Author Archive

  • 28 Dec

    R.AGE

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    Looking back

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    By DAVID LIAN
    alltherage@thestar.com.my


    IT IS the end of the year again, and that means another 31.5 million seconds have passed us by. If those seconds were precious moments to treasure, how would you rate your 2012? Good, bad or you can’t remember?

    Thanks to the Internet, our societal memory is improving. Archiving the history of our culture has now reached a level of detail never before thought possible. People are creating more petabytes of information every year, and most of that automatically too!

    With its Zeitgeist, Google has been demonstrating just how its very own search technology can capture what people were interested in year after year. Google Zeitgeist works by taking the millions of searches made by users all around the world throughout the year, and then analysing that data into trends.

    This year, out of 1.2 trillion searches in 146 languages, the top search was “Whitney Houston”, presumably right after the singer’s untimely passing in February, followed by “Gangnam Style” and “Hurricane Sandy” took the third position.

    Locally, the top search was for “SAPS” (Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan Sekolah) – a result that really puzles me. But it was followed by “Gangnam Style” and “9GAG” respectively, restoring some faith that our youth on the Internet are still the fun-loving people I assumed them to be.

    However, Google is not the only “play maker” in town any more. This year, social networking sites – notably, Facebook and Twitter – have also released their own analysis of the top things of 2012.

    Housed on the webpage facebookstories.com is an interesting take on the “Year in Review” concept by Facebook. Rather than analysing search results, Facebook looks at its users’ posts and the most widely shared and viewed content on its network to derive the “top stories” of 2012.

    The top meme on the Facebook list was “To Be Honest” (TBH) while “Gangnam Style” was a disappointing fifth.

    What I really liked about Facebook’s list was its ability to break down everything down to the type of content. Facebook could tell you the top videos shared, the top songs played, and what people were actually talking about throughout 2012.

    Then there’s the personalised look back at the year. Surf over to Facebook Stories and you’ll see a big blue button inviting you to find out what your personal top moments of 2012 were. Click on it and Facebook will analyse your Facebook profile and give you what it thinks are your top 20 moments. Some of the moments are no brainers – like our birthdays for example.

    But I was pleasantly surprised to find a video of my daughter singing (uploaded in January) that made it’s way to this list.

    This function has helped me relive some of the great moments I had almost forgotten about this year.

    Similarly, Twitter has also introduced its own look back at 2012 at 2012.twitter.com. Like Facebook, Twitter collects your tweets throughout the year and lets you know your top 2012 moments
    Twitter partnered with visual company Vizify.com to deliver your moments in an interactive infograph. You can pull a “slider” from the beginning of 2012 to the end to see what your top tweets were and what your friends were talking about.

    Looking back at my own 2012 through the eyes of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter has made me realise just how much I’ve done or experienced this year.

    Precious moments especially the pictures I took of my kids (too few, in my opinion) and the issues I discussed were easily captured and pointed out.

    It’s no wonder that many great men and women kept diaries back in the days not just to simply jot things down, but to remind themselves of the things they had done throughout the year and the lessons they had learnt.

    Thankfully, now we have social networks for that.

  • 30 Nov

    R.AGE

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    Spread it wisely

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    By NIKI CHEONG
    alltherage@thestar.com.my

    A COUPLE of weeks ago, I was informed that my friend – Paul (not his real name) – in London was recently diagnosed with HIV. The person who told me, however, did not personally know Paul, but had read the news on his Twitter feed instead.

    This led to a long discussion and I was told that following Paul’s revelation, many people were talking about safe sex and HIV on Twitter afterwards.

    I have, for over a decade, tried to be as involved as I could in spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS-related causes but sometimes, I fall into complacency and assume that other like-minded people would be as informed as I was over this issue.

    But that conversation over social networks was a timely reminder that that wasn’t the case.

    While I have long been an advocate of social networking, there have been many disheartening occurrences over the past few years – particularly those involving the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation, especially during crises.

    Each time we celebrated the victory of a social networking site like Twitter, for example, breaking news quicker than traditional news platforms, we also have had to wince at the number of related fake tweets or “Photoshopped” pictures that were shared.

    The HIV/AIDS discussions after Paul’s revelation is a good example that social networks are diverse enough to work differently in a variety of situations – especially for long-term campaigns where education and awareness is as important as research and medical discovery.

    We have made a lot of progress both culturally, socially and medically since the early 80s, when stories of AIDS patients (and related deaths) first became public; but unfortunately, there still are many ignorant people out there.

