$100 laptop to sell public (BBC)

One Laptop Per Child’s G1G1 XO Plan is Punting to the Pilots (OLPC News - independent site)

official XO Laptop site

No commentary this time. I just really want one.

This is a very common sentiment I’ve come across when considering the boom in social networking software. Kids and teens, I hear people say, should unplug from their monitors and “go outside”. It’s a natural idea to be sure. But I believe it’s a superficial response. If kids are going to unplug, where will they go?

What did youth do before they allegedly wasted hours burning out their retinas and distracting their brain cells online? If young (N. American, middleclass) users offramped themselves from their hi-speed information highway, where would they go, free and untethered? What I seem to gather is that when people suggest “going outside” they are implying that healthy children would run together in little packs around their suburban neighbourhoods and parks, interacting together IRL, jogging off the growing prevalence rates of childhood obesity and suchlike. Is this idea realistic?

I’m afraid I don’t have any theoretical background in discourse regarding public space, but you don’t need to be highly educated to recognize a general trend towards the erosion/privatization of public space. (Schools and university campuses being a great example!) In Toronto, public space is no longer a part of a social status quo, it’s become a grassroots/political concern. Acts that are not intrinsically consumerist in nature have now become defaulted to a corporate space (e.g. going for coffee). This may be acceptable to an older demographic, but younger people often do not have the income, nor the means (e.g. driver’s license) to seek alternatives. When we say “go outside” what do we really mean? Is a strip mall really better than MySpace or ytmnd? At least with an online community, users have a chance to express themselves and creatively respond to their environment!

In addition to the trend of lost public space, there has been perhaps, a resurgence in the idea of private space, which is the conclusion I draw from observing trends in home ownership, home reno, personal entertainment centers, gaming etc. It’s not just kids who aren’t going outside. How often does the average Canadian parent go out for recreational activities? To public spaces e.g. community programs, parks etc.?

If you consider the amenities available to younger people, especially those who are atomized by urban sprawl and cuts to public services, it makes a great deal of sense that they are spending so much time online. So that’s my response to the question of why they aren’t going outside. Now, the real question is what the effects of this spatial shift are.

In 24 hours, Avaaz.org, an internet advocacy organization managed to mobilize over 20000 Canadians to send a letter to our Minister of Environment to criticize the current government’s change in commitment to the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. To put this into perspective, Chris Crocker’s recent “LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE” youtube video received over 2 million hits within 24 hours. Nevertheless, Avaaz’s campaign has been successful, due to a few crucial factors:

graphic design
The site design is simple, direct, current and familiar, down to its 2.0 friendly colours.

usability design

The design has basically made it extremely easy to send a letter. There’s no research required, the letter has already been written, so all you need to do is fill out a few text boxes and click send.

Spreading the word is also made easy by allowing you to import your email addresses.

time constraint
Every salesperson knows that the possibility of an expiry date - even a vague one - pressures people into buying (e.g. Offer ends soon! While supplies last!). This situation is no different and I suspect that the 24 hour deadline was a major factor in mobilizing so many letters.

energy bar
There must be an official design term for this, but I’m talking about the energy meter you see in video games that represents how much more ass kicking is required of you to kill the boss. Avaaz changed the bar from 20000 to 25000 to give a visual representation of their efforts vs a final goal, which can be a great motivator.

awareness
Climate change has been sufficiently branded so that the site does not require lengthy text based exposition or education spread out over numerous pages/external sites. Everyone is aware of the issue and consensus is building regarding the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Using the same technology, this project would probably not have developed in the manner it did 10 or even 5 years ago (although the post oil crisis years/early 80s could have provided a similar context for success).

p.s. topic for another day - why the language of virology and immunology works (or doesn’t?) within internet related discourse.

This is an incredibly belated review of the mesh 07 conference, which was held May 30-31 at the MaRS Collaboration Centre. You can access audiovisual content over at the mesh blog or read a review by co-panelist Adam MacIsaac.

Unlike the International Open Forum on e-Learning and Standardization (my review here), this conference was far more oriented towards networking and business. Many of the people attending had startup experience so there were some very self initiating and creative personalities in the mix. (I emphasize the word “personality” because in this type of fluid and innovative environment, having a visionary, charismatic character and the ability to speak well and inspire others is paramount.) Although the majority of attendees were working from profit/business models with different values and goals, it was very educational to hear their perspectives (I was representing TakingITGlobal, a non-profit organization). The other panels and workshops and even casual conversations certainly sparked some good ideas for improving the TIG website.

TIG’s participation was centered on the panel conversation: The Always-On Generation - What Do Youth Do with the Web? which was moderated by Kimia Ghomeshi (Project Coordinator, CLC Canada).
The panelists were:
- Laila Adassi (Community Relations Advisor, TELUS Communication Inc.)
- Caitlin Ingram (our youngest panelist, representing a younger generation of users)
- Adam MacIssac (PEI Youth Engagement Coordinator, CLC Canada
- Hugh Switzer (Privacy Officer, TakingITGlobal)
- and of course, myself (I was an Online Community Consultant for TIG at the time)

We covered a variety of topics related to changing attitudes and behaviours regarding online use. The audience was mainly interested in the impact of social networking software/p2p software and how that related to young users’ relationships, youth consumer habits, privacy issues, and intellectual property. This broke down further into two main camps: concerned parents and those who were interested in the youth demographic as a consumer market although there were individuals who did not attend with those interests in mind.

My major concern with this panel was the tendency for audience members to overgeneralize youth. Although we were acting as representatives of young users, I felt that there was a tendency for our differences in perspective were overlooked, as if a group of people as diverse and broad as “youth” could be distilled into a singular voice. I did not agree with some fellow panelists responses as I’m sure they did not always agree with mine. (In fact, I recently read a blog review of the panel which I felt misrepresented our speakers and attributed views to me which I never endorsed, nor believe in. I was tempted to reply, but I always follow my number one rule to internet interaction: never engage online with someone when you are irritated or upset. It was also in that moment I realized I’ll never be able to fully control how I’m represented online - a topic for a different post!)

Overall, I felt the audience enjoyed the panel and they asked some thought provoking questions. Each panelist had a good chance to speak and the mesh schedule, which had very long breaks, allowed for the continuation of the discussion afterwards; panelists were approached by audience members well into the next day of the conference.

I’m migrating from my blog @ TakingITGlobal to Wordpress, so if you’d like to play catch up, here’s the url: http://esum.tigblog.org/