Marcus Cake

I.O.U.S.A. is a Web 2.0 online political network created by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation asking citizens to “encourage” the US government to move beyond Web 1.0 government opportunism and implement a Web 3.0 government that pursues sustainable, solvent and fully funded policies.

I was in Canberra today to participated in the strategic review of a mobile payments company.

A friend provided an introduction to Dr Jonathan Gray, Senior Researcher, e-Government Initiative at NICTA. I was able to meet Jonathon straight away. I demonstrated the EDemocracy prototype and provide a link to further information at the NICTA e-Government Initiative page.

I understand that EGovernment is not Edemocracy, but Jonathan may refer me to some others in Canberra that may be interested in a Web 3.0 Climate Stability network. I will need all the help I can get. I am hoping a Web 3.0 transparent approach will allow people interested in my projects and opportunities to find me. We can then assemble a community to create the Web 3.0 online networks on the path to Web 4.0 and transform the world in 365 days.

We need to build the Web 3.0 online social, industry and political networks on the critical path to Web 4.0 and pull in the next stage of financial markets, economic development, environmental sustainability, awareness, life, work and global governance. We need five online networks to solve the worlds problems by 2012 or we decline into conflict for generations. A global community could transform the world in 365 days by building the Web 3.0 online networks on the critical path to Web 4.0.

Regulated capitalism is the last man standing. We have no choice but to make it work. We must, however, acknowledge that regulated capitalism has failed its citizens comprehensively. The failure of regulated capitalism is equal to the collapse of central planning. The communists recognised their system had failed and chose to implement something else. Will capitalists do the same? Or will we try to save the status quo at any price? Will bailouts move on to other “too big too let fail” activities that prevent the operation of creative destruction?

I just lodged five applications to the Knight Foundation’s News Challenge. My applications can be reviewed here. An overview of the Knight Foundation is provided below. A summary of my applications are available below.

Web 1.0 delivered the internet and connected large numbers of people. Web 2.0 demonstrated the technology to assemble and manage large global crowds with a common interest in social interaction. Web 3.0 will apply online network concepts to industry, economic development, climate stability, poverty and democracy. Web 3.0 online networks allow people to see through the community or market and facilitate collective matching, learning and consumption in hours (not months). Web 4.0 achieves a critical mass of participation in online networks that deliver global transparency, governance, distribution, participation, collaboration in key industry, political, social and other community endeavours. Web 4.0 delivers community sovereignty to channels and information.

I just read a Financial Times article which states that the E-Democracy prototype has an immediate application. Please read E-democracy just six weeks away! Political sovereignty exercised directly by citizens through an online political network.

Poverty is a complex issue. Poverty is a complex issue. It has a wide variety of causes that include trade, HIV/AIDS, unserviceable debt, investment capital allocation and immigration laws. Many efforts to change the situation rely upon influencing or changing opaque channels. This has proven to be ineffective. The Millennium Goals could be achieved if we act now. However, these goals won’t be achieved if we continue to try to influence Web 1.0 opaque channels. We need to transcend “opaque channels” by applying the key elements of a Web 3.0 online network to create online communities that focus and coordinate collective energy.

The US system has collapsed. Failed financial firms are trying to convince the government to invest in them. The selling proposition? - “too big to let fail!” Understandably, the US congress are making further enquiries before writing a cheque for US$800 billion dollars. The US already terminally insolvent - even with unprecedented growth it can not repay its debts. Another US$800 billion won’t push it over the edge. It passed the edge a while back. A private receivership committee may have been formed in international markets. It will operate in “opaque channels”. A private online political network would be essential coordinate timely international activities amongst US creditors. The aspirations of the average American remain the same. They can be sold a “story” by mainstream media that permits further avoidance of debt repayments or justifies activities that acquire international “leverage”. An E-democracy online network and/or a US insolvency online network could be used to inform the US public. Maybe, they will assume responsibility, or maybe they would prefer not to know.

An online political network can replace expensive proprietary distribution channels and with a virtually costless channel that provides a superior means to deliver the primary objective of democracy to ensure “political sovereignty [is] retained by the people and exercised directly by citizens”. Democracy is entirely based upon information and could be facilitated by an online political network. Our politicians make choices about economic, social and industry policies and implement them with laws. Citizens choose politicians based on information. Online political networks provide internet applications to facilitate the exchange of information, collaboration and the political process between citizens, government executives, politicians and other stakeholders in the politcal process. This article offers a potential structure for this network. I have also developed an initial prototype of this web application that has the global scalability of the Amazon Web Services cloud. The web application may be available in six weeks, but the transition to this online network may take six months or 50 years In Politics 3.0, individual transparency through online networks and internet traffic to a politicians profile may be determine whether a politician gets elected or not.

