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The internet and the online collaboration that it facilitates is quickly becoming an important clinical tool for doctors. This case study focuses on how doctors use Google to diagnose difficult cases. It was chosen as a resource because it provides another example of how online collaboration is benefiting the medical industry. While there is anecdotal evidence that patients use Google for self diagnosis, I was surprised to find that doctors are using Google as well. In this article, Tang & Ng (2006) examine "How good is Google in helping doctors to reach the correct diagnosis?" . This study shows that the "efficiency of the search and the usefulness of the retrieved information also depends on the searchers' knowledge base" (Tang, 2006). For instance, a doctor would know the correct medical terminology for a patient's symptoms and also have an understanding the medical terms that are returned by Google. For this reason "Google searches by a "human expert" (a doctor) have a better yield" while "patients doing a Google search may find the search less efficient and be less likely to reach the correct diagnosis." This study is a valuable resource because its results are statistically based and follow a well-defined method. This study clearly states the results that 15 out of 26 cases were correctly diagnosed using Google. The real importance of this case study is to demonstrate how online collaboration has allowed useful information on even the rarest medical syndromes to be found and digested within a matter of minutes (Tang & Ng, 2006) and that "web based search engines such as Google are becoming the latest tools in clinical medicine" (Tang & Ng, 2006). References: Tang, H., & Ng, J. (2006). Googling for a diagnosis-use of Google as a diagnostic aid: internet based study. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.bmj.com/content/333/7579/1143.full

This article takes a case study approach using qualitative and quantitative survey questions to measure the difference between pre and post uses of Google Docs. The research problem was based on the observation that Web 2.0 collaborative technologies were initially causing hesitation. However, upon consistent use in the context of an online course, students changed their minds about the usefulness of Google Docs. Both researchers intended to measure undergraduate levels of self-efficacy and undergraduates perceptions of using these collaborative technologies. The study had 18 respondents to the survey. Although the researchers acknowledged Google Docs limitations in the robustness of the software, they argued that this would make no difference to the perceptions of the undergraduates using it. The results of the study are somewhat unremarkable and predicable, yet support the idea that Google Docs is very useful for collaborative student work. There were major differences pre and post use of Google Docs that were significant. A majority of students felt their level of self-efficacy, that is confidence to use the software, was much higher after undertaking the course. The second hypothesis also showed the majority had positive perceptions of using Google Docs both in the course but significantly in future studies and workplaces. Although the researchers reported mostly positive results about the use of Google Docs, one issue clouded the results. Not being able to access the documents when offline is perceived as a major impediment in the collaborative process. Overall this study may seem somewhat bland and predictable; however, it supports much positive and negative criticism of Google Docs in the ability to foster and impede the learning of the students using it.

I have used Google Docs on many occasions for education purpose both as a teacher and a student. As a teacher I had found that Google Docs provided a tool that created group work with ease. Student where able to contribute to ideas and develop learning outcome far more than the unit outline proved for. The article here proves that through the efforts of many working on the same document improves as more contribute ideas and ads greater value to the document. Your comment about the uselessness of Google without online access does provide problems when it comes to the digital divide. We in the western world still have areas that suffer from digital divisions as well as those in less fortunate countries. However tools like Google docs can contribute to the cost of entry to CMC as there are no licensing fees required and programs such as the one laptop per child that aids in the narrowing of the digital divide(OLPC, n.d). As a student I have done one project with Google docs and currently using Google docs in another project. The reason for the choice to use Google Docs was mainly the reason cited in this article. Although the article was limited in what Google docs can actually do and takes on the assumption that we know what it can do. It is more about how it can be used in education. I recently used Google docs to collaborate with my family in arranging my mother's funeral. The outcome was very smooth as each member collaborated amicably on the document that may have been a family feud if handled face to face. References OLPC. (n.d). OLPC's mission is to empower the world's poorest children through education. Retrieved 15th April 2011, from http://one.laptop.org/about/mission Edwards, J.T., & Baker, C. (2010). A case study: Google collaboration applications as online course teaching tools. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 6(4), Retrieved April 3, 2011, from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no4/edwards_1210.htm

Your comment about the uselessness of Google without online access does provide problems when it comes to the digital divide. We in the western world still have areas that suffer from digital divisions as well as those in less fortunate countries. However tools like Google docs can contribute to the cost of entry to CMC as there are no licensing fees required and programs such as the one laptop per child that aids in the narrowing of the digital divide(OLPC, n.d). - that is 100 % right and that causes some disadvantages yet being free if connectivity can be gotten in any form then it has the potential to educate in any society that has networking. More work needs to be done to get to those areas, but I also argue that income might also be a factor and age. Nevertheless, GD if networking is there can provide the benefits of sharing and working on projects, it is just a case of making sure those that need it can get access to it in some form.

