July 2007 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Social networking hobby sites
by mhward 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

There is a new a social networking site for people with fibre hobbies (knitters, spinners, weavers, crocheters etc): http://www.ravelry.com/ In a matter of weeks over 17,000 people are either in the site or on a waiting list - the developers have had to put up a form so people can check where they are on the list to save their own sanity. They have been able to give up their day jobs and work on this fulltime, although it's not clear to me how the money is flowing to them personally. The site is still in beta, which is why they aren't giving all comers free access. Techcrunch recently poured some sarcasm on this (knitting is often portrayed very negatively on tech sites), but some of the comments are interesting: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/15/lets-get-down-to-some-hard-core-knittin g/ Does anyone know of other hobby social networking sites like this that have such big numbers of members/would-be members? I guess that flickr and u-tube would qualify, although they are perhaps less 'niche', but are there others? M-H

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AoIR Elections 2007
by Matthew Allen 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

Dear all AoIR will shortly commence the process of electing a new Executive Committee to take office in October this year to serve until October 2009. We are seeking members' interest in nominating for the new executive and providing notice for everyone of the voting timeline and procedures. Here is an overview of the election timeline, procedures and positions for nomination, as determined strictly by the Association's by-laws. Voting instructions will be provided later and separately. **Please note the different timing for officers and other positions** TIME FRAME OF THE ELECTION: 1. Call for Nominations: July 14, 2007 2. Nominations close for the 4 officer positions: July 28, 2007 Nominations close for the 1 grad student and 3 open seats on the executive: August 13, 2007 3. Ballot sent to members August 14, 2007 4. Voting begins: August 14, 2007 5. Voting ends for 4 officer positions: August 24, 2007 Voting ends for 1 grad student and 3 open seats: September 13, 2007 The new committee is formally announced and assumes its duties at the end of the General Meeting AoIR conference, October 2007. During the period of voting, a forum will be available for discussion with candidates. Candidates' statements will also be made available with the ballot sent to members. **Please note you may submit an early nomination (see below) prior to July 14 if you are not going to be in email contact in the nomination period. Your nomination will become active on July 14** A QUICK ORGANIZATIONAL PRIMER: The organizational structure of AoIR is simple. There are 4 officers, 3 open seat representatives, 1 graduate student representative and 2 appointed positions who together with the Immediate Past President make up the 11-member executive committee that runs the show. Elected officials hold their positions for two years. In this election, you are invited to nominate yourself or anyone else whom you think would do a good job, for any position other than the President - the current Vice President assumes the Presidency. Here are brief descriptions of positions 1. President: the "CEO", supervises the organization, performs certain legally required duties. [The Current VP becomes the President] 2. Vice President: "back up" for President, various duties as they arise; *becomes President after 2 years* 3. Secretary: Handles records and membership matters. 4. Treasurer: Handles the money; liaises with secretary over membership 5. Graduate Student Representative: responsible for running graduate student acitivities (must be a grad student, but all can vote) 6-8. Open Committee Seats: Three open Seats on the Executive Committee Represent membership of AoIR, contribute to decision making. Take responsibility for specific projects or activities to promote the association within their term. 9-10. Appointed positions to manage systems and email lists 11. Immediate Past President Candidates should also familiarise themselves formal statement of duties and responsibilities in the Association's by-laws http://www.aoir.org/?q=node/113 <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://email.curtin.…> NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION PROCESSES Only a member of AoIR can run for a position, nominated by anyone. If nominated for more than one position a nominee must choose to run for one (and only one) position in this election. You may nominate yourself or another person (or people). Self Nominations: Email nominate(a)aoir.org and indicate the position for which you are nominating and you will be added to the list of nominees. Please provide, in your nomination email a short candidate statement addressing the questions below. Nominating Others: Email nominate(a)aoir.org with the name of the person you want to nominate, the position for which you are nominating this person, contact information for that person, and an indication of whether you know if this person would accept this nomination (if you don't know, we'll contact them and ask). All candidates for election will be required to provide answers to the questions listed at the end of this email, have the answers posted to the AoIR election forum website, and participate in an online candidate forum. In addition the Graduate Student candidates must confirm in their response that they comply with the by-laws: the Graduate Student Representative must be actively enrolled in a degree program at the time of nomination and election and intends to be enrolled for the coming northen academic year (defined to be September 2007-June 2008) The voting system used by AoIR is one vote per member for each of the seven positions for election listed above. Votes are counted by a ballot counter who is a member of the Association but not a member of the executive. In the case of the four officers, the candidate with the highest number of votes shall be declared the winner; in the case of the open seats, the three candidates with the highest, second-highest and third highest votes shall be declared the winners of the open seats. In the case of the Graduate Student representative, the candidate with the highest number of votes shall be declared the winner In the case of tied results for the officer positions, the winner shall be determined by the ballot counter, by drawing of lots, using a method that ensures each of the tying candidates has an equal chance of success and witnessed by at least 1 person independent of the association. In the case of tied results for the open seat positions, the drawing of lots shall be used only when there are more tied candidates than seats available. QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES 1) What is your interest in this position? 2) What are your qualifications for this position (including prior experience and participation in AoIR)? 3) What are two or three short-term goals you would like to achieve through membership of the executive (include a rationale for each and how you would contribute to their achievement)? 4) What is your long-term vision for AoIR? 5) What else should voters consider when deciding whether or not to vote for you? In answering the questions, please be concise and give information specific to the position for which you are nominating and which will permit voters to assess your case for election to that position. Dr Matthew Allen Associate Professor Internet Studies Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia m.allen(a)curtin.edu.au http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://smi.curtin.edu…> +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f) President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.aoir.org/>

