Love, Hate And Hollywood

Posted on May 8, 2013 by

Like most of us, I love Hollywood and the film industry that made it famous. I love how Hollywood is synonymous with the craft of screen writing, the amazing technology that immerses us in the best stories, the glitz and the glamour of celebrities and red carpets. I love how Hollywood inspires us to change the world, save the world and dream of a better future for all. Yet behind all this love there lurks the bitter sweet paradox of all that is Hollywood; I love to hate the studios.

hollywood-sign-movie-studio-blockbusterThe reason for this strange love affair is that no matter how grateful we are for all the wonderful moments Hollywood films deliver, they are also responsible for some of our greatest disappointments. There surely can’t be anyone in the western world that hasn’t been devastated by a Hollywood film that managed to butcher their favourite book, portray their favourite superhero out of character, or even just kill a good story with an insipid, corny finale.

Perhaps it is with some irony then that the Chinese cinema fans who welcomed the arrival of the Hollywood behind the Great Wall are now outraged at the Chinese version of Iron Man 3. The film, a joint production between Disney and China’s DMG entertainment opens with the name of a popular milk drink on the screen, which then becomes a focal point for product placement throughout the film. There is even a Chinese character not seen in the US version that saves Iron Man’s life at the end of the film. In addition to these changes there are also extra scenes in the Chinese version that feature Chinese actors and landmarks.

As a result Chinese fans have taken in numbers to Weibo (the local version of Twitter), to express their dissatisfaction with Hollywood for attempting to capitalize on China’s cinema market. Perhaps the Hollywood grass seemed a little greener over The Wall? Maybe they thought that the US film push into China would finally allow them access to the best films in the world?

But film making is a business, and Hollywood is the biggest business of them all. At the top end of the film making food chain, the Hollywood Blockbuster is all about big budgets in the hope of big returns. The stakes are high, and the enormous potential of the Chinese cinema market is a way to ensure investors get a return.

That the studios put profit ahead of the craft has been an ongoing trend since the 1970s. Awful remakes of classics, sequels that spoil the original release and big name casts in films that stink are more common than they should be. Product placement, blatant merchandising and inappropriate endorsements are now part and parcel of the film industry. For the Chinese fans of cinema upset by the local version of Iron Man 3, perhaps it’s just their first taste of the love hate relationship the rest of the world has with Hollywood.

Watch FiST Chat 118: Hollywood And China Get Cosy for more on this topic.

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Social Media reporting, Traditional News Gathering And The Boston Marathon Bombings

Posted on April 24, 2013 by

74248272The world changed after 9/11 in so many ways, most of which have been documented at length in the years since. Sadly the horror witnessed in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon is also testimony to how much the world has changed since 2001. In addition to the professional broadcasters covering the event, hundreds of members of the public armed with their own digital devices caught the tragedy as it unfolded. When the bombs detonated, the moment was captured from every angle; the explosions, the carnage, the chaos and even the identity of the perpetrators. Authorities with the benefit of time and hindsight, and the ability to pick and choose the images to tell the story, were able to piece together what happened with incredible accuracy. In the vast assortment of captured images, they saw the bombs placed and were able to identify the guilty parties with remarkable precision.

Yet contrast this with the evolution of the story via social media and traditional news platforms. The mass of information that overloaded social networks in the moments after the blasts distorted the truth and our understanding of what had actually happened.

There were inaccurate reports of extra bombs, graphic images uploaded without consent and even innocent people accused of this awful crime. In itself this sort of confusion has always gone hand in hand with traumatic events, but the difference used to be that traditional media could filter out the errors. In those days a breaking story would often take hours to check, report and publish. Journalists were trained to communicate with accuracy, clarity and context. That was the value encased in traditional media, and it was why we trusted those news sources to be right.

But the 24 hour media cycle and the need to publish with speed has eroded the accuracy in breaking stories as traditional outlets fight to keep up with the mass of information broadcast by the public. It is an interesting and natural evolution of the news gathering model we’ve discussed on FiST Chat before. The role of the traditional media is no longer to gather the information itself, but to piece together the story in real time. The public now forgives inaccuracy (where once it would have condemned it), in exchange for having a trusted source update and piece the story together as it is verified. This represents a new role for modern media but also one that society still has to fully understand. The Boston Globe must be commended for lowering its paywall in the aftermath, so the Boston community (and the world) could keep up to date with important local developments.