This is a comprehensive blog entry introduction to the potential of Google Docs as a collaborative tool for students. These potential uses are also valuable in work places or other group work. The value of this resource is the well-written way Wetzel articulates the advantages of Google Docs for collaborative practice. His argument is that such a system, aside from being free, is valuable to go beyond the e-mail sharing culture to a full real-time collaborative environment. Wetzel then proceeds to give examples of the potential for the application of Google Docs in education contexts and classrooms. To summarise, he argues three main points in using Google Docs for collaboration:  The ability for Google Docs to provide instant feedback to students on their work  To conserve expenses on school projects such as printing costs  Encouraging the working together of students on a projects in a systematic and orderly manner The tone of the article is clearly very much in favour of using Google Docs for collaborative practice in educational settings. However, though this may not be an issue in educational contexts, there are disadvantages using Google Docs that are not reported. Two bloggers highlight those weaknesses which may be of concern when trying to use more features in Google Docs that are not there but are part of the Microsoft Office Suite:  The speed of internet connection is vital; if it is slow the collaborator may not be able to keep up with others' postings (Bukisa, 2011)  Most of the time you cannot work offline with Google Docs, you must be online to create and update documents (Creative Marketing Solutions, n.d.) However, the article does put a compelling list of features that make Google Docs a good system to use for educational collaboration.

References Bukisa. (2011). Google Docs review. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from http://www.bukisa.com/articles/480255_google-docs-review Creative Marketing Solutions. (n.d.). How to use Google Docs. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from http://knolt.com/creative-marketing-solutions/2010/10/20/heading-2/ Wetzel, D. R. (2009). Google Docs are a free online educational tool: Web-based productivity software for teacher or student collaboration. Suite101.com. Retrieved April 2, 2011, from http://www.suite101.com/content/google-docs-are-a-free-online-educational-tool-a105900

This study by Blau and Caspi is valuable for seeing how using Google Docs in a sharing and collaborating environment has on perceived student learning. The credibility of this study is enhanced by a wide survey of 118 students at an Open University in Israel. Ownership meant the degree to which the student using Google Docs felt responsible to work on and update project documents. This quantitative study also sought to measure the perceived learning and quality of project outcomes students felt were a result of using Google Docs. The implications from the study suggested the importance of owning the document, but also to make sure others knew of changes to the document. A document creator felt they lost ownership of the document when editing was done on it. They became the reader of the document. Such a change in hierarchy shows the importance of communicating changes done on Google Docs to every team member. A second implication was that the value of the document seemed to increase when more revisions was done. This suggested that more work on the document resulted in a more credible and trustworthy document as the project document was improved towards its final presentation. In fact most survey respondents seemed to not think the document got worse as more things were added to it. Overall, there was a correlation between document quality and revision, with Google Docs being perceived as quite effective in producing trustworthy documents which add to the learning process. The researchers' main advice from the study is that revising documents and suggesting improvements is far more effective than editing another's documents. Whilst this is not always possible it does suggest the importance of communication in the collaboration process. Google Docs is not a passive collaboration media; therefore, care in making sure all team members communicate changes is vital to a much better collaboration process.

References Blau, I., & Caspi, A. (2009). What type of collaboration helps? Psychological ownership, perceived learning and outcome quality of collaboration using Google Docs. Proceedings of the Chais conference on instructional technologies research 2009: Learning in the technological era. Y. Eshet-Alkalai, A. Caspi, S. Eden, N. Geri, Y. Yair (Eds.), Raanana: The Open University of Israel. Retrieved April 2, 2011, from http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:bBVQbNfm4-MJ:scholar.google.com/+google+docs&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5

Kumar's work has a reasonable amount to offer in terms of a resource; his research gives more clues to the perceived effectiveness of Google Docs users have towards it as a collaborative tool. He has chosen to use the effective research method focus groups with semi-structured questions. Perhaps the useful part of investigating Google Docs as a collaborative tool is how he selected students at the university site who were in many disciplines. Thus he was able to elicit some good insights into why Google Docs is so praised as a collaborative educational tool. One finding was that students preferred Google Docs as a time saving tool where no formal meetings took place. Although the students were on campus, it was surprising that they felt they would rather use Google Docs then all meet to work on a project. The other finding was that the acceptance of this Web 2.0 collaborative technology was greater amongst students that had previous experience with Google Docs or other similar software. Another major advantage found by Kumar (2009) was that overall using such collaborative tools increased interest in the subject matter of their particular discipline. The concept that new technologies add value to existing practice was also interesting. Although Kumar was not clear on this concept, what students indicated this was the case, such a statement suggests that using Google Docs is linked to increased interest in a subject and in turn a desire to succeed. The weakness of this resource is Kumar is not clear of this link; however, as an article to show that Google Docs is of value equating collaboration tools with increased productivity shows how potentially valuable using them can be.

References Kumar, S. (2009). Undergraduate perceptions of the usefulness of Web 2.0 in higher education: Survey development. In D. Remenyi (Ed.) Proceedings of 8th European Conference on E-learning, Italy, 308-314. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from http://web2integration.pbworks.com/f/Undergraduate+Perceptions+of+the+Usefulness+of+Web+2.0+in+Higher+Education.pdf

