Web 2.0 and the death of privacy

Has Privacy become an issue of the past? These days you are more prone to hear news about Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Police officers and even Government Ministers and Officials being caught on tape. Not only on tape, but today they are all being posted over the Internet. A few cases might illustrate this issue of privacy and how it may lead to other chain of actions that could harm you.

The Dark Side

One was the case of a British man, Edward Richardson, who murdered his wife. His wife changed her Facebook profile status to "single" a few days after they had an argument and moved out. He became so enraged from seeing the change in profile status and subjected her to a brutal attack with a knife leaving her dead in the bedroom. It was also reported that Edward was sentenced to 18 years of jail for the murder of his wife.

The other case is of a Malaysian Health Minster of Malaysia, Dr. Chua Soi Lek, who was caught with his political pants down, where he was "featured" having sex with a young Chinese woman. He was caught by hidden cameras in a 'sex romp', which was widely circulated and became an instant hit in Malaysia. This eventually caused his downfall on his political career and was forced to resign.

The One with The Force

As with online privacy, sometimes it can also work for you. It can provide you with some kind of publicity, create a fellowship and make people like you for what you do.

The case of Alexey Wayner, is one clear example. He posted a video resume in 2006 of 'Impossible is Nothing', which became an 'internet hit'. Within days calls started to flood in and his privacy was invaded. Many spoof's started to duplicate his video and has since spread widely over the net.

Could this be turned around? Would you want to use it for building an online business? It is possible, depending on how you were to look at it. Whether the glass half empty or half full.

If you were to look at it in the marketing sense, it could bring about a great deal of traffic to your site, since the video is viral. It could provide you with some kind of 'credibility' if you are building a business. But if you are not then it could cause damage to your reputation and the experience can be a painful one. The online community is a shared one, and there are people out there who would like to know what you do and don't. But the test a subjective one.

Cameras have played a major role in our lives, both in media, security and also for personal use. But, these days camera's can invade our privacy and thanks to many social media sites and video sites such as YouTube and many other social media sites have allowed images, videos and data to spread like wild fire. It is far easier to invade your privacy and cause damage to your reputation.

Technology has shows how easy it can be and how a persons privacy can be invaded and affect a persons life after the videos, images and data are posted online. Let it be for good or evil. Your privacy is literally blown! It is like 'Big Brother', watching over you or image your life being featured in "The Chronicles of The Truman Show", where everyone is watching you.

The internet is based on the first amendment, which promotes freedom of speech and everyone is given the opportunity to post information voluntarily, but sometimes involuntarily especially when someone obtains your data, video or images without your consent. So what kind of privacy is this? Who is to be blamed? Should you be humiliated or exhilarated?

We all have to deal with this increase of information that is being posted on the net, but the question seem to be how much information is enough? Where do you draw the thin fine line to post such information and data online? Who determines this? Should we shut down the internet and block or ban sites that invade your privacy?

Of course not! You do not ban any sites or even try to shut down the internet. The role and responsibility is to be shared online both by web service providers and the end user. We have to collectively raise the awareness of individuals to protect the privacy of individuals online and at the same time making sure that you do your part as the end user.

Some related links:

Data Privacy Day
Raising Data Privacy Awareness
The Privacy Dilemma

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Creativity at It's Best

These days more and more companies are looking for creative ways to promote their ideas, brands and services.

Ikea is one of them and they featured Robert Muraine in one of their creative ads.

Just amazing. Have a look...



Robert Muraine is a 'popper' or also known for his 'popping' dance movements and he was featured in 'So You Think You Can Dance' and eventually won :)

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Your Future, Your Fortune

I would like to get some things straight. There have been people that I have come across with and by listening to their confessions and experiences, I just feel sorry for them. They just have a poor will power and they lack the power to make decisions for themselves.

The people who I am referring to are those who rely on fortune tellers, psychics and mystics. Please don't be fooled by them and get hurt emotionally in the process of doing so. If these guys are real they will be the first ones making a million bucks and living a life of their dreams, but rather they are making a million bucks out of you and from the people who are really susceptible to their suggestions.

These kinds of beliefs are personal and at the end of its up to you to what you practise or preach, but rememeber that at the end of the day your life, your destiny is based on the decisions that you make and not what others suggest to you or 'tell' you what to do. 

Can you image if Bill Gates had gone to see a 'fortune teller' way back before he started Microsoft? Can you imagine the fortune teller saying this to him: "Don't worry my child you will be a successful person and you will have a high flying job in the near future." Don't you think it is every persons dream to be sucessful in life and live their dreams? But the test always comes down to those who take action and execute their dreams and ambition, and this is something that many successful individuals have done including Bill Gates. He didn't rely on all the mystics and fortune tellers to sell him that he will start Microsoft. Common sense is not so common and it is they who lack this "common sense" end up becoming preys of such people.

