Internet Of Things IOT

Hello Thinkers, Its been quite a while since I hooked up, but believe me, I have been very busy doing so many many things. I can only sum them up as my deep dive into the rave of the moment - Internet of Things (IoT). We have all had our share of that sad moment after driving hours into town only to realize that you didn't switch off the air conditioner at home. Or perhaps, there was no power when you left, but you know you left several appliances running before the power cut - meaning that you will be running (wasting) energy with no one around to enjoy them. In the 3rd world where these are scares resources, no body wants anything to go to waste. It could be anything;-

you forgot to close the garage door. you forgot to switch the generator to manual to prevent it from kicking in when there is a power cut. You forgot to switch off the TV, Fan, AC, etc. depending on where you are, your problem might be different.

The Problem
My problem was how to create a smart home, that allows me the freedom of switching these things off even after I have left home. Yes! without coming home, or calling in the neighbors. Literally from anywhere I am in the world. My plan is to create a smart home, capable of doing the following;-

1. Open & Close the gate (electric gate already exist)
2. Arm Electric fence
3. Let the Dogs out of their kennel 
4. Monitor the weather to ascertain steps to take for air-conditioning, watering plants, letting out dogs, switching on lights, notifying the pool maintenance guy,
5. Switch off / on several equipment's
1. Generator
2. Air Conditioners
3. Fence / Outside Lights
4. Borehole pump
5. Swimming pool pump
6. Swimming pool lights
6. Monitor the battery level of the inverter
7. Monitor the temperature of the deep freezer
8. Water the lawn and the plants at home
9. Monitor the security alarm
10. Track motion after hours
11. etc.

As expected, I had to do some research, and I found several projects I could latch unto - one of the is My Sensors Project. MySensors is an open source hardware and software community focusing on do-it-yourself home automation and Internet of Things IOT. They provide easy to follow build instructions, ready to use code examples and adaptable open source hardware designs. All of this runs on the MySensors software library for secure communication that has been battle-tested with more than 20 of the leading home automation controllers on the market.

MyController?
Controllers as the name suggests are the brain behind an IOT architecture. The controller is the unit like a CPU is to a computer, that does the processing of data fed in by sensors like temperature sensor on a node circuit tucked away somewhere in the compound. The controller uses this data to make rule based decisions (as created by me) to set switches on or off as desired. For example, I could use the rain gage data that shows that it rained today to tell the water sprinkler not to come on as scheduled every 4:00pm. In addition, the controller can tell, the node that controls the fence light to come on as soon as it gets dark, this could be set at a specific time, or just based on day light, the latter being the preferred as it will switch on the lights both in summer or winter when day light is delays or even during a storm when it could get dark even at noon.

My choice of controller was stressful. I was looking for a neat easy to use (and understand) controller with an active community to help when I get stock. I settled on MyController another open source project by JKandasa. The system is based on pure java (back end) and angularJS (front end) it can run it in any platform supporting Java SE 1.8. I liked its look and feel. and as expected JKandasa himself was readily on hand to support newbies like me. but after a difficult start and several huddles I faced with frustration, I went back to the square one to look for an alternative... my research lead me to Domoticz.

Domoticz is a free/open-source Home Automation System that lets you monitor and configure various devices such as lights, switches, temperature, rain, wind, UV and meters (electric, gas, water). It appeared quite powerful and intuitive as it promised. In less than an hour after I downloaded and installed it, it had latched on to the flimsy MySensors Gateway that I had arranged on my breadboard. with that, my journey has begun.

IOT here we come1

Jack of All Trade - Master of Non!

While several of my friends knew what their calling way back when we were toddlers - I am yet to find out where I belong. I have always thought this was due to the fact that I am multi talented. But my friend Amalaye Oyakes comments about me on Facebook got me thinking...



By the way, Amalaye settled for exploring the celestial bodies ever since we left secondary school. So when I heard he was one of the big boys at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Huston, I wasnt too surprised. But, why am I so confused? Whats my calling? Why haven't I settled down yet and focused on one career path? Am I a Jack of all trade... and master...? This comment made we think about my diverse interest, and how I came to be where I am.