This article is quite short and not academic but I have included it because it adds some symmetry to the previous articles I have reviewed. While this article is focused specifically on the "risks associated with self-diagnosis and the reliance on 'Dr Google'" (Whyte, 2010), it also serves to highlight a potential problem of online collaboration: credibility and the quality of information. This is its primary value as resource for this project. While Giustini (2006) talks of the open access and freedom of publication that online collaboration allows, I think there is a drawback to online collaboration that hasn't been addressed in the previous articles. Misleading or incorrect information, especially of a medical nature, can be potentially harmful if published. As Whyte (2010) writes in this article, doctors are finding it increasingly concerning that patients are misusing their medication, referring to the internet for advice rather than consulting a trusted GP. Some Google listings that have not been filtered may list incorrect complications and side effects of certain medicines. As a result patients are taking less than the recommended dosage. Dosages or remedies may also be incorrect on Google and this could lead to potentially dangerous overdoses of medicine. Boulos (2006) writes of the problems gauging the reliability and accuracy of information on the internet. While "virtually anybody is able to alter, edit or otherwise contribute to the collaborative Web pages … the very process of collaboration leads to a Darwinian type 'survival of the fittest' content within a Web page" (Boulos, 2006). This would ensure that dubious information was kept to a minimum. Also by providing a closed and secure digital environment, the collaboration process could be carefully monitored and moderated. References: Boulos, M., Maramba, I. & Wheeler, S. (2006). Wikis. blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and ed

[Part 1] Lemos' paper depicts map-making as a socio-political act, an expression of power. Maps themselves are a visual way of presenting geographic information, and have been traditionally controlled by technicians, governments and private companies, but since the advent of interactive online tools, some of the power inherent in map-making has shifted to ordinary people. Interactive tools such as Google Maps, allow the everyday person to experience a new practice of place, as Lemos writes "mapping our moves on the streets allows us to control the space; it is territorialization. […] The use of GPS and other devices for location and location-based services puts the emphasis on control and domination over a territory" (Lemos 2008, p.15). From the perspective of student protesters in London at the end of 2010, the use of an interactive Google map (see and example at: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london), allowed protest organisers to control the flow of digital information between cyberspace and the urban environment. Protesters themselves, those armed with locative media such as smart phones, had access to near real time data superimposed upon street maps relevant to their own position. This allowed protesters to collaborate by providing feedback to organisers or by reacting geographically to reported police location and action.

[Part 2] The act of real time digital mapping and urban annotation by protest movements potentially creates a new dynamic where the distribution of power relative to a location is altered. The ways in which citizens perceive the city and interact with its structure is changed when citizens have access to information about proximity and distance, when they are kept informed of lines of escape from controlled spaces. The act of protesting creates a temporary urban space, changing a location's social meaning. With the use of digital mapping tools a mobile social network is created, one that has the potential to communicate more effectively than the police forces arrayed against them. References: Cullum, B. (2010). Maptivism in London. Retrieved from: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/maptivism-in-london Lemos, A.(2008). Mobile communication and new sense of places: a critique of spatialization in cyberculture.  Retrieved from:  http://www.andrelemos.info/artigos/spatialization.pdf Live Protest Map (2010). Retrieved from: UCL Live Protest Map

Lemos' journal examines the notion that recent mobile innovations have facilitated new and socially focussed communication systems. Locative media is the primary focus of the article and Lemos argues that technology and its relationship with mobility, community and place are creating new forms of 'territorization' - a socio-political act that involves control, surveillance and tracking. The distinction is made that locative media creates new uses for non-virtual space and bridges the gap between the physical and the virtual. This is achieved through augmented reality, mobile information consumption, events and geo-mapping; all which reinforce collaboration and participation among real world communities. Examples of locative media and territorization include CitizenMap, a community focussed web service which utilises Google Maps, Twitter and news sources to identify and detail environmental incidents throughout Hong Kong and the South China region. Sukey, an anti-police kettling application is another example of locative media, this service aims to improve communications throughout demonstrations by feeding police tactics and information from an assortment of data sources such as Twitter, Google Maps, Flickr and directly aggregating it to mobile / SMS enabled devices (Sukey, 2011). What Lemos fails to expand on in the journal is the technical and participatory expectations required for the services to be successful. Without regular and active participation these services add little or no value to the community or the cause.

In this article, Giustini (2006) explains how web 2.0 and it's intrinsic "spirit of open sharing and collaboration" aids the "continual loop of analysis and refinement" of medical information. Giustini (2006), like Maag (2005), uses the example of blogs - in this case Ves Dimovs's Clinical cases and Images - to demonstrate how online collaboration promotes interactive discussions and timely updates on peer-reviewed medical material. Giustini (2006) also touches on how Google can serve as a diagnostic aid, but this will be examined in my commentary on "Googling for a diagnosis" (Tang, 2006). This article is a valuable resource because it highlights another form of online collaboration: the wiki. Giustini (2006) sees wikis as a place "to create optimal knowledge building opportunities for doctors", which will ultimately advance medical science. Wikis can do this in a number of ways. Firstly, by providing an environment "where knowledge exchange is not limited or controlled by private interests" (Giustini, 2006). Wikis also allow "participation and conversations across a vast geographical expanse" and "permit continuous instant alerting to the latest ideas in medicine" (Giustini, 2006). Wikis could also be used "as a low cost alternative to commercial point of care tools". Giustini's occupation as a medical librarian at the University of British Columbia enhances the credibility of this article. This is why I have chosen it to demonstrate the positive effect online collaboration is having on the medical industry. This article is important because it places the idea of a medical wiki in a much larger context. By breaking down the "old proprietary notions of control and ownership" (Giustini, 2006) of knowledge, wikis "may be the answer to the world's inequities of information access in medicine" (Giustini, 2006). References: Giustini, D. (2006). How Web 2.0 is changing medicine. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.bmj.com/content/333/7582/1283.full Tan

