
http://www.howorth.com.au/index.php/2009/05/the-best-job-in-the-world-social-media-and-destination-marketing/

Twitter (viewed 20 July 2012)
http://twitter.com/Queensland

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Topic 2- Social Networking Online

DGTL 12002 Assignment Task 2

13 July 2012

Trustworthiness and Moderation within the bounds of Facebook

Week 2 question
Choose 2 terms of reference to make further comments about the site you have reviewing and the services it offers.

Facebook is a popular site. Is it trustworthy? Why do people freely hand over their personal information and what moderation is in place for Facebook members? These are the questions I will be addressing in my blog.

I believe there are weaknesses in the trustworthiness of Facebook, however there are some strengths.

Trustworthiness

Does it have the ABILITY (supplies what is promised), BENEVOLENCE (intention/faith in what the customer wants) and INTEGRITY (predictability) to it's customers?

The site has a good reputation, evident from the millions of users that have joined in good faith. When discussing trustworthiness within the world of Facebook, considerations should be made such things think about the questions that first pop into my head when signing up.

Do I trust this website?
Is my information safe?

This popularity seems to show that many people are trusting Facebook and are happy handing over their information. The visual and functionality of the interface are both just as important to me.

According to Peppers, 'Is Facebook Trustworthy' (viewed 15 July 2012) "Every couple of weeks it seems, Facebook re-defines the privacy rules that govern its member-shared information. This can be quite confusing and cause a lack of faith".

The Negative Effects of Trustworthiness

Egger states (Egger, 2000) "Consumers should be informed about the vendors privacy policy and the way confidential information is handled". I believe this to be true. It is often not talked about, proving to be a 'risk' for all users. I found that privacy rights were confusing and not easy to understand. In some areas I needed to go deeper into the system to find what I was looking for. After searching for extra information about what security settings to use, I had found the information on 'account security' was outdated, relating to a different interface and also linked to an older looking account. This frustrated me.

There are several trustworthiness issues about Facebook. One in particular is the users profile. I have personally discussed issues with friends about removing their identity. This is a cause for concern. It seems your profile can not be deleted and will always exist in cyberspace. Another concerning issue is the risk of predators stalking you. 'Childnet International (Young People and Social Networking Services, Barriers and Risks, viewed 15 July 2012) point out how recent media coverage of social networking services have focused on issues such as young people being groomed by predators, and illegal and inappropriate behaviour has caused problems by giving young people the tools to manage and negotiate risks.

Interface Properties

I have lost some faith in Facebook's ever-changing face lifts and interface design. My first impression was a good one. The interface showed familiarity and trust (Egger, 2000). It did not change for a long time, but when it did I lost that trust and familiarity. I felt at risk which made me feel like I was not in control. As a consumer, I was not ready for the changes they made. My Facebook friends and I were not happy. This update happened several times to now be the time-line Facebook as we see today.

The Positive Effects of Trustworthiness through the Interface

The digizen team explain how Facebook can be a pleasant social experience where friends can be made, groups can be formed, events and activities can be shared and opinions can be voiced. They also point out that Facebook users are able to develop personal skills and feel a sense of trust within a community, 'Young People and Social Networking Services, Benefits for Learners' (viewed 15 July 2012).

The Visual Interface
The colours chosen for the site have a trusting first impression conveyed by the use of safe colour and a lot of square fixed shapes.The various shades of blue and grey were calming, the white space made it look clean and the use of squares and rectangles was comfortable. The usability was flexible and consistent.

Below is an example of how the page looked when I first signed up on Facebook and a fantastic page of screen shots from Facebook's earlier interface.

Figure 1: Example of the Interface in 2007, Facebook
(viewed 14 July 2012)

My Personal Experience
When I joined up around five years ago. I didn't know much about social networking sites. I didn't even create an account with MySpace because I didn't know much about it. I had a small handful of friends who were members, so I felt safe that my information was not going to go too far. The basic interface was easy to navigate around there were limited choices. The experience was enjoyable.

Moderation

Moderation in the Facebook site refers to the 'Centre Management' within the social networking site. The centre management is somewhere you can go to when something is needs to be sorted out. Through using this feature the user will feel more in control of what is posted on their wall.

Below are some examples:

Figure 2: Example of a moderation block list

Figure 3: Example of a profanity block list

Figure 4: Example of typing out a moderation block list

Facebook allows a keyword moderation block list that enables a profanity block list control. This is good because it will filter wall posts and comments for your wall. As long as you're an administrator, you will be allowed to control this from the management permissions tab in the admin area.

Administrators will be able to control the profanity filter by choosing strong, medium or none. There are no lists of bad words to choose from for your filter. It is something the user will need to add individually if they wish.

Spam- The spam settings inside Facebook are improving and their functionality seems to be consistent. There seems to be much moderation available within the site free of charge.

References

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Childnet International 'Young People and Social Networking Services', Barriers and Risks (viewed 15 July 2012)
http://www.digizen.org/socialnetworking/risks.aspx

Egger,F., 2000, "Trust me, I'm an online vendor: Towards a Molel of Trust for E-commerce System Design", Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems CHI '00 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, ACI Press.

Example of the Interface in 2007 (viewed 14 July 2012)

http://www.programmerfish.com/facebook-user-interface-changes-over-time/

Facebook (viewed 19 July 2012)
https://www.facebook.com/

Facebook Adds Keyword Moderation and Profanity Block lists to Pages (viewed 19 July 2012)

http://www.insidefacebook.com/2011/02/10/keyword-moderation-profanity-blocklist/accessed 19/07/2012

Is Facebook Trustworthy (viewed 15 July 2012)

http://www.peppersandrogersgroup.com/blog/2010/05/is-facebook- trustworthy-i- thin.html

Young People and Social Networking Services, Benefits for Learners (viewed 15 July 2012).

http://www.digizen.org/socialnetworking/benefits.aspx