• My first love is music - I am a prolific entertainer - I once lead a brass band in my secondary school. I even went as far as playing on the same stage with world renowned Dizzy Gilespie (twice at the Port Harcourt Jazz festivals. Femi Anikulapo Kuti, Eddie Okonta, Gerald Opino, etc. I was given a scholarship to study music by the Nigerian Navy, but my father would have nothing of it. The only thing that kept me away from being a musician was education. I play (well I think I still can) all brass music instruments, from the Beagle, Trumpet, Trombone, to the almighty Tuba. I also play the guitar, and most wind instruments like the Clarinet. I have written several songs, but havent mustered the courage to enter a studio... yet.



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•  I have always been an artist. I recall attempting my first drawing at five after watching my Dad draw a human head - I guess its in the blood, I picked up a pencil and tried to do just what I saw and the rest as the say is history. I exhibited my first art piece at the tender age of 15 at the United Nations sponsored art exhibition in New York.
•  Being a science student in secondary school, I applied for Electrical Engineering & Architecture when I left secondary school. I got an offer to study Electrical Engineering at the Federal University of Technology Owerri FUTO. But that was not to be, cos my family thought I could do better to study art and be my own boss - I wish I didn't listen. I went on to study Graphic Arts at University of Nigeria. I recall my name was on the notice board when I resumed - my head of department wanted to meet this "Mad man" - I must have been mad to enroll for Fine & Applied Arts with Physics, Mathematics, English & Arts. I got an A in all with Arts been the lowest score. I guess I must have made an impression as Prof. Chike Aniako, Prof. Obiora Udechukwu and Prof. Ola Oloidi would become life time mentors.
• Computer Graphics was a budding career path by the time I left University. In advert agencies of the time, studio heads had to depend on the skills of their "glorified" secretaries to bring their art creations into the digital world. As you may have imagined, this practice did not produce the finest results. With my love for computers, an inquisitive mind and a wealth of creative ability, I thrived in Ad Agency work. After a stink at three advert agencies - Dawn Functions, New Generation & Media Plus International, I realized that I felt like I was being used, while the products I churned out (calendars, Annual reports, Desk Diaries, Product advert, etc) were sold for millions, I got stipends. So I wrote a private proposal to Banks who were the major clients in the industry and voila, Afri Bank (now Main Street Bank) & NAL Merchant Bank Plc. (now Sterling Bank) took the bait. That's how I went to work as the in house Graphic Artist for NAL Merchant Bank.
• One little known secret is that Graphic Artist helped make the internet what it is today. After Sir Tim Bernes Lee created the hyper-text protocol in 1993 (the http:// you find before the www web url) that changed the aparnet (as it used to be known) to what we now call the internet, Graphic artist were the first group of professionals to apply their visual creations... I consider myself one of Nigeria pioneers having built my first website in 1994.I also designed NALs website in the early 1990s when very few Nigerians knew what the internet was.
• As the internet grew in complexity, I grew with it. My simple HTML pages designed with WYSIWYG applications gave way to more mature web programming languages like ASP.net, SharePoint, etc. With several web development and other professional certifications under my belt, I gracefully transited to being called a web developer. Even went on to design the nations Central Bank of Nigeria internet, intranet and extranet websites.
• As you can imagine, web development is not a core function for banking - so the promotions were not coming as fast, and after 10 years of creating the web communications office and administering an army of content managers, one think stuck out like a sore thumb. "But... you are an artist" was becoming a derogatory statement I couldn't bear anymore. and so even-though I really wanted to study Human Computer Interaction HCI to prepare myself to join the now thriving Nollywood movie industry, I was forced to study Information Systems in Manchester University, United Kingdom.
• On my return from studies, along with my Project Management PM skills and certification, I jumped into the deep end of project management pool. The PM skills was to see me working on the banks Cashless Nigeria initiative. I had reinvented myself once more.

So while I am sitting here thinking I have derailed a million times already - Amalayes comments clearly shows that my electronics and inventing talents has taken a back seat. If the climate was right, I should be an industrialist and inventor.Its always reassuring to hear your friends describe you in ways you never imagined. I recalled Amalaye near fatal electrocution at my house in the late 1980's when he tried to test my Door Zapper! a device I put in place to detar buglars who had hit my room a few weeks prior to his visit. His recent visit to Nigeria last month may have well Zapped me back to life - I should make plans to attend the exhibition, perhaps, this time, I may have finally settled down cos a rolling stone gathers no moss.

Government Institutions VS the Cloud

Executive Summary
Cloud computing is the new buzz word on the internet and seen as the key to the future of IT services. Because it is still an emerging trend, its definition is still a bit hazy, however the cloud is simply a virtual data center shared by several organizations. Cloud applications involve multiple customers sharing application, even though they only have access to their own data.

