The Next Paradigm Shift in the Mobile Ecosystem: Mobile Social Computing and the Increasing Relevance of Users

Social computing has become the paradigm for the increasingly relevant role of users in the Internet world. In this paper, it is argued that mobile social computing will eventually cause an even bigger impact in the mobile ecosystem. We are already at the beginning of the "transference" of a significant part of Internet social computing usage to the mobile domain, where users are no longer passive consumers of content andapplications, but co-creators and even innovators of them. However, mobile social computing will go one step further in the contribution to the development of the mobile ecosystem, since it will put the many situations of users' daily activities at the centre stage. To prove this case, this paper gathers available data and evidence on the patterns of mobile social computing usage and discusses user innovation and user empowerment in the framework of the current mobile ecosystem.Mobile social computing, user innovation, mobile ecosystem.

Voice and e-quality: The state of electronic democracy in Britain.

This dissertation is broadly concerned with the issue of electronic democracy, i.e. whether, under what conditions and how does the Internet strengthen democracy in advanced industrial polities. Specifically, this work applies the theory of participation to recent British data on online political engagement in order to understand: whether and how the Internet modifies the existing structure of political inequality; whether and how the Internet alters the context of traditional political action; whether the Internet holds a democratising potential and what is its nature. Data collected and analysed include a survey of British citizens' online political behaviour, and three smaller, in-depth surveys of citizens' online political activities within limited settings: a national online consultation forum, routine politics by young party activists and charity work by an elderly activist network. More generally, the dissertation contributes towards clarifying the ongoing debate on electronic democracy, by examining the discourse surrounding the evolution of the issue. It reviews a large portion of the existing literature on online political engagement, organised in three main approaches. It presents and analyses seminal data on British online political engagement to assess the state of electronic democracy in Britain. Importantly, it advances a theoretical framework for the understanding of the 'real' digital divide, drawing on the theory of participation. The theory is an ideal explanatory base from which to depart in order to find the factors shaping the structure of online political opportunities and the way in which preferences are voiced, and heard, through the Internet. This dissertation speaks directly to the electronic democracy debate by setting the agenda on the notion of democratic equality and by focusing on the structure of voice in the information polity

Overview of the project. Sector analysis: Search market.

Which is the economic value of personal information? -How the exchange of information is benefiting society and the economy -How companies create value from personal information (by providing new services or servicing better an existing need). -The mechanisms by which personal information exchange creates economic value - How the level of privacy protection influences value creation in different market

The State of the Electronic Identity Market: Technologies, Infrastructure, Services and Policies

Authenticating onto systems, connecting to mobile networks and providing identity data to access services is common ground for most EU citizens, however what is disruptive is that digital technologies fundamentally alter and upset the ways identity is managed, by people, companies and governments. Technological progress in cryptography, identity systems design, smart card design and mobile phone authentication have been developed as a convenient and reliable answer to the need for authentication. Yet, these advances ar enot sufficient to satisfy the needs across people's many spheres of activity: work, leisure, health, social activities nor have they been used to enable cross-border service implementation in the Single Digital Market, or to ensure trust in cross border eCommerce. The study findings assert that the potentially great added value of eID technologies in enabling the Digital Economy has not yet been fulfilled, and fresh efforts are needed to build identification and authentication systems that people can live with, trust and use. The study finds that usability, minimum disclosure and portability, essential features of future systems, are at the margin of the market and cross-country, cross-sector eID systems for business and public service are only in their infancy. This report joins up the dots, and provides significant exploratory evidence of the potential of eID for the Single Digital Market. A clear understanding of this market is crucial for policy action on identification and authentication, eSignature and interoperability.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

Understanding the Economics of Electronic Identity: Theoretical Approaches and Case Studies

This paper discusses the economics of electronic identity (eIdentity) from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Personal identity data are becoming increasingly important in online transactions, and they have never been monetised to the extent they are today. Consequently, there is a need for an improved understanding of the economic externalities resulting from the electronic use of identities in transactions. In this context, we distinguish four main theoretical approaches for understanding economics of identity: identity as a consumption good, identity as a capital asset, identity as a social good, and identity as a cost. We analyse each of these approaches in terms of their benefits to understanding economics of identity, their drawbacks, and the bearer of the cost of identity provision. After the theoretical part, we go on to discuss three case studies, BBS, eBay and IdenTrust, and apply an appropriate concept of economics of identity to analyse each business case. Finally, we conclude the paper by discussing the implications that each of the different concepts of economics of identity has for policymakers.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

Pan-European Survey of Practices, Attitudes and Policy Preferences as regards Personal Identity Data Management

This Report presents the results of the largest survey ever conducted in Europe and elsewhere about people's behaviours, attitudes and regulatory preferences concerning data protection, privacy and electronic identity, both on the Internet and otherwise in their daily lives. It finds that personal data disclosure is increasingly prevalent in the European society, largely due to the expansion of the Information Society. In turn, most services provided in the digital economy rest on the assumption that this data and associated electronic identities are collected used and disposed of according to existing legislation. The survey shows very clearly how Digital Europe is shaping up. About two thirds of EU27 citizens use the Internet frequently, more than one third uses Social Networking Sites (SNS) to keep in touch with friends and business partners and almost 4 out of 10 shop online. In both of these contexts, people disclose vast amounts of personal information, and also manage a large and growing number of electronic identities. However, there are equally significant differences among Member States and considerable digital exclusion, mainly due to socio-demographic differences in affluence, education and age. These are some of the insights of the Eurobarometer Survey on Data Protection and Electronic Identity conducted in December 2010. The results were published in June 2011. The report builds on the top line results presented in the EB-359 report and analyses in depth the information collected so as to draw conclusions in direct relation to four key Digital Agenda areas: e-Commerce, Social Networking Sites, Authentication and Identification and Medical Information as Personal Data.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

The Impact of Social Computing on the EU Information Society and Economy

This report provides a systematic empirical assessment of the creation, use and adoption of specific social computing applications and its impact on ICT/media industries, personal identity, social inclusion, education and training, healthcare and public health, and government services and public governance.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

A second order medium? the Internet as a source of electoral information in 25 European countries

The article is available at http://www.esri.salford.ac.uk/ESRCResearchproject/papers/lusoli_2005_ip.pdf. This article is not available through ChesterRep.This article discusses use of the internet by EU nationals in gathering electoral information relating to the 2004 European Parliamentary elections