The 7th element of swarming is Multiplication. To have an outsized impact on a region and to have any chance of achieving its goals (given that most swarmish networks operate close to, or at, “free”), a swarm must be able to scale toward its vision or problem solution: this can only be done through the idea [...]

Digital inspiration writes about a new service called “TinyLetter” which might be useful to missionaries. It appears to compete with Constant Contact, MailChimp, etc. This one looks far simpler, however—just a simple interface for entering your letter and for emailing subscribers. Interestingly, it allows you to require a subscription (e.g. $5) collected via Paypal. I [...]

On Islam and the West and cross-cultural crossing/clash/shock: Many Afghans Haven’t Heard of 9/11: the majority of adults are illiterate and news is spread largely by word of mouth. Many have no idea of why the US is in Afghanistan. Can a Muslim sitcom from Canada prove popular elsewhere? Looks at the Canadian sitcom, “Little [...]

Here are some particularly frightening articles on the subject of surveillance and cybercrime: Half the world’s PCs use pirated software: much of this piracy is in the majority world. Many of these computers are infested with trojans, malware, keyloggers and the like. How an Omniscient Internet ‘Sextortionist’ Ruined the Lives of Teen Girls: this horrifying [...]

Here’s an illustration of how a methodology can limit the growth of Christianity. Singapore has a population of 5 million living in 275 square miles. Let’s say you strategized to have a church building in every square mile to cover every individual. You would need some 270 buildings—each attended by 19,000 people. Rick Warren’s Saddleback [...]

Kevin Kelly, “The Futurist’s Dilemma,” kk.org. (Check out the great Arthur C. Clarke video.) Is Kelly looks briefly at the challenge of the futurist: that he will make plausible predictions further out, which may turn out to be right, but are so fantastic that they will be dismissed out of hand; or, he will make [...]

“Doing Missions Like It’s 1930?” Gary Corwin, EMQ 2009 (EMQ subscription required to view, sorry) . While updating my bibliography I ran across this particular article. In it, Corwin makes three suggestions of what might happen in the near future: 1) agency economic survival will depend upon a somewhat different criteria mix than it has [...]

Millionaire households make up less than a tenth of the world, and control nearly a third of its wealth. Global millionaire households: 12.5 million Top locations of millionaire households: US, 5.2m; Japan, 1.5m; China, 1.1m; the UK, 0.5m. Most densely rich nation: Singapore (15.5% of households are millionaires) Millionaire households, % of the world’s population: [...]

Ars Technica writes: 28% of US smartphone owners use them as primary ‘Net connection. Interesting: in the choice between (a) large window, powerful processor and (b) small window, enough-processor, always-with-us, at least a quarter of the US seems to be choosing the always-on-if-smaller connection. This content is only available to members of JustinLong.org. Subscribe now [...]

We can all celebrate the new freedom for South Sudan. It’s a great thing–for them. The way forward will be difficult and perhaps tense at times, but at least they will have a chance. However, the downside of this is: the majority of those opposed to the policies of the north have now left. This [...]