Segregated Saudis Utilize Bluetooth for Flirtations

From the CTIA NewsWire: "With the help of Bluetooth technology men and women in Saudi Arabia are finding new ways to flirt in a society where it is forbidden. Wireless Bluetooth technology permits users to connect without going through the phone company. Users activate the Bluetooth function in their phone and then press the search button to locate anyone else with the feature within a 30-foot range. Once this happens a list of ID names appears and the user can click a name to begin communicating. This utilization of technology has raised concerns because many women are posting their pictures, which is strictly forbidden by the Saudi Arabian government. (Source: USA Today)"

Technology strikes again at the monoliths of social etiquette. The very discreetness of the medium and ability to control who sees communications and why, allows women take dating into their own hands, in countries where such actions are strictly forbidden... You go girls :)

Wireless Phone Virus Contaminates Helsinki Championships

From the CTIA NewsWire: "The world athletics championships in Finland, home to the world's largest wireless phone maker, Nokia, experienced the world's first wireless phone virus; Cabir. Cabir uses Bluetooth short range wireless signals to transmit between wireless phones. In a crowded stadium dozens of phones are at risk. The recipient needs to download the virus in order to be infected, which means the risk of receiving it is small, despite thousands of phones already hit around the world. (Source: The New York Times)"

Hmm just like with email - if it's an odd message trying to download itself to your phone, don't push the "ok" button. Just like email, I have no doubts that most people will still push the "ok" button, probably overcome with curiosity... Phone viruses have arrived.

File Share and Share Alike - BitTorrent used for legal purposes (gasp!)

File Share and Share Alike - New York Times - this article marks an interesting change in the attitude of the "culture industry" as it calls the oversized producers of digital entertainment content. In this case, it's a very large US Anime distributor. Instead of trying to quash use of BiTorrent among it's biggest fans for distributing early pirated versions of new series, they decided to see if they can benefit from it... and... "drum roll"... it worked! (and the lawyer people were happy).

Over the last decade, the "culture industry" looked like a dinasaur who refused to die, and cobbled onlookers in it's death-throws. Nobody had warned it that the rules were about to change, and, when the rules changed, the "culture industry" just didn't want to play by them. Instead of harnessing the energy of early tech adopters, who, incidentally, were also it's biggest fans, it decided to persecute them and use fear-mongering tactics. It didn't work, although it did spurr a form of an arms race between the lawyers and the tech developers. It was stunning that the largest behemoth's of the "culture industry" did not immediately realize the marketing potential of this medium. They for some reason assumed that every single person who downloaded a particular song, would have bought the CD if the song weren't available for free. Most wouldn't have of course. What's more, most would have never even heard the particular artist or the less radio-played pieces. They did not capitalize on the sheer volume of listener preference information and persecuted rather than supported their biggest fans - people willing to put in time, money and even risk that persecution to share music, films, anime.

ADV, to it's credit, suddenly realized that the very people that steal and distribute versions of their new series or films before these things are even out, for the most part aren't evil. They don't do it to hurt the company. Instead, here is a group of hard core fans, for whom the ability to see something "before it is out" via a not-so-user-friendly technology, is a huge marker of cool. It's a statement, a way to assert their dominance among peers. What happens when you give them something to play with that is legal? They love it! Just let them at it, they will write you reviews and help with distribution. They will build fan sites and contribute free advertising. Be nice to them, and they will be nice back to you. Try to scare them and they will steal your content, feel just as cool, and laugh at you. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising - any marketer will tell you that none of the other forms come anywhere close to the power of human-to-human advice. The internet has made it possible to extend the number of people that can give you that advice. It is surprising the "culture industry" still hasn't figured out how to harness it. Until then - tech geeks 1/culture industry 0

London Suspect Betrayed by His Cellphone

London Suspect Betrayed by His Cellphone - New York Times - So if you ever wondered whether your cellphone can be used as a tracking device to track YOU... the answer is, yes it can be, and quite effectively. What amuses me most, is the idiocy of the bomb-suspect who actually called his family and friends in Italy, while travelling from London to Italy, probably out of sheer boredom produced by travelling for a long time, thus revealing their locations as well. This last spring at ICA, there was a paper delinieating the types of protection provided by use of VOIP vs. cell phones. The main protection is privacy - yes an individual can be pinpointed at the time of making the phone call, but they can not be tracked as they leave an internet cafe. Not so with a cell phone, unless one remembers to actually turn the thing off. With a social pressure of always keeping your cellphone on, we are effectively continuously tracked and voluntarily so... go GPS + cell tower triangulation techniques! Really, does using wifi enabled locations as a method of location identification make any sense anymore?