Relaunched in Twitter

I’ve relaunched myself in Twitter.

In fact I registered in Twitter more than two years ago. Since then I didn’t spend much time to explore what Twitter could offer.  For me Twitter has been a source of spam mails. I received in my e-mail in-box many followers, but most of them are from people I don’t know with strange ID photographs.

I met some people in Lift ’09 who said they had found business via Twitter. I logged in again to know what I could do with it, but couldn’t figure out how to use it in such a positive way.

My perception of Twitter has been changed.

In January, I met a Japanese TV crew in Davos conference who was tweeting from her iPhone every time when she had a moment. Me — “She uses Tweet to send her fresh feeling from Davos real-time. It’s a good idea!”

Then at Lift ’10 this month, the organising group actively used Twitter to collect questions from the audience during the conference. The group also posted real-time tweets in the Lift web site. Me — “A communication life style is changing fast. I want to join them!”

Now my view on Twitter is completely changed.

I found a friend in Tokyo was involved in an interesting project on the future of the Internet. I read many exciting notes directly from TEDx Tokyo, and was naturally guided to videos posted at YouTube and many blogs of the participants.

I started following people and companies I’m interested in. Professor Joe Stiglitz is already there. I found Mr. Son, CEO of SoftBank, a challenger of Japan’s ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) business using Twitter and a video media which SoftBank owns, Ustream, smartly connected to dispatch power communications. easyJet, a major European low-cost airline whose evolution process I have been monitoring since its launch, alerted by tweet a closure of Gatwick and Stanstead airports, the airline’s major access to London.

I have changed my Twitter name and ID photo, too, as I wanted to present myself better to a cloud of people who might come across my tweets.

Despite all the above, I still anticipate strange followers to catch my Tweet name from time to time. I don’t run away from them. I’ll just block them. Any media is not free from annoying users. Black mails by posts and silent callers when you’ve picked up a phone. Twitter is not an exception.

I’m more interested in learning by doing a rich potential of this new media than shutting a door away from it.

See you in Twitter, too!

Food for thoughts from Lift ’10

I’m listing randomly words which I’ve caught during three says of Lift ’10 and which were inspiring for me. I’d be happy if some of these words also stimulate your thoughts.

Words of the day:  Katrin Verclas on Mobile phone use in developing countries

  • Q by YK: What do you expect to technology developers? What kind of high technologies would you like for mobile phones to be useful in developing countries?
  • A by KV: Less expensive access. Easy to deploy. Tools deployable and useful, even if it is low-tech. It will largely help to carry on deeper conversations between technology and money owners, and mobile phone users.

1. Travel in the Web 2.0 age

  • How many people would use guidebooks in the future? — People may travel with a smart phone and may not need travel guidebooks in the future.
  • How can travel agents benefit from social networking sites? To get fresh info., real-time, weather, etc.

Info: Lonely planet is  integrated in iPhone applications at $15.99 –> Media fusion

YK thoughts: It’s a good question. But there are also people behind the net. Credibility of information counts, regardless of media.

Impressed ! —

2. Lucas Grolleau, Soundsgood inc., Paris: A sound designer describes his day   –> Creative!

3. Exhibition & demonstration

By Students, Art school of Univ. of Geneva

  • How people play with (exploit) mobile phones & computers & Internet, e.g. See things in ant’s eyes.

4. Technology is culture, by Basile Zimmermann, University of Geneva.

I can’t agree with him stronger.

5. It’s not smart but instinctive. That’s also good. Fabian Hemmert: Making Computers Stiff, Scratchy and Stubborn

We feel the interaction.Value of instinct, analogue value is being recognized & considered to be fun and comfortable.

6. Printing the internet out. Russell Davies, RIG:

  • We print blogs on news paper-sized papers. Made it to be business
  • Don’t forget about analogue friction
7. Internet & ICT training for Indian community in Brazil
Felipe Fonseca, media activist, Metareciclagem: hacking to climb the social ladder in Brazil.