No doubt, there are several business intelligence advantages derivable from operating in the cloud that allows for powerful combination of high-assurance remote serve integrity and cryptographic protocols that are consistent with policies, whether within the enterprise or in the cloud. To the most part, they mostly lend themselves to small and medium scale corporations who want to save money and infrastructure. Yet these advantages do not at this point in the maturity matrix of cloud sourcing, out-weight the inherent dangers of adopting such an emerging trend for public regulatory institutions such as Central Banks.

These inherent dangers underscore the well documented fear of being at the “Bleeding Edge” of technology. Complications experienced by early adopters of emerging trends in IT are well documented. Cloud computing has unique attributes that are fraught with security risks, smart customers should err on the side of caution and reappraise their dream of being on the Cloud.

This paper explains in simple terms, the idea of the Cloud sourcing, the advantages accruable to implementing it, against the backdrop of recent developments and Federal Governments desire to adopt a portal service hosted on the cloud. It also details the pit falls and explains why other public and government institutions have shied away from doing the same.

Cloud computing has unique attributes that require risk assessment in areas such as data integrity, At the forefront of this challenges is that of the security of sensitive data and information stored in countries where we have no legal jurisdiction on how these data is used or managed.

There is no better cautionary statement to set the tone like

“I am nervous to host corporate information on someone else’s server? Yes, even if its Google” – Shukry Tiab. There are several reasons experts’ advice caution in moving to “cloudosphere”. Some identified risks include;

• Loss of service if your provider has downtime or goes out of business.
• Regulatory problems when critical data is stored internationally.
• Security concerns when users lose control of how their data is protected.
• One-sided service agreements that give clients little redress in the event of a calamity, acquisitions, etc.
• Lock-in dependency on proprietary cloud applications.

Early on in the evolution of any new technology, there are concern about how it will be used. These concerns are what is termed “Privacy Hump” – they represent a barrier to the acceptance and adoption of a potentially intrusive technology… if the business case for the technology is strong, the hump may fade over time – that time has not come yet for Cloud sourcing and the Government Institutions.

Preamble
In furtherance of its mandate to provide support to the Board of an apex regulator through the monitoring of the decisions of the Board and assurance of the highest level of oversight for internal and public complaints and managing, (from creation to archival), all their documents. The Department that manages the Board recently launched a portal service for the Board.

This portal designed by messers Digital Board Book Limited is accessible via the internet to all members and accords them the ease of collaborating with other members regardless of where they are in the world.

While these may be laudable objectives, we are of the opinion the regulator may have inadvertently by coerced into approving the deployment of sensitive Board decisions to the Cloud. The paper tries to draw the attention of the regulator to the huge risk associated with the cloud and government sensitive information. More especially as the President of the federation has recently directed that a similar portal be developed for the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the Government.

Introduction
What is the Cloud?
Ostensibly, most people think the cloud is the same as the internet. The name cloud is inspired by the cloud symbol often used to represent the internet in diagrams and workflow, but that is where the similarity ends… it is more complicated than that.

The definition of the cloud is still hazy, but the Guardian defined it as “a means of putting more of your materials out ‘there’ and the less on you PC or Server” while the US National Institute of Standards and Technology defined it as “a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction”.

These services are broadly divided into three categories;

• Infrastructure-As-a-Service (IaaS),
• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Early on in the life of any technology, there are concern about how these technologies will be used. These concerns are what is termed “Privacy Hump” – they represent a barrier to the acceptance and adoption of a potentially intrusive technology… if the business case for the technology is strong, the hump may fade over time – that time has not come yet for Cloud sourcing and the Government Institutions.

Who is the Cloud meant for?
It is perhaps too easy to start using a cloud service – that’s exactly how it is designed to be. It is easier to setup a Yahoo, Gmail, or American Online account than installing and running an exchange server. However, while the later is more expensive to maintain, it can be easily controlled to protect sensitive data for an enterprise. – Cloud sourcing easily lends itself to small, medium companies who do not wish to incur, waste or underutilize resources, be it monetary or otherwise.

Presently cloud computing is been embraced by private businesses as a means of saving cost on computer hardware. Cost saving has been identified as the single most important factor for cloud computing services. Most public institutions are slow in embracing the technology as there has to be a strong case of cost savings aligned to security of sensitive data.

