6 ms·

The Revolution will not be on Youtube

54 points by raganwald 15y ago

mooism2 15y ago
The link to mocrosoft.com was a typo?
- raganwald 15y ago
  Good catch, that was unnoticed in nearly five years!
  - mooism2 15y ago
    I didn't realise the post was so old :-\ I take it the video on YouTube hadn't been taken down when you first posted it? Edit: Or it had, and that was the point?
raganwald 15y ago
RIP Gil Scott-Heron, an artist and social hacker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Scott-Heron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Scott-Heron
- borism 15y ago
  indeed "who'll pay reparations on my code?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4CChz4DjQE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4CChz4DjQE
  - samtp 15y ago
    and don't forget the obvious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS3QOtbW4m0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS3QOtbW4m0
  - rubashov 15y ago
    This pretty well captures Gil Scott Heron's attitude toward technologists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtBy_ppG4hY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtBy_ppG4hY Heron hates white people.
    - erikpukinskis 15y ago
      Nothing in that piece suggests to me that he hates white people. He hates the fact that rich people use their power to get the government to spend all it's money on "rich people problems", like landing people on the moon, while letting the poor fend for themselves. I think technology can be used for good and for masturbation.
      - raganwald 15y ago
        I won't say anything about Gil's personal beliefs, but I will note that his music and poetry often contained a lot of anger.
jakevoytko 15y ago
It's interesting that the opposite happened in the past 5 years. The Revolution IS on YouTube. It is live-Tweeted, live-blogged, and live-streamed. It gets information past oppressive regimes, authors past publishers, and knowledge past editors. The Internet sped up The Revolution, and that's why Sazorsky wants to slow it down. It's also interesting that there has been no Revolution. Politics are just as divisive and ill-informed as ever, and the division is live-Tweeted, live-blogged, and live-streamed. Disinformation keeps the same politicians in power, the same industries on life support, and the truth down. The Internet slowed down the Revolution, and that's why nobody needs to spend time controlling it.
- Create 15y ago
  here is your invite to come down the rabbit hole... http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/05/all_watched_over_by_machines_o.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/05/all_watched_ov...
- raganwald 15y ago
  Very interesting indeed. When I snarfed this from Gil, I wasn't thinking of social revolutions, I was responding to DMCA takedowns of hacking information, much like the recent Sony/Geohot situation.
- samtp 15y ago
  I don't think the internet has had nearly as much influence on everyday events as we give it. Most tweets, videos, and blogs are for the benefit of people watching in. The only benefit to people involved in the action is increased PR. But most of the situations are left untouched by the outside world despite the PR. And outside help will only come for greater political/business reasons. Social media is great, but don't let the rhetoric get out of control.
  - wahnfrieden 15y ago
    It can even have a detrimental effect, as people who tweet or blog about something can psychologically feel they've done enough good work, instead of being compelled to take "real" action.
SoftwareMaven 15y ago
Title should have the date (2006). The real question is, did the revolution happen on YouTube (or Facebook or twitter)? There is some evidence that it has helped, but, in the end, the revolution can only happen in the streets.
- zalew 15y ago
  a talk with a geek from egypt who built the app making it possible to communicate with internet shut down http://thisdeveloperslife.com/post/1-1-5-revolt http://thisdeveloperslife.com/post/1-1-5-revolt > the revolution can only happen in the streets. period
Tichy 15y ago
I think that is most likely completely wrong. While the kids are raging in the streets, the real revolution will happen silently on the networks. Computers are changing the way we live and behave. What could be more revolutionary?
- raganwald 15y ago
  At the time I wrote that, my thought was that the revolution would happen on the Internet, but it wouldn't happen on some giant, corporate-owned social application, but would happen on something smaller and more decentralized. I was especially thinking of the way companies like Sony surpress information withDMCA takedowns and lawsuits, rather than actual revolutions. As far as actual revolutions are concerned, it did take place on Facebook and Youtube. But also on Twitter!