    We still have folks who believe that HIV and AIDS are linked to an individual’s sexuality, as well as those who go online promoting unsafe sex (even using particular hashtags on Twitter), despite being aware of its consequences.

    However, the Internet can play a role in educating these misinformed but social network-savvy people.

    Over the years, we have already seen a variety of creative campaigns run around the world to spread awareness and educate people about HIV/AIDS.

    A couple of years ago, R.AGE ran a campaign to get young people to document, via Twitter, their first-time experience testing for sexual transmitted diseases.

    Then there was also the #AIDSaware campaign, organised by the now defunct local social network Ruumz and PT Foundation.

    The campaign brought together a number of personalities, including myself, to help spread the awareness through a video commercial, photo exhibition and our respective social networks.

    More recently, the Malaysian AIDS Council collaborated with actor Aaron Aziz to set up the Red Ribbon Youth Club (fb.me/redribbonyouthclub) on Facebook to generate youth engagement while at the same time spreading awareness about the disease.

    It is in these sorts of social networking activities that discourse about HIV/AIDS awareness can happen, and it shouldn’t matter if it reaches out to small or big groups of people (both off and online).

    So, in conjunction with World AIDS Day tomorrow, how can you be part of this movement and help generate discourse?
    The easiest way is using the tools that have already been created for us and that we are most familiar with – social network sites like Facebook and Twitter.

    Many of you would already have encountered profiles sporting the Red Ribbon (the international symbol for HIV/AIDS awareness) Twibbon (twibbon.com/support/world-aids-day-worldaidsday), and you can start the conversation within your respective networks by putting that on your avatars.

    Sites like avert.org have existed for more than a decade with updated information about HIV and AIDS, while UNAIDS have taken to Twitter to spread the word (twitter.com/UNAIDS).

    Then, there are also blogs (such as ukpositivelad.com) maintained by those living with HIV – who have chosen to share their experiences to raise awareness and help reduce the stigma attached to the disease.

    For many people, learning in a classroom setting is often not very exciting but with social networking, there is no excuse for us not to learn and share our knowledge, especially for a cause like this.

    Pardon the cliché, but it is in situations like these that you can make a difference – not just to your own lives (by learning how to take care of yourself and treat other people) but also to your network of friends and followers.

    Niki has just completed his MA Digital Culture and Society at King’s College London. Connect with him online at blog.nikicheong.com and on Twitter via @nikicheong.

  • 26 Oct

    R.AGE

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    Funding dream$

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    By DAVID LIAN
    alltherage@thestar.com.my

    KICKSTARTER is not a store,” wrote the foudners of Kickstarter.com in a blog post last month.

    And yet, fans of the site seem to have largely ignored the founders’ plea. The fans, despite several warnings, are still “investing” in Kickstarter projects that promise to deliver goodies they’ve always wanted but couldn’t find elsewhere.

    So what is Kickstarter?

    Kickstarter.com launched in 2009 as a platform to fund creative projects via crowdfunding. The idea was simple – if you had a brilliant idea but no funds to do it, you could post it up on Kickstarter, and generous netizens could pledge to fund your project out of goodwill.

    These projects could be wide and varied – from an independent film-maker’s pet project for an entertaining film, to physical products such as mugs, pens or bags.

    Here’s the twist. Somewhere along the line, Kickstarter devised a mechanism allowing project starters to promise “backer rewards” as a means to get people to back their projects.

    So, for example, if Madonna had launched a Kickstarter project for a concert, she could offer a reward for people who pledged US$50 (RM150) or more in the form of a free ticket. Or, if you were designing the best mug in the world, you could offer to reward backers who pledged US$10 (RM30) or more, a free mug.

    Between 2011 and 2012, Kickstarter exploded. It started with video games that people wanted to see made but until now, no major game publisher would fund. Games like Wasteland 2 raised nearly US$3mil (RM9.2mil) in funds and captured the imagination of the masses.

    The game’s developers were able to design and get funding for the project without having to go to major game publishers.

    And the reward for the backers? Copies of the game, limited edition premiums and even dinners with the development team depending on how much money you backed. Plus, the satisfaction of seeing a game you wanted to see made, actually made.

    The next wave was the advent of the “Kickstarter as a store” concept. Leading the way was the Pebble watch – a massive Kickstarter project that raised around US$10mil (RM30mil). The idea was for a truly digital watch, with an e-ink watchface that could synchronise with iOS or Android mobile phones. It would also have an accelerometer to help track how far you’ve run in a day. For all intents and purposes, the Pebble is a geek’s dream watch.

