The Alliance‘s Lee Cheuk-yan and Mak-hoi-wah are visiting Calgary today (July 31, 2011), I hope I’ll have a chance to interview Mr. Lee Cheuk-yan. The following are some news and other video clips during their Vancouver stop.
It has been my pleasure to attend a number of KOMU anchorSarah Hill‘s interesting Google+newsroomHangouts since July 19, 2011. In this article, I will try to share some of my technical observations and insights. (note: For my general and business insights, you can read my previous article.)
2) Each of the nine reporters will have a notebook computer connecting to the internet via a 3G/4G data stick. And each reporter has a handheld SD/HD camera hooking up to the notebook as its camera. (note: SD or HD probably doesn’t matter here because the data will be compressed and you are transporting over 3G/4G network anyway.) (Aug 11 update: Currently, G+ Hangout doesn’t support external video cameras. I have reflect this request to G+ engineers.)
3) Any “newsroom” can probably set this up easily.
In fact, any team of volunteer citizen journalists may even be able create such a reporting setup with less trouble. All it takes is each individual citizen journalist to have a notebook computer, a fast 3G/4G data stick, and a camera. And these citizen journalists can work together depending on needs and events, etc.
4) Feed the G+ Hangout video stream out to the wider world using tools like Livestream for mass distribution.
5) Use cases: Will be quite cool to report on elections, street festivals, concerts, and live events.
Non-ideal use cases: Any major crisis, earthquakes, etc where the mobile 3G/4G networks are expected be extremely congested and overloaded. In these rare cases, old school dedicated microwave or satellite transmission will likely provide more stable transmission than overloaded mobile data networks.
Fixing the insecurity of G+ Hangout
At the moment, Google+Hangouts is known to be insecure, in the sense that each hangout participant has the clear text “https://talkgadget.google.com/hangouts/…” link (see the top of the above photo) and can copy and then share with Read the rest of this entry »
Since Google+ (and its Hangouts) is a new tool that is only one month old, these notes only reflect my initial thoughts/impressions. I expect my views will be changed later when I learn more. I’ve tried to reference ideas I read elsewhere as best as I can by providing crediting them and provide links to them.
By attending these newsrooms Hangouts, I have now hungout with people from around the world. People who joined from different parts of US, Canada, and Europe. So far, no Asian countries because of time zone differences, I suppose.
Will evening news stay as “appointment television”?
“appointment television: the decision of tv viewers to schedule their time so that they watch a specific program at a specific time“
With the advent of around the clock news websites (often with videos) updates from major national and international news outlets (BBC, CNN, Guardian, etc), plus the local newspapers getting into the same game (with video), the evening news, especially for the younger people, are no longer “appointment television“.
The viewers won’t want to be locked into watching news at a fixed time, from one news source when they can and are getting news from many different reliable sources online, whenever they want.
I should emphasize, I write this section with an optimistic mindset as I don’t believe not “appointment television” is entirely bad. I believe there are new ways to make money in this new time. Stories may need to be packaged differently. Ads need to be sold differently. In the next section, I will talk about two ways to make money.
How to make money? – Revenue Generation
One thing I enjoy a lot from Sarah‘s Hangouts is the brain storming sessions. When the environment is open and the participants are engaging, the sessions can be very illuminating and productive.
I hope you will forgive me in not liking you when you were only 2 days old! Silly old me thought you were just like your time wasting siblings Google Wave and Buzz. But, at one month, you turned out cuter than I thought initially and I am willing to wait a little before declaring you “the best thing since slice bread”, “you suck” or “somewhere in betwen”! :)
(note: After my personal greetings, you will see some excerpts of Birthday Wishes and Birthday Minuses from around the web.)
You see, I have also started calling you my Lovemark which is much cooler than the boring old school brand. Being called a Lovemark comes with great responsibility. I know you are too young to remember the 1985 Coca-Cola‘s (an indisputable Lovemark) crazy New Coke debacle but it is one lesson in brand management that you have to learn in pre-school. We, the millions of users, are now in control and will be actively shaping your destiny. YOU better listen to our complains and our wishes very carefully.
Please tell your parents (i.e. Goolge), if they mess you up or worst “cancel” you, then their credibility in providing “tools” in general, will be damaged seriously, possibly beyond repair. Three strikes in rapid succession, why should anyone trust Google any more? I may be naive, but I am not that stupid!
My dear G+, you are only one month old, I am willing to give you time to grow, learn and to be helpful to people. I can’t help but want to use this particular Marshall McLuhanquote when I think of you today.
