> Myspace is a favela. You've ever been to a Brazilian favela? It basically, politically, represents the structure of Myspace. You've got this remote, distant,

> Myspace is a favela. You've ever been to a Brazilian favela? It basically, politically, represents the structure of Myspace. You've got this remote, distant, old-school Brazilian tyrant. Anti-democratic, wicked mogul, pays no attention to you, supposedly owns the whole show, but the whole shebang is going south in a hurry. It's been out-competed by some other economy, there's nothing happening there. You have no civil rights in Myspace. You can't go anywhere in Myspace, you can't organize in Myspace, you can't make money in Myspace. You can have a hut in Myspace. And you live in the hut until they pull the plug. That's a favela. It's made of instructables. A favela is an emergent structure, it's made out of corrugated tin and breeze blocks. Every slogan you have here, practically every slogan fits perfectly in a favela. "Action is cheaper than control." That's a favela slogan. It's cheaper to just build the hut and move into it than it is to try to sue you to leave, or get anything done. "Just fucking do it." That's a favela slogan. "So fix it." That's a favela slogan. "Always in beta." Of course a favela is always in beta. You can't insure it, you can't get title to it, you can't raise kids in it. There's no inspection of the water, the heating, the electricity. It's a slum! You built it yourself, with play-labor, but politically it's a slum. — Bruce Sterling, 2009