Perusing the news

I've been far too busy lately for indepth blogging of any sort. I'm afraid that trend is likely to continue for the next few months. That being the case, I'll offer up these two interesting stories I perused today.

#1 A story from the NY Times elaborating on the Norwegian view of the world. So who here knew Norway was the third largest exporter of oil in the world...?

Norway, the world's third-largest oil exporter, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia, has been made wealthy by oil. Last year alone, oil export revenue surged 19 percent, to $38 billion.

But no other major oil exporter has tried to reel in its own fuel consumption with as much zeal as Norway. These policies have resulted in Norwegians consuming much less oil per capita than Americans - 1.9 gallons a day versus almost 3 gallons a day in the United States- and low car ownership rates. On city streets and rural roads, fuel-efficient Volkswagens and Peugeots far outnumber big sport utility vehicles.

#2 A story on the relationship between Iran and Iraq from NPR. What I found most interesting about the story (and you're going to have to listen to it to catch it...) was a side comment near the end mentioning that the newly-elected Iraqi government is far more conservative than would likely be elected in a free and fair election within Iran.

Tags:

Norway
Energy
Iran
Iraq

Exploring the intricacies of online social networking

I stumbled across this article after starting a member search in Yahoo 360 with the word "Virginia." Strangely, that keyword led me to the 360 page of an Iranian girl...which led me to look at her Iranian friends...which led me to her "homepage" - simply Orkut. Which led me to an Internet search for Orkut...which led me to this article from Wired that does a bit more research into the social networking phenomenon and its unintended side effects:

Of course, for U.S.-based websites, attention from overseas is nothing new. Yahoo, Google and other top internet sites have long generated page views from all corners of the globe.

But more recently, among social-networking sites where new users invite friends and business colleagues to sign up, international growth is occurring at an exceptionally rapid rate. Sites that thought they'd grow in the United States before expanding overseas are instead taking off in unexpected places.

[...]

Google's social-networking site, Orkut.com, meanwhile, has been a surprise hit in Brazil. Today, 66 percent of Orkut users are Brazilian. Rounding out the top three are the United States, where 10 percent of users reside, and Iran, home to 7 percent of Orkut members.

The stirrings of nationalism in Asia

I'm on a plane right now, flying from Seoul, Korea to Chicago. I noticed (in passing) that I stopped adding the 'South' in front of Korea some months ago...but I never really thought about why. Because it seems obvious which Korea I speak of? After all...Seoul is a huge city, one of the new stars of Asia. Few people I deal with would ever be confused as to which Korea I meant.

Or because, during my time in Korea, I have begun to sense that this is how the majority in the South see themselves? One great nation, forcibly divided by great powers that they only now feel strong enough to look at eye to eye? I think, at the highest levels of the American military, they have recognized this as well. After years of dithering, negotiation, and debate, American forces are streaming out of Korea faster than I can say 'drawdown.'

Like the other rapidly rising Asian nations, Korea has entered their awkward adolescence as a nation with global reach and global concerns. In Europe, this adolescence led to colonialism, nationalism, and a sense of 'Western superiority' that marked the 18th thru mid-20th centuries. In the United States, this adolescence led to a brief spate of colonialism at the turn of the century, surging nationalism, and the notion that we, as a country, had found the secret to prosperity and power.

Now it's Asia's turn. Their phenomenal economic growth, the development of militaries capable of projecting real power - and far less dependent on the weapons or forces of Western allies, the innate sense that now THEY have created/fostered/perfected a better society...all this leads to a new surge of nationalism across the region - at the same time that Japan begins to seek diplomatic and military influence to match its economic clout.

We see the signs daily now: Chinese protests against Japan (initially state-sponsored but quickly developing a life of its own), Korea's strident cries of protest regarding the Dok-do Islands, Japanese inclusion of Taiwan as a military concern, the rapidly accelerating American withdrawal from Korea.

So the question now is simple. How will these powerful new adolescents choose to flex their muscles? How much have they learned from the 'maturing' of the West? Or is it viewed scornfully as stagnation by Asia's ruling elites?

Putting American censors to shame

Leave it to our Chinese 'friends' to remind us what REAL censorship looks like.

Initial contrasts and comparisons

Not much time for blogging - my parents are in town for the week and when they leave, *I* leave (back the States as well) so I'm pretty much booked for the next week and a half or so. I do plan on writing a more comprehensive review/comparison of Yahoo 360 vs. MSN Spaces when I get the chance (Blogger is such a different service with such a different aim I don't think it's appropriate to compare it to either of the other two). I scored one for Yahoo 360 today when I was able to easily post an entry from my Pocket PC operating from a Wi-Fi network (no such luck with Spaces).

My initial assessment provides backhanded compliments to both services. MSN has created a better (more robust) blogging tool. With a minimal amount of tweaking they could likely compete with some of the more well-known/well-respected free blogging services. Yahoo has done a better job of integrating their various services into 360 but the blogging tool is not as advanced. That being said, if we look at the two services' stated goals, Yahoo comes closer to meeting those goals.

If I wanted to make a site simply to communicate with my friends and family, I would use Yahoo 360. It's simpler; there's more space for photos (which are easier to add); it smartly incorporates e-mail, instant messaging, and blogging into a larger package; and the text editor (although simpler) is more compatible with browsers other than IE. The default font is also much clearer (larger).

THAT being said, I personally like MSN Spaces better. I get wider readership for my entries, the generic lists are amazingly adaptable for different uses, I can use trackbacks (although that is limited), the EditIt button upgrades the text editor substantially, and there are more options for personalization.

More later....

Update:

...and score one for MSN. I was unable to cut and paste Flickr photos directly into the 360 blogging tool - too much junk gets added by its HTML editor. I end up having to write entries with Flickr photos inserted on Spaces and then cut and paste the finished product into 360 (which, inexplicably, works). I've been bombarding the feedback folks over there with ideas so we'll see how responsive they turn out to be....

ANOTHER Update:

Turns out the problem with Flickr uploading is confined to the Firefox/Yahoo combo. I had no such problem when posting HTML photos from Flickr via IE. DAMN you and your evil ways, Microsoft! Er...Just kidding...?

For a much better written/indepth analysis, check out this article at AlwaysOn by Bernard Moon.

Yahoo 360

Beta

Keeping busy...

My parents are in town for a week and a half. We've been running a pretty intense schedule as tour guides. So far, we've visited Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, the Korean Folk Village near Suwon, Insadong, Myeondong, and the exterior of the Korean War Memorial (closed on Monday...sigh. I wish I'd known that BEFORE I parked in the underground garage). Here are a few photos from the trip so far:








Korea
Seoul
Suwon

Ecomoto?

My wife's digital camera book showed up from Amazon today (4 days from placing the order...shipped to Korea - not too shabby). Along with it was an envelope from Motorola. They've started a program to recycle old cell phones free of charge. While I'm sure they've figured out some angle for profitability, I still like the concept. Batteries are some of the worst things we can throw out - especially when we're talking about the lithium ion variety. So if you've got an old cell phone and you're looking to get rid of it, check out the Ecomoto site.

Motorola
Ecomoto
Recycling

A voice of reason

Why can't more in the press discuss this?