Posts filed under 'Online political networks'
Our society is in transition. It is applying new technologies to create new structures. Proprietary information is no longer necessary to encourage innovation or distribution channels. The internet provides a virtually free distribution channel in a services based economy. Online social networks have redefined how we interact with large numbers of people adopting new behaviours. Online industry network will redefine industry. Online political networks will redefine politics.
The following is intended to provide a summary of how our society operating in a Web 1.0 world and the emerging Web 3.0 world. This is one of a series of concepts that explain the evolution toward Web 3.0. I recommend you review the visual overview of these concepts in the Marcus.cake overview presentation.
Continue Reading August 19th, 2008
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.
Continue Reading July 31st, 2008
Rightscale and Amazon Web Services now offers essential features not previously available - automatic scaling , Manager for MySQL and Persistent Storage. The Amazon Web Services platform empowered the entrepreneur, but advanced technical skills were still required to solve storage and scalability issues to create a truly scalable application. These latest developments are critical building blocks of transformative online networks and bring the power direct to the entrepreneur. This power is available by using the Rightscale dashboard/service. They charge USD2,500 to setup your server and USD500 per month to use the dashboard. This is a fraction of the cost of a comparable web hosting configuration five years ago, assuming a comparable web hosting configuration could be built. Competitive advantage can no longer be derived from the prohibitive cost of web hosting or ability to scale a web application. Unlimited storage and global scalability is now available to the entrepreneur (that is a hacker).
Continue Reading July 30th, 2008
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?
Continue Reading May 25th, 2008
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.
Continue Reading May 5th, 2008
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.
Continue Reading May 2nd, 2008
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.
Continue Reading April 1st, 2008
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.
Continue Reading May 22nd, 2007
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.
Continue Reading May 15th, 2007
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.
Continue Reading March 24th, 2007
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.
Continue Reading March 10th, 2007
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.
Continue Reading March 1st, 2007
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.
Continue Reading March 1st, 2007
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.
Continue Reading February 28th, 2007
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.
Continue Reading February 27th, 2007
Demographic shifts are the primary force that drive fundamental change. One billion consumers of US standards are to emerge. The United States will be an important market, but not the primary consumer or financial market in the world. Fiscal mismanagement by the United States will exacerbate the decline of the United States, but it is demography that will result in a more global market. The world will be “better” if the world can evolve from unsustainable debt funded consumption for the benefit of one country to global markets which share the benefits of economic development.
Continue Reading February 11th, 2007
Yaleglobal recently published a concise article on the status of the world’s food production and consumption. It is a very similar situation to “Peak Oil” that I discussed here. In both the food an oil industries, the law of diminishing returns has resulted in a peak in food production, consumption grows strongly with population growth and ultimately exceeds supply. In both markets, market forces are distorted and do not operate efficiently to promote longer term changes that increase supply, reduce demand, encourage greater efficiency and improve resource allocation on the demand and supply side.
Continue Reading October 21st, 2006
When world oil production peaks, there will still be large reserves remaining. Peaking means that the rate of world oil production cannot increase; it also means that production will thereafter decrease with time. “When world oil peaking will occur is not known with certainty. Some experts believe peaking may occur soon … within 20 years.” It may occur as early as 2010. World oil demand is expected to grow 50 percent by 2025. “Peaking will result in dramatically higher oil prices, which will cause protracted economic hardship in the United States and the world. However, the problems are not insoluble. Timely, aggressive mitigation initiatives addressing both the supply and the demand sides of the issue will be required.” North America has 5% of global oil reserves, a declining 17% share of global oil production and consumes 30% of the worlds oil. The Middle East has 62% of global proven oil reserves, produces 31% and consumes 7% of the worlds oil.
Continue Reading August 7th, 2006