What is preventing its early adoption?
Security of sensitive data remains the major concern for public institutions the world over. One myth that cloud computing is sold on is that though it is a shared service, it can be implementation independent. But in reality, due to the “Openness of the Internet” and its inscribed transparency, industry regulatory compliance is another kettle of fish. The following section summarizes the challenges of adopting Cloud sourcing.

Current Concerns
The question is, can multi-tenant services ever be as secure as your own server? Concerns are beginning to grow about just how safe an environment the cloud is for holding sensitive data and information. Analysts warn that the cloud is becoming particularly attractive to cyber crooks. Reformed hacker, Michael Calce agrees that trouble looms ahead if companies fail to apply the right security measures.

Standards & Regulations
There are No Regulations and Standards when using or implementing cloud computing due to lack of long-term experience. This exposes other unique challenges such as follows:-

Privileged User Access.
Sensitive data that is processed outside the enterprise brings with it an inherent risk that it may fall into the “wrong Hands”. The most prominent issue in cloud services is security of user data as the user has no control over its business data files containing valuable information. This is because a proper security model for cloud computing has not yet been developed.

Contractual Obligations
Managing problems with another companies infrastructure is not practical due to a mis-alignment of interests. I cite Amazons “Non-Assertion” terms of reference. Other contractual gaps are:-

1. Dependency:
   Cloud services make the user totally dependent on the Cloud Service Provider. The user is denied control on quality and maintenance issues and plays no role in back up and disaster recovery activities. They level of dependency is so high that the user existence is tied to the financial health of the cloud service provider. If the CSP goes under, the user’s business goes with it. This lack of control means that if a user decides to terminate his contract with the service provider, there is no way the user will ensure the provider does not retain his data in his database.
   
2. Data/Information Location
   Another security issue is that physical location of hardware and software is unknown making site inspections and audits difficult.
   
3. Cost and Flexibility:
   There is presently no customization of product as the whole essence is for many businesses to store data within the same environment. There is also the likelihood of hidden cost such as compliancy regulations, backup, restore, disaster recovery and problem solving costs been introduced by the CSP.
   
4. Legislation:
   Users of cloud services don't know where their information is held which raises the question of loyalty by the Cloud Service Provider. The danger this poses can be highlighted by considering the America laws such as the US Patriot Act which empowers government and other agencies to access information including that belonging to companies as long as this information is held by companies operating within the United States. A subpoena or legal action can compel a cloud provider to give up sensitive information/data. This is further exuberated by the widespread use of freedom of information acts in the west.
   
   It also entails that critical information could be moved across boundaries without the knowledge of the user. Legal implications of data and applications being held by a third party are complex and not clearly understood. Potential risk of giving up sensitive data due to transparency.
   
   Contractual commitments to obey local privacy requirements across international jurisdiction is a burning issue for providers of sensitive information.
   
5. Long-term Viability:
   Moose law suggests the fast pace of technological development, with cloud in its infancy, and there are little known information about the requirements and conditions for implementing and managing service level agreements contracts with CSPs. This hands the advantage to CSPs and exposes the user in case of disagreements in SLA. chances are that CSP will increase, small providers maybe bought over by new ones, leaving clients with few options.
   
6. Provider Espionage:
   Espionage may not seem like a threat to a public regulatory institution, But it is however expedient that confidentiality and availability of the data and information be assured at all times.
   Data in the cloud is typically in a shared environment with other customers. Enforcing encryption across such a complex terrain is impractical considering that other customer may want avoid it due to its disruptive nature.
   
   Auditability of a distributed and dynamic application spread all over the globe is not practical and may not satisfy auditors that data is properly isolated and cannot be viewed by the wrong persons. One popular audit guideline is tha SAS 70 – it defines guidelines for the assess internal controls over processing of sensitive information. Other guidelines like the SOX and HIPAA. US government agencies are mandated to follow these guidelines.
   
   There have been well publicized accounts of cloud outages, down time of critical applications and services. When compared to traditional forms of investigative support, forensics in the cloud face huge difficulties if even possible. The scale of the cloud and the rate at which data is overwritten is of concern due to the logging and data for multiple customers often co-located and spread across an ever changing set of host and data centers.

Suggestions on The way forward:
The Board Book Portal Project has come a long way, a compelling business need that justifies its creation are well noted, however it is clear that the proper project initialization processes have not been followed leading to the unwitty decision to host on a public cloud. It is therefore expedient that a more detailed look is taken at the portal to ensure that sensitive board decisions are protected. This is even more crucial as the Presidency has muted its desire to adopt the same portal service for the Federal Executive Council of Nigeria.

