Iranian Protests Showcase Twitter, Facebook, YouTube (and Cloud Computing) !

Second Government Cloud Computing Survey

By G C Network | April 1, 2009

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of presenting at the Sys-con International Cloud Computing Expo in New York City. My presentation, The View from Government Cloud Computing Customers, reviewed…

Navy NGEN and Cloud Computing

By G C Network | April 1, 2009

I spent half of today in downtown DC at the Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) Industry Day.  In case you’re not familiar with NGEN, this project will be the follow-on…

An Ontology for Tactical Cloud Computing

By G C Network | March 25, 2009

This week I’ve had the pleasure of presenting at two fairly unique conferences. On Tuesday I was in San Diego at the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Workshop. SISO is…

Federal Cloud Computing Roadmap

By G C Network | March 24, 2009

ServerVault, a long time provider of IT hosting services to the Federal government, has been discussing cloud computing quite a bit with their current (and future) customers.  The repetitive nature…

Booz Allen Hamilton Lays Out Path To Cloud

By G C Network | March 23, 2009

Now that cloud computing is seen as a viable technology for the government marketplace, management consulting leader Booz Allen Hamilton is now providing cloud transition guidance. In his article “Cloud…

Is Sun Rising or Setting?

By G C Network | March 19, 2009

Today was strange. First Sun announces it’s open cloud computing platform. Sun Unveils Open Cloud Computing Platform “Sun on Wednesday announced plans to offer its own Open Cloud Platform, starting…

A Conversation with Emil Sayegh, Mosso General Manager

By G C Network | March 16, 2009

Last week, Mosso announced their new “Cloud Server” and “Cloud Sites” offerings. They also exited “Cloud Files” from beta, positioning themselves as a challenger to Amazon. With this as a…

Playing the Cloud Computing Wargame

By G C Network | March 12, 2009

Today at FOSE I tried my hand at balancing traditional IT, hybrid cloud offerings and commercial cloud offerings on a craps table. Just to set the scene, the Booz Allen…

Vivek Kundra Nominated for Federal CIO

By G C Network | March 10, 2009

Mr. Kundra’s quote from the Wall Street Journal says it all: “I’m a big believer in disruptive technology. If I went to the coffee shop, I would have more computing…

7th SOA for E-Government Conference

By G C Network | March 5, 2009

On April 28, 2009, Mitre will be holding its biannual SOA for E-Government Conference. This conference is one of the region’s premier opportunity for federal managers and MITRE Subject Matter…

In covering unfolding events in Iran, the world’s most powerful news outlets have been entirely dependent on the Twitter-provided flow of text, images, and video. While this has definitely showcased the power of Twitter, Facebook and You Tube as an information channel, it also prompted me to re-read some of my September 2008 blog posts:

9/9/08 The Cloud Wins in Minneapolis at the RNC!

  • Little did I know that while I was watching the Republicans cheer their standard bearer inside the Xcel Energy Center that the cloud infrastructure was outside defeating the forces of civil obedience!
  • From “The revolution will be Twittered“: “A free and public social-media website called Twitter, which publishes brief messages sent in from cell phones and computers, was a game-changer for protesters, organizers, and journalists covering the event. ….What developed was an ad hoc information system that provided a vast amount of first-hand accounts, insight and the opportunity for rumors and misinformation.”
  • This wouldn’t be possible without wireless connectivity, a virtualized IT infrastructure and open source application technology. In short, it wouldn’t be possible without the underlying cloud computing technologies.

9/10/08 Ambient Awareness. The cloud killer app?

  • In the September 5th New York Times article, “Brave New World of Digital Intimacy“, Clive Thompson really got me thinking about how cloud computing, social networking sites like Facebook and adhoc information networking tools like Twitter are combining to mold our future social interactions.
  • This social transformation may also provide new tools to address situational awareness requirements within the national security community.While a Twitter stream of consciousness may, on the surface, seem useless, the paradox of ambient awareness may make such technologies incredibly useful.

9/23/08 Google, GeoEye, Twitter. What a Combination!

  • According to their press release, GeoEye-1 will be able to collect images with a ground resolution of 0.41-meters or 16 inches in the panchromatic, or black-and-white mode, and collect multi spectral, or color imagery, at 1.65-meter resolution. (Under current government rules, the company can only offer the public half-meter images.)…
  • All you need now is some real-time queuing from a Twitter-powered ad-hoc information network and you really got something going.

Follow me on https://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson

Follow me at https://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson

G C Network