This ABC online article highlights some important aspects about the use of social-media and the role it played organising, coordinating and documenting Egypt's 2011 uprising. Firstly, the initial ban of web services such as Facebook and Twitter was an indication of the Egyptian government recognising the power, connectedness and participatory nature of social-media . In an attempt to silence the demonstrators and to avoid a repeat of the 2009 Iran revolution, Egyptian authorities took it one step further and not only blocked certain web site but completely shut down access to the entire world-wide-web (Stone, 2009). This act alone illustrates the fragility of the Internet, despite its decentralised design. Literally, with the flick of a switch, Internet Service Providers acting on government instructions blocked web access within the country. It can be argued the political protesting in Egypt would occur with our without a social-media influence; however, it is still important to examine the length Egyptian demonstrators went to in order to circumvent the Internet block and continue to take leverage from popular social media services. An example is the use of 'voice-to-tweet' - a cooperative development by Google, Twitter and an online voice provider called SayNow. This innovation allowed Egyptians to call a telephone number and leave a message which would automatically be converted to text, published on Twitter and tagged with #Egypt. This example highlights Twitter and new media being used for collaboration and participation; specifically between citizen activists and journalists around the world. Much like the Internet, news media was also blocked within Egypt and reporters faced the same communication challenges as everybody else, this workaround however was an effective way for Egyptians to stay connected and ensure their stories were continuing to be voiced to the eagerly listening global audience. Stone, B. (June 15, 2009). Social Net

The events that unfolded during the uprising in Egypt are a good example of how flexible and mobile social networks can be in relation to effective communication between members of society. Through the Egyptian government shutting off all Internet connections collaborative efforts were made by both Twitter and Google to still allow information to be distributed throughout the country. As stated above, the speak-to-tweet services were available in which voicemail messages were left and then converted into text messages, which were then posted via twitter (ABC News, 2011). This is a great example of how devices can be implemented and used to adjust to the situation at hand. In one of my previous posts I talked about the United States becoming concerned around social media's effectiveness in relation to social protest, in which they have made plans to impose legislation to create a 'kill switch' to re-create what the Egyptian government previous did, cut all lines of Internet communication in times of political disturbance (Grubb & Moses, 2011). The elements that unfolded in Egypt after the lines of Internet communication were cut is a good example of how other devices can be implemented for information to be distributed amongst society. It is not as simple as cutting off an Internet connection and assume that collaborative communication will cease. Just as the US government has seen the warning signs of the power of social networks, society has also seen the weakness in relying on a national Internet service. 'Mesh' Networks as I previously stated in another post are currently underdevelopment for mobile phones in which there is no central device, instead each node is equipped with radio communications which acts as a relay point to other nodes, placing the pressure off obtaining a connection from a main server (Gedda ,2010).

References: ABC News (2011). Voice tweets sidestep Egypt web ban. Retrieved April 17, 2011 from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/01/3126626.htm Grubb, B; Moses, A. (2011). As Egypt goes offline US gets Internet 'kill switch' bill ready. Retrieved April 17, 2011. From http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/as-egypt-goes-offline-us-gets-internet-kill-switch-bill-ready-20110131-1aah3.html Gedda, R. (2010). Mobile Phone Coverage Expanded Via 'Mesh' Networks. Retrieved April, 17, 2011. from http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/352948/mobile_phone_coverage_expanded_via_mesh_networks/.

Anyone can become a member of Avaaz. However, their website offers no portal of communication between members and/or non-members. Fortunately, this issue is solved by its integration of social media networks such as Facebook (Avaaz.org, 2011b), Twitter (Avaaz, 2011) and YouTube (AvaazOrg, 2011). Using Facebook as an example, Avaaz posts information about current campaigns. By doing this, Avaaz is opening further communication about its campaigns; it allows the organisation to continually grow stronger; and it is an opportunity for them to reach more people. On this Facebook group: * Avaaz posts new information, and contributes to conversations * Anybody following the Avaaz group can make comments about the campaign; concurrently they can also promote particular campaigns of interest to their own social networks. Avaaz also makes use of Twitter as another complementary platform for communication. Akin to Avaaz's use of Facebook, Twitter is used to keep their followers informed of updates, new campaigns and more. An example of this can be seen in Tweets made by Avaaz: Hi @SAALTweets, have you seen the @Avaaz petition for Jan #Lokpal? http://bit.ly/eZcDis Follow @Avaaz back so we can send more info (9 Apr) In 1 day over 250,000 have signed to stand with #annahazare against Indian #corruption. Join them at http://j.mp/gfg7KJ - pls RT (8 Apr) Avaazers in India: Stand with #annahazare to tackle #corruption. Sign the @Avaaz petition for the Jan #Lokpal Bill! http://j.mp/fCnD8Z (8 Apr) By doing this, Twitter users are able to receive updates about campaigns and other information; participate in conversations; and, promote the information that interests them to their networks (Jenkins et al., 2009). By doing this, the consumers of the networks are helping

