Culture and Technology

Democratization of information, production, and distribution are the most important social/cultural effects that technology has had in the last 30 years. The affordability of the personal computer, which is now much more than a number crunching machine. Now, the computer provides a worldwide communication network, a recording studio, a film studio, a printing press and myriad other incarnations. Never in the history of the world had the individual had access to such powerful tools. This is not only tied to the www, but to the emerging theory of the Long Tail. Information is power, and this is not only consumption of information but also the creation of information. The web is the ultimate distribution channel.

All of these developments are changing the face of political activism. Ron Paul has been the darling of the Internet and has raised record amounts of money for his campaign even though he was never a front-runner for the Republican nomination. Most of the campaign has been conducted at the grass-roots level through the use of meetup.com where he has a huge presence.
Obama has also been extremely popular on the web, which is more than likely attributable to the large number of users being relatively young.

I recall way back in 1997 one of my best friends mentioning to me that one could create their own webpage on Geocities. I was immediately fascinated and began doing research on how I could create my very own web page. That research included purchasing a copy of web design for dummies (how cliche') which introduced me to the basics. I tooled around on Geocities for a while and a few other similiar sites that provided free web space. I happened to read an article in PC magazine about homestead.com . The site provided free webspace and included a really great wysiwyg editor that was very flexible and allowed you to include html and javascripts. I was obsessed with building my web page. Something about the ability to express myself in a format that could be seen by anyone in the world really struck a deep chord with me. Eventually, I lost interest with my webpage because the novelty of self-expression wore off. No one was really visiting my page other than friends I had mentioned it to and I really wasn't giving anyone much of a reason to visit a page about me. Essentially, my page was the equivalent of today's Myspace profile page So given that I find the development of social networking very ironic. In many ways sns would have fulfilled my initial interest in expressing myself online. The desire to express oneself is a common human desire, and the www is an excellent tool for that end.

For me the most disturbing effect of technology has been the erosion of privacy that the www has created. I closed both my myspace (how redundant) and facebook profiles because my privacy was being invaded. My virtual world was creating problems for me in RL. Privacy concerns are fear number one for me. Everyone on facebook can know when you are having relationship problems and embarassing moments can be uploaded onto youtube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPUld0VKgRg ). For the time being Google has resisted efforts by the US government access to search records. Phone companies are receiving immunity from the government in terms of the domestic spying program. The spectre of big brother looms large.

This really underscores the greater issue, which is that technology is a double-edged sword. Any technological innovation has both negative and positive consequences. The warnings have been out there for over a hundred years, read Frankenstein, read Cat's Cradle, read Jurassic Park. Rent Blade Runner if you want to see how troublesome determining what exactly defines human life can be.

Technology has been relatively benign in recent memory, aside from the erosion of privacy. Social networking can help give individuals more social and cultural capital. The www can provide communication and dialogue between groups and individuals that would not have been possible or affordable previously.