Microsoft Australia Government Affairs Blog

South Australian Information Economy Agenda

2009-07-10T07:25:01Z

This week the South Australian Government released its Information Economy Agenda 2009-2014. The agenda details a framework for the State delivering on its digital future. The Agenda was developed by the Information Economy Directorate and approved by the Information Economy Advisory Board.

The Information Economy Agenda 2009-2014 identifies three key interrelated elements of the information economy as connectivity, capability and content.

The agenda details the SA.NET initiative, an ICT industry cluster which brings together local software companies to engage in co-operative activities, achieve collective competitiveness and develop new opportunities for Australia’s software industry.

“Unlocking the potential in people within schools, workplaces and homes is what today’s software is all about. There are so many examples of innovative South Australian organisations delivering real value for the State and growing the information economy,” said Mike Duhne, State Director for Microsoft South Australia and member of the Information Economy Advisory Board.

Technorati Tags: South Australia,Information Economy Agenda,digital,ICT

Community award to Kenny Johar

2009-07-05T23:55:23Z

Kenny Johar, from Vision Australia was recently awarded a Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award from Microsoft. An MVP is awarded to those members who have made an outstanding contribution to the community. The honour means Mr Johar is among 4000 of the international IT community's brightest stars whose technical skills and leadership have been noted by Microsoft.

Kenny Johar first started developing signs of Retinitis Pigmentosa as an ambitious Year 12 student, he was in denial of his deteriorating eyesight. Despite being advised to avoid a visual-based course such as computing, Kenny enrolled in a double degree in Bachelor of Science/ Law at Auckland University in New Zealand.

In 2004, Kenny moved to Melbourne with his family. Determined to continue following his dreams to become a professional software developer, he contacted Vision Australia's Employment Services.

Kenny was then hired as Vision Australia's Web Coordinator in August 2005 and his natural ability saw him flourish in this role. He quickly gained the respect of colleagues and management. Eager to continue developing his knowledge, Kenny enrolled in, and achieved Microsoft's top-level certification for advanced software developers, Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer.NET (MCSD). Soon after, he attained the next generation of Microsoft certifications, MCPD Enterprise Applications Developer, and MCTS Sql server.

He completed these challenging courses with high distinctions in only six months, and was the first person who has low vision to receive these certifications world-wide.

Kenny is now the Manager of Vision Australia's Software Architecture, Development and Technical Innovations team, and in this role plays an active part in the formulation of International Standards, both in the Daisy Consortium and in the W3c, that will significantly improve information access for the vision impaired community world-wide going into the future.

Microsoft Australia wishes Kenny Johar continued success in his field. His contribution has also been recognised with the following article in today’s (July 6) The Australian newspaper.

Technorati Tags: Vision Australia,Kenny Johar,community,vision impairment

Data Online – it can be so

2009-07-01T23:47:00Z

Lindsay Tanner’s Taskforce 2.0 are getting down to the hard yards of working through how to democratically engage Australia’s public in the cause of more open government.

In the way of all collective activity I can imagine they will have a few teething issues to sort through.

Some will be administrative, others of a policy nature.

Fortunately those administrative issues should be quickly resolved. The Taskforce has the excellent services of the AGIMO to rely upon and can utilise collaborative tools already operating in the Federal Public Service. This should eliminate the possibility of any suggestion that a vendor (like Microsoft) is seeking to use the Taskforce to promote its products or services.

The bigger policy issues will include the need to come to a clear collective view as to what the goals of the Taskforce will be and how to determine success. This will be a difficult but crucial discussion both because the Government’s investment in the Taskforce is not insubstantial but also because the subject of the Taskforce’s work is important and will be carefully watched by the online and offline world. Such issues may seem unnecessary in a progressive sense but without a clear objective there is a real possibility the Taskforce will fracture into self interest and symbolism.

And as if the Taskforce needed any help from left-field, the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee has set out one very clear path for getting government information online. In an appetisingly short piece published on the last day of last financial year, Mr Berners-Lee proposes the use of Linked Data techniques to connect data in whatever format the data comes in to whatever format in which the data is wanted.

The paper is a brief note that admits the absence of many important topics. It seeks to provide practical technical steps and encourages those interested to participate in Web gatherings or meetup groups. It also notes the work of the W3C eGov Interest Group, for those interested in following the international work in this area.

