Jim Mora conversation on Pew Report on Future of the Internet, Onyas, Te Ara, and Picnik

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings."
- Lewis Carroll

Jim Mora in the Afternoon on Radio NZ
It's that time again - talking to Jim Mora on National Radio about the Internet - and other such cabbages. Click wee player to listen - alternatives are  Ogg Vorbis   MP3

Future of the Internet - Pew Institute
A Pew Internet survey  on the Future of the Internet spoke to  nearly 900 Internet stakeholders and revealed new perspectives on the way the Internet is affecting human intelligence - memory - and the way we think,

The web-based survey gathered opinions from prominent scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers. This reportcovers the experts responses to:

• Will Google make us stupid?
• Will the internet enhance or detract from reading, writing, and rendering of knowledge?
• Is the next wave of innovation in technology, gadgets, and applications pretty clear now, or will the most interesting developments between now and 2020 come “out of the blue”?
• Will the end-to-end principle of the internet still prevail in 10 years, or will there be more control of access to information?
• Will it be possible to be anonymous online or not by the end of the decade?

The Nicholas Carr article
As noted above, this year they asked a bunch of experts to comment on the challenge thrown out by Nicholas Carr in a cover story for the Atlantic Monthly, Summer of 2008¹: "Is Google Making us Stupid?

2. Onya Awards
The Onyas, the NZ Internet Awards winners and runners up.  We discuss the big winner, Xero, and also gave out a hand to Radio NZ.

Most outstanding website – Xero

Best visual design – Springload

Best user experience – Xero

Best web application – Xero

Most innovative – DNA, YouDo and Powershop

Best content (corporate) – Department of Conservation

Best content (personal) – Zef Fugaz

Best HTML & CSS – Radio New Zealand

Best accessibility – Radio New Zealand

Best mobile application – Cactuslab

Best mobile website or web application – Kiwibank and Springload

3, Bits and Bobs

Te Ara - On Line Encyclopedia
Has a new section launching on 11th March, 2010
Economy and the City
www.teara.govt.nz

NZ Eventfinder  / NZ Live
www.eventfinder.co.nz
www.nzlive.govt.nz

NZ Event Finder - the big commercial event database  is merging with the NZ Live . The later is/was a NZ Ministry of Culture and Heritage venture - cost a fortune to set up - and is now being absorbed by  its commercial competitor.  Who incidentally, loathed NZ Live  with a passion when it was in competition with it.

The argument is that it makes for a brand new public private partnership  - others are wondering what went wrong at NZ Live that it could be absorbed and taken away by Event Finder with hardly a murmer from the arts and cultural sector which  it was set up to serve?

Picnik
http://www.picnik.com/
Great tool for fixing - cropping - sorting your family fotos etc
Just announced -  been bought by Google   -  interesting move - whats in store?