Undoubtedly and tragically, we are likely to see more stories of human tragedy reported like this in the future. So it is very important that people learn that in times like these unfiltered images and posts do not tell the story by themselves. It is also important to remember that a single tweet does not represent the truth either. What we all need to remember is that it takes time for someone to sift through all the data to create an accurate representation of the real story. And that is the reason why, in testing times we will always turn to the professional media sources we can trust.

Watch FiST Chat 115: Citizen Reporting and the Boston Marathon Bombings for more on this topic.

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Skype Or Facetime? Why Your Call Just Isn’t Getting Through

Posted on April 16, 2013 by

Sometime in the mid-1990s when international phone calls cost well over $1/min, I signed up to an Australian ISP on the promise of free Internet phone calls. It made sense, as the internet was mainly dialup anyway and with friends all around the world this seemed like the logical next step for communications. Of course, it was only after I signed I realized this technological capacity didn’t exist and what I was promised still had to be created.

skype-desktop-mac-video-callAs it turned out the ISPs never developed a business model for Internet calls, as it was far more lucrative to sell ‘phone time’ rather than data. In the fledgling online world this was a sliding doors moment that shaped the next decade of communication as powerfully as Microsoft shaped the world of personal computing.

Had anyone at that time seized the moment and created a ubiquitous platform for real-time Internet communication, today we’d all be connected by one cross platform app not unlike the traditional phone network. After all the foundations were there, email protocol is universal no matter what software you use to access it. Likewise, IRC the first universal online chat facility created in 1988, was based on Internet protocols, and standard client software like the c prompt. An internet phone system based on a similar platform would have worked just as well irrespective of OS or ISP.

But in the late 1990s AOL and Microsoft brought out their respective chat platforms. Ironically Microsoft’s Messenger originally cross supported AOL’s AIM chat but AOL blocked access and in doing so put an end to the days of open and universal access that the original Internet had been built on. From here on internet communications would become strictly peer to peer and this is the reason mobile phones still make ‘calls’ today instead of using dedicated data networks.

Video calls were first released on these platforms at the peak of the dotcom era. Pokey, postage stamp sized images at 15 frames a second on dial up. That said it felt like a major advance in telecommunications, and in reality it was. Then Skype arrived with a new VoIP platform and soon after proper video calls followed, if your bandwidth allowed.

It’s somewhat surprising then that today’s video communications are scarcely better than they we’re ten years ago. Bandwidth and mobile devices are cheap and easy, and apparently there is an app for everything except universal VoIP. Peer to peer means users have to have the same software installed and open to communicate through these channels. For some people in the digital age this is a no-brainer, but for most of us, it’s just a bridge too far especially when the commonplace and familiar universal phone network is always available at hand.

No doubt there are some strange things going on in the world of VoIP currently, especially with the arrival of Google Hangouts. Strange issues with platforms and OS might be a sign that Microsoft are currently trying to lock in its loyal Skype audience to protect its market. Apple tried to build its own castle out of Facetime and failed. Google+ could be everything to everyone if you want to sell your whole internet experience to Google.

And therein stands the elephant in the room. The big tech corps don’t want to hear it, their business models won’t currently allow it, but consumers do not want to be locked into an artificial ecosystem. Technology was meant to make life simple, easier and happier. In the wonderful world of internet capitalism no one should have to pay for their liberty on-line. If mobile phone manufactures can agree on a universal connector, perhaps it’s time for our tech behemoths to stop suing each other, get together and create a single internet communication that works as well as it should.

Watch FiST Chat 114: What’s Wrong With Skype for more on this topic.

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Inception, Thought Crime And The Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Brain

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

I could have sworn that I dreamt it. But Obama’s $100 million brain mapping project was really announced this week with the following words: “There’s this enormous mystery waiting to be unlocked. The BRAIN Initiative will change that by giving scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action and better understand how we think and how we learn and how we remember.”

brain-scan-dreams-blueThere is no question that understanding the brain represents one of the great scientific challenges of all time. But it’s also a very different challenge to some of our other recent scientific achievements. It is not as straight forward as building giant machines to search our universe like CERNs Large Hadron Collider or the Square Kilometre Array Telescope. Nor is it a project with a clear cut aim and conclusion like mapping the expansive DNA strands of the human genome. This sort of project is a combination of ‘how long is a piece of string’ meets searching for a ‘haystack with a needle’ and in many ways represents a poorly optimized mode of scientific investigation.

