The Virtual Revolution: 1 - The Great Levelling?

My comments on episode one of The Virtual Revolution, The Great Levelling

Author: Matthew Wittering | Published: 7th February 2010

The Internet has in the last 20 years facilitated an explosive growth in technical capabilities and access to knowledge. The web continues to shape us in ways we fail to recognise. For example we are increasingly divulging personal details to social networking sites without consideration for how it will be used. The Internet gives everyone who desire it, the proverbial soapbox. Online you may broadcast your opinions to far reaching corners of the globe.

Not since the 19th Century two hundred years ago have we seen such a massive paradigm change to our World. The Internet is our single greatest invention to date. The digital revolution has done more for free speech in one epoch than we had ever previously managed. Technically the Internet is a remarkable feat of electrical and software engineering but its pervasive nature to shape and affect humanity is its greatest strength and weakness. At its best it empowers people with knowledge and platform to publish material. This levelling gives everyone the same opportunities.

We all in theory have equal access to all information and knowledge. But does the original libertarian agenda which advocates the maximisation of individual liberty and the minimisation or even abolition of the state. Does this founding principle to free knowledge stand at risk or is this liberal viewpoint all ready lost through capitalist agendas and censorship by governments?

China is used as the Worlds punching bag for censorship because of the ‘Great Firewall’ which surrounds the People's Republic. In 2009 Iran joined this deplorable club. In the June of last year political discontent resulted in protests because of accusations of electoral fraud by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian government sought to stop the protesters communicating by limiting Internet bandwidth within the country. By throttling the rate of data exchange rendered the Internet unusable for most Iranians. The 2009 Iranian Protests was dubbed The Twitter Revolution because of the reliance on the micro blogging platform through proxy services while telephone communications were unreliable or impossible.

Those who seek to control information do so to control and oppress. But opening the flood gates to knowledge for education can empower people creating boundless opportunities in science, education and political discussion.

The greatest example of levelling and empowering people is Wikipedia. Wikipedia which you are undoubtedly aware of is the best source of knowledge on the Internet because it allows people to create articles without having formal recognised qualifications. It is the best source of knowledge traditionally found in printed encyclopaedias. For many it is best place to find the answers to their questions. Educators are disgusted by Wikipedia because they believe that it lacks authority because it is infinitely editable by anybody. But this is the greatest advantage of Wikipedia. Once a book is printed it automatically becomes out of date because the collective knowledge of humanity is constantly evolving. The editable nature for Wikipedia gives it a fluidity which allows to the react quicker than any other resource for knowledge.

Wikipedians use crowd wisdom to link the information together and remove incorrect and duplicated material. It is not uncommon to see notices that pages are to be merged in order to combine similar entries. This is not possible in print. The levelling the Internet has delivered is the removal of hierarchy, allowing users to manage and arrange information which was decentralised from authority and knowledge and conventional power centres.

The culture of the Internet must be protected so it remains free from censorship. Without it we would not know the disgusting evils which plague our planet. We must work to remove ills from our societies as a matter of improvement. Censorship or centralisation of knowledge constrains thinking. the Ministry of Truth mentality of governments only hides issues by letting problems go unreported. This only advances hidden agendas with real discussion pushed under the rug. This hides both the problem rot and imprisons the uninformed.

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A brief introduction

Matthew Wittering I am a graduate of Lougborough University where I read Computing and Management BSc (Hons) earning a 2:1 classification.

Currently I am working in the Product Team as a Junior Product Manager at Ask Jeeves UK. Continue