Monday, July 18, 2011

Digital Economy Round-Up - Issue 2

In my continual though occassional series this week we have some further global views.

In Europe a new "do tank" has been set up, the Centre for Social Responsibility in the Digital Age. The launch was attended by several EU institutions.

This reflects again the very different policy dynamic in Europe where a wide range of issues is gaining attention. Australia's only great initiative remains IBES which continues to have a very academic bias, and I would suggest a technology rather than social orientation. We have no Digital Economy related NGO outside the University space.

The kind of things that can occur in a massively connected world include this initiative to bring together both the open data concepts and cloud computing (genuine computing not storage) to better model climate associated risk. This is a nice move away from the increasing tendency to "commercialise" research. I like the idea of a "Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director of the Digital Economy Lab", and indeed a "Digital Economy Collaborative R&D progreamme" which is not the same as the Australkian megastructures called CRCs.

Meanwhile I've ranted recently in public about Australia's lack of participation in global standards setting, and our ability to practice middle-power diplomacy. So I'd be interested to hear of anyone who knows what Australia's representation at the ITU Global Symposium for Regulators and Industry which is apparently addressing "Smart Regulation for a Broadband World".

Ho hum. Here we are, we call ourselves leaders and "everyone is watching us" - but leaders in what, watching what?


Novae Meridianae Demetae Dexter delenda est

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