Kevin: Okay, let us get this started. You hear about citizen journalism in the media and see examples like this site and others such as Alwayson. Tell us Bala, What does citizen journalism mean?
Bala: media created by citizens, e.g. discussion forums, blogs etc. most media was created by citizens prior to the printing press - we're going back to that.
Bala: I remember in my village where I grew up in Malaysia. When there was no media there. When we needed to find out what was happening in the neighboring village, we’d send one of us over. He’d go over. And talk to the headman. Get the party platform from him. And on his way back he'd go have a haircut at that village's barber. And there he'd get the grapevine. And between the two versions he narrates to us...see that was media for us. That was news.
Kevin: why is the redesign towards this social software and citizen journalism on Malaysia.net so important?
Bala: See what matters most to the village = media. OK, the reason is this... media used to be equal to community... because what mattered most to community equaled to the community... and what mattered most = media = community. As time went on, specialists creeped in... And in time the agency phenomena took over. Agency phenomena = agents become principals (another eg --> govt servants become masters) and thus media diverged from community. Media no more represented community. Nature abhors these divergences. It pushes towards equilibrium. So there was pressure to have facilities to enable this convergence and thus social software and citizen journalism
Kevin: So and I am being critical here, what does social software mean? And how does that help the average person who uses Malaysia.net?
Bala: social software enables co-cognitive and co-responsive folks to find and mesh with each other. I.e. find folks who are same page with them. Enables similar league folks to congregate and learn together. Most learning now happens via proximate conversation
And social software enables that. It is even more important in an Asian context (as compared to the US say)...because Asia does not have the cognitive frameworks and narrative for inventiveness.
Kevin: What do you mean?
Bala: Asia minus Japan has not produced a single quantum invention since 1400 AD when before that it was responsible for the majority of them. Most innovative folks cannot find same page folks in their locality. So social software will enable them to find kindred’s in other locations. The power of social software to group together dispersed minds
Kevin: so you believe that by bringing social software and this citizen journalism can do all of that?
Bala: the average guy benefits because they get to more experientially learn by being around when the innovators converse
Kevin: I'm going to try to be devils advocate...here…
Bala: Yes. In time the same page folks go on to complement...
Kevin: So what about all the gossip? How does that bring like minds, and innovation? Are not blogs just gossip?
Bala: complementing in the form of new creations e.g. better structures and processes... most Asian blogs (more so than the world's) is gossip -- that's correct
And there's some benefit in that too -- folks become lots more self-confident because they do that. But my view -- they are insignificant. Compared to the conversations that lead to innovation.
Throughout history, innovation has come from mingling together of what would have otherwise been "stagnant ponds" of minds. For e.g. Venice was very innovative in Europe...
Bala: because it was the meeting place of Arab and European minds and Malacca was very innovative because it was the meeting place of Arab, Indian, Chinese and Malaysian minds
Malacca -- a port city in Malaysia was the precursor to Christopher Columbus wanting to come to India
So social software is doing now for lots more people what ships did for a few in history and it is very early days -- so there's huge huge upside as automated co-profiling happens (e.g. occupational equivalents of dating engines)
Social software for example, will enable start up teams to form faster will enable "co-sow to co-reap" shares in exchange for sweat arrangements to evolve faster
Kevin: So your aim is to bring the ability for this to occur within Malaysia.net versus just having like say an online dating service or just another blog site for this co- share and co- reap
Bala: it can't happen in an online dating site because dating sites are not for work or socialising.It can't happen on a standard blog site because it doesn't have threaded discussion/search and online project management.It'll happen in social software sites that enable people to WORK together. Together, WORK = build structures, create processes.
Social software that enables folks to FIND their same page...
And complement with them
Complement = work
Same page = eg people who are similarly motivated/share much of the same vocabulary/are nearly the same on IQ
Kevin: so to put all of this in one sentence the reason why your so involved in Malaysia.net is to create a destination for Malaysians to communicate and collaborate thus creating a forum for new ideas and innovation?
Kevin: with the aim of?
Bala: with the aim of creating *the* Knowledge Economy organisation in Malaysia
We are road mapping towards listing each of them as the Knowledge Economy brand in their respective country
Bala: so we are Knowledge Economy leaders
Bala: and the Knowledge Economy is best orchestrated online
Bala: it is best orchestrated online cos it requires folks from all over (many from overseas)
Bala: I myself am an example...Malaysia.Net would not have happened if not for me from Australia not being afraid of being hammered by the govt (innovation and bold -- often anti establishment thinking -- comes together)
Bala: not that the govt is going to hammer me. But folks in most countries have this fear of shadows
Bala: self-censorship
Kevin: right. So what you’re saying is that the participants of this site are really trying to think out of the box the whole purpose being to see new ways of doing things without fear
Bala: Yes!!
Kevin: and that the users themselves rate the value of the blogs, articles, and news and forum discussions?
Bala: catalysed by minds overseas including overseas
Kevin: well said!
Bala: even now Malaysians overseas are disproportionately present in Malaysian sites, ditto with Indian sites etc
Kevin: why is that?
Bala: because in the first place they left Malaysia etc...For the best jobs... which were overseas... and a subset of them have a penchant to make a difference with their kindred in their countries, have passion.Basically Kevin. In Asia you will find that most jobs come out of a core of Asians manufacturing Western inventions and services supporting them and nothing natively new happens.But now the young are very restless!
Kevin: so that is what you’re trying to change?
Bala: I want to provide an avenue for the gifted young facilitating Renaissances, and these countries are all in the early stages of a Renaissance.I want to speed it up. These countries have not gone through anything parallel to the Renaissance in the 1500s in Europe or the 60s in the US... We are it right now.
