Anonymous: The Digital Taliban

The hacking lifestyle seems so grand. Sitting in a basement, eating Doritos or the occasional Funyun, and smelling of Bayer to sooth your carpal tunnel. Sleeping all day and coding all night. Washing only once a week (after their 10 hour long WoW raid) gives them the power of George Hotz aka 'GeoHot', a fallen brother in their campaign to fight criminal activities by corporations and governments.

GeoHot was recently in a lawsuit over hacking the PS3 and posting videos of it on his blog. Naturally, Sony didn't like this so called infringement of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) as well as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. With a scene ripped right out of the movies Hackers, Sony issued a court summons stating that George Hotz never hack again. The court order might have stopped GeoHot but it did not stop his online group of friends, collectively named Anonymous.

Anonymous used Internet Relay Chat (IRC) rooms to band together and form their alliance, share useful files, and plan out their attack. Once Sony took legal action against GeoHot, Anonymous issued a threat to Sony saying it would attack the company because of its lawsuit with George Hotz. Soon after the threat was issued, Anonymous used a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack because Sony had "abused the judicial system in an attempt to censor information about how your products work," among other criticisms.

The attack commenced between April 16-17th, leaving 25 million SOE and 77 million PSN user's personal information vulnerable. Two days later, Sony realizes a security breach has been made but do not inform the public. On April 20th, 2011 Sony decides to shut down their network citing technical issues - later saying they are 'rebuilding the network' to make it more secure.

Naturally, Anonymous denies all responsibility of the PSN outage. However a statement by the group reveals more details about how exactly this operation works.

“If you say you are Anonymous, and do something as Anonymous, then Anonymous did it, just because the rest of Anonymous might not agree with it, doesn’t mean Anonymous didn’t do it.” - Kayla (Anonymous hacker)

This decentralized, organic operation has similarities to terrorist groups. No established leader per se, responsibility is given to the whole of the group instead of radical individuals, and obvious differences in groups agenda. While these characteristics seemed to be shared by both organizations, Anonymous has gone on record saying they are not out for customer's personal information.

We are Legion. So they say.

Anon's mission is "...trying to fight criminal activities by corporations and governments, not steal credit cards." They are in this cyber-war simply to prove points, stop internet injustice, and maintain privacy across the web. Their latest threat against mega-corporation Viacom is because the company tracks millions of IP addresses for monetary gain, infringing upon the rights of citizens.

Technology hackers might not be a new fad, famous technology hacker Cap'n Crunch used the similarly named cereal's free whistle to make long distance phone calls back in the time before cell phones. So hacking to get around corporation's restrictions is not a new thing, but the way Anonymous has done it so openly and blatantly has gotten the attention of Congress.

Are we seeing the start of a new revolution? One done solely online? With the recent uprising in the middle east being propelled by Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites Anonymous' ideas are being transported through the world via the internet. Users are waking up to their government's oppressive privacy restrictions and corporation's greedy means of tracking consumers for advertising purposes. If we intend on having the internet stay free then we must support Anonymous and their ways for they are here to help the common people, not misuse them - that is the job of the corporations and governments.

For a full breakdown of the Anonymous vs. Sony events head on over to IGN.

"The World Is Flat" - Thomas L. Friedman

Above is a long video that I hope each and every one of you will take the time to enjoy. In the video, Thomas L. Friedman talks about the globalization of the world and what it means for the marketplace. 

Chances are good that Bhavya in Bangalore will read your next x-ray, or as Thomas Friedman learned first hand, “Grandma Betty in her bathrobe” will make your Jet Blue plane reservation from her Salt Lake City home. In “Globalization 3.0,” Friedman contends, people from far-flung places will become principal players in the marketplace.

Below is an assignment I had to do for class based on this video. The assignment was to state 10 Key Learnings from the video. Hope you enjoy.

