LOLCODE IN UR TECHED WebJam BarCampSydney WWEE Summit

Disclaimer: this is just for LOLZ.

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  1. For further reference on LOLCATS: I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER 
  2. ps: U CAN HAS TSHIRT AT store.lolcode.com
  3. To deconstruct and see the history of LOLCATS: Anil Dash
  4. The obvious wikipedia entry for LOLCATS
  5. LOLCATS takes the memes of the internet, standardizes them with funny pictures of cats. As LOLCATS is mainstream (ref: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21988724-2,00.html and ref: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4862013.html) Oh Noes!
  6. LOLCODE: taking the language: syntax, grammar, vocabulary – but more importantly the memes of LOLCATS into an esoteric programming language Other esoteric programming languages include Var’aq, INTERCAL, and Omgrofl
  7. Mitch Denny theory: we’ll communicate in shortened phrases and memes as common understandings. eg: Star Trek:TNG episode: Darmok. Note Mitch Denny is Star Wars, not Star Trek – so this reference may be lost on Mitch.
  8. Examples:
    Stage 1: http://www.nickhodge.com/blog/archives/2025
    Stage 2: LOLCODE HAS LULZ http://forum.lolcode.com/viewtopic.php?id=304
    Stage 3: Seems that the language direction is dynamic, more like Javascript than C# 2.0 (eg: BUKKITS as arrays and slots; like )
  9. LOLCODE.net : compiles down to IL. Really big thanks to Joel Pobar for his expert comments and advice for all on LOLCODE.Net
  10. LOLCODE Specification is presently at 1.2 with lively discussion in the forums on lolcode. And an example of the community creating a language.
  11. U CAN HAS LOLCODE?

TechEd 2007: Web 2.0 Panel, Blogger’s Lunch

Panelists

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(attendance: 50 100 people, thanks Cathy for doing a correct count from the back of room!)

Philip Sim, CEO, Media Connect (blog squash) stop here for web 2.0 reality check. hates the word web 2.0. totally polemic to what the web is about, internet; fix bugs. Online news/SNS/blogging/SaaS. None of this stuff is new. A rebirth in pastel veneer.

Darren Niemke, readify. manages professional development. how to capture attention etc from enterprise. asp.net dood

Des Walsh, business coach. enjoyment of blogging/social media space. started blogging as another coach as a method of marketing. thinking home business. Post blogging from a business person’s pov. linkedin bloggers. here because of twitter.

Jane O’Connell director products and strategy at ninemsn. how balance content generated by audience vs. professionally?

Michael Platt Director, MS Corporate, WebApp Architecture.

Question 1. do you see the value of blogging? is there a real value

Philip Value of blogging, depending how much time you put into it. blogging is the best form of social networking. business communicating your cred/authority on a particular topic

Darren: access to people within MS; can hear thoughts from people who you not previous have access to. more knowledge, thoughts, opinions. bloggersphere can have conversations. swarm manner, swarms over a problem, solves it, and moves on

Des: connect with people overseas business (books) and other opportunities. People know more about me. small business: lincoln signmaking business; $350k, 10% from blog 2005

Jane: in mass audience; niche, passion, like minded community. MSM, larger issues. Pull out a sentiment. Breaking stories, story after story.

Michael: diary resume, jobs. people look at what people. thousands of MS bloggers to make the company more transparent. we are a bunch of people. a personal view of the company, and feedback to reduce stupid decisions. MS more intouch with customers due to blogging and the two way conversation.  Lots more ways to get input from the field and customers/reality.

Question 2: grumpywookie.com; floods of posts/twitters/feeds/email information mgmt deal with it?

Philip: no time to twitter. sceptical, as its a time sap rather time approval. twitter improve business by 10% will start to twitter

Darren: twitter/facebook/web2 tools as knowledge worker 2.0 use when need to. choose right tools.

Des: sometimes overwhealmed. Bunnings example, choosing the right tools. facebook at the moment. facebook as basic communications tool.

Michael: remember, haven’t got to the end road. focusing in on areas. new tools to find what you want. (nb: go particls). Only begun to scratch the surface of searching. the thing beyond search.

