Internet Opens Doors to the Arts September 2nd, 2010

A National Endowment of the Arts report called “Audience 2.0” shows that many Americans – particularly older and lower-income individuals – use the Internet to participate in the arts, watching music, dance, and theater performances online. The study, which is interactive, features an introductory video message from NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman in which he stresses that technology is enhancing the arts and creating new audiences – rather than disconnecting them from these experiences.

Outlined below are key findings illustrating how Americans are engaging in the arts through electronic media, including the Internet, computers and handheld devices:

• 53%, or 118 million U.S. adults participated in the arts via digital and electronic media.
• For many older Americans, low-income individuals, and racial/ethnic minority groups, electronic media is the only forum through which they participate in benchmark arts events.
• The 15.4 percent of U.S. adults who use media only to engage with the arts are equally likely to be urban or rural.
• 21% of U.S. adults said they utilized the Internet to view music, dance, or theater performances in the last 12 months.
• 24%, or 55 million U.S. adults, gathered information about the arts online.
• Arts participation through media does not appear to replace “live” participation or personal arts performance or creation.

From visual art to music and more, the NEA study makes clear that the Internet is expanding access to cultural events – regardless of geography, race, or socio-economic factors.

Twitter Influence September 1st, 2010

Social media sometimes seems like a giant popularity contest.  How many friends have you collected on Facebook?  Do you have legions of followers on Twitter?  A recent study from HP says that when it comes to Twitter, quality is more important than quantity.  Better to have a few active Twitter users that help propagate your message than many who just read.

The research shows that the majority of people who use Twitter are passive, in that they rarely retweet messages.  Therefore, to build “IP influence” a Twitter user must motivate their most passive followers to retweet their message.  In other words, tweets that travel farther carry more influence than a single tweet sent to a finite number of followers.

But how do you capitalize on social influence?  The website empireavenue.com is taking this notion to a whole new level.  The site is the first fantasy stock market that measures, and allows you trade on, your social influence.  An individual’s value is measured by how many Facebook friends they have, their Twitter activity, and other social merits, which make up their stock price.  It may sound cold, but you can even buy and sell your friends.

What’s your return on investment for engaging in this social stock market?  Your blog or Facebook page will likely attract more visitors, and you can earn virtual currency to establish more social connections.  And, as your “influence score” and currency points rise, your shareholders will likely recommend you to others.

Back To School: Broadband Education August 31st, 2010

The virtualization of education is a hot topic today, and broadband is fundamental to rolling out expanded learning opportunities.  The U.S. spends $8 to $15 billion dollars on textbooks each year.  The cost of attending a four-year public college today exceeds $70,000 – even at the discounted, in-state tuition rate.  And for those living in rural areas where the range of courses may be limited, online classrooms hold a key to enriching education.

Broadband holds massive potential for the field of education, and policy makers and private citizens alike are working to maximize its power.  Recently, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the creation of the Online Learning Registry, which will connect Americans with thousands of documents, photos, and other data housed at the Smithsonian.  The Registry will serve as a tremendous resource for every American student and teacher, and will be invaluable to school districts located in rural areas.

Many are also calling for digital textbooks to cut costs and enable easy updates to course material.  For example, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is advocating a switch to digital books, which he says will save the state $350 million annually.  Amazon has launched a Kindle for textbooks, partnering with several universities and publishers.  The website Curriki aims to become an online hub for free textbooks and course material.  And the company Inkling is introducing a new application for the iPad that enables textbook publishers to include interactive graphics and pop quizzes.

Virtual schools and classrooms are on the rise too.  A whopping 75% of U.S. K-12 school districts have at least one student enrolled in online courses.  More school districts are also taking advantage of broadband by creating “virtual schools” enabling students to attend from home, using a web cam and microphones.  Whether today’s student is inside the classroom or out, wherever there’s a broadband connection, abundant interactive, multi-media learning experiences are just a click away.

A Growing Public Uses Social Media for Emergency Response August 26th, 2010

Over the past several years, disaster relief organizations, local law enforcement and fire departments have all started tapping into social media in the face of an emergency.  Now, a report from the American Red Cross highlights how citizens also increasingly rely on social media and the Internet when an emergency strikes.  Here are a few highlights from the report:

• Gathering Information. One in six of us turn to social media to get information about an emergency.  For example, 14% look at Facebook, and 6% use Twitter.  Websites are another prominent resource with 37% tuning into online news, 12% consulting local utility or government websites, and 10% viewing online websites for disaster emergencies.
• Emergency Alerts. Half of the individuals surveyed indicated they would sign up for emails, text alerts, or applications to receive emergency information.
• Social Media Postings. Approximately half of the respondents also said they would mention emergencies from flooding to crime to car crashes via their social media channels.  18% of those surveyed reported posting information or photos related to an emergency or newsworthy event on their social media pages.
• Communicating with Emergency Responders. More than half said they would send a text message to an available response agency if someone they knew needed help.  More than two-thirds agreed that response agencies should consistently monitor and respond to postings on their websites.
• Keeping in Touch with Loved Ones. The majority said they would use Facebook to post information about their safety, and during an emergency nearly half said they would use social media to communicate their well-being.