    For a pledge of US$120 (RM370), you could reserve a watch for yourself once the project is done. For US$1000 (RM3000), you could get 10 watches. Soon, everyone’s jumping in on the project, and lining up to get the project funded. The result? Kickstarter.com starts feeling a bit like a store.

    Confession: I’ve actually been treating Kickstarter as a store. It’s a really good store. In the past year, I’ve funded three computer games I want to see made, two pens that I thought I’d like, one watch, the Pebble watch, and two slimline minimalist wallets. You could call me a Kickstarter addict, but I think the idea works.

    In Kickstarter, you get to back a product you really wished were real, and make it a reality.

    Remember I mentioned something about Kickstarter and risks earlier?

    Yes, “Kickstarter is not a store”.

    The tide of unfulfilled pledges had risen to a point where it seemed that people were misusing the website to raise money, and then disappearing from the scene with the funds. Yes, that is a very big risk.

    In fact, Kickstarter had to clarify that it was a platform to raise funds for projects people loved, but fans also had to understand that project owners would be fully responsible for delivering the goods once the project is successful.

    It’s not a store, and you’re not buying a finished product. You’re giving someone money, in hopes that they will successfully execute the project, and reward you as promised.

    That’s a big risk. And I’d like to underline that again.

    But what we don’t need is for Kickstarter to go away (and I doubt it will). The idea is a really solid one, so much so that there’s even a local version at www.pitchin.my. It gives young people the opportunity to create and sell things and others to buy things we really want.

    So, Kickstarter may not be a store, but for people like me who just love seeing new ideas come to market – it’s a pretty good one already.

  • 02 Aug

    R.AGE

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    The Socialympics

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    By NIKI CHEONG

alltherage@thestar.com.my

TODAY marks the first day of the most anticipated sporting event of the year – the London 2012 Olympics. All the athletes and officials would have already been in London for the days leading up to the event – with their smartphones, tablet devices and laptops in tow.

Yup, London 2012 is being dubbed the first ‘social media’ Olympics, which led to the International Olympic Committee releasing a 15-point ‘social media, blogging and Internet’ guideline for participants.

The last games was held in Beijing, where most of the social networks used by the majority of the world’s digital citizens are banned; plus, social media was only in its infancy a mere four years ago.

Not that the term ‘first’ is that accurate. In 2010, Vancouver hosted the winter Olympics and already social networks were buzzing with activity. But in the eyes of public opinion, the summer Olympics is the one to watch, and what a show it has been already.

In the last few days alone, several high profile incidents have already occurred on social networks. For one, Greek triple jumper Voula Papahristou has been suspended from the country’s Olympic team after making what was considered to be a racist remark on Twitter.

Late last week, when the first batch of athletes were arriving from around theworld, American hurdler Kerron Clement got Twitterverse buzzing when he tweeted that it took his bus four hours to get to the Olympic Village from the airport due to the driver getting lost.

"Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee," he wrote. The news made front-page headlines in Britain, especially at a time when there has been much criticism of London’s ability to deal with transport issues with the influx of people during the games.

But athletes and their social networks aside, there is much more to expect from the most Net-friendly games. If you’re planning on following the games closely, you might want to download some of the official London 2012 apps, including the Results app which is available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7.

These apps are not the only way on the interwebs to keep up-to-date with the Olympics. Media organisations such as the NBC have made plenty of plans to keep its audiences entertained and updated with the goings-on of the next fortnight.

Besides the live stream – expected to be over 3,500 hours worth of live video – it plans to offer, NBC is also teaming up with social service Storify to curate news from the Olympics. Journalists from the news organisation will pull feeds from various social networks including Facebook and Twitter for its Today.com website and that of its various TV stations.

Major corporations and sponsors too have been capitalising on social media to sell their brand and products. Already, athletes have been banned for a month from talking about non-Olympic Games-sponsored corporations on their social network. This has led to a stream of sponsored social media updates before the deadline earlier this week.

Then there are those corporations who missed out, trying to make the most of the Olympic buzz without infringing any rules. Nike, for example, released a video (view it at bit.ly/worldlondon) this week celebrating the various ‘Londons’ around the world (in Canada, Nigeria and Norway, among others). Its competitor Adidas is a major sponsor at London 2012.

All this aside, what I am personally interested in seeing is how social media will affect the viewing experience of the Games. Recent history has shown what an impact it has on sporting events. In April, for example, over 13,000 tweets were sent out in a second at one point during the UEFA Champion’s League football final between Chelsea and Barcelona.

These days, whether you’re watching it live at home on the television, or physically at the location of the event, people don’t just passively watch. There’s always a mobile device in your hand – whether you’re tweeting, checking in on FourSquare, posting a photo on Instagram or updating your Facebook status.