Comment: editor/condenses it, good writers (Stephen Withers)

Question 3: censorship? lowest common denominator

Jane: issues in related to world as a publisher, rather than free for all (exposure) can’t just put everything up there. web provides a platform for lunatics

Michael: problem with people “blog smart”. don’t be stupid. no censorship. sorta works. internal self-jumping. mopping up the little puddles are around. when people leave, then comments/blogging. inter-company issues. find out what happens, lead rather than follow.

Comment4: rodney, blog scooped journalist. Corp blogs as method of gaining the upper hand.

Question 4: journalism vs. bloggers. blogger expert in field vs journalist. responsibility of journalist.  where is the line.

Jane: a blog is a stream of conciousness, conversation. “reality tv” contrived. vs. structured, radio, print. role for both. eg: news coverage. local phone cameras, etc. floods, 90 photos submitted from “punters” to roof level: cameramen couldn’t get through. 200,000 people viewed images.

Philip: distinction is not useful: bloggers, professionals vs amateurs. Doing it as a job, certain level of responsibility.

Des: read something from a journalist, no comment button. same in corporate field. workshop with conservative financial company. you are going to get left behind. people have an entitlement to interact with companies. as a consumer, not my responsibility you need comment.

Jane: can figure out what resonates: how do you know? blogging it helps, has feedback

Question 5: is that app you are buidling web 2.0 compatible.

Frank: five people, six definitions

Philip: web 2.0 is about a period in time, not a product. tipping point broadband, privacy changes, advertising.

Darren: “web 2.0 sites” based on name generation. A web2 site can be picked as its exciting. emotional connection. (Phil hurrumph) user experience element (delic8genius now owes frankarr a beer)

Des: business owners can create, make it easier, without great cost, encourage with their customers. more transparency

Jane: stuff that helps you use the web better

Michael: journey we are going online. Web x.0 is silly; a new way of using technology and building it into their lives; social aspect. IP law struggles with the new way of interacting.

Question 6: privacy, journos go to jail for protecting sources; how do you become a anonymous blogger. point at which lunatics and reality. 

Des: people have a comment anonymously. some people will spend lots of money finding source, depending on how much money you’ve got. Are legal constraints

Philip: myspace/facebook. free business : dirt files, blackmailing them. massive privacy backlast, blackmail as a mechanism of money making (badly)

Question 7: the law and blogging. blogging union

Michael: may see unionisation of blogging. the law, in another country how can you prosecuted for that. lot of changes in the legal system to follow.

Frank: calls it a day, time over. 

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TechEd 2007: Started!

It’s been a long day: coordinating and uploading stuff. Watching the world register and flow into the Gold Coast version of TechEd 2007. Wall painting. Tears of joy and new friends made.

There are lots of people here. Lots. Some even recognise me. From being NickElvis at WebJam in Melbourne. Ooops.

And at the back of the exhibition hall, it is the great calamari hunt.

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Had a quick chat to Long Zheng. Saw Will Hughes. Bronwen and John. Spruiked for Virtual TechEd.

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Neville with his 3D “nighttime geek shed project” Breeze Designer that now emits Silverlight 3D objects:

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danah boyd: Q&A Session

The following is a blog-best-effort transcript of danah boyd in Brisbane on the 6th August 2007. This is not a verbatim transcript.

This blog post, and Flickr images by Nick Hodge are licensed under the Creative Commons License:

1. Where are geeks/freaks/queers now?

  • gay men still on friendster
  • tribe.net / myspace for “freaks”
  • geeks whatever is the coolest newest thing. twitter etc.
  • segmentation: US split based on class lines; danah mentioned media taking the wrong perspective of her recent postings
  • world where the culture is of celebrity to get out of current “class”
  • in AU, split more on age

2. where are those who are not online?

  • 93% US teenagers have internet access (of various speeds/feeds/modes)
  • 7% know what it is, but are restricted (eg: evangelicals in US)
  • the digital divide is method of access (school/library only)
    • hyperconnected, basic, (and a few others)
    • evidence that with connectivity, digital society has reduced young gay suicide
    • (danah noted: doing ethnographic studies, worried about kids with no friends, online or offline)
    • hanging around with friends is important; SNS is US/English based vs. mobile culture (nb: mobile phones now advertised with myspace logo in AU on the weekend)

3. Virtual Worlds

  • immersive virtual worlds such as WoW, gamer sites: another place to hang out with friends (more WoW than SL)
  • Second Life: educators watching educators watching educators…
  • SNS when kids use it for fun
  • “is this technology something general users use?”

