J. D. Fielder

Digital Friction, Part II: To Tune in or Turn Off

I have a bizarre relationship with the analog and the digital.

I arise at 0445 sharp every workday so I have enough time to read the paper before going to work--yes, a real, ink-on-fingers newspaper--and a chapter or two of nonfiction brain food. I've practiced this ritual for so long that my grandmother coined a phrase for it: "time to find myself in the morning."

I repeat the ritual before bed, but with fiction. To hell with the people who say reading in bed before sleeping is bad for you--I can't sleep without it!

What do both rituals have in common? Hard copy. Physical pages. The smell of newsprint, used book, magazine gloss, and coffee all mixing together into a heady mix I wish I could bottle.

But, for good or ill, I spend the rest of my day like most other knowledge workers: eyes glued to screen, mouse and keyboard caressed like an old lover. An endless deluge of electronic news, military reports, scholarly articles, email, and the occasional click on the Wikipedia "random article" link.  For an information junkie, this should be paradise.

Then why am I so weary?

First, there's just. So. Much.

Being paid to read is fan-friggin'-tastic. That, and in my line of work there's nothing worse than answering "no" to the question, "did you read about...?" (my wife considers it a win when she outscoops me on the news).  Yet, reading isn't the same as producing. One the one hand, I must step back and write my own work products. On the other hand, there's always that nagging suspicion I forgot something. That I didn't read just one more article.  Alas, who really has time to read all day?

Second, I agree with the oft-cited Atlantic article that Google is making us stupid.

In Internet time, the article's a bit long in the tooth. However, it dovetails with the more recent publications The Tyranny of Email and The Shallows... which I read in hard copy, no less.  The gist is that electronic content discourages deep reading and fosters skimming. I'm also not a ran of reading long articles on a backlit screen. In the era of the paperless office, I long for a pile of printed PDFs. (Study Hacks also recently posted a great piece on deep work).

Third, my rituals and 24/7 connectivity don't mix.

Facebook, Twitter, reddit, RSS feeds... there's only so much time in a day.  Yet, Twitter appears to be some people's full time job. I can't imagine posting tweets all day and still having enough critical thinking reserves left over.

I've also no desire to spend all my free time in front of a screen. This, of course, is an ironic statement by a gentleman who claims to study how people use information technology to make political decisions. But when it comes down to it, when I die and my life flashes before my eyes, I'm not sure I want to see a lolcat or status update.

I'm posting a problem without a generalizable solution. I know that for me, I simply must disconnect on occasion, and that simply won't work for some people.  Given a choice between tweeting or reading a book in my favorite chair, the chair often wins.

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Digital Friction, Part I: A Crack in the Seamless Environment

Not a day went by in grad school where I didn't wonder how students finished PhD's without Goggle Scholar access.

For three years, my professional life existed on this very laptop I'm writing on. The world was my office, although I favored a handful coffee shops and bookstores strategically placed throughout Iowa City (I dare say I deserve honorary plaques at Capanna Coffee and Haunted Bookshop).

As this essay title suggests, it was a seamless experience. I'd exchange emails with professors on my iPhone, save files to Dropbox for easy multi-platform viewing, engage with like minded individuals on Twitter, coordinate with friends on Facebook, tap into the research paradise that is JSTOR, and ultimately share ideas using the ultimate social media platform: meeting colleagues and teachers for a few beers at Joe's.

Frictionless access to information, in my assessment, dramatically improved my work output. I could work anywhere at anytime, from reading PDFs during my bus commute to class to occasionally travelling "naked" to class with just my iPhone notepad function or a good old fashioned paper notebook.

Needless to say, my transition from academic savage back to military security and hierarchy was a painful experience.

Before I seemingly dog out my employer, keep in mind that I love my military job: I'm basically paid to read, write, drink coffee, and occasionally spout my mouth off, which is a gig that never gets old. Additionally, I'll forever praise the military for paying for almost my entire education, from BA through two MAs and a PhD. That, my friends, is priceless.

Finally, I'm theoretically cognizant of the military's network security requirements. I remember observing the first time I used a Top Secret system, "man, someone with a CD/RW and a grudge could really clean us out."

I present to you Exhibit A.

What does this mean for a secure military network user? Imagine a world without cloud storage, USB drives and unrestricted software availability. Imagine losing access to most social media sites and many research websites. Imagine being unable to take your cellphone or MP3 player to work. Theoretical understanding isn't the same as practical experiences.