[Continued from previous comment] In terms of my chosen topic of Flash Mobs, AVAAZ has stronger ideals and uses social media to highlight their issues of global concern. Flash Mobs tend to have their base within a community and despite sometimes being organized to highlight a social injustice, are mainly used as advertising to publicize an upcoming event or personality. YouTube videos shared through social media networks appear to be the main form of spreading a Flash Mob once the activity or event has occurred. AVAAZ on the other hand, has an ongoing commitment to highlight issues before, after, during and after an event. Thanks again for your insightful article and comment Jocelyn

Prior to reading these comments, I had never heard of AVAAZ. Out of interest, and because I have been researching civil unrest in Europe and the Middle East, I did a Google search on "AVAAZ and Egypt" and was surprised to see 418,000 results. There were multiple links to different groups who were promoting the "Stand with the people of Egypt petition" in conjunction with AVAAZ, groups such as the Care 2 News Network, and Manalife. We seem to constantly hear about the power of Twitter and Facebook, but in turn there are all of these other organisations collaborating, promoting and sharing content on the internet not just using Twitter and Facebook, but their own websites and forums. REFERENCES: Avaaz - Stand with the People of Egypt Care2.com http://www.care2.com/news/member/754940801/2709806 Hylands, J (January 30, 2011) Avaaz - Stand with the people of Egypt. Manalife http://manalife.org/articles/stand-with-the-people-of-egypt/

[Part 1] This article brings together a number of links to UK student protest sites. Reading this and related articles it becomes clear that the students protesting about the UK government's fee cut policy are willing to use any tools at their disposal. Their primary aim has been to collaborate with, and inform supporters of offline physical protests; predominantly marches and occupations. The article itself is posted on the movements.org website, a non profit organisation whose stated mission is to identify, connect and support grassroots digital activists from around the world. The support offered by movement.org goes beyond the mere publication of articles and offers advice to individuals and groups on how to choose and best use digital tools. It is interesting to see the number of freely available digital tools that student protesters have used to disseminate information: Facebook, Twitter, websites, blogs, Google maps, YoutTube, open calendars and Flickr are all part of the student protesters' arsenal. Fast adoption of new technologies seems to be one of the strengths of the UK students' movement. Recently, for instance, student protesters in London used the new "Sukey" application, a conglomeration of tools like google maps, twitter and SMS, to avoid clashes with police (Kingley 2011). Google Maps too have been a useful tool and have been utilised to show the locations of upcoming protests, the map posted at http://www.feesprotest.com/ gives a good indication of the nationwide spread of student dissatisfaction, while at the same time hyperlinking to fairly detailed information for each locality and directing viewers to facebook protest pages for up to date information and interaction.

[Part 2] References: 30th November Here We Come. (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.feesprotest.com/ Cullum, B. (2010). NETWORKED PROTESTS IN THE UK: hOW OLD AND NEW TACTICS ARE BEING USED TO FIGHT RISING TUITION FEES. Retrieved from: http://www.movements.org/blog/entry/networked-protests-in-the-uk-how-old-and-new-tactics-are-being-used-to/ Kingsley, P. (2011). Inside the anti-kettling HQ. Retrieved from:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/02/inside-anti-kettling-hq?INTCMP=SRCH

"Sukey apps help protesters avoid police kettles" Sukey is a recently developed online tool for protesters. It is made up of a suite of applications that allow protesters to either submit or access information about police presence on roads or junctions during protests. Sukey can be accessed and updated online from any connected computer and also via mobile phones, meaning that protesters potentially have access to relevant information no matter where they are. There are two flavours of Sukey for mobiles, smart phones with GPS and Internet browsers can use the "Roar" version of Sukey which includes helpful graphics like a compass and an interactive google map (Doctrow 2011). The "Growl" version of the application is suitable for older mobile phones and is basically an SMS update service. Information is gathered by people on site at protests, from specially tagged Twitter comments, from news broadcast footage and geotagged photos from Flickr. Location information can also be submitted via Google Latitude or by SMS. This crowd-sourced information is intended to allow protesters to make informed decisions and hopefully avoid kettling. Kettling is a practice used by police whereby protesters are surrounded and confined, sometimes for hours on end without access to food, shelter or toilet facilities. At present the platform is only available in London, but the developers have plans to release national and international versions. References: Doctrow, C. (2011). Sukey: an anti-kettling app for student demonstrators in London. Retrieved from: http://boingboing.net/2011/01/28/sukey-an-anti-kettli.html Geere, D. (2011). Sukey apps help protesters avoid police kettles. Retrieved from: http

Thank you for sharing Alio. This is the first I have heard of Sukey and after reading Geere's blog post, I can really appreciate its usefulness throughout political demonstrations, in particularly the recent protests in Egypt. After some further research it appears Sukey emerged on January 27, 2011, two days after the initial January 25th 2011, Egypt demonstrations; however, there appears to be no connection between the two. The purpose of Sukey is to improve communications during protests and to counter the act of kettling, a crowd management tactic used by police that involves cornering protestors in a confined space with only one possible - normally guarded - exit (Kingsley, 2011). Sukey facilitates this through the amalgamation of information sources such as; Google Latitude, Geo tagged Flickr photos, Twitter and television news, feeding the content to web enabled phones or for a small fee traditional SMS. Throughout the Egypt uprising, there were many instances of kettling captured on video and submitted to YouTube - as per the below links. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXbRdumboZ0&feature=related. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xWiBCIxjIk&feature=related If available at the time Sukey may have been an advantageous asset to Egyptian activists. It can be argued that the police clashes - which resulted in numerous injuries and 125 deaths - could have been minimized if protestors had access to real-time information indicating police strategies. It is worth mentioning that Sukey would have been effective up to the point the Internet and mobile networks were shut down by Egyptian authorities. Provided there is robust communication infrastructure is in place, Sukey proves to be a powerful participatory tool that has the potential to reduce injuries and fatalities throughout demonstrations. Geere, D. (January 31, 2011). Sukey apps help protesters avoid police kettles: Wired [Blog Post]. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from, http://www.wired.co.uk/