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Kitchen Democracy (or is it?)
by Dan Prives 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

Kitchen Democracy Turns into Online Oligarchy A tiny nonprofit operates a web site that allows citizens to weigh in on local issues like zoning changes without attending city council meeings. But there are complaints of ballot stuffing in online polls, which a little analysis shows is a credible claim. http://www.wheremostneeded.org/2007/07/kitchen-democra.html Regards, Dan Prives Where Most Needed The Charity Industry Blog http://www.wheremostneeded.org

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Is all communication commercial?
by Robert Withers 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

I've heard that story about the cuneiform writing being commercial, but consider the following: "The cuneiform script (IPA pronunciation: [kjuˈniəˌfɔrm, ˈkjuniə-]) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Created by the Sumerians from ca. 3000 BC (with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium Uruk IV period[1]), cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs. Over time, the pictorial representations became simplified and more abstract. . . . "Originally, pictograms were drawn on clay tablets in vertical columns with a pen made from a sharpened reed stylus, or incised in stone. This early style lacked the characteristic wedge-shape of the strokes. "Certain signs to indicate names of gods, countries, cities, vessels, birds, trees, etc., are known as "determinants", and were the Sumerian signs of the terms in question, added as a guide for the reader. Proper names continued to be usually written in purely "ideographic" fashion. "From about 2900 BC, many pictographs began to lose their original function, and a given sign could have various meanings depending on context. The sign inventory was reduced from some 1,500 signs to some 600 signs, and writing became increasingly phonological. Determinative signs were re-introduced to avoid ambiguity. This process is directly parallel to, and possibly not independent of, the development of Egyptian hieroglyphic orthography." . . . This from Wikipedia. Other uses for writing mentioned include letters, reports of battles, inscriptions of the achievements of kings on stelae, and lists of the names of gods. Chinese writing is perhaps older . . . "The origin of Chinese writing is commonly placed around the XIV century b.C., around 3400 years ago. The first real "characters" are those found on the bones used for divination under the Shang and Zhou dynasties, which form the so-called jiagu wen." >From http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Palace/1757/scrittura/scritturastoria.htm Divination and naming the gods seem intuitively more likely motivators for writing than commerce. Also consider Altamira--14-18 millenia ago. When does a stick figure become a pictograph? Is all communication voodoo? Shamanism? Hunting and gathering? Cheers, Robert