I can’t imagine it will be long before Sir Tim has an email from the Taskforce Chair inviting him to Australia. It is to be hoped that this Englishman alone will show Australia a few tricks this northern summer.

Simon Edwards, Head of Government Affairs

Boring, difficult, irrelevant – but better than nursing.

2009-06-29T03:56:00Z

Research out of the US has found that while computer science studies are highly regarded by college-bound teenagers there is a substantial negative image of the profession – particularly among women.

The findings of a nationwide online survey of 1,406 college-bound teenagers provide a chilling expose of the challenges of securing a gender diverse workforce in the information technology profession in the years ahead. While 52% of respondents overall rated computer science a ‘very good’ or ‘good’ choice for a college major, just 32% of women felt this way. By comparison, nursing was considered a ‘very good’ or ‘good’ choice by just 28% of respondents.

Even more startling, 67% of male respondents felt computer science would be a ‘very good’ or ‘good’ profession to select compared to just 23% of females.

Not surprisingly ‘doing work that was interesting’ was found to be the most important element in selecting a career, closely followed by having a ‘passion for the job’. Given the idealism of young people this is perhaps both encouraging but not surprising. The fact that less than a quarter of respondents felt that ‘doing work you find challenging’ or ‘working in a cutting-edge field’ were important elements in selecting a profession requires some thought for those seeking to promote computer science degrees to university entrants.

The research also contained some interesting insights into what may be driving young people into or away from the computer sciences and with the comfort of males and females in engaging with, using and creating technology. A key finding of the research was that the strongest positive driver towards computer science or an openness to a career in computing is ‘having the power to create and discover new things’. Despite this only 35% of male respondents and 13% of females felt comfortable subscribing to an RSS feed.

Reconciling the promise and reality of computing has clearly someway to go – especially in the minds of the young. Digital natives may be comfortable with computers but they evidence no greater desire to specialise in the field of computing than the generation who produced the natives’ computers in the first instance.The push for the ‘democratisation’ of computing may need reconsideration too. In particular computing as a subject of formal education may need to extend further into the earlier years of schooling. It may also be helpful if the fringe crusade of neo-tech evangelists against proprietary computing ceased so that media attention may be focused on the significant and urgent issues that confront all forms of computing development.

While undoubtedly the majority of the population will continue to rely on a few to create the computing tools that enable their economic innovation, the need to increase that few is pressing. Many efforts have been made in the past to inspire computing careers; those efforts must be redoubled if we are to even hope for the promise of an information connected world.

Simon Edwards, Head of Government Affairs

Australian Trial – Digital Democracy

2009-06-26T07:55:00Z

Let me be honest – I titled this blog ‘Digital Democracy” not because I wanted to discuss that subject particularly but rather to get more attention on the web through the search engines.

My digital media friends have a few tricks. Such is the reality of a world of mass information. Underlying this ruse lies an important lesson – information is everywhere and for those in the business of information and ideas – like politicians – the challenge of getting noticed is growing.

In part this is the motivation for a trial launched this week by Microsoft Australia. The public face of the trial is a website called Ask A Pollie. In the same week that Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner announced the Web 2.0 Taskforce, this trial is another example of how Australians are prepared to optimistically look into the future of a connected world and ask what might be rather than just what next?

Ask A Pollie is a small digital media investigation we are conducting over the next 8 weeks. The site will house a number of short videos from Federal politicians, including the Minister for Finance Lindsay Tanner, National Senator Fiona Nash, Liberal Bruce Billson and Family First Senator Steve Fielding, and some comment pieces from profile commentators.

This investigation or trial is looking at the issues that might ultimately make possible the concept of the video press release. Video blogs and video messages are nothing new and I don’t expect this trial will change the practice of press releases overnight. Nevertheless, as more and more information is generated in digital formats and immediacy of message for politicians becomes ever more an imperative, it is inevitable (IMV) that the smart politician will look to video and mass web broadcast to get their message out to new and old constituencies alike.

Oh and yes whatever platform may ultimately be built to deliver the press release centre will need to be built so that every member of the public will be able to view and hear those releases on whatever device they own, wherever they may be. Interoperability will be essential.

President Barack Obama has embraced this channel of direct communication with some success. By enabling politicians to effectively by-pass the editorial control of media outlets a politician’s message can be both more powerful and more authentic. I am not naive enough to think that this will lead to some form of democratic nirvana though – politicians know how to edit and script their messages too – and achieving a broadcast quality of video press release will be only one challenge to overcome..

