Proof of Technological Determinism?

Or proof against social determinism?

As the media has widely reported, the use of the Web in the recent Egyptian protests was hugely important. I do not want to delve too deeply into the specifics of the protests in this post; instead the point I want to make (my own opinion of course) is that the way these tools were grasped upon by the citizens shows that the technological determinism argument in sociology is far superior to that of social determinism. I am not a sociologist, and do not claim to understand fully the arguments within this discipline – however these two hypotheses are important with regards to Web Science and understanding how the Web is shaping society (or is society shaping the Web?).

Cyber Warfare Arguments seem to be crying out for a Web Scientist!

For the last few days, I’ve been wondering about what to cover in the first ‘real’ post of this blog. Today, thankfully, saw several related stories hit the BBC Website regarding cyber warfare – a topic which seems to be increasingly popular in the media. To further enhance the suggestion that I should write about this, I have spent the last few days reading and writing about cyber crime, and attempting to determine whether the entire notion of cyber crime is being over-hyped. This is what one security expert claims (Bruce Schneier of BT) is happening with cyber warfare – coincidentally the very same security expert whom I watched in a video as background material to the cyber crime argument.

Web Science Issues in the News

***This post is a work in progress and shall be updated, added to and refined as necessary***

To start things off, here is a brief list and description of matters that are appearing in the news at the moment, to serve as some examples of the type of thing I may cover in the future. I am sure to have missed some, so please feel free to suggest others - and I shall update the post accordingly.

Egypt Revolution

This is the biggest news story of all at the moment – and the Web has played a key role in its development. Facebook and Twitter were central to spreading the word about protests: Facebook appeared to be used more internally, organising and mobilising the community, whereas Twitter seemed to be the protestors’ outlet to the World. The effect that the Web had was so great that Internet access was cut. I wonder how much consideration went into the decision to make this cut – the consequences of removing the Internet from a World which has grown so accustomed to it seem unfathomable. This is one of the many areas which, potentially, Web Science could help to understand.

Cyber-attacks

Last week, the BBC reported on a study from McAfee detailing attacks made on oil and gas firms. This follows on from the news that broke last year regarding one of the first cyber attacks on physical infrastructure – the ‘Stuxnet’ worm. While many computer users will be aware of the threats to their data, identity and privacy online, it is likely that there is far less knowledge of how Web-based attacks could impact the physical world. Furthermore, the political and economic implications (along with many others) of such actions need to be understood, before these attacks become widespread. 

***This post is a work in progress and shall be updated, added to and refined as necessary***

Please Get Involved!

I believe the Web is all about community. Without the communities that have developed on the Web, it would be a very different place, and not nearly as interesting. For this reason, I would like to encourage (and request) feedback and discussions on the topics I bring up - and suggestions for new topics to cover.

So, please listen out for interesting stories in the news, and hopefully we can engage in some exciting discussions about how great the Web really is!

Welcome to The Web Science Perspective

Why a blog about Web Science?

Web Science is a new field of study, incorporating numerous disciplines to examine the Web. Many of the stories that appear in the media can be linked to Web Science, and – as far as I know – there is not currently anywhere on the Web that discusses them from this perspective.

What will be blogged about?

The aim is to put a Web Science spin on topical news stories. How has the Web contributed to the story, how could it be used to solve a particular problem, what issues that are prevalent on the Web are linked to the story? These are just some of the questions I will hope to address. Due to the various disciplines involved, many of these issues will concern topics which I may not have the best knowledge of – in these cases I hope to gain input from those who do!