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iCS webcast invitation
by bl506＠york.ac.uk 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

Dear aoir members you may in interested in the next iCS webcast which will be given by Marie Griffiths, Karenza Moore & Helen Richardson on their paper 'Celebrating Heterogeneity' which is due to take place at 2:00 pm on Thursday 26 July at the Oxford Internet Institute. If you wish to attend in person please contact the OII direct to book a place. A copy of the paper is currently available for loadloading on th ics site at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1369118x.asp Brian -- Brian D. Loader, Co-Director, Social Informatics Research Unit, Department of Sociology, Wentworth College, University of York, Heslington, YORK YO1 5DD. United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0) 1904 432639 Fax: +44 (0) 1904 433043 email: bl506(a)york.ac.uk

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CfP Metaverses
by Savvas Papagiannidis 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

Hi, This CfP of Electronic Commerce Research on metaverses may be of interest. I HAVE AN AVATAR THEREFORE I EXIST: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN METAVERSES Millions of users from around the globe participate in massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG), such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, 3D worlds that are often considered the next generation Web. With their user base growing at an exponential rate we are already experiencing the development of a phenomenon that may be as significant as the Web itself. The rapid development of MMORPGs and metaverses is likely to bring about significant business as well as social, legal, policy, methodological and technological opportunities and challenges. This special issue aims to explore these and contribute to this rapidly expanding field by focusing on issues relevant to electronic business and management. For more information: http://www.ebusiness-newcastle.com/news/article.php?id=40 Regards, Savvas ____________________________________________ Dr Savvas Papagiannidis Room 14, Armstrong Building, Business School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU. Office: ++44 (191) 2225724 Email: savvas.papagiannidis(a)ncl.ac.uk Web: http://www.ebusiness-newcastle.com Int. J. of Business Science & Applied Management Web: http://www.business-and-management.org/ Second Life Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ebusiness/125/125

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Re: [Air-l] social network migration | Flock
by Paul DiPerna 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

I don't know if Flock has been mentioned here yet.. Is this a step toward a browser-based solution for social network data issues discussed the past few weeks on this thread? http://www.flock.com/ http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=692 http://lifehacker.com/software/featured-download/flock-social-web-browser-2… Best, Paul ____________ Paul DiPerna Blau Exchange http://www.blauexchange.org email: pdiperna(a)blauexchange.org online ID: http://claimid.com/pdiperna ----- Original Message ---- From: "Lisa Jo Elliott, M.A." <lelliott(a)nmsu.edu> To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 1:49:16 PM Subject: Re: [Air-l] social network migration I agree with you, Gail. After spending a year as a usability engineer for a company that produces enterprise database software primarily to banks, two things became very clear. First, software that stores personal data is constantly changing and built in a Rube Goldberg-like fashion by the enterprise/organization using the software. The technical and development abilities within these organizations varies widely with some organizations being at a greater risk of a security breach because of the quality and experience of their technical staff. This seemed to be a function of the quality of recent computer science graduates available to the organization and less a function of managerial practices. Second, personal information is treated as any other information inherent to the business' operation. Compliance with government regulation is taken very seriously by the technical folk who manage the information, but the wider implications of personal data accessibility and unanticipated paths of data loss are not a consideration in day to day operations. In their opinion, data is a business commodity meant to be sold and shared. Subsequent to my year's experience, I have become very selective with where I do business and what spelling of my name I wish to provide. I feel that regulations should have been in place decades ago, before the "cat was out the door". Future regulation and research may wish to consider the effect of the new personal information regulations in the UK and the technological restraints it has placed on banking growth. Regards, Jo Elliott _______________________________________________ The air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/

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Reminder: CFP deadline approaching for Rio GigaNet Symposium
by Brenden Kuerbis 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

