And The Winner Is...

Mark Zuckerberg has been named Time's Person Of The Year with Julian Assange as runner up, this seems to indicate that web 2.0 and social media were an important aspect of developments in the world in 2010. Interestingly both Zuckerberg and Assange seem to represent two very different approaches to a central theme of transparency or "Openness" (possibly a good candiate for the word of the year). Certainly Mark Zuckerberg's accomplishments are awe-inspiring: at 26, the Harvard dropout-billionaire founder of Facebook has managed to link more then 500 million people to his brand, toppling MySpace and other social sites and now rivals giant Google for the online advertising market and seems to follow in the footsteps of Bill Gates even when it comes to charity, accomplishing the same in a fraction of the time it took Gates. He's done so not without some controversy though. Controversy which revolves around our theme of transparency and openness, namely with regards to the privacy of users of Facebook. Facebook is such a commercial success in part by attracted many users or "eyeballs", in part by the access advertisers and developers of apps can get to valuable user data and in part by the power of the "like" button and other integration features with almost webwide adoption which make it possible to navigate anywhere on the basis of your friends' recommendations. Earlier this year users of Facebook revolted against the lack of privacy they feared from Facebook's ever increasing openness with regards to their personal data. Zuckerberg managed to skillfully subdue any concerns by tightening a number of restrictions and giving members more control over their own data. For Time's dedicated page on the accomplishments and life of Mark Zuckerberg follow this link: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2036683,00.html

The Runner Up

Runner up Julian Assange on the other hand shocked the world of government and diplomacy by taking collaborative journalism to a level which no one would have thought possible a year ago. In collaboration with quality newspapers, volunteers, whistleblowers, hackers, activists and the public at large, he managed to force the last remaining superpower to display an openness that was unheard of to that day. The mystique of his actions were further enhanced by a mysteriously mobile organization, a terrorist cell like following of hacker activists, special whistleblower freehaven legislation in Iceland and a warrant for his arrest spread by Interpol, usually reserved for internationally operating criminal organizations and his consequent arrest. As well as a cry for execution and the preparation of espionage charges brewing in elements of the US government. Also: several prominent US based internet service providers ceasing to facilitate WikiLeaks accompanied by whispers of US government interference.So plenty of excitement and drama on that front too. No wonder that a fierce debate was sparked on numerous social media sites wether Assange who was voted the person of the year by the public, should have been the winner rather then Zuckerberg who was elected by Time inspite of this. To follow some of this debate follow this link: http://mashable.com/2010/12/15/time-mark-zuckerberg-person-of-the-y...For a discussion about the value of WikiLeaks recent actions follow this link: http://hobhub.biz/forum/topics/wikileaks-heroes-or-terrorists?comme...;

Openness

It seems therefor that "Openness" with a pivotal role for technology as in social media and web 2.0 have played a central role in 2010 and will continue to do so in 2011. Discussions about freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the undermining of the authority role of mass media and central government by social media accompanied by romantic waves of democratic and anarchistic sentiments seem to find many internet communities at the hart of them. On the other hand a concern for personal freedoms and privacy, the other face of "Openness" is also fueled by the new social technologies and their applications for business purposes. Governments, businesses and individuals all seem to struggle to come to grips with the public nature of web 2.0 technologies and the ever increasing openness they seem to demand from them. More and more aspects of our life seem to move from the real world to the virtual. Only yesterday Google announced the application of speech patterns recognition for Google Voice users at the same time that Facebook announced facial recognition capabilities to help users prevent misuse of the photos they upload. That is just a single day in the ongoing virtualization of our lives in web 2.0 environments!

Business

We've seen governments and individuals struggle with the demand for openness by a technology that some businesses thrive on. But are the emerging technologies all good news for business? Clearly the opportunities for business in the technology and communications sectors are tantamount. New markets are forged every day. At the same time the demands on businesses and the risks are also increasing. Just like governments and individuals, businesses are trying to come to terms with the opportunities offered and the threats posed by the increasing demand for openness. Where the culture of Professionalism offered a clear divide between personal and business life, the two are now entwined. The complete individual can no longer be seperately viewed under the two aspects of an employee and a business person but is linked into a constant stream of self actualisation. Each instant holds the promise of amazing success and the threat of unexpected mass scrutiny. This means that better decisions have to be reached and instantly made in less time all the time. Are you ready? Follow the discussions on our forum and member blogs: http://hobhub.biz/forum/topics/openness-the-competition;