1. Japanese speaking Chinese workers living in Dalian,China are outsourced to develop software and run the back room operations of major Japanese companies.
2. The introduction of Netscape’s internet browser was a key moment in globalization history. Allowing everyone to connect to each other through the internet. Also, it spurred the started of the dotcom boom.
3. Open-source code and applications combined are shrinking the world even more. Allowing normal, every day people to collaborate together to bring something that should have a price tag to the public for free.
4. UPS has revolutionized what Friedman calls “in-sourcing”. Where UPS manages not only the shipping & recieving of parcel goods but also processes the refurbishment of HP and other products.
5. Southwest Airlines allowing their customers to print their own tickets from home is, in essence, turning their customers into employees. It empowers the customer to  ‘ticket-agent’ status and further reduces Southwest’s costs of employment and training.
6. Friedman points out that there is no such thing as an “American job” any more.
7. The developing parts of the word such a Africa are the areas that need the most technological stimulus now. Those nations need help to be incorporated in the global climate.
8. HP ‘adopted’ a town in India and supplied their citizens with HP solar-powered cameras and printers to allow this developing nation to have the luxuries that Americans have. HP then helped the city devise a business plan so HP could be compensated for the use of their technology by these citizens.
9. The shrinking of the world has made consumer markets more niche driven. Now more than ever can a consumer find very specific, tailored items marketed towards a small consumer base. Jobs are also becoming more focused such as Friedman’s example of a “search engine optimizer”. The combination of these two forces is making the consumer market and job market more complex.
10. A smaller, more globalized world is a good thing but how do we keep it safe? We can’t. The imaginations of people are the only thing that can bring about good or bad in the world. How people use their imagination in a globalized world is the only determining factor of safety. Will we use it for harm - 9/11. Or for good - 11/9 (Berlin Wall).

In-Game Advertisement $1bn industry

Have you noticed them? Have you seen at least one? Most likely you have you just don’t care too much about them. In-game advertising has been on the rise since early 2000 and is trending to be a $1 billion industry by 2014 according to JJ Richards – general manager of Microsoft’s in-game ad subsidiary Massive.

If you haven’t noticed an in-game ad, you’re just not looking hard enough (or at all) or perhaps you’re just playing Uno on Xbox Live (in which case you are being advertised to go buy a physical Uno deck). The reason you have not noticed an in-game ad is simple. Ad agencies and game developers know that having an ad thrown into jarringly would ruin the experience of most games. Such is the case below.

I guess Ubisoft thought their fans were fat and smelly nerds who needed help with the ladies

Above you see a scene from 2005’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, in the scene you see Sam Fisher doing one of his signature moves in front of a huge Axe neon sign. If you played this game, you might have thought it was weird for a deodorant company to advertise in a spy-action game. However, Axe’s target audience is males 18-35 making this in-game ad prime real estate for their advertising efforts.

Sam Fisher must be on the Diet Dr. Pepper to keep that body at his age

Five years later Ubisoft got a bit more authentic with their in-game advertisements. Showcasing a less obtrusive, but still noticeable, advertisement is Splinter Cell: Conviction’s Dr. Pepper advertisement. This advertisement; however, is a bit more dynamic for the gamer. It lets the gamer know of various downloadable content available through Xbox Live and most likely sponsored by Dr. Pepper.

Not all in-game advertisement is bad though. Some advertisements in games help the world of the game feel more authentic and real. Such is the case with most sports games. Could you imagine a pro sports game such as Madden, NBA Live, or FIFA without in-game advertisements from Nike. Sports games do go overboard sometimes as is the case of Old Spice’s Redzone on football games, McDonald’s ads in the background, and of course the global giant Coca-Cola seems to be in every game now.

Nothing says non-conformity like skateboarding and national corporations

Advertising in fast an immerging area such as gaming is nothing new for mega corporations; however, ads coming from private investors are a new trend; one that was started by the president himself. In October of 2008, president elect at the time Barack Obama paid Microsoft’s in-game ad agency Massive $44,465.78 to do a massive (pun intended) in-game advertisement campaign. The campaign ran from October 6^th, 2008 until November 3^rd and spanned 18 games. The most unique part of this though was that the ads were specifically tailored to only the 10 battleground states at the time.

Yes We Can! – persuade young Americans through advertisements

I could go on forever about in-game advertisements and the way games such as Angry Birds has changed the idea of pricing for games. I didn’t even get to touch on the many ways games such as Second Life have used advertisement to inspired gamers to become consumers based solely on virtual items. One thing is for sure though: in-game advertisements are here to stay and someone is making money while games are being played – it just might not be you.

Why so upset Chris Bosh?

With the Orlando win against the Miami Heat tonight, Chris Bosh wrestled with his inner-anger demon and slammed the game ball into the floor. Bouncing it several feet in the air.

I will guarantee you that by the week's end, he will be fined and perhaps even suspended for this action.




Take him off your NBA fantasy draft roster now.

Campus MovieFest

A few weeks ago I attended the Campus MovieFest where a large number of University of Alabama students created 5 minute films to compete against each other various prizes and a chance to move on to the National Competition.

I'm just going to share with you some of my favorite movies that were shown at this years event. So without further ado....