This behaviour seriously affects a person’s experience, and you can bet that some sort of social media record will be achieved over the next fortnight.

In many ways, the Olympic Games will never be the same again (pictures and details of the opening ceremony have already leaked from the technical and dress rehearsals). Make no mistake about it, we can’t yet tell whether this will be good or bad, but you can bet it will be social.

Niki Cheong is a MA Digital Culture and Society student at King’s College London. Connect with him online at blog.nikicheong.com and twitter.com/nikicheong.
  • 28 Jun

    R.AGE

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    Diabolical endeavour

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    By DAVID LIAN
    alltherage@thestar.com.my

    UNLESS you’ve been living under a rock, you would probably have heard of Diablo 3, and chances are, your Facebook wall was recently spammed with your friends’ escapades from Tristram to heaven and back.

    Well, if you have been living under a rock, you’re in a spot of luck because this article will get you up to speed on what the Diablo craze is all about.

    Diablo 3 is the long awaited sequel to the smash-hit PC game Diablo 2. Yes, it really was a long-awaited sequel, as Diablo 2 was released in 2000.

    Right after the new game was launched last month, its servers went down almost instantly as millions of fans rushed online to play the game they’ve waited for more than a decade. Yes, it’s that good.

    And its return also proved the one thing we’ve suspected all along – PC gaming isn’t dead.

    When I was growing up, nothing on the PlayStation could beat the ‘hot games’ of the day on the PC.

    However, in the last decade, more gaming analysts proclaimed that PC gaming was dead, and the increasing disappearance of cyber cafes around the country only affirmed the notion.

    I remember the time when a group of friends would hang out in cyber cafes – much to our parents’ indignation – to play video games. For us, it was our version of sports.

    Then as time went by, newer consoles started appearing – the XBOX 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. People started staying at home more often to play games on those consoles instead.

    Now, Diablo 3 has brought back the popularity of PC gaming, just like in its heyday.

    The game is actually pretty easy to play.

    There are five classes to choose from (these are the characters that help define your powers), and you pick a class and head out for adventure.

     

    Diablo 3

    Adventures in Diablo 3 includes following a linear (but fun) storyline, fighting monsters, gaining levels (to improve your character’s powers) and collecting treasure.

    The story in Diablo 3 revolves around a hero arriving at Tristram, a town that’s overrun by zombies, skeletons and other ghouls. In a typical fantasy fashion, the lone hero is the only one who can uncover the mysterious source of the undead, and send them back to their graves.

    Told in four acts, the story then takes the hero from the lonely town all the way to heaven, where the ending builds up into a battle of cataclysmic proportions.

    There are four difficulty levels in Diablo 3 – normal, nightmare, hell and inferno.

    Each difficulty level tells the same story but with tougher enemies. In this way, Diablo 3 allows you to use all the ‘powers’ you accumulated from different difficulty stages.

    However, die-hard Diablo players would tell you that the real game only starts when you hit Level 60.

    Diablo 3 is a social game. The idea is to form a party of four heroes and set out for an adventure. Prominently displayed on the screen throughout the game is a ‘contact list’ you can use to chat with friends or invite them to join your game.

    When you hit Level 60, the game takes on an entirely different turn. Getting here means that you had played through the storyline three times; and accumulating the best equipment and unlocking the game’s achievement levels becomes a challenge now.

    What’s new though is that Diablo 3 publishers Blizzard Entertainment are experimenting with a system that allows players to buy and sell items for real money.

    Yes, that’s right, that nice Sword you picked up yesterday? It can go for US$20 (RM60) online. Not only is the currency virtual, you can also withdraw the cash via PayPal (and debit it into your own bank account).

    Before I leave you and return to delving the dark dungeons of Diablo 3, I thought I’d throw in some advice to its players; remember it’s just a game. Get up sometimes, take a walk and eat something. And most importantly, sleep.

    Now, back to gaming.

    *David Lian is a Level 43 Monk because he believes in playing in moderation. That, and because he’s got to write this column. Tweet him at twitter.com/davidlian if you want to ‘Diablo’ together.

  • 26 Apr

    R.AGE

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    New iPad: Is Resolutionary good enough?

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    By DAVID LIAN

    alltherage@thestar.com.my

    The 3rd generation iPad has finally hit Malaysian shores, and despite early criticism and then waning hype over it’s “small” list of improvements, it’s time to actually put the “resolutionary” device to the test.

    After all, this was the first major product to be launched after the passing of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and the first under Tim Cook’s new reign as Apple’s head.