  • Using old PCs, building an Internet café (?)
  • User education, training to be able to use PCs
  • Web site creation for an Indian community. Web site needed to cope with an aid organization, to post documents, to report activities, etc.
  • They don’t need e-mails, as most of them haven’t written a letter.
  • Principles: Panculturalism, creativity, networks
  • ICT Skills – Walk with users. “We should give and strengthen ICT skills of people to empower communities to live with information flows worldwide.”

8. YK thoughts on Generation
  • Young people are not so different from us.
  • But they are different.
  • No need to exaggerate but observe carefully.

9. Main stream communications companies  are watching Social Networking sites

  • Hire young people to find ways of multimedia integration, consumer watch, etc.e.g. TSR, Swisscom.
  • YK thoughts: They may not be integrated in internal structure to feed their market intelligence into existing operations. –> So difficult for the existing establishment to change and adapt to the progress of life with ICT as infrastructure.

10. People with ICTs

  • “Digital Eco System” –> This term is new to me!
  • Consumers want to be connected and participate

11. Power of social networking sites –> People are talking about companies outside their control.

  • easyJet on Twitter – Watching Customer complaints
  • “United broke my guitar” on YouTube
  • YK thoughts: Communications managers of a company should be proactive in social networking sites.

12. Digital magazines. Björn Jeffery, Bonnier R&D: The ten design principles behind Mag+

  • Sense of completion is completely lost on the web. Hence in the digital magazine design concept, installed a clearly defined beginning and end.

13. Cultural diversity is resource, as we must go for international business. A young man, CEO of a start-up company

14.  Power of social networking on political scene

  • MyBO – During the Obama’s presidential campaign, social media was used and it fundamentally changed political campaigning process
  • Social networks have  changed the way people was organised.
  • Created a feeling that they knew him –> Emotion
  • BO changed from “For the people” to “With the people”
15. Digital natives

  • “Digital natives” don’t exist. It’s a claim, a label which one puts on him/herself.
  • This myth is created by economic, cultural, etc. reasons.
  • 2 billions humans are online
Missed Lift?
  • My friend and a professional blogger, Stephanie has posted writing up of all the sessions in her blog. That’s a lot of work! Thank you, Steph.
  • Videos of all the session are posted at Lift web site.


Power of search engines – Lift ’10

Search engines are much more powerful than I knew! Estelle Metayer impressed me in the Workshop she organised at Lift ’10, “How Intelligent is your Company?

I have also learned such a new word as “deep web” in the Workshop, and learned by doing that a number of smart search engines allow us to find information from webs which are not linked to other web sites.

For example, pipl, a search engine that collects a number of pieces of information on person and display them in a well sorted out way. When I input my name, I was almost frightened and thrilled at the same time!

Frightened because my photo posted at my Facebook was there. How come, as I allow only my friends to see my page of Facebook!?

Thrilled because I found my video posted by someone! It was my presentation at IGF last year. I even didn’t know that someone was taking a video when I was talking.

“pipl” also displayed a series of my papers and books I published when I was at the OECD, and some dates back to even 1992! I felt I have my personal archive on the web.

To be fair, pipl is not perfect, yet, at least. It has picked up an ID photo of someone else from Facebook, and placed my volunteer activities at World Civil Society Forum as profession.

Above said, I’m convinced what technologies are enabling us to gather intelligence, any kind of intelligence, which you may not be aware.

So we should utilise them smartly, rather than stay away from them.

Lift ’10 is this week

I am participating in Lift ’10 again this year to be held on 5-7 May. Lift is so unique and inspiring that I cannot miss.

In the first year, in 2007 , I was a new comer, impressed and inspired by Lift. In the second year, I enjoyed meeting with people I met at LIft in the previous year, and enjoyed networking of like-minded people. Last year, in 2009, I organised a workshop of “Cyber Volunteers”, with friends at ICVolunteers and those connected with Asia@home.

This year, I’m registered in three workshops and look forward to taking a fresh shower of ideas!

Lift history in posters