Interested in learning more?  Click here to view videos from the Emergency Social Data Summit.

Million Dollar Question Makes Waves Online August 25th, 2010

A decade ago, the Clay Mathematics Institute chose seven of the greatest unsolved mathematical problems, offering a $1 million reward for the solution of each one.  The solutions to the selected problems elude computers and challenge some of the greatest math minds today.  But now, the rise of broadband is proving to be an invaluable tool for collaboration among scholars – as showcased by this intellectual challenge where equations have real-world practical and economic implications. 

Most recently, a mathematician and electrical engineer at Hewlett-Packard posted a proposed proof to one of the problems known as “P versus NP.” He invited a group of researchers to consider his work, and a flurry of online analysis and dialogue followed.  The discussion, which took place via blogs and wiki, demonstrated the power of the Internet to bring the world’s scholars together virtually to analyze a proposed theory.  This is a giant leap forward from the days when analysis of a proof was carried out through paper science journals and private, direct communications alone.

How does the Internet blow the doors wide open for researchers?  Clay Shirky, the author of “Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age,” says online collaborative tools could give rise to another scientific revolution.  The burgeoning web activity in scientific fields today certainly seems to indicate the potential for this kind of revolution.  The Polymath Project, for example, utilizes a blog and wiki collaboration tool to foster a team approach to mathematics.  Similarly, the website Mathoverflow taps into Internet tools to solve math problems through a combined effort.

The potential for online collaboration is vast, and scholars have barely scratched the surface.  Just imagine what innovation and answers lies ahead.  Who knows, perhaps a future Nobel Prize winner will make his or her great discovery thanks to online collaboration that sparked an inspired idea.

The Rise of Health IT Gets Insurers in the Game August 24th, 2010

Transferring American medicine from paper to digital records is a clear priority – with $27 billion in federal stimulus money devoted to health IT adoption and penalties for those who don’t go digital coming in 2015. The national attention and funding devoted to this initiative is keeping medical communities focused on making the switch.

In fact, one recent study from Embarcadero Technologies shows that 85% of health IT professionals are planning on implementing electronic health records by the end of 2011. And, McKinsey & Company reports that the effective use of health IT could save $40 billion annually.

With the projected rise of electronic record adoption, it follows that health insurance companies are racing to provide high-tech patient records. Winning a coveted “preferred designation” from the American Medical Association is one way companies are looking to connect with preferred providers. Others are creating compelling offerings that help subsidize the transfer to electronic medical records.

For example, Humana is partnering with athenahealth, Inc., offering approximately 100 primary care practices a savings of 85% for implementing their product. Expediting health IT in rural areas is also key to ensuring residents in those areas can also benefit from digital recordkeeping. To this end, WellPoint is putting millions of dollars toward helping rural hospitals finance health IT infrastructure.

How exactly can electronic records help patients? In addition to increasing efficiency and reducing medical errors and costs, medical institutions that have already adopted digital records have reported heartening stories. For example, at one institution, the record keeping system flagged a patient who had been told to have a breast exam but had ignored the recommendation. Because the system alerted her physicians to the lack of follow-up, they were able to call and encourage her to have the test. The result? They caught her breast cancer early and were able to proceed with treatment – illustrating the extraordinary health-enhancing benefits of health IT.

Fast and Happy August 19th, 2010

A new Federal Communications Commission report on broadband performance raises questions about whether Americans are getting the speeds promised in broadband service packages. The report says there’s a gap between advertised speeds and download and upload speeds. Advertised speed is the maximum available, a commonly used metric which allows consumers to more easily compare service.

Most of us have experienced occasions when computers freeze in the midst of web browsing or shopping. But usually the problem is solved by rebooting or resetting routers. Broadband speed isn’t the problem. And as the report points out, download speeds are only one measure of broadband performance. Other factors, outside of the Internet service provider’s control, can affect speeds consumers experience. These include the congestion or degradation of service that may take place over the connection line, and performance degradation due to user devices, such as slow computers, under-functioning wire and wireless routers or the performance of websites and applications.