The 2009 demographic depression will be exacerbated by a food and energy crisis, the decline of the USD dollar in value, the decline of the USD as the world’s reserve currency, a global credit crisis, the world’s central banks pursuing inconsistent policies, competing interests in the Middle East and other challenges now confront the world at a singular point.

I recently read A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. “At the core of the teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution. An essential aspect of this awakening consists in transcending our ego based state of consciousness. This is a prerequisite not only for personal happiness but also for the ending of violent conflict endemic on our planet” (Inside back cover, A New Earth ). This has prompted the following question? Could a open source style online network, like Linux, focus the global consciousness to accelerate the solutions to immediate global problems. How would the online network be structured? How many people would be needed? Can this right brain global consciousness be just another resource or function of a left brain information distribution and collaboration online network?

There is an opportunity for a Linux style online community to coordinate the individual contribution of scientists, government, corporations, philanthropists and the community to pursue/deliver climate stability. Virginearth.com would be an ideal forum for this initiative. Richard Branson and Al Gore could inspire an global online community and encourage government and corporations to contribute essential intellectual property to a solution and deliver climate stability.

The primary ego on the world stage today is the US - its excessive consumption, insolvency, military aggression and use of 60% of the world’s savings make it the world’s most gluttonous consumer. Its military acquisition of the worlds resources may be the greatest strategic move in history. It provides resources to pay back unserviceable debts and leverage other countries on the global stage. However, the destruction of relationships in the process will crowd out an opportunity to deliver a sustainable future for the planet. Unrelenting ego by the US may win the resource wars, but the destruction of global relationships in the process sacrifice the opportunity for a sustainable future. An online network may not save the world, but could a collective conscious network.

We need to deploy five online political, industrial and social networks to avert disaster by 2012. Existing structures that rely on proprietary ownership of information, distribution channels, institutions and regional approaches are unable to solve our most pressing problems. Even if they could solve the problems, they are simply unable to coordinate a global endeavour in a rapidly closing timeframe. I had previously written that online networks could be delayed for up to 50 years by three epic battles. In some aspects of our global community, we can wait 50 years (and there is only an opportunity cost). However, for some specific problems, online networks need to be built, acquire a significant audience, and achieve their objective by 2012.

Online networks which embody every facet of industrial, social and politcal aspects of our modern society are inevitable. They simply offer a superior way to interact and transact. The transition to a global community based around online networks will take six months, sixteen years or fifty years. The timeframe will depend upon the outcome of three epic battles. The battles are economic development vs geostrategy, community knowledge vs intellectual property, and online networks vs closed systems. Online industrial, political and social networks which are involved in these battles could be delayed for decades.

Information technologies which capture, store, process or transmit information double in performance or halve in cost every 18 months. Moore’s law has been working patiently for 40 years. In an information economy, this should have had a dramatic effect. However, political, industrial and social structures largely remain the same. Advances in technology have not changed the fundamentally way that our society or economy has operated. The right information in the right place at the right time will transform the world. This transformation will only start now. This article will discuss why such a process should only begin now and what role information is likely to have.

What if we did have cars that cost $25 and got 1,000 miles to the gallon? What if the Moore law rates of innovation and improvement could be applied to the world’s problems. What if Moore’s law rates of improvement applied to aircraft engines, car engines, carbon dioxide emissions, industrial pollution, cures for disease, energy and minerals usage, education and leadership. Our world is evolving. Advances in technology present new ways to organise. Online networks are likely to be a step forwards. An expansion of intellectual property laws is likely to be a step backwards. If there was a new way to deliver greater rates of innovation, we have a compelling need to solve specific global problems. We need to question that our underlying assumptions of how to organise.