Some decisions are for the best. Do we really need Twitter access? While I find it a useful tool, I really shouldn't waste my duty hours using it. Typepad service? Same thing. And there are compromises: Pandora is blocked, but Youtube and Live365 are not (I think because Live365 uses less bandwidth than Pandora. Doesn't explain why Youtube is allowed, though).

Still, my first day back on a military network sucked. No JSTOR access, no STATA, and no easy way to transfer three years of research to my work computer. Let alone my work was now divided between personal and government owned systems (that, and my colleagues rarely meet for a beer at the end of the week... but that's another topic).

I'm authorized to pursue academic research at work, because A) that's why I was hired by my current unit, and B) because it reflects well on the Air Force. But my civilian data source access is dramatically reduced. My worst moment was spending three hours trying to cite a data point because every site I visited was blocked by the military network filter. I also had to look up a Google data scientist who happened to have the same name as a pr0n star... I'm still waiting for a visit by men in black suits and spats over that search.

In short, a switch from a seamless to a barricaded data environment. I wouldn't be so frustrated if it weren't for that fact I was hired to conduct PhD-level research!

How does this affect my work output? It's both demotivating and tiring. Demotivating in that I get frustrated at work for want of simple notes synchronization, and tiring in that my work life is segregated between systems (usually represented by disparate emails sent between work and home computers).  After working close to 12 hours in a data barricaded environment, I have little energy and will left to wrestle with my work at home. I recognize, however, that this is an excuse: I do need to overcome this if I want to finish personal academic projects.

All is not lost, thankfully. I've since learned that the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) website offers a secure (albeit clunky) cloud storage function accessible from both my home and work systems. STATA is on the USAF approved software list, so I *might* be able to source a copy. Finally, the AF Portal has a decent database section which the USAF regularly updates based on user requests. To that end, I'm petitioning the USAF to buy a JSTOR subscription. I certainly have nothing to lose by asking.

Additionally, I'm going to experiment with Blog posts by email. On one hand, I really should focus on work while at work; but on the other hand, I occasionally come across articles that I think my readers would find interesting (unclassified, of course).

My conclusion is this: if you find yourself suddenly in a data-rrestricted environment, be flexible. Rather than shaking my keyboard at the heavens, I squirreled out alternatives such as AKO and the AF Portal database section.  Now I just need to put my own advice into practice.

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Using Technology against Cognitive Bias

Games? sign me up!  From Deep Dive Intelligence:

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) thinks specialized video games could help student analysts and career professionals root out their cognitive biases [defined].
 
To find out, IARPA has launched a program called Sirius. The name is a play on the term serious games, which refers to games with goals beyond entertainment.
 
IARPA says “cognitive biases are notoriously resistant to training,” and it wants to see if video games are the answer. CONTINUED

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A Short Adventure with a Toilet Flapper

There I was: at the Coralville Ace Hardware buying a new toilet flapper.

I mean, how hard could it be? A simple rubber stopper.  I kindasorta knew what it looked like. Big mistake not double checking the part, however. I was presented with no less than six different flapper styles.

Many, many years ago--back in the pre-iPhone stone age--I'd of been forced to either make the 15-minute drive back home or have the wife describe the part over the phone.  In this instance, however, my wife simply took a photo inside the tank, emailed it, and I found the exact part.  Terribly convenient, the iPhone is.

But, as I was standing there, new flapper in hand, my sense of cleverness was soon overcome by the nagging suspicion that, back in the pre-iPhone stone age, I'd of been better prepared.  Instead, I leveraged the iPhone as a mental tool; a spare brain, if you will.

That said, I've read bits and pieces here and there on how we're shoving all our personal cognitive responsibilities onto smartphones--after all, why remember something when you can fit it on USB? The end result, however, is loss of mental agility and accuracy. And god forbid you lose your phone and the external neurons that comes with it. 

Don't get me wrong: I didn't relish the thought of driving 30 minutes round trip for a second look at a toilet flapper.  But, I'm still considering the philosophical conundrum of placing such trust on a pocket-sized device.  Tool, or crutch?

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(Video) The Internet in Society: Empowering or Censoring Citizens?

Been reading and writing my @$$ off to get my dissertation prospectus done! Hope to defend the prospectus ~17 January.