1) "Day"
Created by Project Theory at For The Love Of Movies in 2011

This movie shows off the darker side of drug use with the film centering around Lucy who is in an abusive relationship with her partner Cid. Through several counseling sessions Lucy finally gets the courage to move out, but she hasn't told Cid yet.

A very moving movie that shows a side of life that most people choose not to see.

2) "Two Guys Getting Over A Wall"

Created by Hakeem Olajuwo

This film is an "allegory" about two men trying to get over a wall. Using boosties, philosophy, and help from household objects. 

Will they succeed? 

What's over the wall? and

What happens when they need to get back over the wall?  

All of these questions will be answered in this tale of struggle and achievement. 

3) "The Bus Stop"

Created by Top Flight

This endearing tale will have you laughing, feeling awkward, and joyfully giddy by the end of it. A simple bus stop sees many characters come and go and what happens at this particular bus stop is a love story. The two men in the film have a sort of modern day Odd Couple style to their humor and should both go on to do more comical shorts.

4) "Sugarbaby"

Created by Bob Loblaw's Law Blog

We've all been in a situation similar to this, where you are trying to get the point across to someone who obviously doesn't want to hear what you have to say. This situation is a bit more comical with the edition of coffee-shop on lookers and an item from Publix. Be sure to stay til the end for a big laugh!

Clearly, someone's been doing the herbal

Herbal Essences have always done a mixture of two advertising appeals in their television commercials. Their new “Someone’s been doing the herbal” is no different.

Most of today's twenty-something women have done 'the herbal'.

 For the young twenty-something women the ad is geared towards, it goes after a personal appeal. It shows women using the product with a smile on their face and hair that always comes out perfect, giving them a boost of much needed confidence.

Humor is the other appeal Herbal Essence has always tried to throw into their commercial; however, this almost backfired with negative press about their “Orgasmic” commercial a few years ago. Their new commercial though plays off their product’s name, Herbal.

 The commercial, shown above, depicts a woman using the product and as she uses it she starts to fantasize about wild dream and aspirations, her dream comes to an abrupt halt and the announcer says “Clearly, someone’s been doing the Herbal”, an obvious reference to marijuana.

 This campaign could easily come under scrutiny like their last campaign; however, the damage is already done and Herbal Essence will receive good and bad press for this campaign and laugh all the way to the bank.

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To continue with the drug references, it is clear that Skittles Marketing Managers over the last couple of years have really gone for the absurdity and humorour over anything else in their advertisements.

Their “Taste the Rainbow” commercials have had everything from a man who turns everything he touches into skittles (a la the Skittles “midas” touch), a giant man-sized tube sock living with an old couple, and their online commercials go off of the deep end in regards to ridiculousness.

The tubesock uses mass amounts of static electricity to jolt the old man's tongue, mimicing the FIZZ sensation of Skittles new flavor.

 While the older consumers might not ‘get’ these commercials, the younger consumers that skillets are marketed towards definitely do like them and it has shown with skittles continuing their asinine but successful campaign.

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Godaddy.com , an online website hosting company, has always used sex appeal to get their customers to come to their website.

Their method is to show Candice Michelle, or another gorgeous supermodel, in some situation in which she inevitably strips - or starts to - on camera. The commercial ends just before anything too revealing is shown and viewers of the ad are asked to go to GoDaddy.com to view the rest of the ad in which the viewer hopes will be filled with T & A.

A simple ‘tease & please’ method of getting customers to go to your site.

So Authentic, it should be illegal

Any marketing campaign that increases business, no matter how out there or ridiculous it is, should be considered a success. Roberto’s Taco Shop’s ‘honesty is the best policy’ campaign is prime example of an idea that sounds bad on paper but paid off after execution.

As a Mexican food shop ,having employees being arrested by the INS could be the most detrimental thing to your business; however, thanks to quick thinking by the marketing team Roberto’s Taco Shop was able to increase business despite their unfortunate situation

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The first ad that was shown in the surfing magazine depicts a U.S. Border Control officer’s badge and has the slogan “Mexican food so authentic, the competition can’t wait to get their hands on our cooks”. Brilliantly simple and hilarious, this ad quite plainly tells the reader that ‘yes’ their employees have been arrested due to immigration but that is what makes their food so delicious.

The second ad of an open car trunk I feel is a bit more jarring to the viewer of the ad. The picture is simple but after a glance you are compelled to read more into the ad. The slogan chosen for this ad is “To prove how authentic our Mexican food is, we’d like to show you were we get our cooks.” Slightly offensive, but truthful, is obviously the route they went for.

I would really like to see how Mexicans felt towards these ads. Considering their business increased, I would assume that Mexicans did not care too much about the offensive subject material.