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.” - Marshall McLuhan
On June 30, 2011, only 2 days after the launch of Google+, my friend Garry and I were chatting about his 3D TV (I mentioned I would wait for glasses-free 3D TVs after chatting with Tom, NFB Chair). I answered yes when Garry asked me if I had heard of Google+. I told him I was wasn’t that excited about Google+ after wasting my time and was disappointed by Google Wave and Buzz. At the same time, I wasn’t totally dismissive and asked my friend to play with Google+ some more and tell me how he thinks about the tool.
Eight days later on July 8th, after reading some more positive press and my friend’s Eva’s positive experiences with it, I turned around and ask Garry and Eva for an Google+ invite. And I officially joined on July 9th cautiously. You see, Buzz gave me such a bad taste, that I told it to buzz off!
Current Google+ Impressions
I have now been using Google+ about over two weeks. I can now say I’ve been really impressed with what I see and what it can do for me as a **tool**. To me, Google+ is a powerful tool to learn and to use to achieve things. (more on the “things” in future postings)
Sure, there are still many different problems or enhancements to be made but it is a tool that I have confidently included in my toolbox.
As an aside, I never quite see Facebook as a “tool” to me, not like Google+ is a tool to me.
Predictions & Forecasts
There are people/technologists/journalists who can’t help themselves but give lots of Google+ predictions or forecasts. I can’t and won’t give you predictions or forecasts. If you can or are willing to predict & forecast how a one month old baby will grow up to be like a few years down the road, you are much “smarter” and “braver” than I am.
To end this article, let me use two of my favourite forecast-related quotes by Edgar R. Fiedler from myquotes I love collection,
“The herd instinct among forecasters makes sheep look like independent thinkers.” and;
I think my home convection-oven-roasted chicken is very close in taste and texture to 炸子雞(crispy fried chicken), and likely much healthier as it removes the oil from the chicken as opposed to deep fried the chicken!
Anyway, I found the following videos instructive in how to cut up a chicken, chinese style.
Warren Buffett: “I can end the deficit in five minutes.
You just pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of more than 3 percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. Yeah. Yeah. Now you’ve got the incentives in the right place, right? So it’s capable of being done.
And they’re trying to use the incentive now we’re going to blow your brains out, America, you know, in terms of your— of your— in terms of your debt worthiness over time, and that’s being used as a threat. A more effective threat would be just to say if you guys can’t get it done, we’ll get some other guys to get it down.”
Amy’s father Mitch Winehouse said, “And as to you people in the street, I can’t tell you what this means to us. It really is making this a lot easier. We’re devastated and I am speechless. Amy was about one thing and that was love. He whole life was devoted to her family and friends and to you guys as well“
“When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call. There will be a phone call. The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, telling you they’ve had enough, that they’re ready to stop, ready to try something new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad nocturnal chime from a friend or relative telling you it’s too late, she’s gone.
Frustratingly it’s not a call you can ever make it must be received. It is impossible to intervene. Read the rest of this entry »
On a sad day like yesterday, I was delighted by the momentary distraction by Shirley Lo‘s beautiful picture. Inspired by Shirley‘s words and not knowing if the photo has a name, I am calling it “Flower faucets“. Just hope Shirley doesn’t mind.
How did the photo inspire me to call it “Flower faucets“? Well, it started by me complementing Shirley and “asking” her a question which lead to a beautiful exchange. Sort of a sweet mystery of life. Since the exchange is public comments posted on the photo album, I will quote them here (using first names instead of G+ full names) with some followup comments.
Kempton: Beautiful & lovely photo [Shirley]. How did you get the tiny flower into the drop of water? Another mystery of life. :)
Shirley: thanks, Kempton ! haha water drops from flower faucets automatically come w/flowers :)
Kempton: Well said Shirley, I can sea an ad in your words. :) Thanks for your inspring pix & words.
Kempton: P.S. Shirley, may I have your permission to use this photo to write an article in my blog please (with credit to you of course)? Given what happened today in Norway, I would like to write something to distract and cheer myself up a little.
Shirley: Kempton check your pm :)
The above exchange was beautiful in that it creates something out of nothing. (More on this later.) An act of creativity is something positive and contributory to the society (small or big). The horrible act yesterday stood in stark contrast that it bought deaths and destructions which I needed some distraction from.
Now back to the sweet mystery of life (to me in this case, the process of creative inspirations). You see, like a game of tennis, I sent the ball over to Shirley by “asking”, “How did you get the tiny flower into the drop of water? Another mystery of life.” It was fun for me to come up with the question/comment. Instead of a polite thank you, Shirley came back with a witty comment, Read the rest of this entry »
“Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, whose office is in the building that was bombed, said Norway will show the world that its democracy will only get stronger.
