Living in interesting times
p2pnet news view | P2P:- There’s an ancient chinese proverb which states “May you live in interesting times“.
Although there’s quite a bit of controversy as to whether this particular proverb is of ancient Chinese origin, the peculiar mix of enthusiasm and dismay it talks about should be familiar to just about anyone today. We most definitely DO live in “interesting times”.
The Internet (and the wider “digital age” of which it is merely one aspect) is definitely one of the most “interesting” aspects of our contemporary cultural landscape. With its relatively low barriers to entry and inherently decentralized design principles, the Net has rapidly evolved beyond a mere “Information technology” like television or newspapers, and is having a genuinely radical effect on nearly every aspect of our lives.
At the most superficial level, when people think of the Net they think Email — electronic mail — that inestimably handy little advance that allows the grandkids to stay in touch with Grandma and Grandpa, lets us bombard one another with bad jokes, and never fails to keep us up-to-date on the latest herbal “enhancement” products and psychic readings. 
At the same time, the “World Wide Web” has grown from a purely academic tool developed by Tim Berners Lee, into THE preferred communications-channel for content of all kinds.
Predictably, these developments haven’t all been smooth sailing: to put it bluntly, they’ve caused a hell of a dust-up, and show no signs of quieting down anytime soon, and I therefore plan to periodically present items here highlighting stuff I personally find to be really interesting, socially relevant, or just plain weird.
I hope you find at least some of it useful.
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As I said, the Internet represents a genuinely revolutionary shift both in the technology of how media is delivered, and in the ways in which we interact with those media.
As Marshall McCluhan put it, The Medium is the Message, and probably the single most fundamental “message” of the new media paradigm is: participation.
The last stage in communications history — television — was (and is) widely criticized as being a relatively “passive” activity which has given rise to the notion of the “Couch Potato“:
In contrast, the Net (and the BBS scene which preceeded it) not only ALLOW participation, but actually ENCOURAGE it by means of discussion boards, chat-rooms, email-lists, Usenet Newsgroups, blogs, podcasting and the explosive proliferation of video-sharing sites have unleashed torrents (pun intended) of new communications channels, which have in = turn empowered like-minded individuals to create “self-organizing structures” — ad-hoc social networks of all kinds, centering around anything and everything imaginable.
Even something as seemingly mundane as the “comment” section on Youtube creates a “two-way” interplay between “producers” and “consumers” which has probably never actually existed before. Some — like Lars Ulrich of Metallica fame – seem to be arriving “late to the party”
But, be that as it may, the undeniable fact is that they HAVE arrived. In fact, even the Mainstream (”lamescream”?) as the case may be!) is beginning to figure out that something really “big” is happening:
But it doesn’t stop there by any means.
One of the biggest indicators of just how genuinely revolutionary Web 2.0 and similar innovations are, is the tremendous buzz (and controversy) surrounding Texas Republican Senator Ron Paul.
No matter WHAT you may think of his politics (Personally, I’m somewhat sympathetic, but have serious reservations about some of it), the fact remains the Ron Paul “Revolution” was able to create — and sustain — an impressive “base” for Dr. Paul despite a relatively lackluster support from traditional media. In fact, the “blitz” shows no signs of dying down:
Now, admittedly, some aspects of what I like to call Culture 2.0 are kinda silly: some of them are, frankly, disturbing, and things which those in Power probably don’t want us to know; some of this participation resembles more traditional forms of political activism; and, some of it has more in common with long-standing traditions of civil disobedience.
In any case, and whichever side you’re on, the Net and related technological issues are fast becoming THE primary “battleground” upon which the future course of our culture will take shape — is taking shape now.
Anyway, that’s all for now. But before I go, I’d like to mention something Emma Goldman — political activist and agitator of another age — said, because I think the viewpoint is really important if we don’t want everything we do to dissolve into pointless flame-wars, troll-smashing, or needless destruction for the lulz:
“I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it. ‘I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.’ Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world — prisons, persecution, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal.”
(As a sort of post-script to the above, I’ve recently discovered that web 2.0 has even provided us all with the PERFECT dumping-ground for all those negative vibes.
Have a great day, Y’all, and —- Go there! Have fun! Break stuff! That’s what it’s THERE for
Peace out ……..
Henry Emrich - p2pnet
[Emrich says he's, "just some guy," sometime musician, wannabe writer, sporadic blogger. He and his wife live in Pennsylvania with two cats, and, "entirely too many record albums".]
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September 17th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Just remember, when you break it, know how you did it so that you can get it fixed.