Hello, all If you intend to submit a paper to the 2007 GigaNet symposium, now is the time to complete your proposal and send it in. The official deadline is August 1, so time is getting short. You can read the complete Call for Papers here: http://internetgovernance.org/pdf/GigaNet07CFP.pdf Briefly, there is an interest in papers on: "The Changing Institutionalization of Internet Governance" -- papers can examine institutionalization theoretically, by placing it in the context of theories of international relations, international regimes, and global governance; or empirically, through critical assessment of its outcomes so far. "Toward a Development Agenda for Internet Governance" -- papers that analyze the positive and negative linkages between existing global Internet governance mechanisms and development; the possible need for new mechanisms; and the potential foundations of a holistic development agenda. "Critical Policy Issues in Internet Governance" -- examples of such policy issues would include network neutrality, digital identity, privacy/security, content regulation, intellectua l property rights/DRM, or others. Best Regards, -- Brenden Kuerbis Internet Governance Project http://internetgovernance.org

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AoIR 8.0 - Let's Play: New Hotel added and Deadline extended...
by Richard Smith 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

All you AIRcrastinators!... Get off the phone, stop writing letters with pens and paper, finish that fax you're working on... it is time to play with the internet! That's right - you have been given a reprieve. In two ways. Here are the details: HOTEL Although the Ramada is now fully booked, I've found another discount hotel (details on the wiki: http://wiki.aoir.org/index.php?title=IR8_Quality_Details) for those of you looking for a less expensive option (also $79/night AND free internet). It is a bit further away, but not crazy (1.8km or just over a mile). The Delta - right across the street - still has rooms and I can highly recommend it. A bit more expensive, sure, but you're worth every penny, aren't you? REGISTRATION The "early bird rate" has been extended for a week, until July 22. Get 'em while they're hot, folks! Stop in at the AIR registration page and let your mouse/fingers/credit card do the rest: http://www.aoir.org/?q=conf There. You've got all you need - a place to register and a place to stay when you get here. What more is there in life? Oh yeah. When will you present? That's (almost) done, too. Mia tells me she is just putting the finishing touches on things and should have the schedule posted by the end of this week. I am heading out of town for a week - a remote First Nation village that has internet connectivity via satellite - so may be slow responding. But then, you kids can take care of yourselves, right? Just keep the music down and remember to feed the cat. Hi ho. ...r -- Richard Smith, Associate Professor School of Communication Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, CANADA V6B 5K3 Phone: 778 782 5116 Web: http://www.sfu.ca/~smith/ 09-F9-11-02-9D-74-E3-5B-D8-41-56-C5-63-56-88-C0 New book!: http://arago.cprost.sfu.ca/smith/mawc

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Correction
by Derek McMillan 15 Jul '07

15 Jul '07

Yes it should have read http://www.martin4vp.info The blog address is right. My bad. Derek > I have commented before that the anti-war protests in my home town were > organised almost exclusively via a yahoo discussion group. > > At the moment the campaign for the radical Martin Powell-Davies is being > organised via a yahoo discussion group, a blog > http://electmartin.blogspot.com and a website http(a)//martin4vp.org.uk > > Martin is standing for vice president of the National Union of Teachers > but he is a radical activist in his native Lewisham and the mainstream > groups in the NUT are all opposed to his activist agenda. To be frank > they are a little old and tired and "anything for a quiet life" these > days..Martin's campaign is a direct challenge to the New Labour > government and the NUT leadership are busy shying away from that. > > I also noted that the Campaign for a New Workers' Party has a facebook > group. This is a turn-up for the book. > > > ___________________________________________________________ > How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday > snaps for FREE with Yahoo! Photos http://uk.photos.yahoo.com > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > The air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list > is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org > Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > > Join the Association of Internet Researchers: > http://www.aoir.org/ > > End of air-l Digest, Vol 36, Issue 18 > ************************************* > > > -- --- Blog http://www.derekmcmillan.com/weblog http://www.socialistteachers.org.uk/weblog ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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