Dan Rather: Journalism has lost its guts, Cnet.com news, 12th March 2007
Extract:

• During his hour-long keynote address Monday at South by Southwest Interactive, Rather opined at length on the state of his profession, in which too many journalists have become lapdogs to power, rather than watchdogs.
• “I do not exclude myself from this criticism… By and large, so many journalists–there are notable exceptions–have adopted the go-along-to-get-along (attitude),” he said.
• Rather left CBS last year in the wake of a scandal surrounding questionable documentation for a story accusing President George Bush of being absent without leave during his military service. Today, Rather works as a journalist for entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s HDNet network.
• In his speech, he touched on the state of the Internet as a way to get information and news to people.
• “The Internet is a tremendous tool for not just news, (because) its potential is unlimited for that,” Rather said, but for “illumination and opening things up.”
• But he spent most of his time on stage talking about why he thinks many people have lost faith in journalists.One reason, Rather said, is that questioning power, especially at a time of war, can be perceived as unpatriotic or unsupportive of America’s fighting troops.That’s “a very serious charge in this country,” Rather said.”We’ve brought it on ourselves,” he added, “partly because we’ve lost the sense that (the) patriotic journalist will be on his or her feet asking the tough questions. My role as a member of the press is to be sometimes a check and balance on power.”
• Indeed, Rather’s ascent to the pinnacles of power in journalism came as a result of his reputation for asking very tough questions and–as Hampshire pointed out–not being afraid to ask follow-up questions, of powerful people like President Richard Nixon, the first President George Bush, current President Bush, Saddam Hussein, and many others.
• “In many ways,” said Rather to loud applause, “what we in journalism need is a spine transplant.”
• Rather reiterated the journalist’s role as a watchdog. “Not as an attack dog…But what does the lapdog do? He just crawls into someone’s lap,” he said. “A good watchdog barks at everything that’s suspicious. I submit to you, the American press’ role is to be a watchdog.”
• “The nexus between powerful journalists and people in government and corporate power,” he said, “has become far too close.”
• You can get so close to a source that you become part of the problem, he added. “Some people say that these powerful people use journalists, and they do. And they will use them to the fullest extent possible, right up until the point where the journalist says, ‘Whoa, that’s too far.’”
• It is incumbent on journalists to be willing to risk their access to power to seek out the truth behind a story, he said. And they shouldn’t be willing to water down the truth to protect their access to power.
• Rather also said that the consolidation of power in a small number of media companies has hurt the search for the truth in newsrooms across the country. As media conglomerates get bigger, the gap between newsrooms and boardrooms grows, and the goal becomes satisfying shareholders, not citizens, he said.

The objectives of open source will change over time. As open source evolves and proves its capability, it will move beyond technology, beyond specific industries, to all other aspects of our society. This has been suggested in the past. However, existing organisations are not sufficiently motivated to apply advances in technology to promote development. Business, social and political entrepreneurs that establish online networks are likely to be the primary force for change.

This article outlines the first four stages of the development of online networks and the .Net boom. The objective of the online network in each stage is identified.

My definition of the word hacker has evolved. From programmers cracking computer security (called crackers) to my modest efforts to improve my golf and, now, to skilled people contributing to online networks that reflect their passions and interests. A hacker has the tenacity and persistence to solve problems, often for the sake of solving it. They have the vision of architects, the skills of engineers and empathy of a mother with her upset child. They make significant sacrifices in pursuit of their goal. They navigate around, or though, barriers in their path. They do not rest (if inspired) until the problem is solved, or the challenge is overcome. If only my golf, could be described in these terms.

Online networks will be an essential tool of hackers. The will capture and focus the unique contribution of other hackers. Collective talent, energy and innovation will reshape industrial, social and political frameworks over the next decade.

The potential of open source software, open source principles and collective innovation is significant. They could change the world. They should, at the very least, change information intensive industries. These assertions are largely an intellectual argument. The thoughts of an individual. The compelling value of open source and collective innovation as a solution needs to be demonstrated.

The problem with the world today is that there is not an convenient and effective means to aggregate and distribute the unique contribution of each individual. This is particularly true where problems may rest with government and large corporations which are perceived to have unlimited resources for “public relations”. Without an effective and convenient means to contribute, each individual quite rightly assesses any contribution to be futile. It is highly unlikely their activity will result in the desired outcome.

The internet offers a new means to overcome the futility of contribution. The rise of online industry, social and political networks will provide all individuals with the opportunity to make a contribution. We will be surprised at the phenomenon that will reshape the world over the next twenty years. As the real underlying problems of the world are publicised, collective communities will assemble to solve them.