Anyways, have an interesting video for you, courtesy of one of my professors:

"Does the internet actually inhibit, not encourage democracy? In this new RSA Animate adapted from a talk given in 2009, Evgeny Morozov presents an alternative take on 'cyber-utopianism' - the seductive idea that the internet plays a largely emancipatory role in global politics.
 
Exposing some idealistic myths about freedom and technology (during Iran's 'twitter revolution' fewer than 20,000 Twitter users actually took part), Evgeny argues for some realism about the actual uses and abuses of the internet."

 

Timeu.se: Tracking Reported Time Usage on Twitter

Well, THIS looks like a handy tool! A little something that @redlog at Cornell University put together:

"timeu.se is a web tool for investigating how millions of people report spending their time. This is done by collecting and aggregating millions of messages from Twitter.

Some people say that Twitter conversations are "pointless" or "babble" or that people tweet about "what they had for breakfast." But if you think about it, most casual conversations are just as inconsequential — we just don't record them forever on the web!

I think it's great that people tweet what they had for breakfast, or that they're stuck in traffic or are mowing the lawn. Because what sociologists have always wanted to be able to do is get very detailed measures of how people spend their time without bothering them too much by asking them. Now, by simply examining the conversations that they're having in public, we can do it without bothering them at all!"

Give it at a whirl at http://timeu.se/

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The Netizen Report

First edition of The Netizen Report, a new series at Global Voices Advocacy:

"This is the first post in a new series on GVA called “The Netizen Report”: A regular overview of recent global developments related to the power dynamics between citizens, companies and governments on the Internet. I hope that these regular reports can provide netizens around the world with useful information about who is seeking to influence and shape the digital platforms and networks we increasingly depend upon, and how.

Armed with information, we are in a better position to defend our rights, and to make sure the Internet evolves in a manner that is compatible with free expression and dissent. The format and content of the report will evolve over the coming months based on reader feedback and author experimentation."

CONTINUED AT GLOBAL VOICES ADVOCACY

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Knowledge Map of the Virtual Economy

Freshly-minted report published by the World Bank infoDev program. Link below leads to page where you can download the PDF:

A new study by the World Bank Group’s infoDev program shows that virtual online currencies and digital work now provide real income opportunities to poor and unskilled workers in developing countries.

infoDev is a global technology and innovation-led development finance program of the World Bank and IFC. The new study, Knowledge Map of the Virtual Economy, finds that more than 100,000 people in countries such as China and India earn a living through online games and websites disseminating micro-tasks.

Jobs in the virtual economy include micro-tasks like categorizing products in online shops, moderating content posted to social media sites, or even playing online games on behalf of wealthier players who are too busy to tend to their characters themselves. The study estimates that the market for such gaming-for-hire services was worth $3 billion in 2009, and it suggests that with suitable mobile technologies even the least-developed countries could benefit from this emerging virtual economy. CONTINUED

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YouTube Yanks Jihadi Videos

From wired.com:

The British government has bad news for extremists and the Qaeda-curious: It might get a tiny bit less convenient for you to access videos of your favorite jihadi media.

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that YouTube has begun removing videos featuring the extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, following complaints from the British government to the White House about the content. The complaints arose after British police discovered that Roshonara Choudhry, a British student who recently stabbed a Member of Parliament “to get revenge for the people of Iraq,” had viewed videos of Awlaki on the internet. CONTINUED

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Abstract: Social Participation in the Digital Age: Predicting Offline and Online Collective Action

Brunsting, Suzanne, and Tom Postmes. "Social Participation in the Digital Age: Predicting Offline and Online Collective Action." Small Group Research Vol. 33, No. 5 (October 2002), pp. 525-554.

Abstract: Motives to participate in online versus offline collective action were investigated among environmental activists in the Netherlands. A sample (N = 738) consisting of activists, sympathizers, and nonactivists, reported past and intended participation in online and offline activism. Using structural equation modeling, it was examined whether online activism was predicted by different factors than offline activism. A wide range of predictors was derived from central theories about mobilization and collective action, including identification, relative deprivation, attitudes, subjective norm, perceived efficacy of action, and self-efficacy. Results show that when compared with offline actions, participation in online actions was slightly more motivated by cognitive calculations (efficacy) and less by affective factors (identification). Moreover, results reflect the popularity and potential of the Internet for activities that surpass the individual. This research gives an empirical insight in the influence of Internet on motives for collective action and on the participation of peripheral members.

Available at:

Sage Journals Online

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