Author Archives: Scott C. Lemon

About Scott C. Lemon

I'm a techno futurist, interested in all aspects of humanity, sociology, community, identity, and technology. While we are all approaching the Singularity, I'm just having fun effecting the outcomes of the future!

More storage coming … cheap.

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For those people who just don’t seem to think it can get better, consider that within a few years you’ll be able to head to Costco and pick up your 2TB and 2.5TB hard disks for your personal computers.  This article outlines the announcements from Seagate and Hitachi announcing record densities in magnetic media … and the fact that the 1TB drives will be in our hands by this coming summer.

So when will the 4TB and 5TB disks be here?  2010?  Sooner?

Seagate, Hitachi up density in hard drive material. Blog: Seagate and Hitachi celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the hard drive by announcing two records in areal density, or the amount… [CNET News.com]

Net Neutrality from Gilder’s Telecosm

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Bummer.  I just realized that I missed the 10th Annual Telecosm Conference held by George Gilder and Steve Forbes.  This has always been one of my favorite conferences, where I’m always stimulated with something technology oriented that I never would have thought of.  I’m really into discovering what I don’t know that I don’t know.

The one thing that I was glad to find is that they are releasing the conference proceedings as podcasts … good move.  The first one is on Net Neutrality and has an all-star line-up of speakers.  I’m downloding it now.  Oh … ad it even says that it’s a video podcast.

Identity Tuples

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One of my friends asked me some questions the other day about my
constant focus on identity within the context of community. As
usual I was being asked about the “real” application of this notion …
not just the “philosophical” perspective. Well … I’m always
thinking the “real” application … I just don’t seem to express it
well.

I started to think about how – from my perspective – this notion would
be implemented in code, or within an identity store. All of this
relates back to my work on digitalMe while at Novell … and a group of
us were working towards this back then. As I thought more about
some of my recent comments, I realized that one of the “real world”
aspects was what I’ll now call “Identity Tuples”.

What exactly is an Identity Tuple? First, lets look at what most people use as examples of identity … simple name/value pairs.

  • age = 32
  • shoe_size = 12
  • job_title = CTO

There are a number of critical issues with this perspective, and to me it is the gross assumptions when we view this that make it nearly useless. Let’s first look at “age = 32” … uh, well 32 WHAT? Oh of course most people will call me silly and state “32 years of course!” But that is an assumption. And even if we do say that “age = 32 years” then we still have to reference what a year is, or also identify the context that the measurement “year” exists within. A “year” is what, exactly? 365 days? Nope … it’s actually 365.242 days. Who says so? NIST! Ok … and the second flaw in this perspective? WHEN was this true? Well, it would be at some epoch in time … or between some range of dates. Lastly, who is the community or authority that states this as fact?  When we state that “age = 32” it is a very incomplete statement. This is where an identity tuple can come into play … instead of storing “age = 32”, we would actually store:

It is how Identity “attributes” can be stored and represented.  What this provides is support for the fact that identity evolves with time!  I understand that most often people are asking about my identity right now, but there is considerable identity information that relates to the past, or trends in your identity.  Credit History is a classic example of this.  Likewise, if you have children you would know about the “growth charts” that compare your child to the averages of other children.

The other core value of Identity Tuples is that the context, or community, where this attribute is distinguished is referenced with the identity information.  To me, this is critical to be able to properly assess the identity information and determine its value to me.  It’s not enough to say that I am {x} years old … in the case of liquor laws, we want that information from a credible source.  We have to identify the community which will support my claims.

Now some people reading this will notice there are some subtle flaws in this example … it’s a rough example.  But it is an attempt to describe some of what I see lacking in existing solutions … and what a real solution will one day have to have to be more effective.

The edges of the Internet

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This year it has been fun to retest the edges of the Internet. 
What I mean is “How easy is it to get on the Internet from various
places?”

In May I took a trip to the Philippines (Philippines Videos)
and was blown away at how easy it was to get Internet access
everywhere.  There were cost-effective Internet Cafe’s all over
the place.  I was there from the 21st to the 31st, and travelled
from Manila to Baguio, to Iloilo and Bacolod, and back to Manila. 
Internet was everywhere.  Cheap and plentiful.

I’m posting this from the coast of Cuba, on the way to Labadee, Haiti.  I’m aboard the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas,
and yes … there is Internet.  In fact, I’m on Wifi sitting in a
lounge on the 14th deck looking out over the upper decks of the ship
toward the distant horizon.  Somewhere out there is Haiti. 
We’ll get there sometime tomorrow morning … I think.

