Today’s TEDTalk is an awesome treat on at least two separate levels: first, it describes, very optimistically and with great humor, the great possibilities for spontaneous human communion and cooperation enabled by the interwebs and, second, it is being presented, quite uncharacteristically, by an attorney who does not seem to want to make a quick buck out of it by suing someone :)Ah, the internet... Sure, you can always focus on the negatives. There is plenty of animosity and vitriol found on blog forums, horrible spelling all over Facebook (only lolcats should get away with it), unscrupulous con artists trying to ‘give away’ their Nigerian fortunes, entire nations attempting to censor information that makes them look like dicks, unsolicited emails promising bigger boobs and penises, and ubiquitous spambots crawling the web attempting to wreak multiple forms of havoc.
Yet, against all odds, the internet doesn’t merely survive: it thrives. Jonathan Zittrain argues, quite persuasively, that this is because individuals from all sorts of backgrounds decide to volunteer their time and skills in pursuit of goals larger than their own particular needs and opinions, without having to be solicited or prompted, and he’s got some funny and touching examples to make his case.
Despite the multiple ways in which corporations sell their souls in order to achieve higher ratings and larger profits, the intertubes survive because individuals still seem to be driven by a personal sense of purpose, citizenship and genuine altruism. Hey, maybe that’s what this blog is all about! :)
And if you want to learn more about the ways in which the Web 2.0 revolution is bringing people together, you simply must watch this fascinating lecture on the anthropology of youtube.
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The Pass It Forward Movement was so inspired by this video we have highlighted it on the Pass It Forward Movement's website www.aunitedworld.org/ted.asp
ReplyDeleteNow everyone has the opportunity to be a Pass It Forward (PIF) Mentor online and help others – Additionally, you may wish to be mentored by a volunteer PIF Mentor to help you achieve your goals. For more information go to http://www.30minutementor.org or check out the Pass It Forward Movement http://www.aunitedworld.org
I'm a bit ticked off right now.
ReplyDeleteIf i saw Jonathan Zittrain right now, i would send him home to get his shine box.
Wikipedia? Altruism?
With all due respect to those proactive souls that scour the internet for injustice like Marvel Superheroes, do you really think i am on equal footing with Jimmy Wales, co founder and promoter of Wikipedia?Have any of you tried to post something on Wikipedia? I have, and i was bombarded with roadblocks and difficulties.
Do you think that Wales is going to give some 30 year old kid that still lives with his mom(and works at Chuck E Cheeses) the means to usurp his plan? Before you PayPal over your ten bucks to the folks at Wikipedia, consider this:
According to info found on Wikipedia, Wales is "Objectivist to the core" . Wikipedia also gives more insight into Objectivism. "the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness, or rational self interest."
Am i the only one that sees a problem with this whole scenario? It's clear that there is "something rotten in the state of Denmark?"
Just what IS the real mission behind Wikipedia?
Could it be that some people want to rewrite history? There is something truly Orwellian at work here, but i haven't figured it out yet, but give me time - i am only a 101 level philosophy student :)
In closing, i'd like to say:
Beam me up, Scotty!