Google introduces an own Social Network Service. And in fact the basic idea as introduced on the Google blog looks very promising: “Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools.” Interestingly, Google paid attention to a crucial fact of social relations which was also the backbone of my qualitative study about the change of friendship relations through Social Network Sites. There are different kinds of bonds to other people, strong ties, weak ties and also a huge “periphery”, which probably includes the biggest social capital. In fact also Facebook offers lots of possibilities to determine which of these social circles is able to access which information, a feature I personally do use a lot.
Still its very interesting to see that Google includes this issue in the very basic idea of its Social Network Service: “The problem is that today’s online services turn friendship into fast food—wrapping everyone in “friend” paper—and sharing really suffers: It’s sloppy. We only want to connect with certain people at certain times, but online we hear from everyone all the time [...].” So all together a rather promising new approach on Social Media. Of course, data watchdogs might howl desperately in view of another, very intimate aspect of the individual personality invaded by Google…
Wenn die heutige Goa Szene wirklich ein Problem hat, so sind es nicht etwa die so genannten Bademeister, sondern jene Zeitgenossen, die sich auf der Basis von Äußerlichkeiten solch diskriminierende Bezeichnungen ausdenken und die mit ihrem lebensverneinenden Negativismus auch noch die beste Stimmung schlecht zu reden wissen.
One year ago, a rather mighty worm has been discovered: Twenty times more complex than any other virus until then, the self-replicating program Stuxnet was probably responsible for successfully manipulating the centrifuges that spin nuclear material at Iran’s enrichment facilities. A very powerful weapon, consisting of nothing but a code which is available for everyone on an open source basis. This nice animation provides some exciting key words about the cyber weapon Stuxnet. Via Stylewalker.
The new mushroom magazine is out, eventually it became another 96 page issue. Thus again heaps of content, I really have to say that quite all facets of the modern Trance scene are represented: Travelling, festivals, music, painting, technology, juggling, fashion, intoxicants… Even two really great philosophical topics are included. On the one hand, the 20 life wisdoms of the Dalai Lama which frequent readers of this blog might already know. Being a hippie at heart, I additionally wrote an article about the symbolism of Shiva Nataraja. Also I opened my little realm of booze knowledge, answering essential questions like Why do I have to piss so often when I’m pissed?
Great shots from photographer and adventurer Scott Haefner: Suisun Bay, 30 miles northeast of San Francisco, became a ship cemetery for historic marine vessels from WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Desert Storm. Scott and his friends entered this so called Mothball Fleet and captured its wonderfully creepy End Time atmosphere. Don’t miss to check out the written report about this daring manoeuvres on his site, where heaps of stunning shots from lost places can be found!
Spectacular four-to-the-floor stuff on Horns & Hoofs Entertainment: Deto & Gleam present two outstanding Dub Techno tracks, deep and epic as it can be. I specially like the extensive usage of a classic 303, lending to the titles a hypnotic retro moment. Warm sound colours, huge soundscapes and the laid-back, dubby groove make this EP a top pick for sunlit outdoor scenarios, I can image very well playing it between Minilogue and Brendon Moeller.
Fifteen uncoupled simple pendulums of monotonically increasing lengths dance together to produce visual traveling waves, standing waves, beating, and (seemingly) random motion.
This live cinematic Dubstep combo has been my probably most exciting musical discovery during the past months. Submotion Orchestra combine elements of Jazz, Ambient and Dubstep to create a deep and complex but yet so easy and warm atmosphere. The musical history of the band members is definitely worth a read. And their debut album Finest Hour is even more worth a listen! Its just out on iTunes (including 9 tracks), the CD release is scheduled for 13th June.
