Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I am not Anti Social, just Pro Privacy

As media gains more access to people across the world and as people gain more access to media, men, women and children are knowingly or unknowingly waiving their right to privacy. Media is the Agora of the Ancient World. Each time we log on or tune in, we are connecting to everyone else around us.

Brin's vision of a Transparent Society is a logical first step for us to make our way through the transition to the complete digital age. However, due to perhaps it's being written in 1998, it does not have a full idea of where the Internet was going and where it has gone. Although, he brings up many valubale points about privacy and humanity's use of technology, his main focus is his best. Ultimately, as he demonstrates in the first pages of his book, we have a choice. We can choose the Orwellian dystopia of being watched or we can be the watchers.

Either way, it is a noble attempt to answer some of the endless questions surrounding a topic that only over time we will slowly understand.

1 comment:

Lance Strate said...

It is true that this kind of argument, put forth in the late 90s, needs to be rethought now, especially in light of 9/11.