The "Internet of Things" -- a "System of Systems" (and a bonus feature on "Spimes")

Thanks for this, PD.

And now:

Warriors of the Net.

Click to expand...

(Or, how the internet works in thirteen minutes or less.)

Yeah, the internet of things is a great and terrifying concept. Me, I'm not sure how I feel about sousveillance...and, frankly, I don't see how the increased inter-connectivity of the internet and our physical reality isn't going to do anything BUT lead to one of two things.

Option 1: We are watched from above (surveillance)

Option 2: Everyone watches everyone else (sousivalliance)

But, hey, I think we're well on our way to setting up a "little brother" to watch big brother right back. I mean, think of all the news stories we can find on the great and powerful screwing things up. How many such articles do you think would have been printed before anyone with a cellphone could instantly tell everyone about what they saw?

As more people get connected into the internet, the ability of people to report from their local areas will go up. Which is going to be...interesting, to say the least!

I'm watching the first one now, but I have to admit I'm less concerned every day about Big Brother's bullying behavior since he's broke, rapidly running out of gas, and more and more the butt of jokes than the most feared presence in the locker room. I'll throw in a Glee metaphor and note that Puck hasn't just shaved his mohawk, he's gone prematurely bald. He's also a fairly lousy swimmer in that sea of data.

Data empowers the individual more than it empowers the bureaucracy, because individuals can process and react to new data orders of magnitude faster. The field mouse can change course before the elephant even realizes there's a snake on the trail. Scampering to the top of the DIKW pyramid is easy for an intelligent field mouse, but it's a long steep climb for the overweight elephant -- and there's no room on the top for any critter that large.

The main concern is in the relative short run. When behemoths collapse, a lot of forest creatures get smashed before all the thrashing is all over.

Of course, if we don't continue our educational process, who knows what kind of ugly phoenix may arise from the ashes of the funeral pyre?

I highly recommend Cory Doctorow's Little Brother if you haven't read it. The link is to a free ebook version.