thinking is the new black

Dramatic events in the thinking is the new black house hold this week, when my personal computer began to sound as if it were being powered by a russian hamster on a tread wheel. Unfortunately it was the hard drive in my 3 year old mac mini that gave up the ghost.

Apparently living in and powering my mac-mini

Frankly at the time, an utter horrendo disaster. Although I regularly back work up, and managed  to salavge all my thesis and teaching work, I still lost some of my itunes and photo data. It’s a painfull lesson to learn as I’ve spent several hours already this week, loading CDs into itunes and rummaging around for old software disks and memory cards. But thanks to some help from my friends I now have a suped up 160GB, and modded mac-mini as good as a brand new one. And I have discovered a great Mac Mini civilization camped out there on the t’interweb of streams.

Even more nail biting perhaps was the return of my TV husband Jack Bauer, in a one off special 24 Redemption. Damn It! This has certainly wet my appetite for Day 7 which is on in January. I’m now beside myself with excitement.

I always base the upgrade of my mobile phone on what ever Jack is using, so the writers strike in the US has meant a delay and me being stuck with a rather rubbish motorola razor for some time and looking like a right old laggard. Jack I am waiting for you.

sorry Bruce Parry - there can be only one. xx

I went to the 1st of the evening media seminars at Brighton University yesterday to hear Dr Kate O’Riordan from Sussex give her paper “The Genome incorporated: Constructing Biodigital Identity’” which

“examines the intersection of genome sequencing and digital media practices through a discussion of interactivity, social networking and genome browsing which centres around the personal genome sequencing company23andMe “

In terms of social networking 23andMe has a community function whereby users compare their genome data with other people signed up for the service. As I commented last night I can really see this ending up as some sort of face-book style application  / public profile. 

What was especially interesting to me is that Google is one of the investors of 23andMe. 

As the article points out

the investment could be seen as Google’s first step towards indexing genetic information.

Food for Thought

If Google were able to combine the immense amounts of user data they collect right now with the health and medical data that could potentially be gathered from Google Health AND combine that with data potentially available to them through 23andMe, a person’s Google profile could be a dangerous thing. What if this hypothetical Google profile ever got into the hands of a health insurance provider? Could you be denied coverage based on a genetic predisposition to cancer? What if you also often search terms like “breathing problems” and “wheezing,” or you’ve emailed a cancer specialist to try and get an appointment?

I watched Question Time on the beeb last week after Obamas’ victory. It featured Brian Eno, for one, who is apparently a consultant to the Lib Dems. How about that? He is a  rather charming reactionary and good to see the Lib Dems appropriating a bit of cool. I’ve long thought that they’ve  catching up to do in the communication of democracy stakes. I know politics should be all about the policies, but in this day and age it has to also be about the brand. As well as be being on the money and having some sound political views, Eno mediates politics at the level of personal activism and social responsibility. Plus he allows the Lib Dems to draw on also sorts of connotations of hip and culture.

Anyway, as you can imagine the whole QT show was rather a viva Obama fest / “we are the world, we are the people”, including Bonnie Greer  who is normally very sensible telling everyone how she was in tears on victory night. Everyone wants to be Obamas’ friend, and every one wants to show  that their personal emotional reaction to the event is stronger than their neighbors, and some how more authentic. I mean don’t get me wrong I AM pleased ( though rather like Bonnie  I flipflopped from being a Hilary supporter to a Barack supporter).   2 events come to mind through all this.   One is the death of Princess Diana and the other, Tony Blairs’ victory in 1997. The whole emotional competitiveness is symptomatic of Western Society, particularly in the UK since the death of Diana. The notion of the media facilitation “our” ability to feel if you know what I mean. 1997 for me was one of the most important elections in the last 100 years, not least because it was the 1st one I was able to vote in. What I am reminded of more specifically is this discourse of optimism and hope obscuring actual policy.

I remember staying up all night watching the votes some in and seeing Neil Kinnock dancing awkwardly to D:ream. Remember this?

In 1997 I was an undergrad struggling to live independently of my family in East London during the eve of Cool Britannia. I was so hopeful and optimistic for the Labour party; all I’d ever known was Thatcher and that life as a young adult living on the bread line in the capital was quite hard. My pals and I got carried away with the election, because a change of government for us signified such giddy anticipation for the future. Alas, like so many others, I’m let down by what actually followed.

The language of new labour has been brilliantly analyzed by Norman Fairclough,  in his wonderful book New Language New Labour. But I thought it would be interesting to run a quick word cloud courtesy of wordle on Baracks’ victory speech.

Check out the focus on patriotism, words connoting change, inclusively and signifying society. The world awaits to see if this discourse will have any effect on social change. No pressure then..

Atlanta Highway by Choking Sun

In between juggling getting back into thesis mode, teaching, supervising undergrad dissertations and general research-arama, I’m slowly, slowly trying to spruce up thinking is the new black. Therefore I’ve been having a poke around the blogosphere over the last few days, and looking at blogs I like, such as The Sartorialist, Fresh Peel, this one about culture and brands, the brilliant brilliant stylebubble.

I came across a discussion about  an analogies for the web recently, which captured my imagination, and reminded me of an amusing conversation I had with a colleague, about the different words and phrases people use for the same technologies, and how these can shape our perception. The idea of streams makes me think of the Amazon and all its’ tributaries,  which in turn makes me think of  Bruce Parry.  * sigh & goes all girly* 

It is very interesting to me that we as humans require analogies and metaphors for communication and information revolutions.  It’s discourse init.

Some of these analogies for what is happening in the web and social media, make me feel slightly uncomfortable, and think about the notion of echo chambers. It’s about the suitability of a metaphor to an intended audience. I haven’t really had the time or inclination to develop this further at the moment. However there is a brilliant reference by Phil Agre on the internet and public discourse.

I found it on this site I really like,  the v useful resource from  Caslon Analytics group. 

Also it’s all referenced bootifuly using the Harvard System. Nicely.

Thinking about the internet has been bedevilled by a range of metaphors such as the ‘information superhighway’, ‘digital divide’ and ‘broadband gap’. This page considers conceptual challenges and particular memes. 

Thanks to Peter Kay, I, like hundreds of others have been guilty of using the t’interweb in professional situations -such is its’ acceptance into common parlance in the UK. I’m also a huge fan of The Internets, and the terribly retro sounding,  Information Superhighway. Of course, these all mean slightly different things, are historically specific and depend on who’s doing the talking.

I’m quite fond of the town square and placing web theory in context with Habermas, as you know. But the reason I still quite like Information Super Highway, is that it evokes the idea of networks: sometimes monolithic motorways with service station stop offs, or contrasting bendy country lanes, bridle paths and cycle lanes, sometimes gridlocked, but very often going nowhere, empty or abandoned. 

Marx is trendy, official.  I was thrilled to read in the “going up” bit of yesterdays Sunday Times Style supplement, along with Ruebens Apples ( a cross between pink lady and cox), recession shopping  All Saints home, and purple boots, sales of Karl Marx Das Kapital are soaring.

You heard it hear 1st many moons ago, but if Style says – it must be a la mode.

Moi and Karl