4. Libraries in myspace, OK?

  • most teens know that you exist
  • when non-profits/politicians/etc are there, but they need to converse, not just be there. need to digitally shake hands
  • some people in the SNS will use the link as a marker

 

    5. Addicted to MSN/WoW (what to do with kids “addicted”)

  • online is a place to interact with friends, and avoid schoolwork. this has been common for many generations where homework existed
  • WoW/MSN is hanging out with their friends
  • more worrying are those who have no friends
  • problem deeper than “the technology” if there is no communication and understanding
  • question on how society acts in the “digital street” to look out for kids who need help.

6/7. SNS, use within schools?

  •  works when teachers respond online, not just “appear”
  • remember, SNS is for fun/friends. not school work
  • engage in the conversation, don’t be judgemental.
  • worst thing is forcing “deception” where kids create shadow indentities – are we forcing kids to do this?

 

8. Generation “Y” in the workplace

  • lifestages; online vs offline; and use of SNS changes when life interferes
  • mobile; out and about greater importance with professionals who are not at their desks
  • email is NOT social; its work. it’s hell. spam, parents, corporate emails etc
  • IM is the new email. more important than email. Phone is a jarring interruption

 

9. Property/ IP holding back?

  • remix generation; kids mixing pointers (URLs) rather than base content
  • ownership is interesting in a world where copying is easy

 

10. education: in schools, cyberbullying etc == ban on access to SNS

  • kids route around censorship; proxies, etc. ask them how they do it
  • mobiles change the ground rules
  • teachers must push back

 

11. future of SNS?

  • mobile
  • 10 years all this will be natural and therefore calmed down
  • embrace the new digital publics.

danah boyd: Generation MySpace

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The following is a blog-best-effort transcript of danah boyd in Brisbane on the 6th August 2007. This is not a verbatim transcript.

This blog post, and Flickr images by Nick Hodge are licensed under the Creative Commons License:

 

10:00am start. Rec’d tag, http://blogs.educationau.edu.au/feed/

new policies, 68yo PM use youtube.com to announce policies (nb: cheaper than full advertisements, but same commentary = cheap). Software alone doesn’t fix stuff. its about good teachers (true)

explosing of flickr,myspace,facebook,youtube: self publishing: live work and learn?

Intro danah boyd: expert on social networks. yahoo, tribe, google. online identities, communities, how people represent themselves online and to each other.

Generation MySpace

History of social networking, why big, interesting

Why youth are using these sites

education: thinking about, how used and applied.

Social network site: 6degress: 1997, flittered away

Hundreds emerged for many

Networked publics: publics in a networked society. eg: parks, civic places. SNS online publics.

usenet first of the networked publics; first hierarchy. geeky space. eg: comp.lang.perl. create networked publics. interests outside computer stuff.

social norms; in hierarchy, talk related. rec.pets.cats.  Ruptured by spam, not geeks.

alt.tastless invade rec.pets.cats >> attack; spoilers: Harry Potter. ruining social expectations of another group.

people fled usenet to mailing lists (yahoo! groups) mailing lists have moderators, kick people off. vouching via email address. not as public as usenet. what are the rules?

web=? community, conversation, commerce?? tech boom, crash. things got worked out.

rethinking through on blogosphere based people, based on “friends” — who are you friends, audience is. not on common interest, about people.

different narratives on web2. companies use as label. is it technology? business? make us feel better of the crash.

web2 is about reorganising the web around people, friends.

friendster; earliest days of web2. web geek make greater than match.com; better version. more purposeful.