Virág Molnár is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the New School for Social Research in New York. Her interest is in the impact of mobile communications on urban culture. This article first puts flash mobs into an historical perspective by suggesting that its roots lie with the Italian Futurists of 1910 and further cultivated during the 20th century by avant-garde art groups such as Dadaists . More recently there have been the Youth International Party (Yippies) in the US. (Molnár, 2009) As Molnár points out the things that all these groups have in common with modern flash mobs is that there is no formal membership or hierarchy and they are able to utilise the media effectively. The difference lies in the use of new media such as blog, social networks and mobile phones (2009). Rheingold points out that these tools lower the threshold of participation as it no longer required participants to actually know each other (2003, p. xii). Molnár then identifies and describes 5 types of flash mob based either on their form of sociality or their function. They are: 'atomised' flash mobs, interactive flash mobs, performance flash mobs, political flash mobs and advertising flash mobs (2009). Flash mobs, although organised online are only able to be carried out by people in close proximity to one another or as Molnár describes it "able to make the leap from cyberspace to urban space" (2009). These events are generally recorded and posted to sites like YouTube in order to both popularise the event and to get feedback. "Online reporting has indeed largely been responsible for the rapid global diffusion of flash mobs," and "has been crucial in institutionalizing and legitimizing this new form of sociability"(Molnár, 2009).

Continuation of original comment. As a blog post on Turtle Sociology wrote "The globalization of flash mobs underscores two vital notes: the viral-like nature of technology, and the universal desire to break free from social norms… all flash mobs seem to elicit joy in their bold, unprompted natures"(2010). References: Molnár, V. (2009). Reframing Public Space Through Digital Mobilization: Flash Mobs and the Futility(?) of Contemporary Urban Youth Culture. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic497840.files/Molnar_Reframing-Public-Space.pdf Rheingold, H. (2003). Smart Mobs : The next socal revolution. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lX9QKNbO0nkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=smart+mobs+the+next+social+revolution&ots=wvkWcKOAIx&sig=00EWrYtEyAwqRmnYNth77Sclr8o#v=onepage&q=smart%20mobs&f=false Turtle Sociology. (2010, October 6). The Universal Phenomenon of Flash Mobs [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://turtlesoc.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/the-universal-phenomenon-of-flash-mobs/

Thanks for continuing your comment Hans. That last quote really sums it up well. I quite like how you have highlighted the fact that flash mobs underscore the 'viral-like nature of technology' in addition to the joy flash mobs elicit as a result of their impromptu nature. All that is needed is a quick search through YouTube for 'flash mobs' to see the views of popular flash mob videos reach the millions, as well as to read how well they have been received globally. Thanks again, Tessa

This article, written by Huffington Post writer, Catharine Smith was published shortly after the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak stepped down from power. The article is a report on an interview between CNN's Wolf Blitzer and activist Wael Ghonim (who is also a marketing manager for Google). Video footage of the interview is also provided. Ghonim played a key role in organising the January 25 street protests by "reaching out to Egyptian youths on Facebook" (Smith, 2011). Ghonim was arrested and imprisoned for 12 days after the protest, and since his release "has become a symbol for the Egyptian movement" (Smith, 2011). Ghonim argues this idea however and has stated that he is not a hero, "I was writing on a keyboard on the Internet and I wasn't exposing my life to danger." (Ghonim, 2011). Ghonim would however, like to thank Mark Zuckerberg. In the CNN interview, Ghonim relates how he believes the "revolution started on Facebook" (Ghonim, 2011). The revolution, according to Ghonim, started in June 2010 when Egyptians started collaborating content. "We would post a video on Facebook that would be shared by 60,000 people on their walls within a few hours" (Ghonim, 2011). The revolution has been dubbed "Egypt's Facebook Revolution" by the media. It would be naive to say that the revolution was caused by social media, however there is no doubt that social media such as Facebook and Twitter has played a significant role in mobilizing and engaging citizens in Egypt's political protests. ___________________________________________________ Reference: Smith, C. (February 11, 2011) Egypt's Facebook Revolution: Wael Ghonim Thanks The Social Network Huffington Post. Retrieved March 8, 2011 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/11/egypt-facebook-revolution-wael-ghonim_n_822078.html

