inefficiency and fragmentation served important social, intellectual, and artistic purposes. By imposing what Mark Zuckerberg disdainfully calls friction on the processes of information production, distribution, and retrieval, the specialization of media networks and devices also imposed order on the welter of information that was suddenly pouring
... See moreNicholas Carr • Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart
"What initially seemed like a new way to transfer information turned into a revolution that rewrote the basic assumptions of society. Entirely new kinds of economic and social organization evolved on these networks, taking root faster than anyone would have thought possible. For an entire generation — my generation — that process is all we’ve ever ... See more
The Verge • We have abandoned every principle of the free and open internet
Once upon a time, the Internet was predicated on user-generated content. The hope was that ordinary people would take advantage of the Web’s low barrier for publishing to post great things, motivated simply by the joy of open communication. But then ad sales came into play.
That business model is still what most of the Internet relies on today. Rev... See more
That business model is still what most of the Internet relies on today. Rev... See more
Kyle Chayka • How the Internet Turned Us Into Content Machines
We’re now confronting the greatest structural challenge to democracy we’ve ever seen: a truly open society. Without gatekeepers, there are no constraints on discourse. Digital technology has changed everything. Consequently, reality is up for grabs in a way it never has been before.
Zac Gershberg • The Paradox of Democracy
History shows a typical progression of information technologies: from somebody’s hobby to somebody’s industry; from jury-rigged contraption to slick production marvel; from a freely accessible channel to one strictly controlled by a single corporation or cartel—from open to closed system.