This trial is looking at all the logistical, technical, administrative and practical issues associated with making video press releases. I hope to report the results of the trial toward the end of September. The Ask A Pollie trial is also looking at the effectiveness of outdoor advertising devices (including interactive live sites) to drive interest online.

The content on www.askapollie.com.au and www.askapollie.net.au will build over the next 8 weeks with Labor Member for Lindsay David Bradbury and Nationals Senator Fiona Nash the next to add their videos on the subject of the economy – next week. On the site you can view and rate the videos, contribute to discussions, vote on polls and raise questions. The participating politicians are not ‘contracted’ to respond to questions but we will be watching trends to see what the public has to say.

Have a look, have a play, have your say. Oh and in case you are wondering one lesson has already been learnt by the trial team – Australia needs fast broadband! A service like Ask A Pollie, whatever its merits, will only be fully engaging when the experience of viewing on the web matches any other form of media channel.

Simon Edwards, Head of Government Affairs

Culture Change – A Web 2 Far?

2009-06-23T03:01:00Z

Yesterday’s announcement by Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and Special Minister of State, Senator Joe Ludwig, of a taskforce to investigate how the Australian Government can use new ‘Web 2.0’ approaches to expand the uses of Commonwealth information and improve the way government consults and engages with citizens could one day be seen as the moment a new Australian democracy was born.

The establishment of a Government Taskforce is rarely a moment for praise. In this instance however it is warranted. Ministers Tanner, Ludwig and former Special Minister of State John Faulkner have put a challenge before their colleagues that could fundamentally re-shape how Australia’s public services are administered and delivered. It is a credit to the combined Cabinet that they have at the very least accepted the need to look at this challenge.

At the Microsoft Politics and Technology Forum in February, Minister Tanner acknowledged that web technologies would only ever be enablers. He was right. No technology of itself can change how people, administrative structures and hierarchies interact with information. How information is collected, assembled, disseminated, analysed and communicated will always be dependent upon the policies and cultures put in place by those with decision making power. Even with the most advanced information technologies possible the control of information will remain in the hands of those who have this power. To alter this dynamic the technologies and decision makers must enable information to flow directly to and from those who generate it and those who seek to use it. When this occurs power relationships are redefined and may ultimately be changed.

Accepting and embracing the challenge to amend power relationships within Government is by any Sir Humphrey assessment ‘courageous’. Minister Tanner in his address at the launch of the Taskforce yesterday acknowledged this very fundamental when he said:

“But perhaps the biggest challenge for government -- and for this Taskforce – is (to) build a new culture of openness, a presumption of openness.”

Being open to new channels of information, responsive to new forums for public discussion, accepting of new models for the flow of information will be the start of a cultural change in the Australian Public Service and in Australian democracy. The establishment of a web site for the Taskforce will enable this conversation to begin however a change of culture rarely comes easily. Andrew Podger in his recent Crikey Conversations interview with Bernard Keane suggested that in the area of openness the culture of the Public Service is set almost entirely by the culture of Ministers and Ministerial staff. He indicated that his focus on changing culture would be on convincing these people that they should be more tolerant to allowing ‘things’ to come out that might be embarrassing from time to time.

Microsoft endorses, supports and welcomes the establishment of the Taskforce. We are supporting the Taskforce’s Project Fund by making available $2.45m from the residual of our Federal Services Provision Fund. That fund was established to help the Federal Government get the most from its information technology investments. The projects and competitions that the taskforce chooses to support will undoubtedly satisfy that goal.

Those who want to see another proprietary versus open source battle in the work of this Taskforce will be disappointed. The work of this Taskforce could change forever how we as citizens deal with Government and how the Public Service embraces citizens in their Government. That may be a lofty and ambitious goal but it is a possibility worth pursuing. How software code is written and licensed and how software is commercially distributed will be forever interesting, fascinating and the subject of passionate debate. However, it is a side debate to how information technology is and can enable what is happening now and in the future to shape the lives of citizens. The only ‘victory’ for any of us will be if our participatory democracy is made stronger by the work of this Taskforce.

I wish Nicholas Gruen and his Taskforce members vision, courage, energy, pragmatism and good luck.

Simon Edwards, Head of Government Affairs

Access to Government Information – Time to Ask the Big Questions

2009-06-21T13:41:00Z

There are times when it may seem that a glacier moves faster than change in the public service. I declare an interest – I spent six years in the Federal Department of Finance in the late 80s and early 1990s at a time when ‘significant’ changes were made to the Federal Government’s budget processes.

