Everything I Know About New Media I Learned From George Bush
Welcome to the new world of polarization.
And it’s only going to get worse.
It’s not big news that we live in a polarized society.
What is news is that thanks to all the new media hullabaloo it’s not going to get any easier.
The fractionalization of society is an issue New Media folks are going to have to deal with and it’s because the internet is becoming more and more a place where people live.
And unlike the real world, on the internet you can live where you want.
You want to spend your life never running into anyone who thinks that rap music is a relevent form of music?
Pretty much impossible.
Want to spend your life calling people ragheads and spics with no consequences?
Pretty much impossible in the real world.
Pretty damn possible on the internet.
Despite all the noise about the internet creating a level playing field is that always a good thing?
Do we really want to give our money to ISPs and webhosts who traffic in hate? And how would we know anyway?
Or do we let people do and say what they want in the privacy of their webspace where kids and other impressionable people can accidentally fall in.
But before you answer: Are you a freedom fighter or a terrorist?
August 22, 2006 at 12:17 pm
I don’t think it’s something internet people should care about. Society sucks. That’s just the way it is! Nice post, though.
August 22, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Everyone is an internet person. The internet is a Society. You missed the point.
August 22, 2006 at 1:15 pm
So, does that count my 76 year-old mother-in-law who thinks Google is the Internet? She still tries to type URLs into the Google search field and then gets frustrated when so many choices come up instead of just the website she was looking for.
August 22, 2006 at 1:21 pm
Just trying to point out the thorns in the rosebush!
August 22, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Peace is a wonderful thing when it comes of its own fruition. However, it is not something worth foresaking everything else for.
It’s politcally incorrect to say, but I think peace is over-rated. It often comes with nasty consequences that are much slower to materialize and even more difficult to root out.
Peace did not lead to our freedom. Peace did not end slavery. Peace did not stop the holocaust.
The assumption that peace is always good is flawed…because humans are not always good.
Just a different way of thinking, and definitely NOT an attempt to defend current policies…I hope you don’t mind.
August 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Just trying to point out the rosebush in the thorns!
August 22, 2006 at 5:25 pm
Nobody ever said love thy neighbor was easy… or fun… or conditional…
Big old questions here man. I like em.
August 22, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Your rap example and your racial slur example speak to two very diffferent issues –
In the offline world, you can call people whatever you want. If you go arond calling people names in the “real world” young and impressionable minds are likely to hear you… and it’s still your right to do it.
What you’re describing in your rap example is more interesting because it’s unique to the web. Your talking about controlling what is SAID to you – what kind of people you encounter.
Online, niche replaces geography as the natural organizing mechanism. Do niche communities turn non-members into outsiders? Of course… but so do nations.
At least there are no wars between the niches – yet.
And Mike – your point about peace is interesting, but your examples don’t match your premise. That peace fails to cure some ills doesn’t mean that it causees ill.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Bush is President.
August 23, 2006 at 9:45 am
@Adam
If you read my post again, you’ll see that my premise is NOT that peace CAUSES ill. It’s that peace is over-rated, and that peace should not be strived for in a way that foresakes everything else. When that happens, evil people are ENABLED to pursue their evil plans.
War has done a lot of terrible things, but it has also solved a lot of terrible problems.
Sometimes you just need to fight it out.
August 23, 2006 at 6:30 pm
With the good comes the bad. I like the online confession site, grouphug. It makes a compelling read.
August 23, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Mike, I see what you’re saying… and I don’t disagree with you that pursuing peace in a way the foresakes all else is a bad idea.
But I think saying that “It often comes with nasty consequences” IS saying that peace causes ill.
And I don’t know about you, but I never just need to fight it out. Sometimes I need to defend myself, or come to the defense of others, but I never just need to fight it out.
And I think that any idea distilled to black and white misses the mark, including peace. But the whole “ends justifies the means” argument is just bullshit.