I have come across individuals who relied on these alternatives rather then to be a master of their own destinity. As a result of these alternatives, they have ruined their relationships, their jobs and careers and some even commited suicide. This is true. Don't be a victim to all the 'spoofs and pranks'. 

If these individuals can proof their claims then maybe they should take up the James Randi Paranormal Challenge, where $1,000,000 shall be awarded to those who can prove their "powers" by experiment. Till today, I have yet to see anyone proof of these claims as well. I myself have come across such pranksters and when questioned, they tend to shun away and say this is the gift of god. Yeah right!

Why should he or she have such powers and not me? Shouldn't I be having such "powers" and "gift" as well as I am also the son of god just like you? At the end of the day it all comes down to one simple question: If you do not know what you want in life, then you will be heading no where. Success is a science, Period! You can control most of the events that are within your capability and what you think about, you can create provided you take action and work towards them. 

The problem is this that most individual do not know where they are heading and as a result they end up going with the 'flow' just like a dead fish that flows down the river stream into the ocean where everyone is. However, those who know where they are heading and know what they want in life are like Salmons. They swim against the flow and current; heading to their destiny and final outcome. And when Salmons reach their destiny, they die.  

However, we human beings are the same in perspective of a Salmon, where we can create the same results. The only difference is that we do not die when we reach our goals, but rather we can create and achieve more in life and help others around us.

Perhaps in the future if you feel like taking an "alternative" route to seek some "advice" from the mystics or psychics, perhaps you might want to ask the psychic in the video below first if it is worth it or maybe ask me and pay reward me with the money that you are going to pay the psychic ;) and all I need is to ask you is this: Do you know what you want out of life? If you don't then decide now and don't let others make that decision for you.

Don't say I didn't warn you... Because common sense is not so COMMON ;)

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Google Me, Google You, Google Everyone

It's been 10 years now since they "officially" started and Google is clebrating their 10 year anniversary. The co-founders of Google: Larry Pare and Sergey Brin have build one of the most powerful search engines and business concepts of all time. It has been a great decade of achievement for the two co-founders as they have kept pushing all the boundaries and constantly innovating, improving and creating new roads ahead for many to follow. They are the true leaders in the modern day online search, advertising and business.

The avenues are unlimited, everyday new ideas are being created and many are beginning to follow. In the modern age of the world wide web and web 2.0, you can either be a leader in your field by creating something new or you can follow others and modify their  ideas (making sure that you do not infringe any copyright laws).

Google is a company that just does that. They started off with a search engine, where they hosted their first data centre in a 7' x 8' garage and transforming into a giant media corporation that hires an approximate figure of 20,000 employees. They have capitalise a huge success from all their ventures beginning from the search engine, ad words, ad sense, youtube, blogger, gmail and now the google chrome browser. 

All of these achievements were done in the past 10 years from their modest beginning and location of their garage of 7' 8' garage and jumping to their 1.5 million-square-foot headquarters called the "Googleplex" that is based in Mountain View, California. Not bad for such an effort! 

In fact, I was hesitant at first during the launch of Google Chrome, as the layout looked preety simple without any fancy design. But later after reading and receiving a few reviews from some friends in the industry, I decided to download and try the new Google Chrome browser. I am quite a loyal person and I was quite comfortable with my current use of Firefox after switching from IE and Safari, as I found Firefox to be a better browser personally. 

However, after I downloaded and installed the Google Chome browser, I must admit that it realy did surpass all my expectations that I had about it. Google stated on their website that the "Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier". And, so it is!

I am very impressed and it is definitely faster in its loading time compared to many other browsers. It doesnt have much of the 'fancy smancy' design, but the technology is great and easy to use. If you haven't downloaded the new Google Chrome browser, I would suggest that you do so by going to this link, get the browser and try if for yourself. I would definitely like to hear from you and what you have to say about it.

Download Google Chrome today!

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The Gladiator: The Man, The Myth and The Legend

“The Leader was Ousted out of Office,The Man who became a Fighter, The Fighter who Defied the Government”.

If you have watched the movie ‘The Gladiator’ you will be familiar with the above mentioned quote: “The General Who Became a Slave, The Slave Who Became a Gladiator, The Gladiator Who Defied an Empire”.

What I can relate now with this movie is quite as close to what is happening to the political scenes of Malaysia. With the resent by-elections that was held on 26^th August, many around the world had their focus on this one man: Anwar Ibrahim.

He was once the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia (1993 to 1998) and is the only Malaysian to have appeared on Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. His career ended there when he was charged for corruption and accused for being a homosexual and a sodomite.