Slowly but surely access to the Internet is reaching everywhere on
earth.  Everywhere.  It was interesting to see that even
cellular is reaching out … there is a Cingular cell onboard the ship
and so I have full strength cellular service and SMS text.

As technology continues to advance, wireless technologies improve, and
business models support it … the edges of the Internet are slowly
going away.  It is inevitable that when something like the
Interent permeates the entire planet … there are no longer any edges
… it simply becomes something that is.

Undistinguished Identity

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This last weekend I was talking with a friend about Google, and the tracking of identity.  I blogged about Google, Identity and Privacy a few weeks back, and have been doing a lot of R&D in this area.  On Monday there was the uproar about the AOL leak of search queries
and how this data could be used to locate the person who was making the
queries.  What this article does not address is the
“undistinguished identity” that the person is revealing … information
about themselves that even they do not know.

The more that I discussed the issue with my friend, it started to
really get clear to me that my concerns about provacy and identity are
not as much my identity as most people think about it … but large
systems and companies that gain access to my undistinguished identity.

What do I mean by this?  To me, undistinguished identity
is all of my thoughts and behaviors that are completely a reaction to
stimulus around me.  Companies like Google are beginning to gain
vast amounts of information about me, what I search for, when I search
for it, and then have the ability to relate to to seemingly unrelated
events.

To me, it’s not just about companies knowing information about me that
I also know … it’s when they begin to know me, better than I know me.

Google knows who you REALLY are!

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It’s always fun to learn whole new layers of technology. What I’m
posting about here is probably known by a lot of people, but my recent
involvement in two new start-up companies has really started to have me
think about the breadth and depth of data mining occurring on the
Internet involving personal behavior and habits. And one of the
largest harvesters of all of that personal information is Google.
There are already others who cover this much better than I … Google Watch is one … however I still wanted to blog about this.

Two of the four start-ups that I am now involved in are working on web
applications – hosted services – that want to provide new levels of
social and affiliate networks. With one start-up we are creating
a new form of video advertising on the net, with a full affiliate
marketing network behind it. So it becomes important to track
when affiliates (bloggers or web sites that host the ads) cause sales
to occur. When that happens they get paid a commission.
With the other start-up we are creating a new interactive media type
that can be spread virally through web sites, e-mail and IM. With
this solution we want to be able to track and map the viral spread to
acknowledge and reward the people who are able to cause the most spread.

As my teams and I began to build both of these solutions we began to
examine how other vendors are accomplishing the same things. We
have now looked at dozens of implementations, and then created our own
solutions that we believe will give us what we are after. While
doing this I began to see a pattern that is an amazing wealth of
personal information that Internet users are giving away about
themselves … about who they REALLY are. On one of the largest
consumers of all of this personal behavioral information is
Google. It’s really the scale of their ability to gather this
data that caused me to pause and think.

It all starts with a cookie

In doing some research into how ot track consumers, I was surprised to
find that most people agree that 99%+ of web browsers operate using the
default settings when it comes to cookies. Cookies are the small
pieces of data that a web site can pass down to your web browser, and
from then on – until the cookie expires – that data is passed back to
the web site every time that you access it. Cookies can be
defined to last for a very short amount of time – just that particular
session – or a very long amount of time … decades, or even hundreds
of years.

So when you first visited Google … the very first time … you got
your first Google cookie. And this is a good starting point …
when did YOU lose your Google-virginity? When exactly was that
first time? Google knows. Even if you have changed
computers, browsers, upgraded, etc. there is a chance that Google still
knows. They know the year, day, hour, minute, and second.
You were given the mark of Google. Ok … big deal … so what.

Tracking what you search

The first thing they are now able to do is track every single search
that you perform on Google. Lots of people know about this, and
understand this is the case. They also know the time of day, day
of the week, phase of the moon, weather conditions, popular news, and
even the popularity of that particular search when you did it! So
what searches do you tend to do late at night during a full moon?
Ask Google … they know!

In my opinion, it’s not really the details of what you searched that
have the real value … it is when you did them, and in what sequences,
and what other patterns emerge about you. This is where your true
identity begins to emerge. What? You were on-line searching
on a Friday night? Not out with friends?

Proliferation of AdWords

Ok … now this next part is where I started to really think.
While working on how to dynamically inject video advertising into a web
page, I found that Google is using a very interesting technique for
AdWords and Google Analytics. Again … it’s very simple and
easy, and many people know this … however many people do not.
And the implications are very interesting.