We therefore recommend as follows: The legal and IT departments of the regulator conduct a due diligent exercises; Read and fully understand the legislation, reasonability and terms of both providers and users in case of loss of sensitive data.

Create Internal/Private Clouds or utilities:
The quest to use the Cloud is on for several public institutions, Most countries opt for a private cloud with more consistent and controlled governance to mitigate the identified risk enumerated above.

The UK government is setting up its own cloud to make savings of up to £3.2bn – a 20% reduction in costs. The UK government is working to build its own secured cloud called GCloud while the US government is working to build its own cloud called GovCloud. Both governments are avoiding the commercial environments primarily because of security concerns. Both governments have also identified savings of over $3b in computer hardware and software purchases over the next few years.

According to the analyst Gartner – the first step before committing to cloud source is to Seek security assessment from a neutral third party to assess the security risks associated with the present CSP. An external IT audit may signal how secure these cloud providers facilities are, and will no doubt suggest how trivial information should be published on the portal.

Proper project initiation processes be followed for all strategic projects such as this. This will ensure that all stakeholders are carried along and properly enrolled, as it has a significant impact on the quality of the project execution.

Government should determine security and privacy requirements, develop standards, gather data, and benchmark costs and performance against risks and trust.

Conclusion:
Cloud computing technologies have not reached maturity. Users are at the mercy of their cloud service providers for the availability and integrity of their data. Presently cloud computing is been used mostly by private firms, while public sector explores creating private Cloudscapes to protect sensitive government information.

In order for government institutions to embrace cloud technology, there is need to determine the business needs and benefits of cloud services and its fit with our policies, processes and legislation.

Thank You.

What the F*#!# is Kony 2012?

The tweets and pings all over "Social Networkdom" went crazy this week about the Invincible Children's viral video on YouTube (With over 76million views). The on video was about Joseph Kony - a renegade war lord in East Africa and leader of the "Lord Resistance Army" (LRA).

I learned about Kony in a documentary on "Child Soldiers" several years ago and was appalled to learn that something as bad as that was happening in our time.

War is a bad enterprise and history tells us that many a nations were built on prosecuting war. History also tells us that child conscription has always been a tool in the war lords hands - from Hitlers Youths, to LRA child soldiers. Little wonder why the International Court for Criminal Justice was set up to haunt down and prosecute the like of Kony. Ten years on, the ICC has only recently prosecuted its first suspect.

Not wanting to be left behind, I watched the viral video and couldn't help but notice the well scripted dialogue and the powerful effects that surly have helped it attain the status of the most viral video on earth (so far). These are the hallmarks of a well funded program. - As my people say, "Better Soup, na money kill am". There was no doubt in my mind that I had to be part of this cause. That I had to lend my little quota to ensure the success of this dream. Only thing that held me back was the fact that I could not pay with my Nigerian debit card.

A casual research into the Kony 2012 over the internet threw up counter claims on the matter both from within Africa/Uganda (See Kony 2012 is Bullshit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ8q1fEqYIM&feature=relmfu ) and in the United States (see KONY 2012 ~ A Powerful SCAM? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J2P4Diu-TM&feature=related). While it is clear that LRA perpetrated criminal acts in the past by abducting, raping and conscripting children into war, what is not clear is weather it is a scam for the Vincible Children.

Typical of me, I choose not to dwell on the above issue but rather consider other matters relating to it. One interesting thing that is coming out of all this is that this is a ploy for AFRICOM (The African command of the US military) to invade Africa. See Infowars.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv4UwyGFKks&feature=related. Yet another take on it is the discovery of oil in Uganda, and like moth to a flame - US goes where the Oil rigs go. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xYL5bPIVmg&feature=related) The concluding part of the Koni 2012 video bears it all for those who have eyes and ears to see (or hear) - They give you 3 choices, 3 choices that ensure that the money comes to the Invincible Children. The emotional burden to make the right choice is heavy but there you have it, the choice is yours. What do you believe?

What I see clearly is that the instability of erstwhile peaceful countries is fast eroding. From Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, to Nigeria... I see a reoccurring decimile in all these stories coming out of Africa - AFRICOMs and the US governments ploy to gain a foothold is repeating itself in every minor conflict in Africa.

I know that there is no smoke without fire, so does the romour that the US strategy to kick China out of Africa be destabilizing all would-be trade partners hold any water? Is there really a concerted efforts by the western nations to destabilize Africa? Is the present chaotic religious and social upheavals in Nigeria connected in anyway to all of these? Those are the thought on my mind this hour, what are you thinking?