Overall consumers are enjoying much faster speeds every year, with connections doubling roughly every four years, the report said. Only a small percentage of consumers are buying top tier broadband speed service, the FCC report said. Of the 90 percent of people who bought broadband connections providing more than 1 Mbps, only a small subset of users, 6 percent, purchased broadband with actual download speeds greater than 10 Mbps.

This must be why there is no widespread public outcry over the difference between advertised speeds and actual speed. The FCC’s own research supports this. According to its recent study on consumer satisfaction, the overwhelming majority – 91 percent – of Americans are either satisfied or very satisfied with their broadband provider’s performance.

Expedition Titanic Online August 17th, 2010

For explorers and history buffs, a new kind of expedition is emerging.  On August 18, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — in partnership with leading archeologists and scientists — will set out on its most ambitious Titanic mission yet.

What sets this exploration apart?  This Titanic exploration will be delivered via broadband.  Leading-edge technology from 3DHD to sonar and high-resolution optical video will bring the experience alive for people around the world.  Viewers can tune in via expeditiontitanic.com, as well as through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  This is the first time the wreck site will be on view to the public, offering unparalleled access over the high-speed Internet.

While the official dive won’t begin until August 22, expeditiontitanic.com is a great introduction to this initiative’s mission and vision.  Visitors can use the interactive site to descend to the ocean floor and explore an animated version of the shipwreck themselves.  Viewers can also watch video and images that will be shared from the dive in real time, navigate a wreck site map, and ultimately see a 3D model of the ship.

RMS Titanic, Inc., a leading organizer of the trip, will also be using Facebook and Twitter to connect people with the experiential aspects of the voyage and dive.  Flickr and YouTube will be used to broadcast pictures and videos.
If you ever yearned to explore the depths of a historic shipwreck, now’s your chance, thanks to innovative technologies — and broadband.

Smart Grid Utilities Need to Prepare for Data Onslaught August 13th, 2010

In a recent interview with Forbes magazine, Gary Bloom, CEO of eMeter, a company providing Smart Grid software, explained that Smart Grid utilities could see as much as 200 times more data collected from customers than is collected today.

Smart Grid utilities will be undergoing a massive transformation from legacy systems to next generation control and billing systems, much like the telecom industry underwent when phone service was transitioning from circuit-switched to voice over IP.  Bloom believes that 100% of today’s utility companies are discussing Smart Grid implementations, but about 5-10% of these companies are actually installing new smart-meters. Most utilities will run pilot programs first, before initiating a full-scale deployment.

Bloom also believes that reading meters every 15 minutes, as opposed to once a month, will empower both the utility and the consumer. When people make changes to conserve energy they cannot tell if it saves them 3% or 20% on their bill. With more frequently collected usage data and a web portal that displays energy usage vs. the cost, both utilities and consumers can make informed decisions about their future energy consumption.

No Legal Basis for Title II Regulation August 12th, 2010

There is no legal basis for regulating broadband Internet access service under Title II of the Communications Act, USTelecom said in comments filed today with the Federal Communications Commission. The comments are the second round of feedback being provided to the FCC in response to its June proposal seeking input on the “best legal framework for broadband Internet access.”  Numerous entities including USTelecom  told the commission in July that its regulatory paradigm is not legally defensible and would have a detrimental impact on broadband investment and deployment.  Today’s filing argues that the proposal would violate the Administrative Procedure Act, contravene the commission’s statutory authority, and run afoul of the Constitution.

In response to Commission proposals to regulate only the “part” of the Internet it deems to be broadband Internet service, USTelecom emphasized the strong consensus in the initial round of comments about the impracticality of drawing such a demarcation line. Claims to the contrary ignore the technical realities of today’s Internet.

Providers today offer multiple integrated services to consumers, including e-mail, security, online storage, the domain name system and – increasingly – access to unique content offerings. These offerings are not functionally separate from the broadband service. And just because a provider might advertise a particular feature, like price or speed, does not magically transform the integrated information service into a stand-alone transmission offering.  If anything, today’s broadband Internet access services are more functionally integrated than they were when the commission first considered the appropriate regulatory classification a decade ago.

Broadband industry private investment has put the United States among world leaders in the use of the Internet and the availability of facilities-based broadband choices, the filing notes. Consumers report extremely high levels of satisfaction with their services, with 90 percent or more saying they are satisfied or very satisfied with their service. The commission should think long and hard before radically changing its current approach to the broadband policies that have supported such success.