Thursday 27 January 2011

The new power. Internet.


If the following assumptions are true, a new power has stood up. And not a feeble one. It can cause revolutions. It's democratic from the base. It uses the latest technology, wired and wireless, and connects almost instantly around the world. It can move from one place to another in a few minutes.


It's potentially dangerous, when controlled by the wrong people. Following an extract from an article:

 It's been a month since protests erupted in Tunisia. President Zine El Abidine has fled, the government's collapsed and clashes between protesters and police are sweeping the country. Of course, the requisite cries of "Twitter revolution!" are sweeping the blogosphere.
  • There is certainly a lot of Twitter chatter about the protests, under the hashtag #sidibouzid, and it's been a valuable source of information for Tunisians, who live in a country with highly oppressive government censorship.

  • Added to this is new speculation that maybe Wikileaks caused the revolution, too? Some protestors have cited a Wikileaks cable that featured criticism of Tunisia's corrupt leadership.

  • Or maybe it was the loose-knit hacking collective Anonymous? They attacked Tunisia's government in retaliation for censoring said Wikileaks cable.

  • Don't forget about rappers who make viral videos and bloggers. The government arrested a bunch of them in retaliation for Anonymous' retaliation.

  • Then again, it could be a big moment social bookmarking site Posterous. The blogging collective Nawaat has been frenetically updating their Posterous with excellent videos and images of the protests.

  • Nobody's citing Foursquare yet, but it's only a matter of time before some journalist finds a few protestors checking into a riot.
Can the world handle this power? It's extremely distributed, anonymous, and so easily infiltrated. It makes a huge call on the common sense of ordinary people. Governments don't like it, so most certainly a kind of cyber control attempt will take place in the next months or years.                

These are exciting times. I hope common sense does prevail.


     

26 comments:

  1. I'll tell you what Uncle ben told peter parker "with great power comes great responsibility" We're gonna abuse it :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree. And is there a limit to such a power?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Following and supporting

    http://jomak412.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. the internetz is serious business

    ectomorphmuscle.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the internet, it's allowing for more transparency and less secrecy around the world. Which is a good thing, in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  6. haha, damn I was going to type something similar to Jordan's comment ^^^

    ReplyDelete
  7. real good article. inet is deff a super power

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the internet because you can research the truth. I'll abandon the internet if the government regulates control over it lol.

    ReplyDelete
  9. but remember

    with great power comes great responsibility

    ReplyDelete
  10. dude the foursquare thing already happened in San Fran after the Giants won the world series. People were checking into riots lol

    ReplyDelete
  11. I heard they shut down access to twitter in Egypt to stop groups organizing ahead of Friday prayers... more of this type of things to come I think.

    Now following - great post

    ReplyDelete
  12. The power of the interwebs in the palm of my hand.

    Supporting as always.

    http://autotunedsoul.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. The internet is a way to connect with anyone about anything!

    http://ggc151.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Favors absolute dictatorships over half-assed ones.
    E.g. Egypt may end up with an Islamofascist state where nobody gets to twitter.
    E.g. Assange undermines the US while avoiding more dangerous targets. (The original mission of wikileaks.)

    ReplyDelete
  15. The internet is a never ending sea of anything and everything.

    Sincerely,
    http://bulkingjobra.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. I think twitter should be shut down. It's not so much that I have a problem with the concept, but I just hate the word "Twitter" with such a passion. When someone says the word in my presence, I want to tell them to fuck off.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I suppose we will see. Australia has already taken actions to regulating internet usage, so it wouldn't shock me to see more of the same.

    ReplyDelete
  18. teh interbutts certainly can be a good or bad thing but
    those protesting make the decision on their own
    and i say good on them.

    ReplyDelete
  19. we have to protect our freedom of information.

    ReplyDelete