For centuries, when new technologies come on the scene there’s almost an instinctive human reaction, particularly among those who are challenged by the new technology, to blame the technology for any social ill that happens to arise at the same time. Something has gone on with our social networks in the past 20 years. Our data matched the data that the previous researchers had collected showing the networks are shrinking.

And so, now we’re inviting other social scientists and researchers like ourselves to go out and find the real culprit and not just think that the Internet lies behind it just because the Internet was being adopted at the same time this harmful social trend was emerging.

Reminds me a bit of Russell Davies’s The Internet Isn’t Killing Anything.

There’s a famous story about the first item sold on eBay:

[T]he site began with the listing of a single broken laser pointer. Though Pierre [Omidyar, eBay's founder] had intended the listing to be a test more than a serious offer to sell at auction, he was shocked when the item sold for $14.83. Pierre knew that he’d created something big as soon as he contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the pointer was broken.

“I’m a collector of broken laser pointers,” came the reply.

I had a similar experience yesterday. Going through the closet, I found some old electronics I wanted to get rid of, including a broken T-Mobile Dash that I’d nearly forgotten about. So I posted it on Craiglist:

For sale: one piece of crap T-Mobile Dash (aka HTC Excalibur).

I hate this phone. It doesn’t work well at all. It reboots randomly. The camera doesn’t work. It drops calls. It’s awful.

A few hours later, a message in my inbox:

I shall remove that peice [sic] of junk from your hands…

Turns out someone needed parts for their own broken Dash. We met up a few hours later. The buyer got the phone, I got some cash, and nothing ended up in the landfill.

Thanks Internet.

You can see the status of the network, named Corktown, right here online. And if you’re in the neighbourhood, you’re welcome to use the connection.

I’d love to try and convince other residents and businesses to jump on the mesh networking bandwagon, but I don’t really know how to explain the benefits to them. I’m thinking of a flyer, posted to lamposts at the intersection of Queen and Parliament:

Dear [List of neighbourhood SSIDs here],

You probably pay a lot for high-speed internet. I know I do.

Want to share? Make things cheaper, faster, and better for everyone?

Let’s start a wireless mesh network.

Would you bite? I would, but I’m a geek like that.

But the day I got back from New Year’s in Windsor, I realized something had changed. My old friend “default?” Encrypted! What was I to do?

• Hack the WEP encryption with Kismac?
• Hook up a complicated system of routers in my closet to borrow and redistribute another neighbour’s open signal?
• Go without the internet for a while and see what better things I can find to do with my time?

After some thought, I decided it might just be best to actually pay for my own internet access. Go figure. Now, as far as I know, there are only two companies that offer high-speed in Toronto: Bell and Rogers. I hate them both, but of the two, I hate Rogers the least. So, from Jenna’s laptop, I surfed on over to the Rogers site to see what the damage would be. I clicked on “Internet Services,” then “Promotions.” I typed in my postal code so the site could “provide [me] with the right products and services.”

This took me to a page with a list of specials. One of them looked pretty good:

Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet EXPRESS

• Save $3 per month for 12 months!
• Receive $10 rebate with your online order
• Free Basic Installation
• No term commitment required

Free installation? A discount for ordering online? No contract? “Hey,” I thought, “maybe paying for legit Internet won’t be so bad. Sign me up!” So I clicked “Order Now.” It took me to a page that asked for my name and address. Hurriedly, I typed them in, and clicked “Continue.” Then, this:

Wow, Rogers. You’re really inspiring confidence in your internet service product with that one.

Yeesh.