Alec Saunders SquawkBox

I was introduced to Devin Holloway a couple of days ago, virtually.  Mark Mayhew suggested we connect, because he thought that Devin's prognostications for social technology in 2008 would be of interest.  He's got a keen eye, that Mark. 

Devin's point boils down to this:

• Google is getting into telecom.
• Telecom services can now be effectively monetized through advertising. He cites Fluc and Pudding; I'd also 4INFO.
• Mobile handsets are becoming contextually aware and presence enabled.
• As a result: mobile phones will replace social networks, as we know them today. 

He finishes with:

We have presence on the mobile phone, and the mobile phone learns about what, when, why, how, and with whom I do what I do. Are you following, because this is a huge point? At this point my mobile becomes the absolute best measurer and indicator of my very human behavior. As soon as I have a facebook-like news feed for my buddy list (read: presence) on my mobile phone I no longer need to maintain any presence on a walled-in-garden-of-a-site like _________ (enter your SoNet of choice).

The mobile phone is now king of the SoNets. facebook and everyone else better get really good at developing applications for Android to enable user communication across the mobile phone platform or they will just be a footnote in Wikipedia.

I'm not sure I agree with the conclusion that Android will be the social network of the future.  At the very least, the immense volume of handsets that Nokia currently ships coupled with Nokia's own publicly stated interest in social networking on their handsets will make it a tough battle.  And don't count Facebook out now that there is a native Facebook application for blackberry, and a native Facebook SDK for Windows Mobile.

Nevertheless, mobile presence will be a very large factor in the near future.  The only thing that might prevent that from happening would be backward carriers attempts to trap presence within their own walled garden; the cellular network.

Nice to meet you Devin, and your appropriately named blog http://nost.radam.us.

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to have dinner with American friends where, unsurprisingly, the topic of the war in Iraq was discussed.  While the US Patriot Act's egregious civil liberties abuses were discussed, the focus of our discussion was really US foreign policy.  That surprised me; enough so that I offered the opinion that perhaps the greatest damage done to the United States by George Bush's adventure in Iraq wouldn't be felt until after the war, as citizens will inevitably come to grips with the surveillance society that has been created in the name of "security".  My American friends felt that the pendulum would swing back at that point and that civil liberties would be restored.

But will they?

An article in yesterday's Globe and Mail caught my eye.  Privacy International has published their 2007 International Privacy Rankings for 47 countries.  Several things alarmed me.

The worst privacy offenders in the world today are Russia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the US and the UK.  Labelled Endemic Surveillance Societies, these countries lack even the most basic laws to protect the rights of the citizenry.  The UK was cited for its "world leading surveillance schemes", "lack of accountability", "plans regarding surveillance of communications networks", and a planned identity scheme that will be "the most invasive in the world".  Similarly, the US is cited for "spreading use of close circuit TV", "presidential program of spying on foreign communications", "world leading border surveillance", and so on. 

Here in Canada, we're one of the top 3 countries with a good record. However, that has deteriorated from 2006 to 2007 due to our government's willingness to bow to US pressure, and to the increasing deployment of surveillance cameras here. 

While it's disheartening to see Canadian rights being compromised, it's frankly shocking to see the US and the UK lumped together with China and Russia. Let's hope, despite the massive build out of surveillance cameras and biometric systems, that once this war has concluded, sanity will return in these countries.  Otherwise the biggest casualties in this war won't the soldiers… it will be you and I, our friends, and our rights.

It's been a fascinating evening so far.  We're working our way up to the second countdown for the evening, in about 10 minutes.  On the first countdown, in the eastern time zone, we had people calling in from parties, including 15 women who crowded into a bathroom in an Alabama bar to shout out Happy New Year.  The second call, however, is much different. There's a deep discussion comparing medical systems between the US and Canada going on.  Wild!

Anyway, we're still on the phone.  If you're on Facebook, join us!