In late 2010, an event happened that in my mind, irrevocably altering world politics, and completely transforming the debate on internet censorship. I think that it will be impossible to discuss the nature of what information should and should not be discussed on the internet without at least making cursory reference to Wikileaks and the state department leaks.
In the grand scheme of things, it's difficult to pinpoint the exact impact of Wikileaks. While the documents were classified, and definitely not intended for widespread release, most of the general opinion about them was that they did not reveal anything particularly stunning to the world at large. More than anything, they were diplomatic rudeness, but the fact remains that they were not written to be revealed as such. In fact, some commentators have stated that the state department leaks provided the impetus for the revolutions throughout the middle east, as residents of those countries saw a view of their leaders not filtered through national propaganda.
However, the aftermath in the days following was something fairly new in modern society. Here was a treasure trove of secret data, more vast than any one person could disseminate through, and it was spreading as quickly as any viral video. The news was abuzz with more than just the details of the leaks, but also about the various groups and interests involved in protecting and condemning the data. The question of whether or not information should be censored moved from beyond an academic debate for the first time in many American eyes. And while there was little the average citizen could do about the fate of Wikileaks, they were forced to confront what it really means to have a government at odds with information available to the public.
For my own personal opinion, I feel that while an institution like the state department needs a measure of secrecy to operate, and such communications should be shielded to the best of their ability. At the same time, when the cat comes out of the bag, as it inevitably will, a far better approach would be to engage in honest debate with the leakers (as much as possible) and provide support for why they felt the information needed to be classified. The calls for a manhunt of Assange were outright inane, unless actual deaths and American losses can be attributed to Wikileaks. What was even more disturbing was the somewhat murky appearance of the government attempting to shove Wikileaks off of the Amazon servers, and other behind the scene movements. If the US government wants to absolve itself from accusations of these machinations, then the very least it could do would be to issue a statement directly stating this.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
So, as the dust has finally settled in Egypt, and the revolution has ended. I don't think it's a particularly controversial stance to say that I support what has happened there, and that the regime change is a good not only for the people of Egypt, but the people of the world. However, I think that the revolution proved some startling points about the nature of internet censorship.
To begin with, it's worth appreciating what a large shift the revolution in egypt was. Egypt, despite being in Africa, has a relatively high level of education and developed infrastructure. While not exactly "first world," I would definitely categorize it as a prime example of what we might define the "second world" as. Mubarak's dictatorship had been in place for around twenty years, and nasser for years before that. For a country with egypt's level of progress to have a fairly dramatic revolution, complete with violence and a total government overthrow, is pretty earthshattering, all things considered.
I believe that the reason the revolution succeeded was largely due to the web proliferation through the populace. At the beginning, the message spread through facebook, twitter, and other social networks, informing and organizing the populace. The true defining moment of the revolution, however, was cutting off the internet to the general populace in an effort to quell the dissention. It is my opinion that this roused the people moreso than any other nonviolent act Mubarak could have done. At this point in time, internet access is seen as a basic right by most citizens in developed nations, and removing it seriously impacts their quality of living. I thought one of the best quotes of the revolution came from Conan O'Brien, of all places, who quipped: "Wait, they want the people to stay at home and be compliant? And they turned off the internet?"
To begin with, it's worth appreciating what a large shift the revolution in egypt was. Egypt, despite being in Africa, has a relatively high level of education and developed infrastructure. While not exactly "first world," I would definitely categorize it as a prime example of what we might define the "second world" as. Mubarak's dictatorship had been in place for around twenty years, and nasser for years before that. For a country with egypt's level of progress to have a fairly dramatic revolution, complete with violence and a total government overthrow, is pretty earthshattering, all things considered.
I believe that the reason the revolution succeeded was largely due to the web proliferation through the populace. At the beginning, the message spread through facebook, twitter, and other social networks, informing and organizing the populace. The true defining moment of the revolution, however, was cutting off the internet to the general populace in an effort to quell the dissention. It is my opinion that this roused the people moreso than any other nonviolent act Mubarak could have done. At this point in time, internet access is seen as a basic right by most citizens in developed nations, and removing it seriously impacts their quality of living. I thought one of the best quotes of the revolution came from Conan O'Brien, of all places, who quipped: "Wait, they want the people to stay at home and be compliant? And they turned off the internet?"
