Particularly under circumstances such as these, when old haunts are seen being blitzed again, I take leisurely strolls down memory lane preferring my own sentimental journey to the path of degradation which has led to the present day blighting of Blighty.

But more than that, I have been following the trend where social media plays a role in bricks-and-mortar “social revolutions,” trying to learn something about the doppelganger space that both separates and unifies crowds and mobs alike.

On the one hand, social media like Twitter and Facebook are lauded as technological allies in the “struggle for democracy,” as in the Arab Spring for example, while others ask, as in the case of the UK riots, if Draconian measures are required to curb the use of Blackberry-enabled mayhem.

It is clear that one’s answer to such questions is affected by who is being threatened on and by the streets, be the protest  legitimate, immoral, understandable and/or wholly indefensible.

Of course, these are complicated issues. I have to remind myself that the BBC–my primary source for UK news– is, for all intents and purposes, an establishment organization. Their portrayal of the rioters as an underclass of mindless yobos hell-bent on reversing their disenfranchisement from consumerist entitlements may be in contrast to alternative media outlets–with biases of there own, no doubt–but hard to refute when there is little to suggest that the rioters have any sense of decency, higher purpose or legitimate indignation.

When it comes to the institutionalization of opinions and analysis, the Beeb has few runners-up in giving the appearance of an unbiased agency. They do, however, have a history–at least as I recall–of serving up controversy in the guise of being independent. I was reminded of that when I watched a clip from Newsnight which featured British historian and chauvinist David Starkey. What triggered that thought was Starkey’s reference to Enoch Powell and his infamous “River of Blood” speech. I remember seeing it as a boy on the BBC’s weekly program, Panorama. In essence, Starkey is proposing that Powell was right about his bigoted vision of England being ruined by multiculturalism,  black people and culture.

If you have time, this BBC documentary is well worth watching for context:

[Can't see it? Watch the video on YouTube]

…and here is the clip from Newsnight:

[Problems viewing? Watch the video on YouTube]

Responding to each point that Starkey makes would require more time than it’s worth. Besides, there is no shortage of commentary online that articulates various points of view, better than an uncontested rant of mine I think. Rather, I’ll just share a catchy tune that popped into my head–a favorite from my own rioting days–and a suitable score to accompany Starkey dancing around the issues, asserting for example, that Jamaican patois is “a wholly false language.” As we say down on memory lane, and in a vernacular Mr. Starkey will be very familiar with I’m sure: “What a load of bollocks!”

[Change channels - Watch the video on YouTube]

Like a good book you can’t put down, here is a tube in the same category: Elevation Partners Director and Co-Founder Roger McNamee presenting at The Paley Center For Media.

Roger McNamee shares a number of compelling arguments that invite us to think about the social web not in terms of where we think we are, but in terms of where irresistible change is taking us.

[Can't see the video? Watch it on FORA.tv]

Hat tip: John Sumser

You can get some additional background information and the slide deck on Jeremiah Owyang’s Web Strategy site.

[Nice graphic]

Read the rest here »

Services like Paper.li, Tabbloid, The Tweeted Times, and Feedly mash-up the linked-to content, typically in a newspaper or magazine format.  I am noticing that even sites like LinkedIn are jumping on the bandwagon with the recent launch of LinkedIn Today. Whatever next?

I am starting to realize that among the problems these me-too services face in overcoming the scramble for users and brand recognition are the legitimate concerns about pseudo-journalism, self-appointed experts, and mob-rule. Yet sometimes, one hopes, these services can deliver campaign objectives or be a source of trusted, useful, and up-to-date information. A case in point…

I just signed up for an invite to the private beta for Scoop.it [yes, as in dog food] and then came across this Social Media Policies in the Work Place. I thought you might like both the service and the topic too. Again, one hopes.

Read the rest here ».

It is also ruining our lives.

Read the rest here ».

Experts like Thomas Vander Wal, a scholar and a poet, while advocating the virtues of tag augmented social search, leave us speechless when we find they don’t tag shit.

No matter. This slide deck redeems our favorite technosocial architect who not only sees the irony in not wanting to be labeled, but may well not give a tinker’s cuss if we do.

“Tag augmented social search” indeed…Puh-leeze!
 

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Here I am today watching the latest in the now degenerated genre of let-me-addle-your-brains-with-a-factoid-video and find myself asking, “So what?”

[Trouble viewing the video? Watch it on YouTube]

Okay, so another 100 hours of video just got uploaded to YouTube — so what? 78 percent of articles on Wikipedia are not in English — your point is? 34 percent of bloggers post opinions about products and brands — who would have thought it!

Of course, if all this data does have import, and my business will suffer for my not paying attention to it, I might as well slink off now, huddle up in the corner, and die. Ah, but then what?

Read the rest here ».