Future of the Internet

Greetings Earthlings!

Earlier today (Jan. 24th, 2012) Google announced some more-than-minor changes to it's Privacy Policy and ToS. As far as I can tell at the time of writing, it's not that big of a deal to the general public yet, but I expect it will be before too long. Reading this article from the Washington Post, there already appear to be some major concerns (as there should be imho), so I expect the crowds to follow soon. Now before I jump on the bandwagon and talk about why I think this is a bad move from Google, I just want to say one thing about the internet in general.

Up until about a week ago we were all rebelling against the proposed SOPA and PIPA bills that would severely damage the free and open internet as we know it. During this time some people expressed their opinions against those opposing the bills, not only by stating the bills would be a good thing and that 'good citizens' should have nothing to fear, but also by claiming people were just 'in it to be in it', overreacting to a bill they didn't even (fully) understand. While this may be (partially) true in some cases (though in all honesty, I don't think anyone at the House Judiciary Committee really understood it either), I still think it's a good thing for people to openly voice their concerns on the future of the internet. That's why I sincerely hope people won't be reticent in voicing their opinions on this matter, simply because of the idea that 'we just spoke up' or the notion that we may be seen as a bunch of whiners. This stuff is important and concerns most people active on the web today (which is 30% of the world's population! That's almost one in three people on the planet!^[1]).
Yes, the internet's still free and open, and yes, it's been through a lot, but that's no excuse to just sit back and hope things will fix themselves and stay the same forever. Collectively, we've built 555 million websites, opened 3.1 billion e-mail accounts, shared 6 billion photos on Flickr, and are uploading an additional 4.5 million there every day^[1]. We have helped build this amazing network and have given it shape in a way unprecedented before. It is also out duty to maintain and protect it.

Now I realize that may all sound a bit exaggerated to some, but I don't think it is. To most people, the internet a place to gather and share information. To many, the internet is a place to unwind and to some, the internet is a place to be anonymous. To everyone though, the internet is a place of choice and possibilities. I think this is true in general, but especially in the context of Google's new Privacy Policy and ToS, the most important choice at hand is that of identity. In real life I'm Patrick Boelens, 3D modeler and animator, programmer and game designer. Attached to me are a set of attributes, interests, social relations and much, much more. That's me, all of it.
On the internet however, there are many me's. I can present the professional part of me when I'm making tutorials or responding to mails or comments. At the very same time, I could be showing my nerdy side by posting on a Star Trek forum, lurking around and commenting on bronies.memebase.com, discussing politics through skype, talking about A Beautiful Mind on IMDB or listening to Nightwish on iTunes. They're all very different parts of me, and here's the beauty of it: They don't clash!
All of those me's are completely separate from each other, unless I specifically choose to link them/ tell people about all of those accounts. When you stop and think about it, the internet is realy just one big catalyst to a very natural human phenomenon: assuming different roles, with different people, in different places. We do this all the time in our everyday lives. When you're with friends you act differently then you would with, say, your employer or your family. This is exactly what I initially loved about Google+: You could share different messages with different people, all from the same network of people. However, it seems the almighty Google's changed it's mind about this philosophy of roles and identity.

"We’re getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that’s a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google."
"If you’re signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you’ve expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube."
- Google

From what I understand, the underlined 'can' in that quote should really be a 'will'. Here are two more quotes taken directly from Google's new privacy page^[2]

"We use the information we collect from all of our services to provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users. We also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads.

We may use the name you provide for your Google Profile across all of the services we offer that require a Google Account. In addition, we may replace past names associated with your Google Account so that you are represented consistently across all our services."

To me, that sounds like a possible forced merger of online identities. Personally, I'd be quite unpleasantly surprised if all of a sudden my Youtube name is displaying as Patrick Boelens, rather than my l337 alter-ego Captain Awes0me. It's exactly this kind of stuff that I'm afraid will keep happening more and more and that will jeopardize the internet in it's current form. It's things like this that take away exactly that part of it that makes it so special and unique.
Granted, Google does provide a nice set of options in regards to this topic, but far from everything's optional and not everything works as promised (I just did a quick test using two different browsers; I could get a completely different order of news results for the same query).

Now I realize this is 'only Google' and probably not the end of the world, but it's still a big deal. Millions of people using Google will be affected by these changes in one way or another and looking at the bigger picture it will have a pretty big impact. On top of that, Google has become such an integral part of the web with all it's services, I feel it should take responsibility and act accordingly by providing their vast and diverse customers with more control over each of those separately. Especially since they're completely different products.
If I had signed up for, say, a 'Google Multimedia' service that added video, blogs and albums over the years I probably would've felt diffrently about this, since it's just building onto an existing platform. In reality however, I signed up for several unrelated products such as Youtube and Blogger, that Google just happened to purchase. I don't mind this. What I do mind is Google deciding I should be the same person on all of those platforms. I'm not, and I don't want to be. But moreover, I don't want Google making that call for me.