CitizenMap - a South China Morning Post initiative is a web-based reporting tool which geo-maps news, community generated media and other local citizen reports throughout Hong Kong and the South China region. Its primary focus is environmental incidents including; the illegal dumping of waste, unauthorised construction and the removal of native plantation. Moving forward, CitizenMap will eventually branch out to include other topics in the future. CitizenMap utilises an array of online services such as; Google Maps, Twitter, Flickr and other Web 2.0 features like tagging, verifications and geo-mapping to encourage local participation and information sharing among the community. Although CitizenMap is not directly linked to the coordination of political demonstrations, it can still be a useful tool for environmental activists. The documented evidence contained within this web service can act as ammunition for protestors and further fuel their campaigns - especially once the report is official verified by the South China Morning Post. Example includes green groups challenging the HK Environment Bureau over a flawed policy which will allow a 5 hectare clearing to be used as landfill. Another incident involves journalism students providing photographic evidence that details the illegal dumping of waste in a Mong Tseng Wai pond (Reports, 2011). Encouraging the community to engage in citizen journalism surrounding environmental issues is an effective way to promote accountability, responsibility and the notion to 'think green' among the community. CitizenMap. (2011). Retrieved from: http://citizenmap.scmp.com/main Reports. (2011). CitizenMap. Retrieved April 15, 2011, from: http://citizenmap.scmp.com/reports/view/238

[Part 1] The CitizenMap, created by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), is a good example of a combination of crowd sourcing and crisis mapping. According to Blogger Jennifer Jett, the project's aim is to make up for the shortfall in staffing at Honk Kong's planning and lands departments. Jett wrote on her blog that "Almost 60 percent of government investigations into improper land use stem from citizen complaints, and the percentage rises to 90 percent for dumping". The SCMP mapping project's use of crowd sourcing to report illegal and polluting acts, therefore meets an identified need within the Hong Kong community. The South China Citizen's map uses an open source crowd-sourcing tool called Ushahidi to map environmental issues in Hong Kong. The Citizen Map site's tag line "For Hong Kong by Hong Kong" suggests ownership of both the project and the land itself by the people, it invites citizens to report instances of environmental destruction and disputed land use. As such it is a form of citizen surveillance. The map is interactive; sites of improper land use are pinpointed on a map by the placement of circles, the larger the circle, the larger the number of reports there are for a particular incident. Clicking a within a circle opens a dialogue box with brief details, clicking within that box opens an incident report page containing more comprehensive details including photographs and the option to append further details to the report. The act of digitally mapping and tagging environmental events provides the citizenry with a widely accessible forum for complaint, and the prospect of exerting some form of power over their environment.

[Part 2] References: Citizen Map (2010). Retrieved from: http://citizenmap.scmp.com/main Jett, J. (2010) SCMP uses citizen reporting to map environmental destruction. Retrieved from: http://jennjettkw.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/scmp-uses-citizen-reporting-to-map-environmental-destruction/ Ushahidi (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.ushahidi.com/

Nelson, A. (2011). The limits of the 'Twitter revolution. The Gaurdian  Retrieved 11th April 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/24/digital-media-egypt   

Nelson makes a strong argument suggesting the 2011 Egypt uprising was not necessarily fuelled by social media; instead she links it to years of oppression and dictatorship as the main triggers. On the flipside, many of Nelson's statements need to be challenged. Firstly, she states that only 15,000 Egyptians were tweeting - out of a population of 80 million - throughout the protests. What she fails to mention is that less than 20% of Egyptians actually have Internet access (Internet World Stats, 2011). In addition, many of these users also reside outside of Cairo and may not have directly participated in the demonstrations. Lastly, the Internet and SMS services were shutdown in Egypt two days after the initial January 25th demonstration and this act would drastically reduce numbers as the only way to circumvent the block was through dialup or a voice-to-tweet service. An interesting concept raised in this article is 'slackivism', a term coined to describe the attraction of getting caught up in the euphoria of online activism. The benefits however have little or no impact on society because clicking a 'like' button within a Facebook group is far from participatory and adds very little value to the cause. Instead, Nelson argues that web users need to be better educated in the use and the expectations of crisis-mapping platforms to effectively participate. Sukey , an anti-police kettling web application is a recent example of internet enabled, active participation. Its use during a recent political demonstration in London resulted in successful, non-violent outcome (Kingsley, 2011). This was attributed to activists working together and feeding information from Twitter, Google Maps and news feeds into Sukey to counter the act the police kettling. This example highlights that technical aptitude and active participation are required to effectively coordinate a internet enabled, protest. Internet World Stats - Usage and Population Statistics. (2011

References: Morozov, E. (2009). Moldova's Twitter Revolution. Retrieved April 13, 2011. From http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/07/moldovas_twitter_revolution Nelson, A. (2011). The Limits Of The "Twitter Revolution". Retrieved April, 16 2011. From http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/24/digital-media-egypt

(2001) This is a critical view about the internet and education. Peter Macinnis Speaks with Robyn Williams (ABC Science National Radio) about the evolution of Technology and how technology takes 20 plus years to become an accepted technology. Macinnis shows the analogy of the printing press, steam trains, telephone,radio and TV development and then compares the internet.  He claims you need to take the rear view mirror approach to see what the trends are.   One interesting point that Macinnis makes is that the examination process of education is still ran by the old school where the generation today have a whole new literacy in Internet communications. He also criticise how the Internet is organised and there is some work needed to add metadata to the already exciting data on the web.  I find this a good argument as search engines rank results based on several factors other than truth and reliability.     Williams, R. (Writer). (2001). The Internet and Education [Radio ], ABC Science. Australia: ABC Radio National.

