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HUB OF DISCOURSE: Will the Internet make as big an impact in the next general election as it did the last time? Arman Ahmad speaks to three experts

However, Azizuddin said: "Traditional media still has a significant impact in influencing people's voting trend in the general election, especially for rural folk who have less access to the new media."

Arman Ahmad, New Straits Times

AS the 13th general election draws closer, the battle for the hearts and minds of voters is heating up. The ruling party and opposition blogs and websites are abuzz with activity, working hard at spreading their ideas.

The Internet is widely credited for the opposition's gains during the last general election. This time around, however, both sides seem equally matched in terms of online presence.

But how far will the Internet affect the outcome of the next election?

Experts said what people saw and read on the Internet would influence their opinions. However, they added, people would still vote based on other factors.

"People don't vote based on what they read on the Internet," said Julian Hopkins, communications lecturer at Monash University. Instead, he said, people voted based on what they experienced in life.

The election results will be mostly influenced by what people think about the government, and the direction the country is going.

Original post:
Internet's net result on election results

Gettin' down with Jacob at the Internet Prom. Photo By Rebecca Angel.

Last Saturday was the second annual Internet Prom. Most of my family attended, but the whole concept is still a mystery to people. Come let me show you exactly what this fun, online event is about:

Amanda, who is a musician and vlogger, sent out a video saying there would be a 2012 Internet Prom with all the links to various sites around the internet that would keep people updated: I followed the prom info mostly on Facebook because thats my chosen social site. People talking about their dates saying yes (or not.) Exactly what the prom was all about. And asking if it was OK to go alone (this was a common thread in the months leading up to the prom. The answer was Yes! Or Ill go with you!)

The first step of the Internet Prom is making a video to invite someone to attend with you, or a video explaining that youre going stag, or just reply somewhere that youre attending. Then the person you asked makes a response. Here is my daughter being asked by her good friend: And my daughters response:

Very sweet. I decided to be ridiculous. Heres my video:

A week before the actual prom Amanda asked if I would like to perform for the live broadcast on BlogTV. I said yes and then asked the rest of my band members to join me. Considering they are my family and would be in the house anyway, this worked out quite easily. The Friday night before prom, my nephew Peter and I worked out the kinks to a live musical broadcast. It was a good thing too, several of the performers had problems the actual night (do your homework, people!).

The Internet Prom consists of two activities: one is watching the live broadcast of musical people, and commenting. The other is making a video of yourself dancing. Then everyone watches YouTube videos of each other, and comments.

Saturday dawned beautiful for a prom. Not that it would really matter since Internet Prom is strictly indoors, no one is driving a limo anywhere, no pictures outside. In the afternoon my daughter found out her date couldnt make it and that was quite sad. Then we all made our prom video and that was quite silly. My husband (who was working in the garden most of the day) said they should go for a bike ride since it was so nice out. That was a great suggestion to get them out of the house while I edited. (My husband did pull me away from the computer for a bit since the kids were gone probably the only action the Internet Prom saw that day.) We all ate dinner, I uploaded the prom video, and we got ready for our live musical show.

Fortunately, everything went really well. Unfortunately, we forgot to record it. My son (who is not in the band) sat by the computer to read us comments in between songs. The prom goers were very excited. Someone became a fan of my daughter (our drummer) which made her happy again. After that, we went up to my moms house to sprawl on her couch and watch the YouTube videos, interspersed with the other musical acts on the live broadcast. Here are some of our favorites, including our own at the end:

We veered away from prom videos and showed each other our favorite comedy videos, which rounded out the entertainment nicely. I sent my kids to bed at 11, my mom said good-night, but my nephew and I stayed up to watch the end of the live broadcast with Amanda, the host of everything. She invited the girls to a Skype sleepover afterwards. I declined and went home. It may not have been intended for a family event, but thats what it was at our house and we loved it!

More:
Report From Internet Prom 2012

The Internet could someday look very different and be less open and free if a proposal for the International Telecommunications Union, an arm of the United Nations, to take over management of the Internet comes to pass, critics of the proposal say.

A growing movement led by China, Russia and some Arab states to hand more control of the Web to the United Nations has U.S. lawmakers and Internet companies warning of censorship, surveillance and taxes.

The ITU and its 93 member states will meet in Dubai in December to reconsider a key 1988 communications treaty, with a number of foreign governments arguing it needs to be updated as the influence of Internet communications increases worldwide.

Advocates of a free and open Internet say that could create an opening for countries where free speech and civil liberties are often harshly suppressed to propose the United Nations establish a new "information security" regime to replace ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit U.S. organization serving as the Internet's de facto governing body since the late 1990s.

Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell has warned that some ITU member countries seek to hobble the open and free nature of the Internet because it causes problems for dictatorships and autocracies.

"[L]et's face it. Strong-arm regimes are threatened by popular outcries for political freedom that are empowered by unfettered Internet connectivity. They have formed impressive coalitions, and their efforts have progressed significantly," he wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

A bipartisan group of U.S. congressional officials said they would resist any change in the way the Internet is regulated and maintained.

Members of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee have issued a resolution urging the U.S. government to maintain "the consistent and unequivocal policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control and preserve and advance the successful multi-stakeholder model that governs the Internet today."

Committee member Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said U.N.-led control of the Internet would affect Internet users around the world.

"The Internet has become this economic and social juggernaut not because governmental actors willed it to be so, but because the government took a step back and let the private sector drive its evolution," he said. "International regulatory intrusion into the Internet would have disastrous results not just for the United States, but for people around the world."

Read more:
SciTechTalk: Proposed United Nations control of Internet raises alarms

With the final list of generic top-level domain (gTLD) applications set to be posted in less than two weeks, Google has revealed a bit about its investment strategy.The company said that its gTLD applications covered both its own products as well as possible domains in which it could sell addresses to third parties.

While the company didn't disclose just how many domains it had applied for, Google chief internet evangelist Vint Cerf said in a company blog post that the company had chosen a number of domains based on their connections to existing Google products.

Among the domains listed by Cerf were .google and .docs, connections to the company's brand name and the Google Docs service, as well as references to its other companies, including .youtube.

Additionally, Cerf said that the company would look to register domains which hold "interesting and creative potential" such as the .lol domain.

While applying for control of a gTLD. Icann charges applications a $185,000 fee to file for control of a domain. The application process closed May 30 after being extended due to a prolonged outage.

Google said that those domains which it is awarded control of will be administered by the company with support for all Icann-accredited registrars. Additionally, the company promised to offer security and rights protection measures for administrators who run sites within its domains.

"Were just beginning to explore this potential source of innovation on the web, and we are curious to see how these proposed new TLDs will fare in the existing TLD environment," Cerf wrote.

"By opening up more choices for internet domain names, we hope people will find options for more diverse -and perhaps shorter signposts- in cyberspace."

Icann is due to announce the full list of domains and applicants for the gTLDs June 13. The company said that it has received more than 1,900 applications in total.

You are invited to participate in a ClickZ-Google Analytics industry survey for trends in mobile marketing and apps. You'll also be entered to win a free iPad or 1 of 2 free passes to SES Conference & Expo.

Read the rest here:
Google Bids on New gTLDs .google, .youtube., .lol & More

02-06-2012 18:35 went to the National College Lacrosse League Playoffs in Annapolis, Maryland, to catch all of the play off action. This is the championship between Navy and Delaware Club Lacrosse. Watch here to see who takes home the Trophy.

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Navy vs. Delaware College Club Lacrosse | 2012 NCLL Championships | Lax.com Highlight - Video