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.

Improve Data Collection on Special Access Market August 27th, 2010

A new government report advises the Federal Communications Commission to improve the data it collects on the special access services market so it can measure the state of competition in the wireless industry. More detailed data and analysis of prices, special access rates and capital expenditures would help the commission oversee the market, the Government Accountability Office said. We support that recommendation.

Special access services are high capacity dedicated transmission links used to distribute voice and data traffic. The services are sold by wireline, cable and fixed wireless companies. Multiple providers compete in this market. Surveys show there are as many as 65 national and regional providers of competitive special access services. These providers include traditional CLECs, cable companies, and wireless broadband providers.

Prices for wireless services have continued to fall even as services are improving, GAO observed. The study also noted a trend toward consolidation in the industry. But a “high concentration of firms in an industry does not necessarily mean that the interest of consumers are poorly served,” the report said.

GAO’s conclusions that wireless prices are falling supports the evidence we have provided to the commission demonstrating that special access prices have also declined since the FCC implemented pricing flexibility. As GAO points out, many wireless companies either provide their own alternatives to special access or rely upon competitive alternatives from cable, micro-wave and CLEC providers. The GAO report makes it clear that providing these services to wireless companies is a complex market with a broad range of competitors. For that reason we have been supportive of the FCC’s plans to gather detailed data about the extent of all competitive offerings, as GAO recommends.

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.

Global Telecoms to Become a Cloud Computing Force August 20th, 2010

Independent telecom analyst Ovum predicts that the major global telecommunications providers will become a powerful force in cloud computing.  AT&T, Verizon Business, British Telecom, Orange Business services and several other global providers have already made significant strides in building out their cloud computing data centers and backbone networks.

These global providers are now able to compete with the leading IT cloud computing firms and will be in a position to attract previously cautious cloud computing end users. Peter Hall, the report’s author, states: “The major telecoms have a long heritage in providing managed data center services. They have combined this with their networking and security expertise to meet the needs of customers for cloud computing services.”  However, many of these providers are still in the midst of developing their cloud computing strategies and service road maps. Ovum expects to see a rapid rise in cloud computing interest over the next 2-3 years, so the time is right for telecom providers to be entering the cloud computing market.

Read more about the report here.

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.

Broadband Adoption Rates on Decline August 11th, 2010

Americans rate of broadband adoption slowed down significantly in 2010 after several years of double digit growth, according to a newly released Pew Internet and American Life Project survey. Pew’s previous annual studies showed adoption growth rates as high as 28 percent in 2005-06, to just 5 percent in 2009-10.

Most Americans do not believe more affordable broadband should be a government priority, the study found. This is the first year the survey asked respondents what they thought of the government’s National Broadband Plan, said Aaron Smith, Pew’s Senior Research Specialist. Contrary to what some people might expect, researchers found current broadband users are more likely to support the government’s efforts to promote the wide-spread use of broadband, rather than non-adopters.

Nearly 21 percent of American adults said they did not use the Internet, for a variety of reasons. But almost half said they didn’t use the Internet because the online content was not relevant to their lives.  Others said they weren’t comfortable using computers or the Internet on their own. The study also found a generational gap when it comes to Americans views of government efforts to promote broadband.  Older Americans see less of a need for government involvement than the younger generation.

Read the entire study.

AT&T Study Highlights Green Telepresence Benefits August 6th, 2010

Bankrolling the expense of business travel can add up quickly and take a toll on a business’s bottom line.  That’s why many companies today are investing in broadband-powered telepresence solutions as a part of their strategy to replace a portion of in-person meetings with video conferencing.  We know the shift to virtual meetings saves money, but can it help save the environment too?  A new study released by AT&T and the Carbon Disclosure Project highlights how telepresence’s environmental and financial benefits go hand in hand.

The study, which evaluated U.S. and U.K. companies that have adopted telepresence and have an annual revenue of $1 billion or more, projects the positive economic and green benefits of this technology for companies and each nation as a whole.  Key findings of the study include:

• By using telepresence solutions, U.S. and U.K. businesses with revenues exceeding $1 billion annually can reduce CO2 emissions by 5.5 million metric tons by 2020 – the equivalent of removing more than one million cars from the road for one year.
• On a national scale, the use of telepresence technology by these businesses would achieve economy-wide financial benefits of $15 billion in the U.S. and $4 billion in the U.K., as a direct result of replacing some business travel with video conferencing over the next decade.
• The study found that a business with four telepresence rooms could recoup their initial investment in approximately 15 months and could save nearly 900 business trips in the first year alone.
• The report also reveals that telepresence improves employee productivity, expedites decision-making, and brings workers better work-life balance.

Interested in learning more about the report?  Click here to view a video featuring AT&T’s Beth Shiroishi as she discusses “The Telepresence Revolution.”