REFERENCES ABS. (2007). 8146.0.55.001 - Patterns of Internet access in Australia, 2006, Australian Bureau of Statistics. First Issued November 29, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8146.0.55.001Main+Features12006?OpenDocument Downes, S. (2007). The Future of Online Learning and Personal learning Environments. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/the-future-of-online-learning-and-personal-learning-environments NSWDET (2009). Social Learning 2.0 Concepts and Visuals. Uploaded by the NSW Department of Education and Training March 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/etalbert/sociallearning20-concepts-and-visuals-mar09# Williams, R., and Peter Macinnis (2001). The Internet and Education. Ockham's Razor, Radio National. Broadcast Sunday May 6, 2001. Retrieved April 12, 2011 from: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s289416.htm

It is good to go back and examine Peter Macinnis's point of view. Reminds me of the exercise of examining Clifford Stoll's (1995) view on what the internet was to become, which of course was mostly wrong. Macinnis seemed to have predicted the unorganised nature of the information on the internet (ABC Radio, 2001) which to an extent does exist now. This is one reason I believe is important to address in terms of internet collaboration especially in education. Collaborating is about organising information into a presentation form for all students collaborating within a system. But that must be with a gatekeeper, namely the teacher or lecturer or tutor who can intervene when needed. Michael Green (ABC Radio, 1999) in an earlier view on that show quoted Fred Bennett who urged computers to teach students without an intermediary, namely a tutor or teacher. Whilst tertiary education is underpinned by self-reliance, I wonder if such views back then apply now. In collaboration, does the lecturer decide to be strictly a hands off non-interventionist given that their students are mature and can think for themselves? Or does the lecturer, given the high demands of departmental, research and publishing commitments, become part of the student group collaboration? In my resources, Google Docs seems to raise more issues about information use which suggest students place a high value on organised information which makes sense to them. I feel that Macinnis should revise today if inaccurate information is the real problem. We had virtual communities were information could be corrected, but with Web 2.0, Wikipedia being the most obvious example, we can correct what is wrong. I do agree with Tessa that social media overall seems to be quite behind in the way it is being diffused across educational sectors. Collaboration tools such as Facebook etc will be used by students anyway so it seems odd that the resistance still exists. This interview is a good resource to reflect on how f

Kravet's Wired online article details the role social-media services such as; Facebook, Twitter and YouTube played in the 2011 Egypt political revolution. The primary focus of his article suggests the uprising was the result of years of oppression and dictatorship, not simply a Twitter or mass media revolution as some have labelled it (Bergstrom, 2009). Kravet does acknowledge the link between technology and modern upheavals by using the example of the fax machine and the role it played informing the world of the Tiananmen Square massacre. At the same time, he still emphasises that social-media and communication systems are used as an effective way of coordinating protests and political gatherings. A quarter of Egyptian citizens have Internet access; therefore, it can be said that social media is a powerful channel activists could utilise - in conjunction with leaflets and spontaneous amalgamation - to effectively facilitate organisation of the masses. Activists also used social media as a way of gauging the scope of their proposed protests by encouraging Facebook users to confirm their attendance. Prior to the Internet being blocked, one particular organiser had 80,000 confirmations for a January 29, 2011 demonstration. After the Egyptian government's initial block of popular, social-networking services (prior to the entire Internet being shutdown in Egypt) protestors took leverage from a variety of technologies such as; web proxies, VPNs and smartphone applications to gain access to Facebook and Twitter. Again this demonstrates the importance these tools play in information sharing and mass collaboration. Bergstrom, G. (2009). Egypt: The First Twitter Revolution? Retrieved, April 4 2011, from http://marketing.about.com/od/crisis_communication/a/egypt-mubarak-power-in-social-media.htm Kravets, D. (January 27, 2011). What's Fueling Mideast Protests? It's More Than Twitter. Retrieved April 5, from http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/

The article is interesting, but i just wanted to touch on the statements that were raised around communication after the Internet had actually been shut off. I was fascinated to read about how society can mobilize and use the resources that are available in times of need. Using third party proxies, organizers were able figure out ways to bypass the Egyptian Internet filters and to be able to once again access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other Internet sites (Osam, 2011). Despite the Internet blackout, landline communication was never blocked; Egyptians found another way to access the Internet through landlines dial-up Internet services and fax services. Egyptians living outside Egypt were receiving faxes through regular landline phones, by using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies they could convert the fax image into text contents, and post the contents, news and updates into Facebook, Twitter and different blogs (Sutter, 2011). This convergence in technology just goes to show that these types of situations cannot be simply shut off by closing down all Internet connections within the country. As an indication on how fast online communication services are popping up into the spotlight, Google in the meantime launched a new service called "speak2tweet", which allowed Egyptians to call a regular landline number in Cairo and speak their tweet to an IVR/Voice recognition system. The speak2tweet system would then convert the caller voice message into a text tweet (Osam, 2011). References Osam, M. (2011). The eRevolution. Retrieved, April 13, 2011. From http://www.famousbloggers.net/the-erevolution.html

Sutter, J. (2011). The Faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0'. Retrieved, April 13, 2011. From http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/21/egypt.internet.revolution/index.html