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I think it politicizes the early internet too much to call it a revolution in the political sense. The early internet was a place of experimentation with new co
by DCKing 8y ago
I think it politicizes the early internet too much to call it a revolution in the political sense. The early internet was a place of experimentation with new communication, but I think it goes way too far to call it a 'movement'.
By its nature it attracted a bunch of people with particular political persuasions. But it wasn't only people of those persuasions, and neither was the entire thing an instrument for those people and their persuasions. Technology allowed for newer and richer forms of communication, and things just happened from there. And this is where we are now, sadly.
- clarkmoody 8y agoNot political, no. A technological revolution, in the disruptive sense. We can look to other disruptive technologies over time to see how the entrenched / favored industries handled the change. The story is mostly the same, but the players are different. The mercatilist impulse is to freeze economics to ensure current levels of profit via state fiat. Even companies that start out revolutionary/scrappy/innovative become conservative after they acquire large market share. It's more important to maintain profit levels, quarterly earnings, and share price than it is to make a risky attempt at another disruptive innovation. Unfortunately, that impulse too often leads them to lobby the legislature or crown.
- noir_lord 8y agoTechnological change and disruptions seem to be accelerating I wonder if we'll get to the point where the large entrenched interests simply can't keep up. It takes time to buy politicians (at least until PaaS - Politician as a Service becomes a thing).