In the end, I think my problem with this new policy isn't really with Google merging privacy policies or sharing data across services. It's about losing control. Losing control over part of my online identity, and losing control over how I wish to experience the web.
Imagine you'd be married and both you and your partner had a car. What Google is doing now is as if Ford were to suddenly break into your cars and install a linked GPS system so you can keep track of each other's cars. You don't particularly dislike the function (heck, you might even find it useful sometimes), you just never asked for it either and, you know... it's your car! What right does Ford have to impose something like that on you?

I realize this post may come off as a bit dramatic, but I just wanted to get my opinion out there. Yes, I'm very stubborn and no, I don't like to sit by idly and just accept whatever changes are made. I like to be critical about things, and I would like to encourage you to do the same.

 -Patrick

Sources:
^[1]http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/01/17/internet-2011-in-numbers/
^[2]https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/preview/

Project America

Ave, populus!

It's been a while since I last posted anything, but here I am again! In this post I'm want to talk about what I've dubbed 'Project America'. It's a tad lengthy, so get yourself a nice cup of tea and make yourself comfortable. ;)


What is Project America?
I am currently in the third year of my bachelors study (Communication & Multimedia Design) and that means it's about time for me to go on an internship. Now while I could stay here in the Netherlands (I actually already had a position offered to me, sorta), I decided to take the hard route and set my sight on something bigger: The United States of America!


But why?
I'm glad you asked! My main reason is simply because I think it'd be fun. However, there's also a logical aspect to it all. I'm afraid that if I don't go now, I'll finish school, find a job and then just never really get to it. This way I get to experience it while not having to worry about it interfering with school, work, or life in general. So why America? I'm not sure, it just seems like a cool place to me. I think I want to aim for L.A., with N.Y. as a close second, though I'm open to suggestions. Australia also seems pretty cool, so who knows I may have to change the name of this 'project' sometime in the future (I just didn't wanna go with 'Project Somewhere' for now).


Ok... but why make it a 'project'? Isn't it just a matter of getting a visum, finding a position and hopping on a plane? #MakingItSeemBiggerThanItReallyIs
Unfortunately, it's not that simple for me. As some of you may know, I have a physical handicap. In short, this means that I:
- Can't stand or walk
- Am thus bound to a wheelchair
- Have limited hand functionality
- Need help every now and then


Now this isn't a dealbreaker per sé, it just means that I have some extra things to consider and take care of. I need to find a place to stay that can offer the help I need and/ or make homecare arrangements, find a company that'll have me and is wheelchair accessible, figure out if and how I can take my wheelchair, what to do when it breaks down (and it will, trust me, I'm lucky that way), etc.


That sounds like a lot of work!
It probably is, but it'll be worth it if I can make it! (short paragraph FTW \0/)


Is there anything I (the reader) can do to help?
Why, how considerate of you to ask! (and so spontaneously, too!) Actually, I wouldn't mind a bit of information on some things. I haven't actively looked a whole lot yet either, but any 'insider info' would be more than welcome, considering it's most likely more accurate than some 5 year old website linking to other sites that are either outdated or no longer exist (I have found those, they're less helpful than one might think).
So if you know of a local place to stay at that can offer help/ care (preferably in the L.A./ N.Y. area) or perhaps a company that could use an intern, please shoot me a mail (p_boelens@msn.com) or Tweet (@SenshiSentou). =)


And with that, I end this post. I know it's not like my regular ramblings, but since I'd like to document the progress on this I figured an intro post should be in place. Thanks for reading and catch you on the flip side!


-Pat out

Plus Quam Oculo Conspicitur

Hello everyone,

Earlier today I decided to catch up on some Youtube videos I hadn't gotten to yet, and one of them was this video by Morgan Paige. I always like watching Morgan's vlogs as they're generally very cheerful and optimistic. This one however, was a more serious one, in which she wanted to show another side of hers. In doing so, she revealed a lot of personal experiences and insecurities, which really got me thinking and is why I'm blogging about it now.

For one I was really surprised at some of the things she said as I would've never expected them about, or to happen to, her. This got me thinking though, and made me remember what I've known for quite some time already: That everyone's gone through certain things, but it is because of those things we are who we are. I actually take that idea (also known as the butterfly effect) quite seriously and believe that every single event, no matter how small, influences it's environment, people included. It is exactly those key moments you wish you could take back that leave a mark, that get to you, that have changed who you were into who you are today. Is that a good thing? It's hard to say. In most cases I'd say 'yes', especially if you're generally happy with who you are. I'd also tend to say (with some caution) that I believe if you haven't faced any real hardships, you won't enjoy the good things for what they are as much. (One nasty tendency we humans have is we don't know how good something is until it's gone.) On the other hand, I can imagine traumatic events that really change you, break you if you will, and have a opposite effect of making you enjoy things less than before.