Monday, March 7, 2011
Media Diary for 3/27-3/6
Sunday:
Noon-3PM: Gaming online
4-8: Homework, using the internet for research and programming with Qt
8-11: Browsing the web
Monday:
9-11:30: Notes in class
1-3PM: 2 hours browsing
3-5: Homework, mostly word processing
7-Midnight: Mix of browsing and homework
Total: about 13.5 hours
Tuesday:
2-4PM: Browsing
6-2AM: Homework (had a large programming assignment due, mostly programming)
Total: about 12 hours
Wednesday:
9-11:30: Notes in class
6-10PM: Homework (word processing
10-12AM: Browsing
Total: About 8.5 hours
Thursday:
8-12: Browsing
Total: About 4 hours
Friday:
9-11:30: Notes in class
5-9PM: Gaming
Total: About 6.5 Hours
Saturday:
4-7PM: Gaming
7-10: Homework, word processing and programming
10-12AM: Browsing
Total: about 8 hours
Sunday:
12-3: Gaming
3-9: Homework/browsing
Total: about 9 hours
WEEK TOTAL: 51.5 hours
Wednesday-Thursday were greatly impacted due to the fact that I slept very little from sunday-monday (two major assignments and a midterm) but I generally spend about 6-8 hours on the computer every day. While I mostly restrict any and all gaming to the weekends, I definitely use the internet as my primary source of "downtime" while also heavily using it for my homework (generally, computer science classes require a lot of computer time.)
I worry heavily about internet addiction, but at the same time, I'm glad that I don't really watch TV. I feel that the internet, when used properly, is a great tool for learning and keeping up with the world. I have a tendency to browse the news and discussion forums, which I feel are better uses of the internet; I do worry about it affecting my attention span though.
Sunday:
Noon-3PM: Gaming online
4-8: Homework, using the internet for research and programming with Qt
8-11: Browsing the web
Monday:
9-11:30: Notes in class
1-3PM: 2 hours browsing
3-5: Homework, mostly word processing
7-Midnight: Mix of browsing and homework
Total: about 13.5 hours
Tuesday:
2-4PM: Browsing
6-2AM: Homework (had a large programming assignment due, mostly programming)
Total: about 12 hours
Wednesday:
9-11:30: Notes in class
6-10PM: Homework (word processing
10-12AM: Browsing
Total: About 8.5 hours
Thursday:
8-12: Browsing
Total: About 4 hours
Friday:
9-11:30: Notes in class
5-9PM: Gaming
Total: About 6.5 Hours
Saturday:
4-7PM: Gaming
7-10: Homework, word processing and programming
10-12AM: Browsing
Total: about 8 hours
Sunday:
12-3: Gaming
3-9: Homework/browsing
Total: about 9 hours
WEEK TOTAL: 51.5 hours
Wednesday-Thursday were greatly impacted due to the fact that I slept very little from sunday-monday (two major assignments and a midterm) but I generally spend about 6-8 hours on the computer every day. While I mostly restrict any and all gaming to the weekends, I definitely use the internet as my primary source of "downtime" while also heavily using it for my homework (generally, computer science classes require a lot of computer time.)
I worry heavily about internet addiction, but at the same time, I'm glad that I don't really watch TV. I feel that the internet, when used properly, is a great tool for learning and keeping up with the world. I have a tendency to browse the news and discussion forums, which I feel are better uses of the internet; I do worry about it affecting my attention span though.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Preface
Hi there, and thanks for reading.
So this is my sociology 149 blog that I have (stupidly) been neglecting until crunch time at the end of the quarter. As the title may have indicated to you, I've gone in with the idea of writing about censorship of information, specifically regarding internet censorship. For the first post, I wanted to address why I thought this was a pertinent issue.
In my opinion, the internet is unlike anything the world has ever seen, and it continues to grow in ways that we cannot fathom. A few years back, when smart phones started to really proliferate through my social groups, one of my friends said "you're no longer allowed to ask questions; all the answers are in your pocket." While this is a bit of a generalization, I find it to be a very poignant one. The internet, in a lot of ways, is the closest thing we've come to a complete summation of the knowledge of mankind. If it is known, it is most likely on the internet somewhere, although it may take a bit of research to do it.