If you have a web site, and you choose to place AdWords on your web
site, Google will give you a nice little bit of HTML to embed in your
page. That HTML includes a script tag that will fetch a snippet
of Javascript code from Google’s servers. The Javascript then
causes the AdWords ads to be rendered within your web page. It’s
actually pretty impressive that when I browse to your website, without
being told a thing, my browser will automatically load your page and go
and load the script from Googles servers. Clean …
transparent. Ok yeah … and when it did that … the Google
cookie went with that request. Remember the Google cookie?

Yes … now it’s not just the searches that you do on Google’s web
site that are being tracked, but also every single web page that you
visit that contains Google AdWords!

Tracking what web sites you visit

Google is now notified by your browser any time that you visit a web
site that hosts Google AdWords … and it only gets better. 
Google recently announced Google Analytics.  This is a service
that allows web site owners to get detailed analysis of the traffic to
their web site, and about the visitors to their web site.  Any web
site owner who wants this impressive reporting can simply request that
Google give them an account.  When approved, Google will provide
access to the Google Analytics web site, and there you get … another
little bit of HTML to put into your web pages.  The little snippet
again requests a script from Google, and of course passes along your
cookie!

So now Google knows what you search, and what sites you visit that have
AdWords, and now any site that uses Google Analytics.  I’m digging
to find figures to understand just how much of the Internet now falls
into this category, but it is a large number of sites.  And just
like the searches, Google not only knows what web sites you have
visited, but at what time, in what order.  Combined with their
broad indexes of Internet content, they have the ability to categorize
those sites.  Combined with all other types of data they can
really begin to get an idea of just who you are, what you do and when,
on the Internet.  I really begin to wonder what some of the
patterns must look like.

If Google knows your real identity also …

Now … they know you by your cookie, but do they really know who you
are?  Well, if you choose to use any number of Google services –
gMail, AdWords, AdSense, etc. – then the answer is yes!  In most
cases, you join these services and begin to disclose personal
information that just might be a solid connection to the real
you.  And remember, each time you use these services that nice
little Google cookie ensures that they know it’s you.  Closing the
loop.  Connecting the dots.

Lastly … your friends?  Well … Google now knows via gMail who
you communicate with, and at what intervals and times.  They now
know the type of people that your friends and contacts hang out
with.  Google knows that YOU are the type of person that all of
these people communciate with.  From their e-mail address they
might even draw the direct connection to yet another person who they
have collected all of the data about … from their Google
cookie.  I haven’t really spent too much time thinking about how
much deeper all of this goes … however it makes sense why Google
wants all the storage and bandwidth they are building out.  It’s
not about providing search to you … it’s about owning a perspective
of you that no one else on the planet could recreate right now.

Google knows you like no one else.  Google knows more about you
and I then we know about ourselves.  Google will use this to
provide us what we really want … right?  Google will do no evil
… right?  Google would never use this data to use us … to
manipulate our undistinguished behaviors … right?  The Internet
is here, and some things appear to be inevitable …

Google knows who you REALLY are.

Lame toppings …

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The weekend before last, I took my son Sam out to spend some time with
my parents in the Bay Area of California.  While we were there we
also ran around so that he could visit with with my sisters and their
families.  On the Saturday he and I ran down to Big Basin,
one of my favorite parks just outside of Silicon Valley.  We spent
several hours hiking around the immense trees, enjoying the quiet, and
the incredible coniferous forest smells.

On the way back we met up with my sister Susan and her family.  We
ran to get dinner at a local soup and salad place.  As usual they
have the dessert bar, with soft ice cream.  Sam wanted a ice cream
cone, and so we walked up to the machine and I pulled a chair up for
him to stand on … he is really wanting to do everything
himself these days.  He did a good job of filling his cone with
the mixed chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and then asked if he could
get some “sprinkles.”

We walked over to where the “sprinkles” are, and I was surprised that
they only had raisins, broken Oreo cookies, coconut shreds, and crushed
peanuts.  No other choices.  I immediated commented to Sam,
“Oh man … they only have LAME sprinkles!”

Sam  immediately replied, “Daddy … I want lame sprinkles!  I want lame sprinkles!”

To Sam … even LAME sprinkles are better than no sprinkles.  I’ve become tainted with age.  We did have some peanuts, and Oreos.

Amazing … Novell opens the door for new leadership!

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Wow … I’m wondering if there might be a glint of sunlight out there
for Novell.  Once again … and long over due … there has been a
change of guard in the executive ranks of Novell.  Jack Messman is finally out the door, along with the CFO.