That aside, it would be lovely to find cures for brain injuries, intellectual disabilities and diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But is this where this sort of research will really lead? Considering Europe already has its own brain research project, is this a global competition for corporate control of patents on a range of futuristic bio-neural products, or will this information and advantages be freely available to all nations?

It’s hardly paranoia to ask these questions. The amount of money bandied about means that there must be huge financial rewards for this sort of investment. There must also be some sort of ethical discussion about where humanity wants this sort of research to lead. While it is safe to say most of the knowledge will be beneficial, there are bound to be unexpected consequences associated with the new neural technologies.

Take for instance the latest Japanese research that suggests it is now possible to read dreams. This represents a huge step in understanding the workings of the brain and may well lead to uncovering processes by which we can up and download data directly from our minds. The natural next step is then finding a way to read thoughts and memories. Definitely exciting from a scientific perspective, but what if it means scenarios like those presented in the films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception are possible? Is humanity ready to deal with this technology? Our current laws can barely deal with Twitter as it is.

Even with or without Obama’s announcement, research in all areas of neuroscience will continue at a rapid pace. Put this together with a range of emerging medical technologies and advances in artificial intelligence, and suddenly we are a lot closer to a brave new world than most people might expect or realize.

While it would be a wonderful (and unlikely) achievement for humans to be able to understand the brain and its workings, research in this field is bound to have profound implications for all of us. The ability to renew and repair our neural tissues is central to breaking the current limits of longevity. The emergence of new drugs or bio-hardware based ‘intelligence’ enhancers will revolutionise our society and change the course of human evolution. Hopefully this will lead to an improved human species, with less of the character failings and a greater sense of community and altruism. And perhaps it might be this generation that is the first generation to leave earth for good and colonize the stars.

Watch FiST Chat 113: We Can Read Your Dreams for more on this topic.

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The Soylent Diet And The Smart Watch: Timeless Classics?

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

Once upon a time, phones made calls and watches kept the time. In the same era people never wished for a phone in their pocket. But thanks to the classic comic Dick Tracy, people did wish that their watch could make a call, and do other cool things. Sadly for the watch, the digital era has been a miserable failure, unless of course you consider a wristwatch calculator the pinnacle of success.

smart-watch-apple-iwatchAt the same time phones have gone on to become everything cool we wished for our watches. So imagine somewhere in a parallel universe, after creating their ‘blue box’ Woz and Jobs had gone on to design cool digital watches instead of PCs. Ah, just imagine a world still running DOS on desktops, and people with awesome, cool watches that make calls, play music, send emails and surf the net. Phones are still plugged into the walls where they belong.

Maybe Rob Rinehart belongs in this universe. Motivated by an alleged desire to save money on food shopping, limit his food miles and spend time on other pursuits he has reinvented the diet, this time without food. His ‘soylent’ diet consists of a selection of the raw chemicals essential for human nutrition mixed into a liquid than he then consumes instead of food. His claims are wild.

Of course, Rob has yet to release his formula to the public. Typically this either points to a hoax, or more likely a business opportunity. Not that this is anything new in the diet industry, where it is so common it might be standard practice. Technically his diet is only new by name. There are plenty of ‘diet’ shakes and liquid supplements you could buy off the shelf already that would achieve the same effect as Rob’s Soylent. The difference is that Rob has rethought and reinvented the ‘diet’, and like any good story it’s got everyone excited.

This inspirational attempt to change the way we look at food is attracting a lot of attention and of course a lot of critique. Rob has reduced dieting to its basic nutritional components and in effect may have just founded the anti-food movement. Crazy stuff. Just like Apple re-inventing the watch.

Critics attack Rob’s diet on the fact that the chemicals he claims to be using are not bio active, his diet is untested and his Soylent food substitute is dangerous and unhealthy. While his detractors are correct in their questioning of Rob, it’s wrong to dismiss this diet as purely ludicrous when it actually tackles some very important issues well worth the public discussion.

Affluent modern society is suffering an obesity epidemic and a whole host of related diseases due to overconsumption of food. The truth is we could exist more happily and healthily on much less food. With a rising global population, climate concerns and almost 40% of the food produced globally going to waste, is it not time for us to use science to rethink and reinvent a modern diet? Rather than attacking Rob, shouldn’t we be celebrating what his diet stands for?

