Well, it's not a pretty thing seeing Google with a black armband, much less our beloved Wikipedia (or, as generations of science fiction writers and readers probably anticipated it as-- the Global Library) gone cold for 24 hoursto protest the legilsation, but there is a buzz in the land regarding SOPA (Stop Anti-Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP--Internet Privacy- Act)..On first glance, it's a bit of a convoluted issue, and the question of good guys and bad guys may not be as clear as either side wishes to view it, but it potentially can be one of the big issues of the near future if the traditional entertainment industry, in an effort to combat piracy, is able to effectively lobby Washington lawmakers into introducing restrictions on the internet, or more specifically, the operation of internet companies such as Wikipedia, Google, etc.
As a reader of Jaron Lanier's book on the potential negative impact of anonymity, anti-individualism, and the fallacy of the "Information Wants to Be Free" on the world wide web, I didnt come down with an immediate clear view on the issue and I was concerned that my initial wariness of the efforts of Google, et al, against SOPA and PIPA may have been counter-intuitive, since I love the Gedanken Sind Frei spirit of the net, always have...but I am in agreement with NY TImes Media columnist David Carr's recent article that suggests that while new legislative protections may be warranted given the expansion of the web and the success of search engines such as Google that make less money through traditional advertising then in bundling and reselling internet users' information to other advertisers and corporate clients. However, as Carr suggests, since the traditional media have been proven wrong in their original, somewhat heavy-handed original approach to stifling music and video on the web, they may not be the best group to shape this legislation. Perhaps these issues require further study let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may debate over this legislation, instead of Wikipedia and other sites pulling the plug (which inadvertently are intended as protest but may give argument toward their potential for monopolistic control over the internet):
NY Times David Carr column here
NY Times OP ed on security and journalists here
CBS news spin on this here
And, in "La Unemployment,"Silicon Valley Visionary Jaron Lanier in a recent video post on why the internet is already broken here
Webs 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 explained here
Its true that technology shape us, it creates new behaviors for the users, both good and bad. On the other hand, we shape technology only by acknowledging it.
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