“Those who applaud social production and networked amateurism, the colorful cacophony that is the Internet, and the creative capacities of everyday people to produce entertaining and enlightening things online, are right to marvel. There is amazing inventiveness, boundless talent and ability, and overwhelming generosity on display. Where they go wrong is thinking that the Internet is an egalitarian, let alone revolutionary, platform for our self-expression and development, that being able to shout into the digital torrent is adequate for democracy.” PeopleThinkingSelfAbleSocialAbilityCreativeDemocracyTalentProduceExpressionDevelopmentInternetCapacityEverydayProductionsGenerosityRevolutionaryDigitalOnlineOverwhelmingDisplayEntertainingPlatformsAdequateEnlighteningBoundlessSelf ExpressionColorfulInventivenessCacophonyTalents And Abilities Book:The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age Source: The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age
“I'd go to conference after conference and it would essentially be the talking points. Either pro or con. It's amazing how polarized the tech conversation is. There's also this neurological fixation, the incessant wondering what the Internet's doing to our brain: "Does it make us stupid, does it make us distracted?" And then the other guys say, "No, it's making us smarter than ever, and better than ever, and more connected." And it's like, where is the economic and social context? Why is that rarely considered?” DoeGuySocialBrainTalkingWonderEconomicStupidInternetConversationConnectedSmarterConferencesDistractedOther GuysIncessantFixation Author:Astra Taylor
“One sad consequence of this is that people don't feel permitted to try understand Internet infrastructure, so I'm really grateful to groups like Free Press and other nonprofits who are trying to make the issue urgent and comprehensible. And Andre Blum's book Tubes is great on this topic.” PeopleFeelsTryingBookIssuesGroupsInternetConsequenceGratefulPressesTopicsInfrastructureUrgentTubesFree PressNonprofits Author:Astra Taylor
“One of the big myths about people growing up is that they are "digital natives;" that just because they've been raised with the Internet - that you're very adept at using the app on your phone - it doesn't mean you have any idea about how the Internet actually works.” PeopleMeanIdeasBigsGrowing UpGrowingInternetRaisedPhonesMythDigitalAppsAdept Author:Astra Taylor
“We like to say the Internet is the ultimate library. But libraries are libraries because people come together and fund them through taxes. Libraries actually exist, all over the country, so why is it such a reach to imagine and to someday build a public institution that has a digital aspect to it? Of course the problem is that libraries and other public services are being defunded and are under attack, so there's a bigger progressive struggle this plays into.” PeopleCountryPlayProblemTogetherCoursesStruggleImagineInternetTaxesAspectUltimateBiggerInstitutionsLibrarySomedayDigitalFundProgressivePublic Service Author:Astra Taylor
“All the utopianism of the early days of the Internet seems to have dissipated. But I don't want us to lose that utopianism altogether, even if it was naïve and ill-informed and sometimes silly. Rather I want us to ask about the obstacles that are preventing the good stuff from coming to fruition. Let's investigate and think about creating something worthwhile instead of assuming that there is an inevitable track of increased centralization, consolidation, and commercialization that we can't do anything about.” IfsThinkingWantSometimesSeemsAsksStuffLosesInternetCreatingAssumingIllTrackObstaclesSillyInevitableWorthwhileWant UPreventingFruitionCreating SomethingConsolidationCentralizationCommercialization Author:Astra Taylor
