Comments on: Erm, excuse me, but I think Everybody was here all along

By: One song to the tune of another: the 18th Century prophet of social media revealed « matt.me63.com - Matt Edgar

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:14:28 +0000

[...] there was a “Twitter Makes Us Better People” meme doing the rounds. It reminded me why I’m suspicious of claims about technology changing [...]

By: Simon Collister

Simon Collister — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:30:19 +0000

Hi Matt. Nice to see I’m not alone and thanks for the link. I do get where Shirky is coming from to some extent. But I totally agree his argument does no justice to the idea. People like Yochai Benkler have cleary demonstrated how economic and cultural production is being changed by technology. But benkler devotes significant time to examining the complex relationship between technology and society. This, at the very least, positions his argument within a framework. Shirky is way too giddy (which I suspect his publishers loved) and uses example after example to justiofy his agument withoutany critica; or real investigation of the phenomena he’s examing. must try harder :)

By: Here Comes Everybody bigger (and smaller) than ever before « matt.me63.com - Matt Edgar

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:57:42 +0000

[...] “Erm, excuse me, but I think Everybody was here all along” I challenged the title of Clay’s book: surely it was the media that was late to [...]

By: Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse « matt.me63.com - Matt Edgar

Thu, 29 May 2008 23:02:48 +0000

[...] a little bit louder and a little bit worse Two recent news stories continue my theme that social media doesn’t so much change people’s behaviour, as expose pre-existing behaviour…, often with unexpected [...]

By: mattedgar

mattedgar — Sun, 25 May 2008 21:04:34 +0000

Hi Arek,
Thanks for commenting. I guess most of my post is western-centric, with the exception of the Berlin Wall example which comes from Clay Shirky’s book, so I’m sorry if I’ve misunderstood what happened across Eastern Europe in 1989.
My point is that the technology is neutral: what matters is what people do with it. For example while it’s possible for people to coordinate their activities using social networks, governments could also monitor the very same to identify potential opponents more quickly. It’s surely easier to automatically scan the contents of emails than to open letters or tap phone lines?
Best wishes, Matt

By: Arek Stryjski

Arek Stryjski — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:00:50 +0000

Your own example prove you are wrong.

Berlin Wall fall because minister of propaganda from East Germany government said on TV what border with West Berlin is open. This happened months after governments in ex-communist states: Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia where replacement by opposition. Also after first democratic election in Poland.
Yes, it took months for East Germans to realize what Soviet Union Empire does not exist any more. And they realize this only because it was officially announced (partly by mistake) by government on TV.
Most of Western public also realize this by seeing relations from Berlin Wall on TV. Sadly communist-opposition negotiations, elections and changes of governments in ex-communist countries passed unnoticed by most West Europe and US citizens, so they are not a symbol of democratization of East Europe. Event which took a place at the end is however, because it was easier to show on TV.

It is not a coexistence what we have much less totalitarian governments when 30 years ago. It is also not coexistence there is no totalitarian government in any of developed countries.
Please read something about “Solidarnosc” in Poland and other opposition movements in former East Block. Consider how it will look now when you don’t need to print books and newspapers abroad or in underground printing houses. How easier it will be if you could send it as achievement to e-mail and print it on any computer printer. How easier it will be to make demonstration if you could send massage just minutes before…
XXI century and technology will make big difference, but you probably never lived in undemocratic country, so it is so difficult for you to imagine.