Future of The Internet : Ahhh Rise of the Machines

The Internet we know today has been largely about connecting people to information, people to people, and people to business.If you ask me, the Internet has come a long way. It has definitely evolved tremendously for the past decade. What is it going to be like in the future one may ask? We can’t know what exactly it is going to be like since the future is uncertain but we can predict.

Take a look at the video to see the evolution of the Internet

So the video basically highlights the possibility of increase access to the Internet from intelligent devices, clothes, and many others. Cool isn’t it?

Other than that, just like the Industrial Revolution, there are predictions of an “Industrial Internet” – an open, global network that connects people, data and machines.

Basically, there are now millions of machines all over the world. Simple electric motors, advanced MRI machines to sophisticated machineries that produce electricity.  There are also thousands of complex networks ranging from power grids to railroad systems, which tie machines and fleets together.This vast physical world of machines, facilities, fleets and networks can more deeply merge with the connectivity, big data and analytics of the digital world. This is what the Industrial Internet Revolution is all about.

This is where the cloud computing comes into play. The Industrial Internet leverages the power of the cloud to connect machines embedded with sensors and sophisticated software to other machines (and to us) so we can extract data, make sense of it and find meaning where it did not exist before.

Machines – from jet engines to gas turbines to CT scanners – will have the analytical intelligence to self-diagnose and self-correct. They will be able to deliver the right information to the right people, all in real time. When machines can sense conditions and communicate, they become instruments of understanding. They create knowledge from which we can act quickly, saving money and producing better outcomes.

Ahh, sound familiar? Yes, machines are going to rule the world! Some may say this is a long shot but hey, who are we t disagree? Lets just see what will happen in future. There are endless possibilities for the Internet- too often we’re still left asking, “to what end?”

http://gigaom.com/2012/11/28/the-future-of-the-internet-is-intelligent-machines/

The Korean Invasion

If you’re one of those who suffer symptoms such as uncontrollable shrieks, intense heart palpitations, soaked palms, speaking — and squealing — in foreign tongues when your favorite band comes up, I am sure you are more than familiar with the Hallyu wave – Korean wave. If you think we are predominantly influenced by western media, think again. There’s a new contender in town, the Koreans.

Already a craze in Asia, the wave has opened the floodgates of K-Pop in France, Brazil, Germany and Australia. Now it’s about to take over New York. -David Yi, NY Daily News

This South Korean invasion would be an apt example of mass communication – a form of communication through which institutional sources address relatively large, heterogeneous and anonymous audiences physically separated from one another.

Just like their manufacturing companies; cars, televisions, washing machines and many more, privately own entertainment companies in South Korea such as YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment and many others are utilizing the same manufacturing techniques to churn out pop stars. In doing so, South Korea has been successful in globalizing their media brand despite the cultural and language differences. These companies have break the boundaries in the global media market. They are able to export their media product effectively across all borders. Not only in Asia but Europe and America as well even though there are variences in a country’s technology, ideology and culture.

The appeal of K-Pop is their lavish videos with brilliant and outstanding dance moves that even America’s pop stars would be jealous off. Thus, this is another reason why South Korea are so successful in exporting their “media products” – idol groups to overseas market by exploiting technology. In this tech-craze era, almost everyone has access to the Internet. Most of the entertainment companies in South Korea put Youtube to good use. They post such videos of their bands periodically to garner followers or so they call them, FANATICS. Literally.

For instance, Girls Generation “Gee” would not be as famous as it it now without it’s video. Fans all over the world anticipate for their idols’ videos. The videos create the global market, allowing fans all over the globe to enjoy K-pop entertainment even though they’re not in Korea.

So my question to you is, are you riding the korean wave? Whether you like it or not, the K-pop craze is here to stay. You might hate it now, eventually, it’ll get to you. Trust me. Been there, done that. So kudos South Korea! You have indeed “invaded” the world.

http://static.allkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/20110625_london_kpop_fans_1.jpg

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2011/10/23/2011-10-23_the_korean_invasion_new_yorkers_are_screaming_for_the_new_wave_of_pop_stars.html?r=entertainment

 

Satire, Singapore’s Silver Bullet?

Unless you have just returned from Mars, you have probably heard of The Noose and its ‘legendary’ noose-casters and oddball reporters – Joyce J. Chansingh, XINmsn

If you are Singaporean, I am sure you are familiar with The Noose. This comedy  TV series, produced by Mediacorp Channel 5 is a string of satirical sketches of Singapore’s flaws, poking fun on the issues in Singapore all in the name of fun. I’m sure it has tickled your funny bones. I would always burst into uncontrollable, tear jerking laughter every time I watch it.