They were ‘relatively’ fast moving times as the notion of public service invincibility was not only challenged but completely overturned and commercial management and accounting concepts introduced to the Service.

Despite enormous reforms within the public service over the past 20 years, under Governments of both political persuasion, it is undoubtedly true that the essential relationship between Government and citizens remains one defined more often by history than deliberate policy choice.

Power is a difficult subject to define and discuss without confronting numerous assumptions concerning how power is obtained, maintained and exercised. Unquestionably there are sensitivities among many public servants when it comes to this discussion as they are constrained by their obligation to serve the elected Government and by the hierarchical management structures that essentially define the public service.

Nevertheless as the holders and creators of volumes of information about the public and issues related to the public it is imperative that the public service be a leading agent for reform and a model of best practice as to how information is created, gathered, collected, stored, shared and utilised.

As digital technologies allow the ever more rapid creation and dissemination of information it is imperative that policies be determined that not only establish the conditions under which citizens can access information but also enable information to be readily accessed and used by those who can add value to that information – including the private sector.

To date most explorations and discussion of the power of Web 2.0 technologies have examined the various capacities of technologies – particularly in terms of the optimal standards that enable the utilisation of information databases held in the public sector. These are important, though I would argue secondary issues in the overall framework of citizen participation in Government. Some trials have been held by the Federal Government to consider the potential for citizens to be more directly engaged in the process of governing. These were brave if primitive efforts to explore the possibilities of existing tools and applications. Federal Government trials conducted earlier this year have shown that the public can be brought into the process of policy making though it remains unclear whether participation was broadly based and whether the process of participation was efficient and substantially aided the objective of better policy outcomes.

There is good reason to believe that the further evolution of information technologies combined with strategies and policies that open the processes of government to real time public participation and that enable policy makers to see and utilise information provided directly by the public could lead to better public policy outcomes. Such processes will challenge many of the assumptions that currently underpin the operation of our public services. Changing the relationships of power between government, citizens and the public sector has the possibility of being truly revolutionary.

It appears the current Federal Government under Ministers Tanner and Ludwig (and former Minister of State John Faulkner) may be the first Government in Australia to seriously address these questions and confront these challenges. It remains to be seen whether a culture of revolutionary change exists or can be founded in the Australian Public Service. Opening up public services will not be achieved by information technologies. As ever they will be enablers. What is ultimately required is a high level determination and conviction – that better public services will be achieved when the public are enabled to be front and centre of the process of service access and delivery.

Simon Edwards, Head of Government Affairs

Prime Minister announces winners of the Next 100

2009-06-17T22:59:58Z

Winners of the Next 100. Tracey Fellows, Managing Director, Microsoft Australia (second from left) with Prime Minister Rudd (fourth from left ).

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday named 10 outstanding young Australians as emerging leaders at a lunch at Parliament House in Canberra.

Mr Rudd spoke of the importance of leadership and presented awards to eight of the 10 winners, selected from 100 outstanding young Australians as part of The Weekend Australian Magazine's Next 100: Emerging Leaders project, supported by Microsoft Australia.

Microsoft Australia Managing Director Tracey Fellows described the winners as "inspirational in what they've been able to do ... at a time of some adversity."

The 10 winners have been profiled in the magazine over the past three months as part of the project, and designed to celebrate the next generation of national leaders.

The following panel was formed to select the winners: Climate Change Minister Penny Wong; Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey; ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb; former Olympics swimming champion, Lisa Forrest; Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Secretary Lisa Paul; demographer Bernard Salt; Australian Industry Group chief Heather Ridout; and cancer researcher and Australian of the Year, Professor Ian Frazer.

Photos of the event can be seen here.

The winners are: Katrina Sedgwick, director of the Adelaide Film Festival; Joe Procter, an indigenous merchant banker and corporate adviser to Aboriginal traditional communities; Alissa Phillips, who has set up her own centre in Brisbane for disabled youth; Professor Tanya Monro , a physicist who heads a photonics centre at Adelaide University; Dr Paul Hodges, who heads a University of Queensland research centre into spinal pain, injury and health; Ralph Ashton, a former merchant banker who now runs the Terrrestrial Carbon Group in New York; Dannielle Miller, the co-founder of Enlighten Education which runs workshops for girls in western Sydney; Dr Roger Lumley, a CSIRO metallurgist researching the use of aluminium in car components; Jason Mifsud, the CEO of the AFL Foundation, who runs programs for young indigenous players; and Professor Julian Savulescu, a philosopher who heads Oxford university's Centre for Practical Ethics.

