WiFi, UbiComp, & Smart Mobs

1. WiFi, UbiComp, & Smart Mobs 4.12.2005 Knowledge Management Systems Lorrie Ensley

2. Overview • Smart Mobs • Vision of the Future • Cooperation Theory • Computation • Communication • Reputation • Location Awareness • UbiComp • WiFi • Issues to Consider • Maneki Neko

3. Smart Mobs • The new social form made possible by the combination of computation, communication, reputation, and location awareness (p.169-170) • aka Mobile ad hoc social network (p.170) • Mobile: able to move freely or easily • Ad hoc: organizing among people and their devices is done informally and on the fly • Social network: every individual is a “node” in the jargon of social analysis, with social “links” (channels of communication and social bonds) to other individuals • Smart Mobs Website

4. Vision of the Future • Rheingold’s Shibuya Epiphany • Generation Text • Social Networking • Rheingold’s Goal – learn about the “social forms that could grow out of today’s roving bands of mobile texters” • Mobile Communication Devices • G1 – portable analog telephones • G2 – digital telephones that make use of Internet-like services like short text messages • G3 – wireless Internet in real time to mobile devices • NTT DoCoMo and I-mode – first commercial success of G3 service • Inexpensive • Privacy and space reasons for success • Vision 2010 and Looking for the Future Society • Likely evolution of mobile devices • More transaction functions - “M-commerce” • Pervasive Computing

5. Cooperation Theory • Cooperation • Pros – foundation of finest creations of human civilizations • Cons – free riding, terrorism, and organized crime • Does a new medium change the way people cooperate? • History of civilization “More people pooling resources in new ways” • Tragedy of the Commons • Collective action dilemmas – balancing of self-interest and public resources • Free riders – people who enjoy the public resource without contributing to it • Solution of the managed commons • Coping with free-riding and cheating • Creating a commitment to cooperate • Monitoring compliance with sets of rules • Authority Issues • Centralized authority vs. decentralized authority (rules vs. social pressure)

6. Cooperation Theory • Game Theory • Tit for Tat – most successful scheme • Collective Actions that are part of Smart Mobs • Reciprocity • Cooperation • Reputation • Social Grooming • Social Dilemmas • Examples of Modern Public Goods • Internet • Open Source Software • Laws of Social Networks • Sarnoff’s Law – the value of broadcast networks is proportionate to the number of viewers • Moore’s Law – the amount of elements that can be packed into the same amount of space on a microchip will double every eighteen months • Metcalfe’s Law – the value of a network grows proportionately to the square of its nodes (# of nodes squared) • Reed’s Law – the value of a network grows exponentially to the increase in its nodes (2^number of nodes)

7. Computation • Community Supercomputing • P2P Computing (aka Distributed Processing or Community Computation) • Collective supercomputer spread all over the Net • Members share their central processing unit computation cycles when they aren’t using their computers • Ex: SETI@home • P2P and file sharing • Centralized – ex Napster • Decentralized – every client is a server • Problems - voluntary cooperation of users leads to free riding • Solutions • Mojo Nation • Users required to contribute as much as they take away • Anonymity • “Swarm distribution” – files broken up and distributed over the network • P2P Collaborative Filtering Systems • OpenCOLA • Designate things you like in your network folder • Network fills the rest of your folder with things you’ll probably like • Grid Computing • Communities of networked computers can provide computing resources on demand

8. Communication • Information Exchange • News • Gossip • Social Changes • Bypassing the broadcasting media with blogs, mobile phones, and email • P2P Journalism • Communities • Social • Political • Commercial • Swarming • Power of many • Cooperation for organized movements: flocking behavior

9. Reputation • Blogging • Collaborative Filtering • Recommender systems • Users post comments to advise other users • Social Filtering Services: collaborative filtering by groups to match interests • Recommender Communities • Ex: Epinions.com • Reputation Systems • eBay’s reputation system • Slashdot’s Karma system • Are universal reputation systems possible? • Remember Tit for Tat • Fraud

10. Local Awareness • Computation Pervaded environments • Information and Communications Technologies in the Real World (p.84-85) • Information in places • Media linked to place • Smart rooms • Sentient Things • Adding information and communication to physical objects • Digital Cities • Adding information capabilities to urban places • HP’s Cooltown • Tangible bits • Manipulating the virtual world by manipulating physical objects • Wearable computers • Sensing, computing, and communicating gear worn as clothing • Cyborg communities • Control their presence in the technological world

11. Local Awareness • Computer chips infiltrating buildings, furniture, and even clothing • Radio frequency identity tags as successors to the barcode • Leads to pervasive surveillance questions • Geographic Location Devices • WorldBoard – proposed global infrastructure to associate information with places • GPS • E-squirting • Using radio frequencies to transmit information between devices • Bluetooth

12. UbiComp • Ubiquitous Computing theory developed by Mark Weiser • The “invisible, everywhere computing that does not live on a personal device of any sort but is built in the woodwork everywhere” (p.87) • Opposite of Virtual Reality – not reality built into computers but computers built into reality • Many computers serve each person

13. WiFi • Wireless Quilts • War driving • Grassroots Wireless Networks • Cost Effective • Easy to Install • Wireless City Projects: Austin • Ad Hoc P2P Networks • Mesh technologies • Using mobile devices to swap data, games, and music without telecommunication networks • Regulation Issues • History of radio wave regulation • Open Spectrum Argument: regulate the devices, not the waves • Telecommunications Industry issues • Grassroots networks are like stealing cable • Profitability – Wireless Internet Business Model • Potential problems • Security • Radiation • Interference

14. Issues to Consider • Loss of Privacy • In order to cooperate with more people, you need to know more about them, and they in turn will know more about you • Big Everybody • Smart Mobs reduces to issues of trust and privacy • Personal agents to go-between, filter, and shield • Who are the users • Good users • Bad users • Incompetent users • Legal & Regulatory Battles • Threats created by Smart Mobs • Liberty • Quality of life • Dignity

15. Maneki Neko • Welcoming good luck cat in Japanese culture • Story of future technology • Future communication capabilities • How life could change • Issues of non-adoption • Smart Mobs concepts • Video Mobile Devices • Reciprocal Social Networks • Swarming • Squirting

16. WiFi, UbiComp, & Smart Mobs 4.12.2005 Knowledge Management Systems Lorrie Ensley