Yes, indeed it is hilarious. However, it brings about pressing issues that we, Singaporeans face. (Often, well most of the time, we are passive about) From the recent general elections to the rise in foreign immigrants.

The Noose aptly shows high context culture. It focuses on the information preprogrammed in the receiver and the setting and has restricted codes and contextual cues.  The average Singaporean would be familiar or are fully aware of the topics exhibited. They are conspicuos in our society. The latter basically point out the fact that the sketches are done in “Singaporean jargon and slang”; Singlish, “taxi driver language”  as well as the myriad of infamous accents mocking the foreign workers and Singaporean’s themselves.

Thus, this leads to my point; if an outsider or a foreigner were to watch this comedy series, they would think that it is nonsensical, irreverent and would not get it. Yes, if the foreigner is well informed and is conscious of our issues  they would get the underlying meaning. However, they would find it hard to understand the “codes” and “contextual cues” as they most likely have not encountered them before. If it was like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, many may find it easier to understand as it as it is somewhat in low context culture.

On the contrary, low context culture can also be seen. There’s a fine line between it being explicit or not. Here, The Noose adopted a a blunt approach; the use of  direct, explicit and unambiguous verbal communication style which can be seen as rude, coarse and insensitive.  Nonetheless, the show has a “I  was just kidding!” nature so people have to keep an open mind.

So what we may see almost immediately may take an outsider a while to figure out. Vice versa.

So I shall leave you guys with some clips. I DARE YOU NOT TO LAUGH.

The Noose has been nominated for an International Emmy Award recently. The Noose is now going international! So the outsiders do understand us afterall? Well maybe with the aid of subtitles!

http://www.alarictay.com/images/the-noose-low-1.jpg

http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/B3/3628F3A0EEE7DEB191806EC64C5B7A.jpg

http://asiancorrespondent.com/66566/is-satire-singapore%E2%80%99s-silver-bullet/

 

The Fire in Their Hearts is Out

Oasis is infamous with one too many break-ups. This English rock band have been flooding tabloids with the numerous fallout they had. Ironic as it may seem, the “rocky” status of the band is due to the brawling brothers. In 2009, they finally “waved the white flag”, calling it quits. Their show at Rock en Seine festival in Paris was cancelled.(Their last gig) Oasis was dead.

This band aptly illustrates group communication. From the formation of the band to the dissolution.

Oasis begins (Formation); 

Oasis came together in Manchester, England in 1991 under the alias, The Rain. It was made up of a bunch of friends Paul McGuigan, Paul Arthurs, Tony McCarroll and Liam Gallagher. Being well acquainted with each other, they clicked well; social interaction.

The group was in need of a lead guitarist and back-up vocalist, Noel Gallagher; Liam’s brother was asked to join the band. Noel accepted on the condition that he would be the band leader and would oversee all of the band’s work. Even though Noel was just a prospective member, the group came together and made the decision to meet his request. Here, group socialization occurs. The band members   seek to influence each other to best meet their needs; to  be the best band out there. Noel was the answer .

Members come and go but the two brothers, Liam and Noel remain as the core members. And  At the beginning, The Gallagher brothers, together with their new/old members enjoyed great group synergy, exchanging creative ideas and influencing each other, producing eargasmic music. One of the best British bands out there, they serve as inspiration or influence for most of the 20th century bands such as Coldplay, The Killers, Artic Monkeys, Maroon 5 and the list goes on.

Rocky disposition (Storming);

Disputes were bountiful in this band. They didn’t originate from the other two members but from the Gallagher brothers. They have been rowing since they were born, it is in their DNA! The band suffered numerous blow outs from the siblings’ brawls. The two other member took a the passenger seat, were  just the followers. They were passive in times of conflict. The two brothers were often competing for status. Both always throwing hissy fits. Noel being the leader, was the devil’s advocate but also the orienter/coordinator trying hard to keep things in place. Groupthink; Mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action was greatly affected.

Its over. 

In 2009, Noel Gallagher finally quit the band.

“People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”

– Noel Gallagher

He can no longer commit in the group.

Post break-up

The remaining member of Oasis (sans Noel Gallagher), formed a new band, Beady Eye. Soon after the release of their single, Noel Gallagher started his solo career. In July 2011, he released his debut single ‘The Death of You and Me’.

However, given the history and the past brawls the band has suffered, we can never be sure if it IS over for the band. The band hasn’t adjourned (well I hope so).

“It’s obviously the worst fall-out that they’ve ever had, and they’ve had some pretty bad ones. This is a pretty serious one. But they love each other, they’ll come back together.”