Technorati Tags: Prime Minister,Kevin Rudd,The Australian,Next 100

The Productivity agenda in challenging times

2009-06-11T07:50:58Z

Microsoft Australia were sponsors of a luncheon organised today by the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce which included a keynote address by the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard on the topic “The Productivity Agenda in Challenging Times”.

The keynote address was followed by a fireside chat moderated by David Speers, Political Editor of Sky News.

Themes covered included the global financial crisis, the impact on Australia, and the skills and productivity required by the workforce in these challenging times.

Microsoft Australia is also working to help more Australians get workforce skills through On My Way.

Technorati Tags: Global financial crisis,Julia Gillard,productivity

The New World Order: the shifting power balance of social media, online campaigning and governing

2009-06-03T03:16:23Z

By 2010, Millennials and Generation Y will outnumber Baby Boomers and 96 percent of this new generation will have joined an online social network.

According to measurement firm Hitwise, Twitter -- one of the newest and most popular social networks -- grew in Australia by over 1,000 percent since the beginning of 2009. It’s annual growth since last April tops 3,200 percent and Twitter is now the 37^th most viewed website in Australia.

With social media site like Twitter taking off at rapid speeds in Australia and across the world, we are on the verge of a “new world order,” a phrase last used by President George H.W. Bush to describe the post Cold War era.

Social media is shifting power away from Government and into the hands of citizens. Communication can no longer take the form of a monologue; rather it must be a less controlled and less organised dialogue. This shift will be a major challenge to political parties and Governments which have a system of central control, and disciplined messaging.

As one communication strategist put it, "A candidate who can master the Internet will not only level the playing field; he will level the opposition."

There are examples across the world of social engagement impacting political action. In April, for example, 10,000 people in Moldova protested recent elections by holding a peaceful protest using Twitter, the blogosphere, the internet, SMS and websites. As a result, the Government initiated a dialogue with the opposition parties to include them, together with international experts, in a commission due to investigate the unrest.

Something similar happened in the war between Georgia and Russia last summer, when it was claimed Russian Internet users bonded together to start and organise their own cyberattacks on Georgian targets.

There is no better example of social networking impacting politics than the recent US Presidential election of Barack Obama. Through the web he was able to attract more than 10 million supporters, volunteers and donors - changing the entire face of campaigning. He is now using the tools that helped propel him in to office to govern. “Organizing for America,” a site that sends messages, emails and updates to members urging their support on a range of Government issues, has become a powerful tool for the President to urge Congress to accept his proposals.

The entire notion of communicating in campaigns and informing stakeholders has changed. The new world order does not allow the conversation to be dictated or controlled. Governments now have the ability to enable, influence or steer issues in a certain direction when new media is used properly.

Despite the progress of social media across the word, the Australian Government’s use of social media tools in governing is still very much in its infancy. However, there are some examples of our leaders moving to embrace these new tools.

Late last year, for example, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE), launched a blog to provide a space for discussion of thoughts and ideas about the digital economy. The blog was open for two weeks from 8 to 24 December 2008 and attracted 1500 comments, most focusing on the Government’s trial of filtering at the ISP (Internet Service provider) level. This was a brave move by the Department and Government to allow visibility into the feedback it was receiving – but it also showed there are still inroads to make in our government’s ability to use social media tools effectively.

At our Politics and Technology Forum which took place in Canberra in February 2009, the Leader of the Opposition was observed to be twittering live at the forum. The Forum became the third ranking conversation in the world on Twitter that day, showing that discussions in Australia can now reach a world stage.

The appeal of social media is clear; it is a place for sharing ideas, information, and values through text, videos and other related files and content.

Social media can also serve as an important vehicle in emergency disaster situations. The recent devastating Victorian bushfires in Australia saw social media sites such as Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook explode, becoming a focal point for victims and their families.

Government agencies in Australia are looking at ways to provide up-to-the-minute information and updates in emergency situations through social media tools, just look at NSW Police Twitter, which is used to issue warnings and seek information from the public after getting the idea from an a bogus NSW Police account.

The time has come for our government not only to embrace this new media, but to be able to use it effectively.