Open Source software is a viable alternative for nearly every application - business and personal. There is, however, a strong view that the installed base of the proprietary software industry is not likely to shift significantly to free software. The reasoning seems to be the inertia the industry and staying with something familiar. There is, apparently, not a significant reason to shift. I provided an overview of some of the potential reasons in Linux or windows: a decision based on cost, security, convenience, stability, innovation or religion? Or am I just stuck with Windows?. I will offer another. The opportunity to double your retirement by allocating the money you would have spent on proprietary software to your retirement. The cost savings are numerically significant, but the present value of the cost savings is roughly equal to the average retirement savings of a US citizen - about US$60,000. The debate over Linux versus Windows is a luxury for a minority. The majority need to adopt free software to contribute to their retirement.

The world confronts key challenges. Demand is outstripping supply of food, oil and water. Many countries are insolvent through unrestrained consumption, unserviceable debt and unfundable promises. Countries are unable to communally agree on measures to reduce environmental impact of human activity. The action that needs to be taken is generally agreed by independent experts, but political leadership is keen to defer implementation for a few more years, or require others to bear a disproportionate burden. Like Peak Oil and Peak Food, the global community suffers from Peak Leadership - a rapidly increasing demand for leadership, and declining supply.

The reasons underlying the rise of online political networks are similar to the rise of industry networks. Technology advances have not been applied to distribute the quality of information demanded by each individual. A significant proportion of the community is dissatisfied with the quality of information they receive, or the operation of governments. These individuals will be inspired by recent events to establish, participate or contribute to online political networks.

There are, arguably, online political networks. Many are staffed by small groups of volunteers. My reference to online political networks refers to a Linux type network which uses the available technology to capture the interest and energies of their audiences and direct them toward a singular purpose. I can not think of an online political network which meets this criteria. Online political networks rivaling the Linux community will emerge. The kernel for many of these networks are likely to be an existing web site or small group. These online political networks will only prosper if they service the unique needs of their constituents and apply principles of “open source” and “free software”.

Online political networks will increase supply by encouraging more “representative” behaviour from elected representatives and may be a means for new politicians to acquire political support without need for corporate fundraising. Online political networks are likely to deliver improvements to all political systems in use today. For representative democracies, they are likely to make the systems more “representative” of their constituents.

The patent system emerged to motivate business to organise people to develop new technology. Without providing an exclusive opportunity for profit, business would not assemble the structure and people necessary to create new technology. Technology means ways of doing things. This includes information technology, biotechnology and healthcare. If the global objective is the creation of new technology, then there is another way to organise.

” …it’s a different world out there. A world where anyone’s ideas can quickly spread if they happen to strike a chord. Where you don’t necessarily have to have a large company or a huge public relations effort to make an impact (although that still doesn’t hurt).”

A colleague forwarded me a link at a video. It presents some key facts and music in a presentation style format. It is very effective in communicating the rapid and accelerating change that is occurring in the global community. It is more effective than the numerous articles that I have written here, and much more concise. The original author has made this available under the most permissive Creative Commons license. The powerpoint slides and music are available to change. I plan to take key messages from my web site and place them in my own short video.

The Open Source model of building software harnesses the collective knowledge of a group of volunteers to build complex software. Over the next few years, collective knowledge networks like the open source movement will move beyond developing open source software, to manufacturing and distributing products products and services in other industries.

Offshore financial centres had a reputation for being havens of criminal activity. The following five year old articles show this reputation is undeserved.They suggest that the “persecution of tax havens is not the fight against money laundering but the fight against low taxes”. The persecution of “tax havens” was simply an instrument of the nation state to protect domestic tax revenues from foreign tax competition.

Today, the majority of financial centres are well regulated and well respected. The also offer companies and investors the opportunity to reduce compliance costs and take advantage of countries dedicated to servicing their needs. Some countries are focussed on attracting a specific type of company. They enact legislation that is necessary to provide a respectable base for specific types of business. For example, the Isle of Man is focussed upon attracting EBusiness. These smaller financial centres are likely to be significant beneficiaries of the globalisation of financial markets. Business owners and entrepreneurs may choose to incorporate in these centres and derive significant benefits. They will need to pay taxes on any foreign income they derive or is attributed to them by their tax laws. The majority of financial centres are havens for business, rather than a means to reduce taxes.