While reading the Kahn and Kellner article, I couldn't help but think that the activist bloggers and online communities that are using the web for social criticism and to publicly monitor the government, etc., are in the minority. Although the authors recognize that the internet is being used for commercial purposes and that reactionary groups and the government can use the web to their advantage as well, I think they do not really recognize the predominant use of the web: commercialism. Every website you visit has ads on the sides and top of the page, some even have them in the middle. They give statistics for the number of blogs and the portion of Google web content that they make-up, but I am interested to know how much of the web is commercial. When you search for something on Google, ad results pop-up along withthe other search results. How many of the other search results are actually looking to sell you something though? I'd bet a high percentage.
Moreover, I think that the "contemporary struggle for peace and democracy across the world" that the authors credit to technopolitics is mostly superficial. When you look at the comments on websites the majority of conversation is one-sided and accusatory. It does not seem like the majority of web users are using the web's capabilities to foster discussion and a more comprehensive understanding of the issues.
No comments:
Post a Comment