He pleaded innocent for the accusations and charges that were brought against him. The trials went on for years and in 2004, the highest court in Malaysia overturned the sodomy conviction. During this time, he was disqualified from entering into politics for 10 years and in 2006, he announced to return into politics after the end of the disqualification period in 2008.

2008 is a very important year for many. In the United States, the Presidential campaign began. Politicians were all out to campaign and promote their message across the country and they have all been very creative in their campaigns.

Politicians resorted to the internet instead to the main stream media, which was by far the next best thing as it was directly communicated to the end user without any red tape and controls. The internet is a medium which promotes pure democracy, freedom or expression and speech without any government controls and this was the main purpose of it. It was an evident sign that we now no longer focus much on the main stream media and this was the case of the political scene in Malaysia.

Bloggers (the opposition parties) took control of the online media and decided to declare a “war” against the current governing party. Their strategy proved well when they won the March 8, 2008 elections with a landslide victory by winning 5 states in the country overnight. Something that has never taken place before in the past 50 years after independence from the British in 1957.

The story goes with new allegations of sodomy, in which Anwar claims that these new allegations were being manipulated and fabricated by certain quarters of the current government. This has led many international leaders and governments to criticise these new allegations that were made by these quarters.

But let’s narrow it down to the by election that took place recently: August 26, 2008. It was another historic event and the MAN, who we spoke about in the quote earlier: Anwar Ibrahim came back into power and is back into Parliament as an MP now. Anwar Ibrahim had faced many challenges and it was an uphill task for him, but never the less his persistence and hard work proved it all.

He speaks for the people and the people voted for him on August 26, 2008 during the Permatang Pauh by election and it was a sensation as he was back again and being put under the spotlight once again, but this time by the people.

Anwar Ibrahhim has set his sight on becoming the next Prime Minister of Malaysia by September 16, 2008. September 16 has been translated to a "Golden Day" by many as 916 is a number for gold. If you were to go to a jeweller in Malaysia and ask for 916, you will be presented with gold jewellery.

It is yet to be another historic moment that many are looking forward to. It wil be the biggest victory and history that is yet to be written if and when Anwar Ibrahim and his coallition party were to take from the current ruling government and head for new reforms that the people of the country are asking for.

The Gladiator reminded me of this whole event. It events were like de ja vu to me and you must watch the movie in order to relate to this event. Once you have or if you have watched this move you will know why I call Anwar Ibrahim: The Man, The Myth and The Legend.

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Social Media and Health Care 2.0

What I find interesting these days is the health care industry-- an industry that is worth billions. It is an industry that never sleeps and it caters for our health care needs 24/7/365. We have seen lots of changes over the past decade in the development of science and technology and to this aspect, the health care industry has also kept up with it.

This growing change has led the health care industry to fuse and keep up with the need of creating an awareness and the spread of information about health care, medicine and body to individuals worldwide, through the use of the internet and social media today. Many Physicians and Bio-medics are working hard to create online projects that provide information on health care, medicine and the body that can benefit the world at large.

Here are some projects and reviews on the Online Health Care Industries:

MedPedia

MedPedia is a global project that provides information through their 'living encyclopedia', which consists of health, medicine and body. It is the 'Wikipedia' of Medicine and it is to be available freely to individuals around the world. MedPedia is calling for content and are currently working along with Physicians, Health Organizations, Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations, and they are all working very hard behind the scenes by compiling a comprehensive medical resource that can soon help and provide information to millions around the world.

Practice Fusion

Practice Fusion is another project that provides health care information to doctors and patients at no cost. Practice Fusion claims to reduce cost and allows medical practitioners to provide high level of care to their patients as they are committed to contribute to the community and believe that there should be equality in the standards of healthcare between individuals no matter where they come from.

Health World Web

Health World Web is an online social network of patient community. On the site, members can ask questions, post a blog, add a doctor and share your healh care experiences that you have had. The site boasts to have more than 1.5 million doctors and dentists in a range of specialties. In fact, it is a good platform for individuals to share their health care experience and even share their doctors or hospital contact information with others who might need some care or advice.

The Doctors Channel

The Doctors Channel is an online web tv that enables doctors or individuals to watch, listen and learn from doctors alike. It is a free service for everyone and it allows doctors to share ideas with one another fast and easy with the latest news and information and the changing face of the health care industry. The site provides medical and non-medical information to individuals that is reviewed by their team of physicians, writers and doctors.

OR Live

OR Live is another social media project that provides live and on-demand online video streaming which focuses on new medical breakthroughs and procedures from world renown medical centers and hospitals. OR Live are one of the leaders in health care broadcasting, where they have developed more than 600 live and on-demand events with over 2000 hours of programming.

