3 thoughts on “The Virtual Revolution: Ep.3 – The Cost of Free”
There is no free lunch, really. The instant serves of highly targeted ads on my FB or Gmail pages don’t bother me very much, and as long as I keep deleting my caches and cookies I am not indirectly, unknowingly lining somebody’s wallet (ie affiliate marketing). And if I really want to entertain the rebellious streak in me, I might even click through some ads to upset the advertisers’ Pay-Per-Click campaigns but I am most of the time a nice gal. :D I am even getting comfortable with being found online by way of search, or publicise my inner-most thoughts in some cases. I think this is the reality of the digital era, we accept it with vigilance.
What really worries me is the infringement of privacy in a much larger scale, eg. the notion of one day in the near future, our medical records would be easily accessible…indexed by Google, of course. By way of extension, our DNAs. Google had, in the early days, pledged ‘Do No Evil’ but it’s interesting how that value has somewhat shifted. And here we are looking at a much bigger can of worms, ethical or otherwise.
Yes, it’s true about the reality of the digital era… It seems quaint that some people are so unnerved by the it… Our values and ethics will have to adapt in a hurry. I hope we will be able to make wise decisions for self and collective.
The 3rd episode hasn’t been shown in Australia yet but I’d like to comment on the first.
What I found interesting about the first episode was how hierarchies naturally develop. It was implied with the story about Wikipedia that hierarchies formed because this is the natural inclination of all humans once we have freedom to interact. From my understanding Wikipedia implemented rules and an overseeing hierarchy because those in power wanted to manipulate content for their own purposes. Essentially hierarchies that already existed enforced that structure upon the free. This is the classic anarchist paradox, an anarchy can only exist in isolation or totality. A more organised – hierarchical force – can always dominate, subdue or force the free to copy their modus operandi, a top down organisation. This is because power attracts complicity and thus more power.
There is a solution, a systematic real-time regulator, the FSFP does this. It is an economic flow Siphon and flat payment that enables the creation of hierarchies while maintaining freedom. It enables constant flow see … http://demokratia.jesaurai.net/2010/09/29/flow-siphon-flat-payment/ for more details.
There is no free lunch, really. The instant serves of highly targeted ads on my FB or Gmail pages don’t bother me very much, and as long as I keep deleting my caches and cookies I am not indirectly, unknowingly lining somebody’s wallet (ie affiliate marketing). And if I really want to entertain the rebellious streak in me, I might even click through some ads to upset the advertisers’ Pay-Per-Click campaigns but I am most of the time a nice gal. :D I am even getting comfortable with being found online by way of search, or publicise my inner-most thoughts in some cases. I think this is the reality of the digital era, we accept it with vigilance.
What really worries me is the infringement of privacy in a much larger scale, eg. the notion of one day in the near future, our medical records would be easily accessible…indexed by Google, of course. By way of extension, our DNAs. Google had, in the early days, pledged ‘Do No Evil’ but it’s interesting how that value has somewhat shifted. And here we are looking at a much bigger can of worms, ethical or otherwise.
Yes, it’s true about the reality of the digital era… It seems quaint that some people are so unnerved by the it… Our values and ethics will have to adapt in a hurry. I hope we will be able to make wise decisions for self and collective.
The 3rd episode hasn’t been shown in Australia yet but I’d like to comment on the first.
What I found interesting about the first episode was how hierarchies naturally develop. It was implied with the story about Wikipedia that hierarchies formed because this is the natural inclination of all humans once we have freedom to interact. From my understanding Wikipedia implemented rules and an overseeing hierarchy because those in power wanted to manipulate content for their own purposes. Essentially hierarchies that already existed enforced that structure upon the free. This is the classic anarchist paradox, an anarchy can only exist in isolation or totality. A more organised – hierarchical force – can always dominate, subdue or force the free to copy their modus operandi, a top down organisation. This is because power attracts complicity and thus more power.
There is a solution, a systematic real-time regulator, the FSFP does this. It is an economic flow Siphon and flat payment that enables the creation of hierarchies while maintaining freedom. It enables constant flow see … http://demokratia.jesaurai.net/2010/09/29/flow-siphon-flat-payment/ for more details.