3 key earlier adopter domains: self-describes geeks/freaks (eg: burning man) / queers. They thought it was their site. 20-30 somethings, not working, jobs clicking on the web. negotiatiing the narrative of friends. concept of play.

technology reflects the values of the creators: deep desire on friendster to get as many friends as possible. someone become icons – burning man, ali g (blogger culture). friending them to make them bigger. more fake characters. harvard university. jesus with a baseball bat. artistic : salt and pepper, love letters. people didn’t have jobs.

friendster: whack-a-mole, rid of popularity game, fake characters. kill the fun. technical difficulties: outside US, friendster still around.

myspace: people who friendster didn’t want. kicked off friendster, rock bands — onto myspace.com. no kicking off. features around music; indi rock music – appeals to young crowds. 21+ indi band followers, down the ages. 18yo 16yo 14yo. ignore younger because they don’t SNS.

Cool in LA region, worked down. teenagers where there as a place to hang out. If you are not on myspace you don’t exist (late 2005) everywhere else in the world, mobile phone.

myspace US == mobile phone outside.

55% online us teens 12-17 have a profile; 70% girlds 15-17. using to hang out with friends they see every day.

social networks,. not meeting people, its communicating to your network.

profiles: unique URLs, age/sex/location. made up as its fun.

friends list: public list of people I care about, and I hope care about me and listen to me.

wall/testimonial: conversation to the (wall ==write all) friends

myspace: copy+paste, make it loud and obnoxious. like the bedroom. same feeling, personal expression of self. who is the audience. remix culture, says who you are.

SNS where people hang out. shooting the shit, dealing with status. done in different environments (park, malls) for many years. friends to gather in a larger collection.

properties online different to physical space. in 20s, the pub. hung out, came together. have important values.

what properties: 4 key

persistence: what you say sticks around. ephermeral publics, vs. for ever.

searchability: where are the teenages. searchable. all sorts of audiences, parents, teachers, bosses.

replicability: copy-paste, original/modified? teenage breakups online. gets out of he said/she said game. eg: IM text into blog. who got the final say. delete someone as friend. not being in control. bullying. 3 way calling, bullying example

invisible audiences: assumptions, education, context: visible audience. no idea who is recording, and where it will go. context: adjust what we are saying based on context. society instructs us. to break the rules, we’ve got to know them. mediated environments control how we converse.

teenagers: invisible audiences, social scripts. how to speak to the unknowns. generation growing up and dealing with stuff that only celebrities and famous people had to deal with. everyone is famous for 15 people. myspace. Top 8 passive/aggressive social acceptance.

performing to people you know, this is how it will effect you.

high schools: age segregation from 1930s. deeply culturally embedded in the US. mentors friends 2 yrs around their age. No good reason to interact with people older than you.

US, other english speaking world: age segregation.

US, children are locked in doors. hypercontrolled. few places to chill. fear of abduction. communities don’t exist in suburbia. no places to hang out. primary socialisation, at homes. parents regulate; parents are responsible. tension between teenages and adults. kids locked down.

“mum doesn’t let me out, so I am on myspace” — hang out on myspace

sexual predators: evidence shows not a real issue; teenagers: want to go somewhere their parents are not. (ref danah’s site)

teenagers: deception so not searchable. technology put in place to be really easy searched. comp.lang.perl vs alt.sex.bondage

privacy: having control over who has access to your data. those of have control of teenagers, leechers etc.

pretend like it doesn’t exist doesn’t work. How do we deal these kinds of publics.

education of youth: not how they learn about maths and history. how to deal with social works. they have a public life; with confidence, willingness to make mistakes.

mistake: ban these sites in english speaking. they are evil. we don’t understand them, so they are wrong. broad data doesn’t reflect this.

how do we rethink this. they are publics, different architectures. request to teachers: learn from the students. they can teach you unbelievable things. youth populated.

why is this important.

we want our youth to be civically engaged. to be civically engaged, need to be public.

US: civic life, age segregated: not a part of civic and political life.

must be socialised in the public life; not tranditional civic lecture, what is happening now. negotiating publics. only school/after school activities. why do people outside their school matter.

US young people written out of immigration protest: teen based a few days later, March 2006. walk to civic space. IM/phones. 15000 LAX alone. Adults covered: “skipping school”.

Must engage: they understood that their parents were going to get kicked out of the country.