    Tim Cook

    Many iFans waited with bated breath as Cook took to the stage last month to announce the new iPad, and many walked away with ‘mixed feelings.’

    On the surface, it doesn’t look like the new iPad provides much of a bump over it’s predecessor – the iPad 2.

    Boasting a mildly improved processor – the A5x, LTE data connections (where applicable), and a higher resolution display (four times as many pixels) as it’s key improvements, many people simply didn’t see a reason to upgrade.

    The feeling seemed to permeate throughout the launch weekend. While there still were people queuing up overnight for the new iPad, this time however, the crowd was much smaller, lines were shorter and people were showing up later to queue.

    Heck, one of my friends even mentioned strolling into an Apple retailer on Saturday morning and picking up his unit without much fuss. So what’s up with this iPad? Has it lost it’s magic?

    Before you think I’m about to embark on some iPad bashing rant, here’s some context. I own an iPad 2 and now, I hold a new iPad in my hands – ordered on Friday, delivered on Monday (yes, Apple’s delivery is THAT good).

    Yup, I upgraded, and what follows are some honest thoughts on the new iPad: Resolutionary display Apple’s made a big deal about the new iPad’s high resolution screen – also called a “retina display” though not having quite the pixel density as the iPhone 4 or 4S.

    In my books, this was the one reason I made the leap to upgrade to the new iPad. Many may not realise the difference, but as someone who regularly reads on his iPad, I didn’t like the fact that I had to zoom in oftentimes to make the text on the comics or articles I was reading legible.

    The new iPad’s higher resolution makes this problem go away. If you enjoy reading comic books or have zoomed out, full page magazines on the iPad, then the screen reallydoes make a big difference.

    However, there’s a certain quirk with LCD screens. If you’re trying to display something that’s not optimised for a high resolution display, you’ll get something that looks really blocky.

    And with the new iPad being as new as it is, I’ve found this to be true in quite a few games — particularly, FIFA 12. The game shows up with blocky club badges on the new iPad, which may be a turn off for some people. 4G – or lack of thereof

    In the US, the iPad models that comes with the LTE radio are marketed as a 4G devices, and in Malaysia, it comes with an extra caveat that you need to check “4G availability with your network.”

    The only Internet network in Malaysia to provide 4G connection is YTL’s YES – which isn’t the 4G the iPad is talking about (it’s WiMAX for you more technical folks). Rather, the new iPad sports an LTE (Long Term Evolution GSM) radio on some of its models, something that’s not yet commercially available in Malaysia.

    The good news is, DiGi has already announced that it is working on upgrading it’s network to be LTE-ready with a scheduled completion by the end of the year. Given timelines like that for the arrival of LTE in Malaysia, it seems that 4G is perhaps a function that will only be relevant for the next, next iPad (the 2013 one).

    Faster speeds, better camera, and, not much else The biggest talking point about Apple’s 4S was “Siri” – the phone that will talk back to you. The new iPad doesn’t even boast that. Instead, beyond the new screen resolution and promise of 4G data, the speed bump on the new iPad feels marginal – less than the bump the iPad 2 got over the first iPad.

    In fact, I feel as if the iPad 2 actually works faster on some applications, compared to when using the new iPad. This is because a lot of the extra power from the processor is being used to fuel the higher resolution screen and pump out four times the number of pixels. So, you’re not likely to feel a big difference in terms of speed.

    It’s a different scenario entirely with the camera, though, which is now 5.0 megapixels – a huge improvement over the old 0.7 megapixels in the iPad 2. So, if you’re into taking a lot of pictures with the iPad, you’ll welcome the change.

    On the whole, I felt slightly disappointed with the new iPad. I’m a huge proponent of the screen – it DOES matter, especially when I use my iPad for so much reading. I’m also optimistic that as more apps get updated to work on the new iPad’s resolution, things will get better.

    However, I’m disappointed that besides the upgrade on screen resolution, the new iPad doesn’t offer much more in terms of user experience. I’m still boggled and frustrated by the way files are ringfenced.

    For example, when I boot up iMovie, the only way I can import pictures or videos for editing purposes is to put them into iTunes via the syncing cable. I can’t import videos from my DropBox! I understand that Apple wants to protect the purity of its platform, as well as monopolise its “official” experiences.

    But, I can’t help but feel that the iOS experience is a little bit stifling compared to the ‘openness’ other platforms areoffering. The game is changing and with Windows 8 Tablets expected to hit later this year, I do hope there’s a new iOS update waiting in the wings that will at least ‘open up’ the platform a little more.

    Let the next iPad be revolutionary, not just resolutionary.