However, the internet is more than just wikipedia and specialized forums. With the onset of social media, we've created an entire ecology of communication that has not existed prior. Never before was I able to rate the onion quality of my local sandwich shops on a ten point scale and have those 12 page reviews available to a maintenance worker in India. Granted, that's an unlikely scenario (first problem: I really hate onions) but the fact that facebook, twitter, blogging, and all other social media are part of a remarkably new system of expression is very true.
One of my favorite writers wrote something to the effect of "these first few years of uncontrolled internet browsing have been like the wild west was. There are very few enforced (or really enforceable) rules, and most people could do what they wanted, provided they had the skills and know how to do so. The west, however, ended when it was settled and fenced off, and soon enough we're all going to look like people who can't cope with all the new rules and are standing around wearing funny hats." As it currently stands, the internet is the major frontier available to the common man. It is still somewhat amorphous, and I would hazard a guess that within three years, we'll have new applications for it that we hadn't thought of today that will drastically impact our lives. That being said, I think there is a strong demand to regulate the web. As with any unexplored land, there are a lot of dangers (malware, 419 scams, identity theft) and a lot of undesirable content. (those who've taken the plunge into places like 4chan are keenly aware of this)
While I don't believe in the inevitability of eventual censorship and regulation, I do think the web will change, and I think the question of acceptability and monitoring web access and usage will be a major debate in the upcoming years. In this blog, I hope to point out some of the earliest battles where this is taking place, and to try to give a few examples to what will probably become a major conversation for all of us.
NEXT UP: Egypt! and what it meant for censorship. Also, I'll be starting my media diary this week. I predict more computer time than should be considered reasonably healthy, considering I take coding classes and also browse the web as my primary form of entertainment.
So this is my sociology 149 blog that I have (stupidly) been neglecting until crunch time at the end of the quarter. As the title may have indicated to you, I've gone in with the idea of writing about censorship of information, specifically regarding internet censorship. For the first post, I wanted to address why I thought this was a pertinent issue.
In my opinion, the internet is unlike anything the world has ever seen, and it continues to grow in ways that we cannot fathom. A few years back, when smart phones started to really proliferate through my social groups, one of my friends said "you're no longer allowed to ask questions; all the answers are in your pocket." While this is a bit of a generalization, I find it to be a very poignant one. The internet, in a lot of ways, is the closest thing we've come to a complete summation of the knowledge of mankind. If it is known, it is most likely on the internet somewhere, although it may take a bit of research to do it.
However, the internet is more than just wikipedia and specialized forums. With the onset of social media, we've created an entire ecology of communication that has not existed prior. Never before was I able to rate the onion quality of my local sandwich shops on a ten point scale and have those 12 page reviews available to a maintenance worker in India. Granted, that's an unlikely scenario (first problem: I really hate onions) but the fact that facebook, twitter, blogging, and all other social media are part of a remarkably new system of expression is very true.
One of my favorite writers wrote something to the effect of "these first few years of uncontrolled internet browsing have been like the wild west was. There are very few enforced (or really enforceable) rules, and most people could do what they wanted, provided they had the skills and know how to do so. The west, however, ended when it was settled and fenced off, and soon enough we're all going to look like people who can't cope with all the new rules and are standing around wearing funny hats." As it currently stands, the internet is the major frontier available to the common man. It is still somewhat amorphous, and I would hazard a guess that within three years, we'll have new applications for it that we hadn't thought of today that will drastically impact our lives. That being said, I think there is a strong demand to regulate the web. As with any unexplored land, there are a lot of dangers (malware, 419 scams, identity theft) and a lot of undesirable content. (those who've taken the plunge into places like 4chan are keenly aware of this)
While I don't believe in the inevitability of eventual censorship and regulation, I do think the web will change, and I think the question of acceptability and monitoring web access and usage will be a major debate in the upcoming years. In this blog, I hope to point out some of the earliest battles where this is taking place, and to try to give a few examples to what will probably become a major conversation for all of us.
NEXT UP: Egypt! and what it meant for censorship. Also, I'll be starting my media diary this week. I predict more computer time than should be considered reasonably healthy, considering I take coding classes and also browse the web as my primary form of entertainment.
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