Sassoon Grigorian, Manager, Government Affairs

Technorati Tags: New world order,social media,twitter,governing

Author’s note: This piece was written before the Iranian Presidential election and points raised in this article are relevant to the use of social media both prior and post the Iranian Presidential election particularly by supporters of Opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi. These points were raised at my address at the Lowy Institute’s New Voices Forum this month (June 2009).

Budget Estimates May Shine Light on Economic Strategy

2009-05-25T05:40:00Z

Earlier today (Monday May 25) the Senate began committee investigations into the 2009-2010 Federal Budget.

The Budget Estimates hearings will take place all of this week (including if necessary Friday) and all of next week (again including Friday if necessary).

Senate Estimate hearings are broadcast live over the Internet at www.aph.gov.au/live

The practice of Senate Estimate Committees dates from 1970 when the Senate decided to establish committees to consider the proposed spending estimates put forward by the Government in its Budget. The establishment of the Committees was intended to allow for more detailed and effective scrutiny of proposed appropriations - spending - by the Government.

In 1994 separate Estimate Committees were abolished when it was decided that it would be more efficient for those Senate Committees that scrutinised Government legislation to also examine the appropriations to those departments and agencies that were responsible for the administration of the policies.

You can find out more about the Senate Estimates process in this Senate Brief.

Strangely the Treasury Department, whose estimates are considered by the Senate Economics Committee, will not come before Senators until next week (June 1) while the Department of Finance and Deregulation is before the Finance and Public Administration Committee today. I say 'strangely' as Finance and Treasury are the heart muscles of the Budget and there is a genuine public interest in how the Budget was constructed and what the macro-economic forecasts and projections mean for Australia.

More than any other Budget in recent memory, the basis of the forecasts and projections of economic conditions for Australia will be pivotal to understanding the likelihood of success for the Government's budget strategy.

It is always possible for the big picture to get lost in the minutiae of the Senate Estimates investigations. This year's Budget has a very big picture attached to it - a very definite economic strategy at its core. That strategy deserves and needs to be understood and critiqued.

The Federal Government have quite reasonably taken a decision to follow a policy path built on generating current activity within Australia to sustain and enable a future economic growth phase. That path will require a substantial accumulation of debt and therefore future risk. It is somewhat analogous to pushing all your chips onto Red for one last spin of the roulette wheel. Get it right and the Government will look like heros. Get it wrong and the chorus of voices crying "we told you so" will be deafening.

The Government's economic strategy is of course more layered than a flutter at a casino. The substantial investments in education in particular signal both a philosophical and hard nosed economic decision that identifies the future benefits to society and the economy that flow from a renewed and invigorated learning system for all Australians.

I'll have more to say about that in future blogs. For now I am preparing for the deluge of Senate Estimate Hansards that are coming my way and 'enjoying' hours of the forensic examination of program spending banter between Senators and Government Ministers that typically characterises Senate Estimates.

The devil, they say, is in the detail. I hope this year the devil has at least a vague sense of humour. I suspect we will all need that by June 5.

Simon Edwards, Head of Government Affairs

Increasing concern on piracy

2009-05-12T22:17:15Z

A coalition of industry bodies this month warned the Australian public against the increased temptation to buy counterfeit goods, following a national Newspoll survey revealing almost two thirds (64%) of consumers believe it is ‘much more tempting’ to buy or obtain pirated products in the current economic climate.

The national survey of 700 respondents commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA)*, the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) and the Australian Toy Association found that despite the increase in temptation, 74 per cent agreed that pirated products have a negative impact on the economy.

It has been estimated that a reduction in piracy by 10 per cent over the next four years would generate an additional 3,929 jobs in Australia’s software industry. According to an IDC Piracy Impact Study (2008), the reduction would result in AU$1.9 billion in local industry revenue and AU$4.3 billion in additional GDP.

The majority of people surveyed said that knowledge of the tangible effects of piracy – as well as the personal risk – makes them less likely to buy pirated goods. Eighty percent of respondents revealed that knowing they could support organised crime would make them less likely to buy or obtain a pirated product. A similar proportion (78%), also said that knowing they could be harming Australian businesses and jobs would make them less likely to support piracy.

Other key findings of the survey included:

More than two thirds (73%) said knowing they could incur a fine or conviction would make them less likely to buy counterfeit goods.

Eight in 10 (78%) said knowing the product is of inferior quality would make them less likely to obtain a pirated product.