“You will not destroy us. You will not destroy our democracy and our ideals for a better world,” he said.
“We are a small nation and a proud nation. No one will bomb us to silence. No one will shoot us to silence. No one will ever scare us from being Norway. This evening and this night, we will take care of each other, comfort each other, talk to each other, and stand together.
“We must never stop standing up for our values.“
Stoltenberg said Norway’s answer to violence is more democracy, “but not more naiveté.”“
If you attended 2011 Calgary Stampederodeos and/or chuckwagon racing, the following two chuckwagon racing horses were killed (“euthanized”) after accidents, in order to entertain *you*.
Given the yearly (and multiple) flooding we have experienced at this interchange since opening, why should they be allowed to keep their iron rings?! You see, flooding on a highway, especially in a section where drivers can’t really see the water clearly until it is too late, can be seriously dangerous.
This interchange caused taxpayers multi-million dollars to build and lots of inconvenience during construction. I want to ask if the engineers want us to simply accept this major road to be flooded every year? For one, who are the engineers that did the original calculation/modelling for maximum stormwater flow? I have seen puddles of water (of varying sizes) accumulated on the Glenmore east bound exit to MacLeod Trail under different size of storm conditions. These puddles are enough to damage cars if they need to stop at the water.
In the mid-90s, I learned some important lessons from reading Henry Petroski’s “To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design“. In this case, may be the politicians (and engineers) can have a read of the book. They need to recognize the failures in the original engineering design and fix the interchange as soon as possible.
Alberta Premier & Calgary Mayor: i don’t know when but do you want to one day open up a newspaper and read this headline, “Five people from two families killed in accident after car stranded by flood at Glenmore interchange“? Any experienced lawyer will have strong and reasonable ground to include city of Calgary and province of Alberta in a law suit claiming negligence in highway engineeringdesign.
“The moral of this book is that behind every great engineering success is a trail of often ignored (but frequently spectacular) engineering failures. Petroski covers many of the best known examples of well-intentioned but ultimately failed design in action — the galloping Tacoma Narrows Bridge (which you’ve probably seen tossing cars willy-nilly in the famous black-and-white footage), the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel walkways — and many lesser known but equally informative examples. The line of reasoning Petroski develops in this book were later formalized into his quasi-Darwinian model of technological evolution in The Evolution of Useful Things, but this book is arguably the more illuminating — and defintely the more enjoyable — of these two titles. Highly recommended.”
“A man who speaks this way is going to make enemies. Buffett, 80, has made his share, but Munger has a higher tolerance than Buffett for being disliked. He has come to play a role in the business world not unlike that once played by the critic H.L. Mencken, who stabbed the puffed-up preservers of the status quo with the sharp needle of searing, unforgettable prose.
I’ve heard Munger called hypocritical, heartless and pompous. Munger describes himself as imperious, irreverent and arrogant. It’s good to have somebody like that around. The business world is better off with a Munger to point out how far it has strayed. The people who control the world’s commerce need to hear it from one of their own.
Sultry Blonde got me into a bit of Matrix-ish thinking. I want to try to extend Marta‘s idea a few steps further and define the new idea (to me anyway) of a ”Self-Referenced Abstract Art”.
Here is my preliminary idea of how to create a piece of Self-Referenced Abstract Art.
I was very much saddened after watching the news of the passing of Violet Large on CBC “Inspiring Lottery Winner Dies“.
Violet is a true inspiration to anyone who has heard her story. Here is an excerpt from The Chronicle Herald (emphasis added),
“A Nova Scotian woman whose tale of generosity touched millions around the world has died.
Violet Large, 79, died Saturday in Colchester Regional Hospital after a battle with ovarian cancer.
The Lower Truro woman and her husband Allen Large became household names not for their July 2010 lottery win, but for what they did with the millions they received.
Despite the windfall, the retired couple continued to drive their old car and truck, and lived comfortably in their 147-year-old farmhouse.
And they gave away almost all of the $11.2 million they received.
“What you’ve never had, you never miss,” Violet told The Chronicle Herald in November. Read the rest of this entry »
“At a time when the reputation of News of the World journalists is at rock bottom, it needs to be said that the paper’s former showbusiness correspondent Sean Hoare, who died on Monday, was a lovely man.
In the saga of the phone-hacking scandal, he distinguished himself by being the first former NoW journalist to come out on the record, telling the New York Times last year that his former friend and editor, Andy Coulson, had actively encouraged him to hack into voicemail.
That took courage. But he had a particularly powerful motive for speaking. He knew how destructive the News of the World could be, not just for the targets of its exposés, but also for the ordinary journalists who worked there, who got caught up in its remorseless drive for headlines. Read the rest of this entry »
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