Examples of mashups can be seen in the fusion of services such as Google Map and Youtube with sources of information in order to provide a unique service that is different in function than the parts that produced it. An example can be seen in AlertMaps, which combines cartographic technology alongside information regarding natural disasters, and produces a world map with different icons representing different natural disasters, the severity of said calamity and the level of damage caused by it.

Mashups can be seen as an excellent supplementary asset to international governance. By incorporating mashups into international governance procedures, governments and other organizations can establish more effective ways of displaying information to Internet users. Images, videos, charts and other organizational diagrams are very effective at displaying information, and incorporating them alongside typed data is always useful in informing a reader about different subjects.

International governance is becoming more and more widespread as more and more users begin to grasp and affiliate themselves with daily use of the Internet. By making use of mashups, these users will find it easier to find the information they need to complete their daily online tasks or to satisfy their Internet-related needs.

Here is a link to a cool mashup I found called Alertmaps. It displays natural disasters and where they take place.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php

A global civil society allows these organizations to further refine and strengthen their bonds with one another via short or long-distance communication, thus hinting at an affinity with networks. It can be seen as the real-life version of the Internet, as it connects different organizations together. It allows these organizations to prosper and grow by accumulating more members who share the same views and are willing to work to further fortify the group in their own way.

An example of this can be seen in the conservation of endangered animals. Global civil societies allows for the global population to share their views in regards to the status of several endangered species, and what measures should be taken to prevent their demise. As a result of global civil societies, the following species were to gain reservations and special priveleges in order to regrow their fallen populations: the Bengal tiger, the giant panda, the white rhinoceros and the whooping crane. If you check the map below, you can find the locations of the reservations for each species.

Unfortunately the quality is not that good, since I did the main recording in the UTSC Mac Lab, and had to lower my voice so I didn’t draw unnecessary attention or bother anyone. So I decided to provide subtitles to go with the podcast.

Here is a question for you all? Does the Internet democratize the consumer? Well, before we establish that, let’s define the term, democratize. According to my source, which for any who are interested, happens to be answers.com, and happens to be located within, ironically the Internet,  democratize means to make more democratic. Well, that is not going to help much, now is it? Let’s inquire a bit further with Wikipedia, which also happens to be on the Internet. That’s two in a row. The term is actually a Greek word, which means “rule by the people”. It is a political system in which government is carried by the people (this term is called direct democracy), or the power to govern is carried out by representatives elected by the general population (republicanism)

So that brings us back to the main question at hands? Does the Internet democratize the consumer? Well, my answer is yes, yes it does, but to an extent. If you want the best example of freedom in its purest form, you can find it on the Internet. The Internet does not control the consumer. Instead, in a stunning display of the term “vice versa”, which happens to be a Latin term by the way, for those who did not know, those who did know and simply forgot, those who know and don’t really give much of a damn, and those who don’t know yet don’t give a damn anyway, the consumer controls the Internet. The Internet exists for many purposes, some of them simple, others complex, yet one stands out at as the pinnacle of them all. The Internet exists to serve the people, to allow them gain awareness of world events and to allow them to share their thoughts and ideas with others around the world. The average human being has limited potential when in the real world, but when exposed to the Internet, that level of potential explodes exponentially. The Internet contains passageways to countless volumes of knowledge that would take various lifetimes to collect. The Internet allows for the consumer to communicate with people halfway around the world. The Internet also allows the consumer to be informed of events as soon as they occur.

The Internet can be likened to a car. The manufacturers and designers determine its functions. The agency in charge determines the requirements of using such a product. But in the end, that product is nothing without a consumer. The consumer gives the product a purpose, a reason to be used. The Internet has the same fate. Its purpose in life is to be used, for without said purpose, it cannot evolve to further advance its functions. Thus, it is the product of a rudimentary form of democracy.

However, there is an extent to this power. Despite the level of control the consumer has over the Internet, any developments and advancements are still handled by the governments and other parties responsible. This new level of power varies among nations. Conservative government usually exercise more control over the Internet, while governments with an affinity to liberalism are often more laidback in this regard. China is a prime example of the first option. The Chinese government exercises a high level of degree of control over what should or should not be displayed to its citizens over the Internet, and has taken measures to eliminate elements it has deemed to be unsavoury.

So on the whole, the Internet does democratize the consumer, but the extent of democratization is wholly dependent on the nation and governments in question.

Due to the ever-increasing rate of technological, social and cultural changes, the Internet has rapidly evolved into an engine of communication. The ability of communicate has reached heights once considered to be unattainable a few decades past. The concept of the global village has also reached new borders, allowing for the transmission of information regarding current events occuring all over the world to be transferred and downloaded almost immediately onto one’s screen. Indirect communication, once limited to only talking back and forth through a system of wires and dials, have now been refined and newly sharpened to communicate in the most effective ways of possible.

The full potential of technological development can be  unleashed through the cosmopolitan view. The cosmopolitian view supports the Internet in every aspect of its being and functions, and allows for the enhancement of a new form of freedom by uniting all of humanity together in a sphere of connections. By encouraging the use of technology and media to a ever-growing number of users, the cosmopolitan view can allow for the acquisition of new abilities and skills to more members of the global community.

Technology is a most wondrous resource. It has the distinction of being one of the few resources whose creation and maintenance is completely dependant in the hands of mankind. It is a tool that has allowed us to conquer and tame the elements, to use for our benefit and comfort. It is an engine of progress, allowing mankind to break new borders. With the proper knowledge issued forth by the cosmopolitan view, man’s command over history’s rein will be forever bound to his hand alone, steered towards the path of his choice.

Podcast link (Discovery Channel): I have always been a big fan of channels such as Discovery and National Geographic and found this podcast to be quite useful to tune into the newest developements in the global and scientific worlds. It provides up-to-date reports on discoveries and breakthroughs around the worlds, as well as analyses on past endeavours. For me, this is a way to sate my “nerdish” attributes.

http://www.discovery.com/radio/xml/bulletin.xml

In all regards, the true recipient of this decisive factor should be the content of the tags that make up the folksonomy in question. It is true, that without an intricate structure of well-placed codes, a folksonomy cannot be created, and that without social processes to popularize it, this type of network could never be noticed by the audiences who seek its content. Yet, amid these very words, lurks the term that possesses the reason for the folksonomy’s true purpose. A folksonomy is more than just a network, it is a compilation of ideas and theories, knowledge and communication methods, all bridged together via an elaborately simple system of tags. It is the content that the tags represent that truly catch the idea of the reader, not the code or social processes that entail it. It is the knowledge and ideas that the tag guards that the reader strives to seek, and thus it is the content of the tag that the folksonomy has been established custody of that determines its structure and forms.

Wikipedia article link: http://istb-tuesday.wikidot.com/internet-governance-and-polices