Sep2006: newsfeed in facebook. in-SNS out-rage 700,000 college kids joined a group to make a statement; company 72 hours to implement a feature. Users say its unacceptable. newsfeeds stayed, by privacy added. political activity (ignored)

public/private: privacy doesn’t look the same anymore. education around this: rather than saying they are bad because they are public. one assumed youth had no public face/no public life. now they need to know what is public/private

companies questioning how we deal with this new public.

proposals: profile, how would you feel if? situational role playing on profiles. there is no write/wrong/easy/hard answer. what is the consequence of what you are doing (editor: I like this)

visual literacy to understand degrees

everyday space mirrored and magnified. some good/some bad. offline problems, online problems. a reflection.

digital street outreach. why are we looking online only for tagging/grafitti get kids into trouble?

why are we not helping kids in their online streets?

SNS are not good tools for educating. Politicians. not even doing a good jobs. not engaging.

Not used in the classroom; education around them.

Blogging good tools. public/private tensions. essay that everyone in class can see. how about everyone in the world. education paradigm. what is your audience.

Wikipedia. US/AU ban it. its terrible. its bad. teens told its bad, but they using it? why are we not using this in schools for public knowledge.

Israeli/Palestinian conflict; wikipedia; thinking about different views and voices. Talk: page, history. who is invested in this process. Educators understanding these technologies.

education students on who knowledge is produced. I am not hte only voice on this matter?

rethink what public life is about.

one is information, information access.

its about community and communciation.

socialising teens into adult life; education is more than what is a standard model.

 

 

 

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On Location

Panorama: Gold Coast, Sunset

The above is the sunset-view from my room. To the left is the hinterland, and to the right is the beach itself.

On Location, at the Gold Coast preparing for a busy, educational week at Microsoft TechEd. Being my first TechEd, anything could and probably will happen. I do know I will leave more educated than I arrive.

 

Paul Hester signed snare

Whilst I watched the SBS TV series on the making of the Crowded House album, Woodface, there were much revels going on around me. It seemed to be a beer bash-come-stag party. So I turned up the TV with Neil Finn hopefully calming the din. Neil gets the impact of his music. The mercurial Finn brothers.

Up at 9am this morning thanks to a fire alarm. I could smell the smoke, but thought it was someone smoking on a non-smoking floor.  By the time I got my important items (pair of pants on, room key, wallet, camera, phone – in that order) ready to stroll out — the firemen were looking around for the smoking culprit. No one seemed ultra alarmed, so stayed put.

Today, it’s about planning. To quote Uncle Mike: “Piss Poor Planning Precedes Poor Performance”. Checking the camera equipment comes first.

Having installed the new Adobe Production Premium Suite, I tried out OnLocation. And this piece of technology Adobe purchased rocks. It essentially turns your Firewire/Laptop into a hard disk recorder and monitoring station. No more capturing slowly in post-production. Straight into Premiere, encode and you’re outta there.

Tomorrow it starts: danah boyd in Brisbane.

Adventures in the BigPond NextG

Having an online job I really should have no excuses to be offline.

Wifi Ethernet, paid or unpaid, can be a little like finding a needle in a needle factory.

Solution: Popped into a Dick Smith and purchased a USB NextG Card.

Why BigPond? Microsoft’s mobile phone/data supplier is Telstra, and Cathye convinced me to do it over lunch.

Symptoms: I could register the card and account; however the IP address that was created was always a 169.254.x.x. The card was successfully seen with the BigPond software 2.7.3

After a week of working with the supplied software, including a very friendly support guy at Telstra Bigpond, I’ve decided to search out for further info.

Whilst I ran out of time to hunt down the root cause of the issue; it seems that the Vista install at Microsoft has some serious group policy restrictions on networking: so it’s workaround time.

In this process of looking for the solution, I turned off Vista’s UAC. That is a pretty big switch. Sort of like leaving your security alarm off when you leave home. I didn’t feel safe. UAC back on.

The card is distributed in Australia by a company called Maxon. They have a support forum. 20 minutes of reading, and there is a work-around. The card itself maps into Windows as a Port, and using the normal dial-up/PPP setting – you can just dial into the network and you are off.

 

(this post via BigPond NextG)