Understanding the ways of the Internet

People have embraced the internet so much that even in a country like ours, Honorable Finance Minister (Dr. Baburam Bhattarai of CPN-Maoist) has a Facebook profile (looks genuine so far). He (or whoever maintains the profile on his behalf) regularly updates his status. Sometime back, while I was busy with work and couldn't catch up with news, his status updates served as a good substitute. He also posts pictures from events he attends. The most followed part, in my opinion, are the notes he posts to his profile- interviews, articles published in newspapers, political notes, and other pieces. The problem, as stated by many of his "friends" (well, facebook friends) is that he never replies (or interacts with) their queries and comments. There is a feature called "Facebook Page" that he could have used to update his "fans" (just another facebook word), without engendering expectations of interaction in them. There are other ways of avoiding interaction on the internet too. While I appreciate Dr. Bhattarai's efforts to make use of technology at a time when most Nepalese leaders struggle to use even the basic tools, I disagree with his mode of operation.

• The content producers are limited, few, elites and consumers are many- the mass of ordinary people. For the mass to produce any content that could reach similar numbers and make equal impact is almost impossible.

• There is some sort of authority that controls information, either the governments or the powerful companies and/or families. Information is a privilege to everybody else, exercised at the mercy of their owners.

• They are highly centralized and undemocratic. Therefore, they have unfair advantage over others and they misuse it pretty often. The bias and influence of the media houses like FOX, especially during US elections is enough evidence. We have heard numerous stories regarding CNN's ill motived reporting during the first and second Iraq wars.

• They have failed in informing the people. "83% of the people do not live with free press," says the media expert Sasa Vucinic. "They don't know what goes on in their countries."

What the Internet IS?
Internet is a phenomenon, nothing of whose comparison has ever occurred to modern human civilization.

• Everybody is a content producer Ordinary people, even amateurs have become superstars overnight. They have written books, produced movies, composed music and started business without the need for any publisher's approval. They have earned millions and created masterpieces. Anybody can write his opinions and share his creations for the world to see. Nobody is elite just because he can produce content for others to feed upon.

• It is decentralized There is no single (or multiple) authority who controls the internet. The internet is a very mad system for those not used to this concept- there is absolutely no owner and control. It's power lies in this very fact. But governments are trying to impose control and breach user privacy by introducing several regulations and acts- if they succeed, the system will fail.

• It is a system of governance The Internet is the perfect example of a democracy and values like freedom of expression and citizen rights. It has also proved to be the most effective political medium.

  Combine the power of Wikipedia, blogs and web services (google earth, youtube, flickr, picasa, digg, delicious, reddit, twitter etc.), and realize where the world has come to. It is self-regulatory (freedom of expression), and evolutionary (the only way to survive is to respect and satisfy the users).

• It empowers Does this need any explaination?

To Dr. Bhattarai
Your practice smells of elitist and feudalistic values, that is soon going to be obsolete, at least on the internet. It smells of the snobbery fitting of the traditional "content-producer." It, in no way smells of the revolutionary leader you claim to be. I assume that you might have been influenced by the internet-savvy practices of Barack Obama. I respect it to a large extent. But your disrespect for the ways of the internet, and the values it stands for disappointed me.
Lastly, the secret to internet's success is that it thrives on the notion of sharing and collaborating, of preserving and spreading knowledge and of ethical values like freedom and respect. The internet community, the loose group of people who care for it ensure that such values are safeguarded and the structure internet remains as it should - messy, unregulated, uncensored, free and democratic. The threats from governments and corporate-tycoons are very high, but let's hope the community will succeed, like always.
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Taken from: http://bibekpaudel.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/what-is-the-internet/