In understanding, valuing and appreciating nutrition at its most basic level we can all become equipped to make better food choices in our lives. In fact it probably wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the modern western diet was based around a couple of nutritionally balanced diet shakes combined with one normal meal daily. Rob’s has found a novel way to reimagine food. If he is genuine he deserves our congratulations.

Which is more than can be said for attempts to reinvent the watch. While the Pebble is a standout for its crowd sourced origins and original design, most other brands add nothing but an operating system to your wrist. Does anyone really need a watch that connects to Facebook via the phone in your pocket? Let’s face it, if anyone asks me if I’d like an iWatch the answer is yes, about 30 years ago. Today I have everything I need on my phone and when they can work out how to strap it to my wrist I’ll be happy to call it a watch.

Watch FiST Chat 112: Lose Weight Fast With Soylent Green for more on this topic.

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Crowd Sourcing Public Opinion: Where Social Media Is Right For All The Wrong Reasons

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

Crowd sourcing is a relatively new and exciting online movement and in its simplest form is a request from an individual or group to the wider online community for support. But we are now seeing a new trend emerge where crowd sourcing is being used to leverage existing public opinion. While this trend might have many benefits in connecting those who share a common view, there may well be hidden pitfalls associated with this new fashion. The Veronica Mars and Reality Drop campaigns are prime examples.

crowd-sourcing-funding-opinionVeronica Mars was a short lived (3 seasons) TV series that despite developing a cult following was axed in 2007. Creator Rob Thomas has now used crowdsourcing via the popular site Kickstarter to harness the cult following and turn it into a pledge of well over $4 million. While raising enough to bankroll a full feature length film is a remarkable achievement in itself, the project has now set an unlikely precedent that may end up backfiring on the wider creative community.

By mobilising and coordinating their resources, Veronica Mars fans have taken control of the production process and ensured they will see a film made. But while the crowd sourced supporters of the Veronica Mars campaign will get a script/DVD/t-shirt depending on the level of their contribution (or even a speaking role for $10k plus), they stand to get nothing should the film return a profit at the box office. That said, it’s obvious the Veronica Mars fans couldn’t care less. They just want to see their favourite characters on the silver screen and that’s a fair call.

This is not such a big deal until you consider that Warner Brothers (who wouldn’t risk the money to make it themselves), have already done a deal with Thomas for distribution and merchandise and now stand to make millions with zero risk. No doubt every Hollywood producer will now be tripping over themselves to copy this new model. And if that is the case, then the Kickstarter site has just instantly been elevated to the next ‘big’ online success story.

While this might not instantly revolutionize the Hollywood film business, it will definitely see more films like this being funded by the fans themselves. This may well be a good thing although the unintended downside is if the Hollywood studios get more widely involved in this sort of financing, it will reduce opportunities for genuine creatives to crowd source for original ideas. Nothing ever really changes?

The Reality Drop is an intriguing campaign that is part of The Climate Reality Project. Admirably it aims to recruit and arm online supporters to fight a battle against ‘the vested interests and dark forces’ that deny the existence of climate change. The idea is that by participating in the project you use social media to spread the messages of truth and actively expose and destroy the myth and the lies of climate denial.

Unfortunately despite the best intentions of this project, it effectively turns a good cause into something vaguely sinister. The ability to recruit the online population to have a voice on issues that matter globally is one of the great achievements of the internet. However, Reality Drop merely sets a dangerous precedent on many levels. It treats a serious global issue as if they were a game and entrenches the concept of climate change as a polarised political debate with only one correct point of view. It promotes the notion that by believing in climate change and spreading the word via social media an individual can make a difference without changing their own behaviour. It also uses the same dubious methods that the climate deniers use to force public opinion. And worst of all, if it succeeds it will demonstrate just how easy it is for any interest group to use social media as a propaganda tool.

While social media has already proven its ability to influence public opinion, these campaigns are sophisticated examples of how organisations or groups can use crowd sourcing to promote their cause. Not that this is an issue in itself, but if the current scenarios are anything to go by, this new way of uniting online communities may bring unforeseen and undesirable consequences. Where crowdsourcing public opinion will ultimately take us is difficult to tell, but it may be a case where social media campaigns are right for all the wrong reasons.

Watch FiST Chat 111: The Climate Change Debate Circus for more on this topic.

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