I have to admit that I’m only willing to call Jack an executive … not
a leader.  From all of my experiences, and watching the direction
that Novell has taken, I would have a difficult time calling him a
respected leader. 
Instead, most of the employees that I have talked to felt that he
created an oppressive, dictatorial workplace that suppressed the
potential of the company.

All I am hearing today are the IMs of joy coming from all directions … employees and investors.

Good for the board of Novell.  No matter what, the culture and the
overall energy level in the Novell offices just jumped several notches
up.

Where to get Cat5e Cables … Home Depot?

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Last month I was working on rewiring my data center rack to install a
slew of new machines. It was on a Sunday afternoon, and I had to
run and pick up some CAT5e patch cables … but where was i going to
get them on a Sunday?

I had a few other things to pick up from Home Depot, and so I went back
to their electrical section and looked around … sure enough they sell
3′, 7′, 15′, 25′, and 50′ pre-made patch cables. Even multiple
colors! I didn’t even want to look at the price.

I was shocked … but in the good way! When I looked at the prices they were just under
$1/foot! I couldn’t believe it. A 3′ patch cable for ~$2.98
… the 25′ was $24.95. I bought enough for my rack, and some
extras!

Yesterday I walked into CompUSA to buy a video card … something that
I don’t think Home Depot would have. While there I figured I
would check to see what CompUSA charges for CAT5e patch cables.
This time I was SHOCKED … in a bad way! CompUSA was charging $14.95 for a 7 foot cable in the store!

We have reached an interesting tipping point in computer technology
when I can run down to the local hardware store (Ok … the local Home
Depot!) and pick up a CAT5e patch cable … at a good price.
Technology is continuing to weave itself into our lives … becoming a
more and more natural extension of our lives … leading towards the
inevitable substrate transition …

Adobe … the dark horse

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I’m back working on several very cool Internet/Web projects now. 
It’s fun to get back deep into the Internet, and catch up on what is
going on with the bleeding edge.  There are several areas that I’m
now really digging in … video on the net, and the whole SEO, web
marketing, web advertising, and affiliate marketing.

One thing that has now become evident to me, is that the acquistion of Macromedia by Adobe
was brilliant.  Adobe/Macromedia is now making huge inroads in web
properties, and seems to be linked to a lot of the best things going in
Web 2.0.

First lets look at YouTube … all based on the Adobe/Macromedia
Flash player.  So distribution of video on the Internet quickly
becomes ubiquitous and platform independent! 
Google Video?  Same thing … Adobe/Macromedia Flash player. 
There are now a half dozen video related sites … all using the
Adobe/Macromedia Flash player.

Besides the fact that the player is everwhere, and it’s on all the top
operating system platforms, by using the Macromedia player, the videos
can quickly be embedded anywhere in any web property.  This is one
of the core value propositions that we are leveraging in one of my new start-ups.

So then we get to Flex. 
Amazing stuff.  Again, Adobe/Macromedia now has a platform for
creating advanced applications, providing rich UI, and the player is
everywhere!  And the one key feature is that they can escape much
of the “sand box” surrounding current AJAX applications!  Writing
applications in MXML is now easier … they have adopted the Eclipse
development environment … and their plug-in can escape issues like
cross-domain access.  In one of my other start-ups, we’re looking
at embracing the Flex technology for all of it’s benefits.  We
immediately get a ubiquitous, cross-platform solution that produces
user content that can be embedded in any of the top web properties on
the planet.  Nice.

Oh yeah … and Adobe also got Cold Fusion in the acquisition.

I started to think about new metrics for measuring the success of companies in the Internet.  One possible metric is user viewable pixels … or even a percentage of user viewable pixels.  For example if you went to CNN.com
and looked at the page.  Out of all of the viewable pixels, who’s
technology “owns” what percentage of those pixels?  In the case of
CNN, there are all sorts of Adobe/Macromedia ads running, and even if
they are 10% of the viewable pixels … that is a lot of web real
estate.  Some sites are more.  Again … think of Google
Video … there Adobe/Macromedia has a huge
percentage of viewable pixels.  If you add in the number of Cold
Fusion sites on the net?  Adobe has a lot of the “web-top” now in
their pocket.

I think that people so quickly forget about the battles for the
desktop, and the complaints about Microsoft “controlling” the
desktop.  What is amazing to me is the penetration that Adobe now
has with the Acrobat reader, and Flash player … and the tools for the
creation of powerful content.