On Containing the Hubris of People Who Don't "Get It".
"The Revolution Will NOT Be Twittered" Proclaims this Mr. Tom Watson on Techpresident.com. "Mock on." he writes.
To the question, "what can do?", his answer: "So far, just hit the refresh button."
http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/revolution-will-not-be-twittered
"We need to calm down." he writes.
No. There is a time for "calming down", and there is a time when we, as human beings, need to express our solidarity with anybody struggling with a theocracy. In the case of Iran, we have 70% of its population under the age of 25, and I'd daresay that the overwhelming impetus for their vision of change is that the _actually can_ have that vision, thanks to what they know from outside their state-run media.
And there is an operative term for that -- coined back in the early 90's -- when we who built the Internet here in the United States were struggling with a "status quo" that was concerned about the Net, even to the point of delaying deployment of connections, in some cases.
That term is "Guerilla Networking". And I find it ironic that it can be applied to a class of people who are, now, almost in a "guerilla mode".
In 1991, information passed via IRC helped "get the word out" to the rest of the world about the coup that spelled the downfall of the USSR. This was "social networking" before the term had been coined. Mr. Watson says that all we can do with this uncensored flow of information is "hit reload".
"Bah", I say to that. Though Mr. Watson claims to have written a book on social networking, his pronouncements about "Mock On" smack of a kind of hubris, spurred on by his possible feelings of "not invented here". Bah!
There is plenty we can do. We can speak out, inspiring our brother and sister human beings to realize their rights that all civilized peoples recognize, and to envision a better Iran than they have been suffering through under its crushing theocracy. We can read the reports, and entreat our elected representatives to deny the legitimacy of the oppressive theocracy.
And I would even go so far as to ask you: whither the state whose legitimacy is denied by the Free World?
Further, I am a fierce advocate for secular government, as I think it is the only way to ensure equal rights for people of every creed. Breaking free from the fetters of an oppressive theocracy might not be ultimately fueled by this "Guerilla Networking," but it absolutely plays an important role, if only to know that there _can_ be a different government: one with the courage to allow her people to be Free.
And it is precisely because of the spread of our ideas of Freedom and Democracy that these oppressive regimes struggle to shut off the flow of information. So when Mr. Watson tells us that all we can do is "hit reload", he has (perhaps unwittingly) played right into the hands of the oppressive regime.
We regard these ideas of Free Speech as being fundamental to our freedoms -- because, where would Freedom be without a vibrant and efficacious 4th Estate? And once we have considered that idea, is it any stretch at all to understand the condemnation the U.S. media received, when it failed to properly cover the events in Iran?
"Mock on" he says, and to that I would agree: Mock the ideas of Mr. Watson, because as much of an authority he might end up being, he has set himself down at the wrong side of history. Hopefully he will realize that, and take this criticism for exactly what it is: a call for people to speak their mind, and not "hit reload".
I'll close by offering a link to my personal home page, within which I collect various quotes regarding Free Speech and self-determination. One reads:
http://sonic.net/scott/
May God Bless Everyone,
-Scott
To the question, "what can do?", his answer: "So far, just hit the refresh button."
http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/revolution-will-not-be-twittered
"We need to calm down." he writes.
No. There is a time for "calming down", and there is a time when we, as human beings, need to express our solidarity with anybody struggling with a theocracy. In the case of Iran, we have 70% of its population under the age of 25, and I'd daresay that the overwhelming impetus for their vision of change is that the _actually can_ have that vision, thanks to what they know from outside their state-run media.
And there is an operative term for that -- coined back in the early 90's -- when we who built the Internet here in the United States were struggling with a "status quo" that was concerned about the Net, even to the point of delaying deployment of connections, in some cases.
That term is "Guerilla Networking". And I find it ironic that it can be applied to a class of people who are, now, almost in a "guerilla mode".
In 1991, information passed via IRC helped "get the word out" to the rest of the world about the coup that spelled the downfall of the USSR. This was "social networking" before the term had been coined. Mr. Watson says that all we can do with this uncensored flow of information is "hit reload".
"Bah", I say to that. Though Mr. Watson claims to have written a book on social networking, his pronouncements about "Mock On" smack of a kind of hubris, spurred on by his possible feelings of "not invented here". Bah!
There is plenty we can do. We can speak out, inspiring our brother and sister human beings to realize their rights that all civilized peoples recognize, and to envision a better Iran than they have been suffering through under its crushing theocracy. We can read the reports, and entreat our elected representatives to deny the legitimacy of the oppressive theocracy.
And I would even go so far as to ask you: whither the state whose legitimacy is denied by the Free World?
Further, I am a fierce advocate for secular government, as I think it is the only way to ensure equal rights for people of every creed. Breaking free from the fetters of an oppressive theocracy might not be ultimately fueled by this "Guerilla Networking," but it absolutely plays an important role, if only to know that there _can_ be a different government: one with the courage to allow her people to be Free.
And it is precisely because of the spread of our ideas of Freedom and Democracy that these oppressive regimes struggle to shut off the flow of information. So when Mr. Watson tells us that all we can do is "hit reload", he has (perhaps unwittingly) played right into the hands of the oppressive regime.
We regard these ideas of Free Speech as being fundamental to our freedoms -- because, where would Freedom be without a vibrant and efficacious 4th Estate? And once we have considered that idea, is it any stretch at all to understand the condemnation the U.S. media received, when it failed to properly cover the events in Iran?
"Mock on" he says, and to that I would agree: Mock the ideas of Mr. Watson, because as much of an authority he might end up being, he has set himself down at the wrong side of history. Hopefully he will realize that, and take this criticism for exactly what it is: a call for people to speak their mind, and not "hit reload".
I'll close by offering a link to my personal home page, within which I collect various quotes regarding Free Speech and self-determination. One reads:
"Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter." Milton, Areopagetica
http://sonic.net/scott/
May God Bless Everyone,
-Scott
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