The Mad Haters Party

Preamble

On Facebook, my dear friend and long time sweetheart Ada wrote

“...it is sad when people you know become people you knew... when you can walk right past someone... like they were never a big part of your life... how you used to be able to talk for hours... and how now... you can barely even look at them... it is sad how times can change!”

No doubt she wasn’t referring to me. But her status message called for sober reflections. Those who know me well enough will attest to the fact that I often stop to ponder about everyday things in life – Religion, History, science and discoveries, Information technology, and every now and then, Politics especially as it concerns my beloved Nigeria. But this time was going to be different. Ada’s comments made me reflect on friendship and how technology has impacted it – especially in recent times.

Gone are the days when the only thing that separated two friends was geographic boundaries, even then, telephone, letters and postcards filled in as an innovative way to bridge the gap. I come from the post “baby boom” era and with hindes sight, I can attest to how these simple technologies fostered a positive bond between people. You will be right to argue that today’s technology of emails and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter deliver a far more exciting mix of rich features that probably lends itself to better relations and bonds. But the way in which it is been used by people is crucial to its value.

How can one value technology? Valuing technology deals with how over time and in particular situations, people come to attach unique values to the tools (technology) at their disposal. Contrary to traditional misconceptions, technology is not just a physical object but a social and political phenomenon – in simple terms, technology is a result of mans creative innovation to create solutions to life’s problems. But the way in which people use the creation also goes a long way to impact the technologies itself. In designer circles, this called ergonomics – how technology incorporates social factors. A good example in everybody’s hands is how the simple telephone and our desire to stay in touch has lead to smart phones (that now incorporates all other everyday gadgets – Music, calendars, Internet, even TV).

Have we digressed? No, I just wanted to lay the foundations for my argument with technology and how it interacts with people. So back to Ada’s status message.

From the foregoing, I am not surprised that different people use available technologies in different ways. Ada's comments made me look back at 2009 and all the “Friending” I did on Facebook and Twitter and came to the conclusion that todays social networking is just a "Mad Haters Party” where people don’t get close because they want to be friends. They typically do so for two reason, and I will explain:-

1. Nosie Parker
   Many become friends because they just want to poke their nose in your business. They need to know what you’ve been up to, they want to know who you’ve been seeing, where you've been and so on...
   
   
2. Vain Showoffs
   These groups of people are mere exhibitionists who knowingly or unwittingly display an arrogant aura of vanity – They want you to see how enjoyable their lives are, How much God has blessed them, How much fun they are having, How strong their faith is, How smart they are, etc.

I may be wrong but I am sure Ada’s comment had a lot to do with negative vibe that she could not walk away from – something akin to “living With the enemy”, her whole life was suddenly undated with things that reminded her of the enemy – popups that say “Enemy is now online”, “Enemy just logged off”, “Enemy is connected to friend”, or images of Enemy in fun places. One may argue that the best thing to do is to “Unfriend them” but that doesn’t solve the problem, the laws of Social Studies of Technology forbids it – there is really no such thing as “unfriending” on the internet. – ones you are connected, you are connected!!! It doesn’t go away, it just keeps coming. Worse still and perhaps an equalizing/balance for users, is that you can also spy on the enemy. But how many of us are really interested in doing this? Like all of you out there, I do have my own share of “enemies” and I tried to understand what they were doing, why they were doing it, all in a bid to find a good way to unfriend them. And from my personal experience I don’t see any sane way of doing it without confrontation.

Gate Crashing the Haters Bash!

In the past, confrontation would mean to physically approach the enemy and tell them to their face that you don’t want their s****. Most people would have chosen to avoid this because you could only confront you enemy if you could defeat them physically, emotionally or spiritually. confrontation is not for the fainthearted. Today’s realities show that people can easily hide behind technology and perpetuate this heroic act.

Technological designers inscribe their values, rules and logic into their technology, we are therefore forced to act in certain ways when using it. The openness on the internet and its largely unregulated WWW Consortium is a glaring evidence that the internet is an open place where freedom is allowed to an ever increasing and worrying level. Why does Facebook have a like button and not a dislike one? Why does yahoo inform people in my calendar that I am online without telling me who has my name in their calendars or who is casing out my profile page? Why!!! The truth is not far-fetched - and I will elaborate in my subsequent post here.

I am really tired now, and will continue this later… See you round.