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And for the trifecta, I’m speaking at ACCAN’s conference

Since I’m blogging about my forthcoming speaking engagements, I should probably also mention that I’m on a panel at ACCAN’s National Conference on 5 to 6 September.

ACCAN is the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, and the panel I’m on is called “Privacy & Security”.

Privacy dilemmas are getting bigger every year as more of our lives and essential information are moving online. This discussion will explore online privacy and security policies. A top tech journalist [that’s me!] will examine whether there is such a thing as privacy in the online world, and a broadband services expert will explain the key privacy and security challenges likely faced in providing medical and other services over broadband.

The other panellists are Nigel Waters from the University of New South Wales’ Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre and Dean Economou from NICTA.

So, privacy and security. That seems to be my gig now…

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I’m speaking at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas

The program for the Sydney Opera House’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2012 is out, and I’m on it.

In particular, I’m on a panel discussion called I Share Therefore I Am on Saturday 29 September from 1pm to 2pm.

Whether we lead our whole life online or just dip our toes into the ‘digital pool’ for news or shopping, information about everything we do is being collected, and analysed. Should we accept that our digital footprint will follow us to the grave, shaping our life along the way? Or should we try to hold on to our privacy — even (or especially) when online? Hear from two people who live online, but have distinctly different points of view about the age of sharing and radical transparency.

The person other than me is Victoria Doidge, director of marketing, communications & customer services at the Sydney Opera House. She’s of the share-it-all view, ‘cos the worst that can happen is you’ll see more relevant advertisements. Or something.

I plan to kick off my part of the discussion by sketching out some alarming scenarios made possible by data mining all the things.

[Update 14 September 2012: Added link to session page on Sydney Opera House website.]

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I’m going to Consilium and you’re not invited

I’m rather flattered to have been invited to speak at Consilium on 23 to 25 August, an invitation-only annual conference put together by the Centre for Independent Studies.

There’s a brochure [PDF]. but essentially Consilium is “leading thinkers from business, politics, policy, academia and the community” talking the “critical issues facing the world” under a modified Chatham House Rule. So I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to tell you afterwards.

I’m on a panel discussion called “Social Creatures: How social media is changing the landscape”, with Iarla Flynn, Google Australia’s head of public policy and government affairs; Nick Holder, a partner at LEK Consulting; and Cassandra Wilkinson, co-founder and president of FBi Radio, and author of Don’t Panic! Nearly Everything is Better than You Think.

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Weekly Wrap 111: Banking and the decline of civilisation

The less said about my week Monday 16 to Sunday 22 July 2012 the better. I’ll just list the stuff I did in the media, and be done with it.

Podcasts

  • Patch Monday episode 146, “Banking’s future is Facebook? Really?” Commonwealth Bank’s general manager of online banking Drew Unsworth explains the reasoning behind their moves to roll out banking on Facebook, and that’s put into context by Charis Palmer, editor of Online Banking Review.

Articles

None.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Tuesday I had lunch at Wildfire Restaurant, Circular Quay, courtesy of Bass PR and a number of clients at Mobility Press Lunch Forum. At least one article will come out of this little discussion.

The Week Ahead

I dare not say a word. I’ll jinx it.

[Photo: A screenshot of the Patch Monday podcast being mixed in Reaper, which is something that has been working. Mind you, I took the picture well after production was finished, and it’s last Monday’s episode not the one due to be published today. You just can’t be too careful with these things.]

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Weekly Wrap 110: Loss, damage and dead animals

Not to put too fine a point on it, for me Monday 9 to Sunday 15 July 2012 was a cunt of a week. I use the strongest of all taboo words deliberately to indicate the level of upfuckness involved.

Monday night, as I was returning to my SEKRIT hideaway from doing a spot on ABC Local Radio, the key broke in the door lock, necessitating a $155 call-out by a locksmith. The next day I realised I’d lost my notebook somewhere. Then on Wednesday I spilt a beer onto my MacBook Pro, with dire consequences.

I shall leave it there for now. That’s enough misery for you to digest at once. I, however, had no such luxury.

Podcasts

  • Patch Monday episode 145, “Twitter mimics Facebook, kills own ecosystem”. A panel discussion with Henare Degan, co-founder of Bleeply, who make Twitter tools for business; Leslie Nassar, technology director at digital agency Amnesia Razorfish and founder of TweeVee TV, which provides tools for integrating Twitter with live television; and Kate Carruthers, business strategist and founder of Social Innovation.

Articles

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Tuesday morning Symantec held their Next@Norton media briefing, and provided a lovely “high tea” brunch. There were chocolates in the take-home bag of goodies

The Week Ahead

Well, it’s already started, but at least Monday has gone largely to plan. On Tuesday morning I’m attending Commonwealth Bank’s event “The Future of Business is Coming”, but they won’t tell me what it is. Then at lunchtime I’m covering a forum on mobility and bring your own device (BYOD) policies — what, another one? — for Technology Spectator.

On Wednesday I’ll return to Wentworth Falls, where I’ll probably be staying until Tuesday 24 July, doing a bunch of writing and stuff while I’m up there. To be honest, it’s all fairly flexible at that point.

Elsewhere

Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream (or they used to before my phone camera got a bit too scratched up) and via Instagram. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags. Yes, I should probably update this stock paragraph to match the current reality.

[Photo: Elegance of Dance Part 37: The Dying Swan, taken on Market Street in the Sydney CBD on 13 July 2012.]

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Expensive beer kills computer, honesty kills my budget

Things have been delayed around here, and elsewhere, because last Wednesday I spilt a beer onto my MacBook Pro, sending it comatose. That’s one damn expensive beer. And it’ll take me a while to catch up.

Now a splash of beer or, presumably, any other liquid should you be mad enough to drink them, won’t necessarily kill a computer or smartphone. The emergency procedure is straightforward.

Turn it off. Pull the battery, if you can. Get rid of as much liquid as fast as you can by mopping it up. Then get rid of any lingering moisture: dismantle the device as much as it can be, and put it in a sealed container packed with silica gel or uncooked rice for three days or more.

If the liquid is potentially damaging to the device — a certain popular cola drink, say, which is acidic and will damage some components — you can rinse it with distilled water or isopropyl alcohol too. Choose the one that’ll dissolve the threat.

With a laptop computer, if you’re quick the worst case scenario is that you might lose the keyboard. I’ve managed to resurrect completely saturated smartphones.

My procedure failed. MacBook Pro computers now make the keyboard extremely difficult to get to. I simply couldn’t get in there promptly. I had to transport the computer to the rice, and in doing so it was carried on its side, potentially allowing liquid to flow into other parts of the computer. And then, in my impatience, I powered it up after just one night on the rice to see how things we going.

How things were going was not at all.

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