[p2p-research] Are we loosing our internet?

[Michel Bauwens]

I'm publishing this on oct 31 ... and would like to add any comments about
the assessments of the eventual weakening of the democratic and emancipatory
potential of the internet,

Michel


Political net agnosticism: worrying about the future enclosure of the
internet .. <http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/?p=11312>
[image: photo of Michel Bauwens]
Michel Bauwens
31st October 2010

 What do you think of this heartfelt
cry<http://mediacology.com/2010/05/30/slow-blogging-and-net-agnosticism/>of
*Antonio Lopez*?

Are we loosing “our internet”?

*“In terms of the Net, my biggest concern is the use of
anti-piracy/counterfeiting laws to privatize civil complaints. Rather than
go through the legal system to request warrants and to file official
complaints against so-called pirates, entertainment companies are requiring
Internet providers to police their customers and to cut off access when
violations are detected. The Economist reports that there is piracy
detection software in beta that can identify a single frame of a copyrighted
film. With such detection bots roaming the net, will they be able to
distinguish between fair use and legitimate piracy? I think not. It’s a
return to Napoleonic law in which you are guilty until proven innocent. And
who has the might to fight Comcast or Time-Warner? A while back I posted a
short clip on YouTube from Saturday Night Live that I wanted my students to
comment on for class. YouTube pulled it because it violated user terms. To
Google’s credit, they have an appeals process in which I could make a fair
use claim. As a result, in the end the video was restored, but I imagine it
took a human to intervene. What happens when we automate the policing of the
Net, let alone the tracking of people’s behaviors and relationships?
Facebook anyone?*

*I continue to use the Internet for teaching and often post copyrighted
media for students to comment on. I’m thankful that this has made teaching
more interesting and accessible to wider groups of people. In the past year,
however, I have found it more difficult to do so. My YouTube channel has
dozens of playlists with videos I use for teaching. Often I create playlists
as I’m teaching a course, only to find out the following semester that half
the videos I posted are no longer available. As a fallback position I use
the Firefox plug-in Easy YouTube Downloader to get “hard copies” of the
videos so that I have access to them for later use. This has saved me on
several occasions. So though I appreciate the plethora of media available to
me (far more than five years ago), I feel like the moment is very tenuous. I
don’t know how much longer this will go on.*

*I’m also feeling agnostic about social networks. I have Twitter and
Facebook accounts, but have not been able to develop the habit of engaging
them. I’ve heard all kind of praise for Twitter, but it simply makes my eyes
go cross. I understand and appreciate why people like it, but I think I’m
too old school to really get it. Facebook is the same. I dip my toe in it
here and there, but the stream mostly passes me by. Sometimes I like the
linkages it makes for me, but for the most part I feel pretty disengaged. In
all honesty, I’m not into getting poked all the time.*

*The same goes with the Web in general. For a writer, researcher, activist
and educator it is, of course, invaluable. But I also find that I don’t use
it that much except when there is something I need. Unlike the early days of
the Web when surfing was a novel experience, I get overloaded very quickly.
But then again, the same goes for museums and galleries. I can only look at
art for an hour before my brain gets fried. Literally. Processing nerve
stimulus takes energy, be it art or the umpteenth Website on ecological
pedagogy (though when I’m less tired, I’m sure glad these sites are there).*

*Additionally I find that I don’t like to chat too much with SMS, though
sometimes I find it very convenient. The thing is, when I’m on the computer
I’m either reading or writing and I don’t like to be interrupted. For the
life of me I don’t understand why people post their Skype names on their
Websites. Who in the world wants to get so many phone calls? And when it
comes to texting, I’m all thumbs.*

*As I’m writing this I get the sense that maybe I’m coming across as a bit
of a selfish netizen. I’m aware of the spiritual precept that manifestation
follows intention and attention. You get back what you put in. I certainly
cherish the interactivity and exchange that has facilitated new friendships
on the Net, many invaluable. It doesn’t have to be either/or, but this and
that. Nonetheless, remaining centered in the cosmos is hard enough;
maintaining an extended self in the Net is that much more to deal with.*

*Finally, I like walking and riding bikes without the electronic tether. I
enjoy unpredictability and minor amounts of chaos that comes along with not
knowing everything about everybody at every moment. Sometimes there’s a
benefit to opacity.*

*I know I’m particular and of a certain age which makes me un-enamored with
these digital tools. As an old punk, I tend to prefer zine making as an
early form of Web publishing and blogging. What is different for me now is
that I miss the tactility of tabletop publishing. I like getting glue and
ink on my fingers, and cutting things with scissors and holding something in
my hands. I admit that blogging and the community around WordPress does
remind me a bit of the zine days, and there are times when blogging and
networking does get me excited like the good ol’ days of Xerox lore. The
thing I love about blogging is that I can instantaneously publish what I’m
thinking about, which gives me a sketchpad for longer, more thoughtful
passages that end up in long-form essays and books.*

*No one is telling me to do any of these things, though I do feel a little
peer pressure that I should like Facebook and Twitter. I’m not trying to be
a village atheist, but rather am finding a middle way in which the tool is
here and available, but at the same time without attachment. This
constitutes my current thinking about what it means to be a Net agnostic.*

*I don’t mean for this missive to be solemn or sad, just a respite from an
exhausting information haul. I’m still here, I still care. I’m just taking
my time, pacing a long walk, slowing down a bit so as to not get too caught
up in the frenzied tornado of the Network Society.”*


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