– Alan McGee, discovered Oasis in 1993

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8228053.stm

http://oasisinet.com/BandGalleries.aspx

Blue Valentine

How do you trust your feelings when they can just disappear like that?wh

Blue Valentine, the critically acclaimed film will bring you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Sad and riveting, the rawness of this movie will bring you on a journey you’ll never forget. A definite tear jerker. The storyline is simple, portraying a marriage that is falling apart. Switching back and forth between the time of their courtship and the dissolution of their marriage several years later, the audience gains more and more insight into the couple’s relationship as the film goes on. Funny as it seems, the termination of their marriage aptly followed Knapp Model of Relation and Development.

Dean(Ryan Gosling), a soft-hearted guy in his early twenties falls in love with a pre-med student, Cindy (Michelle Williams). To the point where  he’s happy to be a father to someone else’s  daughter. Just a few years later, they can barely talk to each other. What happened?

One day, while working, Dean chanced upon Cindy and knew he has found the “one”. In the film, during fragments of flashbacks, Dean is often discussing about love with his fellow laborers. In one of the instances, he said, “What do you think about love at first sight? You think you can love somebody by looking at her? But the thing is man, is that I felt like I knew her.” 

Here, relational formation is shown. Physical appearance, one of the most significant aspect for the formation of relations, is clearly depicted. Dean was drawn to Cindy. It would be ridiculous if it wasn’t her appearance that attracted him as they didn’t know each other. In that decisive moment, seeing Cindy for the very first time, Dean wanted to get to know her, wanted to be with her. I’m sure this has happen to many of you out there. Seeing someone for the first time and feel like there’s a need to know that individual. It all boils down to physical attraction.

This was the start to a painful, dark and dying relationship…

Their married life was far from paradise. Conflicts seem to be bountiful in their relationship. The movie started out with an argument. In that particular scene, breakfast was accompanied by a disagreement on how to serve and eat oatmeal, an apparently minor affair that subtly reveals a major fissure in their already rocky marriage. Most of their conflicts are left unresolved, straining their marriage even further. Here, following Knapp Model of Relation and Development, their marriage has reached the sixth and seventh stage; differentiating and circumscribing their communications are basically based conflicts and they can’t be bothered or are tired to deal with them.

The eighth and ninth stage; stagnation and avoiding was apparent in the scene where Dean tries to rekindle some romance by using a gift certificate to take Cindy to a theme hotel. They spend a disastrous night in the “Future” room. Even in this suggestive and intimate setting, the two looked awfully awkward together. There wasn’t any joy or excitement. It is obvious that Cindy has withdrawn herself physically and emotionally from the relationship. She just could not face Dean anymore.  She resorted to evading away from him and marriage mentally.

Stage 10, terminating. This was the last conversation they had before the cessation of their marriage. In this scene, you can see Dean trying to use communication tactics to persuade Cindy that they can work out their relationship. He pleaded, saying that he’ll do anything, using part of the vow “for better or for worst” and even used their daughter; that he doesn’t want her to grow up in a broken family. All in the effort to save their marriage. Other than that, justification; why the relationship should end was also evident in this scene. The marriage was void of physical and emotional attraction. Dean “took the hint” and walked away.

Mind boggling isn’t it? One moment you’re so happy. The next, you’re so miserable that it hurts.

Lost in Translation

Have you ever been in a conversation and know nuts what the speaker is talking about? It may be the case when you’re overseas or speaking to a foreigner. The play on words communicate meanings, ideas, opinions, emotions and many others. Our thoughts and perceptions are shaped by language. However, sometimes what you want to bring across may be miscommunicated and suddenly it feels like you’re on a an alien planet.

If you guys are anglophiles like me; I have an obsession from anything English! You would be more than familiar with the British comedy, Mind Your Language. The series focuses on the adult students of an English foreign language class in a London college. The students have varying degrees of English proficiency and much of the humour of the show is derived from the students misunderstanding English words or terminology and plays heavily on the cultural stereotype of their individual nation of origin.

Here the difference in way people interpret a language is apparent. Even though it is still English! The students are of varying reference groups; dissimilar  cultures as well as nationality(native language). These differences, with reference to the clip, are forms of language barriers that causes them to interpret something differently. Hence, there is communication breakdown. Indeed it is hilarious but imagine it happening to you? I’m sure it would be kind of annoying.

Being an obsessed fan of anything that originates from the UK, more often than not, I would face such language barriers too. Thanks to the bloody thick accent of the English blokes, I would have to repeat a video a couple of times before getting the right idea. Check out the video below and see what I mean.

Other than that,

This is another example of language barriers of communication. When we watch something that is strongly written in technical terms, jargons and slangs such as The Big Bang Theory, you can’t help but to be baffled at times with the terminology used. Individuals that are not familiar with the technical knowledge or the informal words and expression characteristic of a particular group would be lost, trying to grasp the idea.