Patient UK

Patient UK is an online information source or patients. The site provides information on health care needs that are usually provided by general practitioners to their patients during their consultation. Patient UK, is currently a market leader and have their systems installed in more than 50% of the GP's Clinics in the UK. The site is aimed to provide good quality information to individuals about health care and disease and for health care and medical professionals outside the UK to obtain health care information from a UK source.

All of these sites do provide good resources in the health care industry. There have been many developments and progress in the health care industry. It keeps growing from day to day with the aim of providing good quality information by creating the awareness and providing free access and information to anyone at will.

However, you should not take this for granted. Although, the information provided in these sites are current or authoritative, you should not substitute such information for any professional face to face advice from a doctor. The content of such sites should be treated as informational purpose only.

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Becoming a Public Figure

Come to think of it for a minute, in this day and age of social media and technology, everyone is a 'public figure'. What I mean by this is that, anyone and everyone has the opportunity to be a public figure. With the facility and tools that we have today, our profiles are all being posted on the world wide web. Such postings do indeed make each and everyone individual a 'public figure'. This arrangement is not a direct one for those who wish to be on the limelight, but rather takes a softer approach.

I would like to reaffirm the statement above with the decision of a Judge from Florida, where by being mentioned on the net can indeed make you a public figure. Public figures are usually categorised as politicians or celebrities, but so as long as there is a substantial presence, debate and contribution on your part, you too can be categorised as a 'public figure'. Please note that there can be serious legal implications for publishing such material on the internet, where the information or material might be untrue or one that tends to tarnish the reputation of an individual, which might lead to a claim of defamation.

Let's take a look at some of the Negative aspects of these developments.
Please note that when using the world wide web, you are crossing jurisdictions and breaking geographical barriers when communication or making contact with an individual or business.

First, some of these developments in the world of social media and networking are encouraging the 'death' of privacy laws. You might want to consider these questions:

1. What level of privacy should you anticipate from another individual online?;
2. What do others believe of your expectations?; and in addition to that
3. What would you consider as a reasonable expectation?

Secondly, more and more students and individuals are posting pictures of them comsuming alcohol, and some making references to drugs and sex, but what they don't realise is that these publications are permanent and that the world is 'watching' them. Some authorities have begun using these tools to help them in their investigation and have so far proved successful.

Thirdly, issues of information security, that involves spams and indetity theft occur all the time.

Fourth, there are sexual predators online who tend to prey on the 'weak', but where does this end?

You should know by now that Cyber Space is no Private Space! Anything and everything that you post online is visible to the whole world at large and such information might be abused and you might not even have the littlest idea on this.

Take for example, the trend of having online 'friends' on your facebook, myspace or friendster account might be a great thing, with the idea that the more 'friends' you have the merrier it is. Think again! A British Judge in the UK has ruled that your "facebook friends" cannot be defined as "friendship in the traditional sense". Such friends might turn out to be stalkers and they might even start harassing you, just because they seem to 'think' that you are a 'friend' of theirs. Imagine having 1 million friend, do you think you will know all of them? Very unlikely. But then again, these are just some of the donwfalls of the developments of social media and networking. You should be responsible of your own actions and when dealing with people online.

However, this is not always the case. Having 'friends' can be a good thing as well if you were to look at it from the business point of view. Most online marketers, will applaud to this idea of having a huge fan base and being able to connect to a huge amount of people online. It provides them with a headstart and a platform for their business and it also enables them to provide information, suggestions and advice to people online and it makes them an authority or expert in their respected field.

The idea of having 'friend' in the business world is to leverage their existing connections. It helps someone in the business world to expand their connection and establish their presense online with like minded people, who can invite them to their events through social participation. This too makes an individual a 'public figure' if you are active with your networks.

Infact, I kind of like AirAsia's tagline: 'Now Everyone Can Fly', but I would like to rephrase it to: 'Now Everyone is a Public Figure', with the rise of Social Media and Networking, and this is evident today. Stating that, there might be many arguments, where some may agree with this statement, but, literally: You are a 'public figure'. Here are the question that you might want to ask if you are in the business platform:

1. Are you doing the right things and acting with integrity to be one?
2. Are you acting like a winner and a person with high ambitions and vision?
3. Are you serving and providing for your community?
4. Are you open minded and willing to take responsibility for your actions?

You must understand and realise that for you to be respectable and be looked upon a 'public figure' you must be someone who speaks with authority and substance. You can only keep their attention by writing and speaking with authority.

The world is a small place after all and you can build new relationships really quick and boost opportunities by building new bridges between people from all over the world. I believe that there are always pros and cons in everything, but where do you look for your solution? As an entrepreneur, I always look for opportunities and the bright side of things, even though sometimes it might not seem to be so, but it is always best to keep an open mind and be aware of the things that you do and the law of cause and effect for each and every action of yours.

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