Tweeting the Pain Away

Every generation has seen its share of revolutions, both social and political. Yet with the dawn of Facebook and Twitter it seems impossible to understand how any revolution succeeded without these two resources. The internet culture seems obsessed with placing social networking on some sort of pedestal, Wikipedia already lists four separate revolutions as "Twitter Revolutions" and two of them are also known as the "Facebook" and "Wikileaks" revolutions.

It is not the internet that has caused, or even started these revolutions, rather they have been created by the same things revolutions have been cause by for centuries, unfair political practices, inequality, and tyranny. The internet has only changed the way these revolutions are waged. Things like Twitter and Facebook have allowed Middle Western protesters connect with American activists, which not only means more people hear about these revolutions but more support can be garnered. Simple donations made through Facebook add to the fight, and allow weak ties a greater ability to support causes that don't affect them.

The internet also brings revolutions another, perhaps underrated tool. All Twitter and Facebook are at their core, are ways for people to publish thoughts and opinions. At any revolutions core is the literature used to propagate the issues and ideals the revolutionaries are fighting for. We can back even further then Gladwell's argument to the Civil War, where abolitionists distributed pamphlets to slaves in the south, and in fact several slave revolts were blamed on the spread of abolitionist documents.

Social network and media has caused an evolution in the way the spread of ideas occurs. This does not mean that all of the sudden revolutions are now regulated to the domain of the internet, nor that Twitter and Facebook only succeed in, "helping Wall Streeters get phones back from teen-age girls".

With so many areas of society being changed and re-worked through the power of the internet, there is only one clear way to see things now. The internet has changed the way we think and the way we communicate, but that doesn't mean we couldn't before.

The Grass is Consistently Greener in the Halls of Congress

The grass root strategy has rapidly evolved as E-mail and social networking sites made connecting idealogical groups to people simpler and faster. This tool hasn't been over looked by the government, who has used the principles of grassroots in order to rally opposition in a process known as "astroturfing". This artificial form of grassroots support succeeds in gathering people, however this form of networking does not create a cohesive group of like minded people, instead it acts as an instant mob.

This instant mob offers a unique tool for the two party system of government, but it is a gross misuse of the power of social networks. Astroturfing creates a fake protest, full of sound and fury but with little substance, as Clay Spinuzzi article quotes these groups are, " a vast coalition of extremely different, and even contradictory, interests and values, from the battalions of the American labor movement to the swarms of eco-pacifists, environmentalists, women's groups, and a myriad of alternative groups, including the pagan community". So What do these groups really accomplish?

As members of a new society based in technology that allows us to express our ideas and beliefs freely, what do groups of mixed activists acting as attack dogs do to that system? The general issues that bring these unrelated groups together are astroturfing's sole saving grace. Overarching subjects, like healthcare and taxes, my only be political talking points to the politicians, and the members of these "protest groups" may only be acting as a mob, but if real, positive change can come from astroturfing it can't be all bad.

Irregardless of these slight pros, the loss of respect that comes with being so easily used as political pawns hampers the blogger's ability to create change within the specific issues that these groups represent. Activist and protest groups should function as independent units, instead of manipulated tools for political parties. The only way for us to make our voices mean something is by speaking with conviction, instead of speaking for generalities.    

Guess Who's Googling Porn?!

Anonymized information can be useful in the development of better research technology, however most people dont feel comfortable with companies releasing any information about them. With the creation of the internet, mounds of private information have been filling servers for years, it has to go somewhere right?

The internet has always been fraught with privacy concerns, but so has the real world; in thirty-eight states it is legal to record a telephone conversation without the person on the other end knowing and if television shows such as Cheaters have taught us anything, there are always legal ways for people to gain private information about you. In the end what does in matter if people know what movies you liked on Netflix or if Apple know exactly where you are at all times... well maybe there is some cause for concern.

The internet sees and knows all, and the information you put out there stays there, but that does not give these companies the right to expose your information to others. However people should know by now that no information is safe on the internet. The laws haven't been completely fleshed when it comes to the internet, nor do the number of stories such as those of Netflix, Apple, or even AOL seem to ever decrease. In the case of AOL, the information in question was only released for a few hours, meaning everyone who wanted that information probably has it.

The internet is a scary place for the the privacy conscious, but in my experience, aside from some joker hacking into my Myspace account the information I have put on the internet has never affected me in any negative way. If you can deal with everyone from random researchers hired by Google to insidious twelve year old hackers possibly knowing some of your personal information, why be worried about what the internet knows?

Keeping yourself safe online is an important lesson to learn, but understanding that the internet requires you to let go of some of that information is even more important. Those of us hung up and worried about having their privacy attacked might want to rethink signing up for sites like Facebook or Netflix, but in this day and age, not having a Facebook or Netflix seems almost ridiculous. There is a price to pay for the convenience of the internet, and sometimes that includes letting go of some unreasonable fears, and accepting the threat of reasonable ones.