As trivial as it may seem, verbal communication is one hell of a complex component of the way we communicate. It is not merely people talking to one another. The next time you open your mouth to talk/communicate,  bear in mind if it will be conveyed accurately.

So what you’re saying is…..it’s a lie?

If you were a great Survivor fan, the name Jon Dalton aka “Jonny Fairplay” would be familiar. Being the most notorious and despicable player ever on Survivor, Johnny Fairplay was a household name. He fabricated what host Jeff Probst called “the greatest lie in Survivor history.”

 Check out the video below.

Mid way through the clip, what kind of impression did Jonny Fairplay leave you with? What is your perception of him? Ask yourself these questions again at the end of the video. Did you see it coming? Do you feel cheated?

 As seen in this clip, perception is indeed at play. All the contestants seem to have a common sentiment on the news of Fairplay’s grandmother’s death; shared perception. Most agree that they should throw the game allowing Fairplay to win so that he can find out more about his “grandmother’s death”. The cognitive nature in people influenced the contestants to do so. The news received definitely struck the emotional chord with the contestants inducing sympathetic feelings amongst them resulting them to purposely let Fairplay to win.

I’m sure at the end of the video most of you felt deceived. Well, at least I did. This is where perceptual errors occur. We oversimplified the situation. We dived into the salient information; the news of Fairplay’s grandmother’s death and not the significant information; why didn’t the producers tell him first since it is really an important news? We fail to select the right information and thus, interpret it wrongly. Hence, we fall victim to believing the lie. Cognitively, we sympathize with the contestants too.

Conversely, if you watch the video meticulously, you will be able to observe that one of the contestants, Sandra, did not fall for Fairplay’s cheap trick. I feel that she aptly displayed the tendencies in perception; persistence of first impression. At the start of the game, Sandra has already felt that Fairplay cannot be trusted from her first impression of him and that sentiment stayed with her throughout the whole game. In the clip, she clearly did not budge and refuse to let him win. Her intuition was right after all! First impressions do impact one’s perception greatly. They are like tattoos; they will be etched on one’s mind forever. How many times have we wished to be able to turn back time to erase an embarrassing or disgraceful first impression?

Without a doubt Survivor is a game fueled by perceptions. Contestants have to carefully select, organize and interpret the information received to make the right decisions to further themselves in the game.

In this case, Fairplay swayed the contestant’s perceptions to win the challenge and reap the rewards. Smart move, or not?

Subtleness is out…being conspicuous is the way to go?

A Team – Ed Sheeran

Released this year, this song/music video has only become main-stream in the recent month, on constant loop on MTV. A song about a drug addict prostitute, you may feel that it’s necessary to be subtle in the video as well as lyrically. However, obscurity isn’t the case here.  Sheeran was inspired to write thing song when he came across a prostitute at a homeless shelter. So he wrote this song for her

The song is trying to create awareness on the issues that we usually disregard due to the sheltered and conservative society we live in (In Singapore’s case). Issues raised here are blatantly illustrated through the song and video. Generating the much needed awareness.

Basically, it depicts the story of a drug addict prostitute who struggle to make ends meet due to her expensive addiction; drugs. So the subject broached here is drug abuse and prostitution.

The arrangement of the video is somewhat intriguing. It started off with the character dying first, arousing the audience to watch on to find out more. Capturing the attention and interest of the audience.

Being a music video, the ideas brought forward can be comprehended effectively. Catchy tunes captures your attention rather than an old bloke preaching right? Hence, the style is appropriate to garner awareness. It reels in the audience allowing them to feel the message. For example, in this media age, social media are the way to go. Sites like youtube are often frequent by the masses for the latest news or happenings. This shows that visual media are more sought after as it is often more interesting and eye catching.

The explicit visuals splashed throughout the video are able to invoke feelings of understanding of the issues. For instance, at the start, where she overdosed and died, the part where she was “selling herself” and when she was doing crack. Allowing people to explore their emotions of disgust, outrage and even sadness. This is how obvious the video is. The audience does not have to closely look through for nuances. The idea is clear.

As for the lyrics, as mention above, the song meaning is conspicuous. It clearly sends the message of the song about the character being a slave to drugs and have to resort to prostitution to support her compulsion.

“The worst things in life come free to us
And we’re all under the upperhand
Go mad for a couple of grams
And we don’t want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland
Or sell love to another man”

I’ve got to say that the music video being blunt is what entices me. I don’t have to be a music snob to get the message. Reading between the lines should be saved for literature class instead.