Dark Age of Transparency or bright future? This talk given at LIFT Asia in Korea explores the evolution of social media with insights from Asia.

1. Social Media & Evolution
From the Digital Panopticon to the Noosphere
Benjamin Joffe | Plus Eight Star | Jeju, Korea, 2009.09

2. Benjamin Joffe
벤자민
ベンジャミン
本杰明

4. 4 years
1 year
4 years

5. www.plus8star.com

6. mobilemondaybeijing
the mobile professionals community

7. 3D Web Games Team

8. Agenda
1. Predicting Social Media Evolution
2. The New Public Sphere
3. Social Media & Evolutionary Biology
4. Social Media & Philosophy
5. What can we do today?

9. Why are we so poor at predicting how
social media evolves?

13. Offline Social Media

15. Drinks with Denis
건배!

16. More is different!

18. From 1-to-1 to many-to-many

20. Idea #1
Do not judge new services
by their first iteration

21. Idea #2
Learn from emerging behaviors

22. The new Public Sphere

23. BRAND

24. Are we forced to participate?

25. Panopticon
(Prison Concept, 1785)

26. Creates a sentiment of an
“invisible omniscience”

27. Digital Panopticon
YOU

28. Dark Age of Transparency

29. Privacy = Momentary Anomaly?

30. “Overreaction Man”

31. In Korea

32. In China: “Human Flesh Search”
(人肉搜索)
• Cruelty to animals
• Insensitivity to Sichuan Earthquake victims
• Judging a marital affair
• Corruption case
• Reckless driving

33. Invisible Killer
(无形杀)
August 2009
Who killed Yin Lan?

34. Human Search @ LIFT Asia

35. Recognized someone? Raise your hand!

36. Did you notice?

39. Online & Offline
are not
Separate

41. Offline Twitter

42. Offline Twitter

43. Public Place?

45. Google Street View

46. Google Street View in Japan
• 2009.02 - Japan: Municipal opposition to Street View
• 2009.02 - Japan: Tokyo gov't invites Google to discuss Street View
• 2008.12 - Japan: Fukuoka Bar Association requests halt to Street View
• 2008.11 - Japan: Suginami Ward proposes removal of Street View images
• 2008.11 - Japan: Street View and the Burakumin
• 2008.10 - Machida city council requests regulation of Street View
• 2008.10 - Japan: Street View and Public Space
• 2008.10 - Japan: Google, the anti-social corporation
• 2008.09 - Japan: The true revolution of Google Street View
• 2008.09 - Japan: Street View's Missing Streets
• 2008.08 - Japan: Debate over Google Street View continues
• 2008.08 - Japan: Letter to Google about Street View

47. Facial Recognition on Video

48. What is your country’s definition
of a Public Place?

49. Idea #1
“Privacy” is being constantly redefined

50. Idea #2
Be part of the process
(since you’re involved anyway)

51. What Evolutionary Biology
can tell us about social media

52. Charles Darwin
“The Origin of Species”
(1859)

53. Voyage of “The Beagle”

57. IT Infrastructure
100%
Avg. 7 Mbps
80%
Avg. 15 Mbps
60%
3G users
40% C
hi
n
20% a Avg. 4 Mbps
www.plus8star.com
0%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Internet connections measured above 5Mbps
(Source: Akamai, 4Q08)

59. “Japan’s cellphones are like the
endemic species that Darwin
encountered on the Galápagos
Islands — fantastically evolved
and divergent from their
mainland cousins”
Takeshi Natsuno
Inventor of i-mode

60. Techno-Darwinism

61. Idea #1
Advanced Asian countries
are a rich field for observing
new services & behaviors

62. Robin Dunbar
“Dunbar Number”
(1992)

63. Dunbar Number?

64. Dunbar Number
• Cognitive limit to the number of individuals
with whom any one person can maintain
stable relationships.

65. Current humans = 150

66. Idea #2
Social media is limited
by the human brain

67. What Philosophy
can tell us about the future

68. Planet-Sized & Social Brain
Jean K. Min Isaac Mao
planetsizebrain.tistory.com www.isaacmao.com

69. Some Examples
1
2
3

73. Idea #0.5
The planet-sized brain
needs some work

74. Twitter & Social media tools
are plugs into people’s thoughts

75. “Make smart mobs smarter,
not mobbier”
Howard Rheingold

76. Idea #1
We need to improve
our handling of those new tools

77. Good for today & tomorrow

78. How about
the day after tomorrow?

79. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“The Phenomenon of Man”
(1959)
Philosopher, Jesuit Priest, Paleontologist, Geologist

80. The Noosphere

81. Geosphere
Biosphere
Noosphere

82. Thought
Life
Matter
Beginning of the
physical universe Energy

83. End of the
Spirit
Physical Universe
Thought
Life
Matter
Beginning of the
physical universe Energy

84. Idea #2
We just scratched the surface
of something mind-boggling

85. What can we do today?

86. Social Media = Hype?
1. Social Media tools are evolving
2. Understand what they can do for you
3. Improve critical thinking
4. Pay attention to emerging signs

87. You’re Involved!
1. Pictures, videos, text
2. Redefine privacy
3. Redefine accountability
4. Earn your Netizen title!

88. Contacts
www.plus8star.com
benjamin@plus8star.com
+81 | Japan
benjamin0123 +82 | Korea
http://twitter.com/plus8star +86 | China
Telecom & Internet
www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminjoffe
+ Added Value
www.slideshare.net/plus8star * High quality

89. Our clients
EUROPE USA
ASIA