Another thing I noticed about the video was the scary amount of similarities there were between how her and I think about ourselves and life in general. A few of them as stated in the video are:
- not fitting in; hard to 'label'
- wanting to move out; wanting a change (own interpretation: 'moving on')
- willing to drop everything for a friend if they need you, but not wanting them to do the same
- don't like asking for help, being dependent
- over-analytical
- having self-image issues
- thinking showing emotions is weak; wanting to detach from them
- scared of opening up to people; afraid of being hurt (or in my case: afraid people will think the idea being shared is weird)

Now I do have to say that I've 'gotten over' some of those ideas and of course some are present in more moderate amounts than others, but I still found it exceptional. On the other hand, maybe it's not so exceptional. Everyone has insecurities of course and quite possibly these are just some of the most common ones. If they are though, why do we tend to keep them to ourselves, or to let others get to us because of them?

Easy. Because we tend to glorify others in our minds. Here's a quote from Morgan (said video's description) that covers what I mean quite well:

"Although it doesn't apply to everyone, I feel like some people forget that who people are in their videos, is only one side of who they are as a person. We are all different, quirky, and broken. There are no exceptions to that. There are only people that hide it well."

Because people usually only see one side of you (the 'good' one) (not just in videos, but real life too), there exists this mental image that you must have it made somehow. That you're never anxious, depressed or mad. That you live your life pretty much carefree and that, thus, their own life is so much harder. It's not. I have to confess though, that I do exactly the same thing. But why? Knowing that I do it, why don't I stop? The be honest I haven't really figured that one out yet. Maybe it's because we want, or in some cases even need, to believe in people as strong as we imagine them to be. Maybe it's some sort of defense mechanism, or maybe it's just plain old naivety.

Either way, those were just some of the things going through my mind just now. I haven't been able to phrase everything the way I wanted it to, but I can say that watching that video writing this entry has helped me clear my mind and realize a couple of things. One of which is that everyone deals with certain issues, big or small, and how, looking back, I really have hardly anything to complain about. =)

-Patrick

Online Persona

As some of you may know, I've been having some online security issues lately. Both my e-mail accounts are sending spam and we've had an uninvited visitor on our network, sending messages to, and at one point partially controlling, my brother's laptop.

After discovering I was sending out spam from my msn-address I've started rethinking my options. The most obvious was, of course, changing my passwords. I also sent a mail asking for other counter-measures and more concrete information (such as where the mails were sent from) to Hotmail's abuse team. (They responded by simply deactivating my account, forcing me to verify myself and change my password.. again.) None of this proved effective though, as the next day the same thing happened, now also from my G-mail account. I log in from a Mac exclusively, so while unlikely, I decided to do a virus/ malware scan on it. Nothing showed up. Then the thought of abandoning my current accounts and making a new one crossed my mind and a realized something: That would be a humongous pain in the ass. Not only would I need to notify my friends and colleague of my new address, I'd also have to update it for every service or account that has that e-mail registered, including games, social media, fora, newsletters, official organizations and more... As Mercedes from Glee would say: Aaw, hell to the no!

This got me thinking as to how, even though each service requires their own form of authentication, a person's e-mail address is like the master key-card is in a hotel; it can open all the doors. Go to a site, click "forgot your password" and you get a mail with either the password itself or a link to reset it, no questions asked.
And I'm not even mentioning the kind of stunts one could pull with another's e-mail address. Sure, generally these scams are even more transparent than a new layer in Photoshop is, but it can definitely be done right. One could almost compare this to identity theft.

So how come something so important is still so (relatively) easy to compromise? And even if there were no viruses, malware or what-have-you, all it takes to reset the password is the secret question (usually a choice of ±7) and accompanying answer, which many people probably answer truthfully. As the internet becomes part of our everyday lives more and more, I think we'll have to find some new and better ways of identifying ourselves online. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if iris scans or finger-printing would be standard procedure to log in in several years. Though as I'm writing this, I realize even those can be manipulated. So I wonder, will we ever find a way to authenticate ourselves without chances of impersonation, or this just a utopian idea, built on hope and nothing more? Only time will tell.

Ave, Mundi!

Hello! Welcome to my blog!

Yes, the time has come for me to finally enter the blogosphere and start posting whatever it is that's going through my head. Why? Excellent question! Cue the explanation!

The first and foremost reason is because I've thought about blogging several times before already, but always backed out at the last minute because I figured I'd never have anything interesting to say. However, on multiple occasions now, I did... I just didn't have a blog to put it on.

Reason number two is that I'd like a platform where I don't have to worry about who might be reading what I have or want to say. That may sound silly, but my Twitter for instance is a mix of different audiences who follow me, and who I follow, but there's definitely a clear majority of Blender-followers there. I don't mind this, au contraire, but it does make me feel somewhat... reserved, about what I post on there. Here, I don't wanna, and I'm not gonna. This blog comes without guarantees and may contain entries about anything from fluffy bunnies to game design endeavors. From Pokémon to Python-scripts. From philosophical views to... you get the idea.

My next post will probably be a more introductory kind of post, telling you all a bit about myself, my interests, hobbies, study, pets... Heh, this is starting to sound like an eighth grade show-and-tell. Anywho, we'll see how it goes from there. ;)

Thanks for reading and see you soon!

-Pat out