Those aged 18-34 years (73%) were significantly more likely to agree that it is much more tempting to buy pirated goods, than those aged 50 years and over (53%).

78 per cent of females and 68 per cent of males said that knowing you could be fined or receive a conviction would make them less likely to buy or obtain a pirated product.

Survey conducted by Newspoll, April 2009.
*Microsoft is a member of BSA

Technorati Tags: piracy,BSA,Newspoll,IEAA

Obama, Rudd, Politics and the Web

2009-05-02T14:19:08Z

"Oh what a tangled web we weave,
when we first practice to deceive!."

I only ever knew this quote as one of my father's 'words of wisdom'. I have since learnt that it is credited to the great Scottish author and novelist Sir Walter Scott.

While the quote expresses a due caution to all it is also an appropriate starting point to reflect upon the role of technology in modern politics and government. It captures the inherent challenge to humans of all new technological innovations. That is, how and to what purpose should we use technology?

While some may want to claim that the Internet 'won' Barrack Obama the Presidency of the United States last November, I am somewhat more circumspect in ascribing to it that much significance.

Information technologies are enabling tools.In the case of candidate Obama the Web enabled him and his campaign team to engage, enthuse and embrace an electorate determined for change, hungry for a new generation of ideas and open to the forceful aspiration put to them by a talented, charismatic and non-threatening leader.

They offered America a 'way' of government in the Lincoln tradition - of the people, by the people and for the people - to be delivered in some measure through the medium of the Internet.

Now after just more than 100 days in the White House comes the news that the administration has launched its Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages. On the White House blog under a posting entitled "WhiteHouse 2.0", the Administration has announced steps to expand how it is communicating with the public.

You can find out more about what this move might mean to public participation in government on Joe Trippi's blog and see why techPresident views this move as "a big step towards recreating the ubiquitous Internet presence" of Barrack Obama.

The 2007 Federal election demonstrated to many what the future of Australia's political campaigns might look like. The rawness of Labor's Internet campaign deserved the credit it received - particularly when contrasted to the inadequate effort of their opponents.

Fast forward just 18 months and Australia's political parties are both acutely aware of the potential benefits of engaging citizens through web technologies. At the Microsoft Politics and Technology Forum earlier this year Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull and Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner both clearly articulated the challenges of engagement with citizens through Web 2.0 technologies.

Across the globe the Web is being embraced as a tool to engage people in their democracies. Beyond a conversation or consultation, the Web offers the realistic prospect that government can again work with and for citizens, not the other way around.

In Australia we must guard against the potential to be wonderstruck by multi-media conglomerations and tech-heavy applications that are little more than a passing picture show designed to entertain. Cheap but colourful impersonations of the work of others will both demean our national aspiration and underestimate the capacity of the Australian software industry.

It is to be hoped that before the next 'Kevin 07' site is launched the Government will have embraced the importance and significance of the Web as a tool for governing and will have demonstrated a commitment to bi-partisanship in an open and transparent process of governing that utilises all the potential of the human resources of this nation.

What comes next to the Web will tell us a lot about the type of democracy Australia really has and what of its future. If the tools of the Web are used as no more than extensions of current mediums of communication then the Web will be a wasted platform. If on the other hand the Web is used to connect, collaborate and engage all Australians in the processes of government then our only deception will be if we fail to see how technology enables us to change our lives, the nation and the world.

Simon Edwards, Head of Government Affairs

Privacy Awareness

2009-04-27T05:32:43Z

Peter Cullen, Chief Privacy Strategist, Microsoft and Karen Curtis, Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner at the 2008 Privacy Awards

Microsoft Australia is a proud supporter of this year’s Privacy Awareness Week (3-9 May), organised by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Privacy Awareness Week is undertaken by several countries globally including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, and New Zealand. Privacy Awareness Week is an opportunity to promote privacy and enhancing privacy compliance. The week will also include the launch of the 2009 Australian Privacy Awards and Medal programs.

Technorati Tags: privacy,Karen Curtis,Peter Cullen

Social media, the Internet, Crikey!

2009-04-27T02:28:18Z

Information technology futurist, media personality, inventor and author Mark Pesce and Crikey columnist Stilgherrian discuss social networking and the cultural changes we can anticipate being unleashed by the Internet in 2020.

This three part video considers many of the most profound questions for the technology and media industries including the sociological impacts of social networks on moral judgement and the impact of technology on commercial establishment.

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