The author focuses on the political dimension of seemingly technical proposals, the relationship between information and power, and the transformative role of u

The author focuses on the political dimension of seemingly technical proposals, the relationship between information and power, and the transformative role of users of computer technology One of the things that programmers who are also business people need to keep in mind, is that information technology is often a tool of power or regulation. Power is limited by information/knowledge. You cannot exercise power over something that you know nothing about. If your knowledge of something is incomplete, then your power over it is also incomplete. (It is also easy to see this in RTS games, where the mechanic is called the "Fog of War.") This principle is also readily apparent in social media. Information technology was used to disperse power and put it into many hands, with widespread results in current day society. Information technology can also be used to aggregate power into fewer hands. Many forms of social media are an example of both dispersal and aggregation at the same time. Startups accomplish goals by aggregating power. Creating new markets and ecosystems is both the aggregation and dispersal of power. Exercising your right of association in such a situation is the exercise of power. It is very important, therefore, to remember that 1) power corrupts, especially arbitrary power absent oversight and therefore 2) power is best exercised transparently.