54 points by raganwald 15y ago

mooism2 15y ago

The link to mocrosoft.com was a typo?

raganwald 15y ago
Good catch, that was unnoticed in nearly five years!
- mooism2 15y ago
  I didn't realise the post was so old :-\ I take it the video on YouTube hadn't been taken down when you first posted it? Edit: Or it had, and that was the point?

raganwald 15y ago

RIP Gil Scott-Heron, an artist and social hacker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Scott-Heron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Scott-Heron

borism 15y ago
indeed "who'll pay reparations on my code?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4CChz4DjQE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4CChz4DjQE
- samtp 15y ago
  and don't forget the obvious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS3QOtbW4m0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS3QOtbW4m0
- rubashov 15y ago
  This pretty well captures Gil Scott Heron's attitude toward technologists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtBy_ppG4hY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtBy_ppG4hY Heron hates white people.
  - erikpukinskis 15y ago
    Nothing in that piece suggests to me that he hates white people. He hates the fact that rich people use their power to get the government to spend all it's money on "rich people problems", like landing people on the moon, while letting the poor fend for themselves. I think technology can be used for good and for masturbation.
    - raganwald 15y ago
      I won't say anything about Gil's personal beliefs, but I will note that his music and poetry often contained a lot of anger.

jakevoytko 15y ago

It's interesting that the opposite happened in the past 5 years. The Revolution IS on YouTube. It is live-Tweeted, live-blogged, and live-streamed. It gets information past oppressive regimes, authors past publishers, and knowledge past editors. The Internet sped up The Revolution, and that's why Sazorsky wants to slow it down. It's also interesting that there has been no Revolution. Politics are just as divisive and ill-informed as ever, and the division is live-Tweeted, live-blogged, and live-streamed. Disinformation keeps the same politicians in power, the same industries on life support, and the truth down. The Internet slowed down the Revolution, and that's why nobody needs to spend time controlling it.

Create 15y ago
here is your invite to come down the rabbit hole... http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/05/all_watched_over_by_machines_o.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/05/all_watched_ov...
raganwald 15y ago
Very interesting indeed. When I snarfed this from Gil, I wasn't thinking of social revolutions, I was responding to DMCA takedowns of hacking information, much like the recent Sony/Geohot situation.
samtp 15y ago
I don't think the internet has had nearly as much influence on everyday events as we give it. Most tweets, videos, and blogs are for the benefit of people watching in. The only benefit to people involved in the action is increased PR. But most of the situations are left untouched by the outside world despite the PR. And outside help will only come for greater political/business reasons. Social media is great, but don't let the rhetoric get out of control.
- wahnfrieden 15y ago
  It can even have a detrimental effect, as people who tweet or blog about something can psychologically feel they've done enough good work, instead of being compelled to take "real" action.

SoftwareMaven 15y ago

Title should have the date (2006). The real question is, did the revolution happen on YouTube (or Facebook or twitter)? There is some evidence that it has helped, but, in the end, the revolution can only happen in the streets.

zalew 15y ago
a talk with a geek from egypt who built the app making it possible to communicate with internet shut down http://thisdeveloperslife.com/post/1-1-5-revolt http://thisdeveloperslife.com/post/1-1-5-revolt > the revolution can only happen in the streets. period

Tichy 15y ago

I think that is most likely completely wrong. While the kids are raging in the streets, the real revolution will happen silently on the networks. Computers are changing the way we live and behave. What could be more revolutionary?

raganwald 15y ago
At the time I wrote that, my thought was that the revolution would happen on the Internet, but it wouldn't happen on some giant, corporate-owned social application, but would happen on something smaller and more decentralized. I was especially thinking of the way companies like Sony surpress information withDMCA takedowns and lawsuits, rather than actual revolutions. As far as actual revolutions are concerned, it did take place on Facebook and Youtube. But also on Twitter!