I listened to the folks talking about protecting the future of the Internet on Hacking Society on Tuesday. Now, there’s a word that I really love to see when discussing change: hacking. There’s also a pretty awesome post written by Venkat that has been floating around Twitter that caught my eye for obvious reasons: Hacking the Non-Disposable Planet. And with just a few of these treasures brings this post about what the Network means to me (as asked during #hacksociety).
The network is the all-inclusive digital society that literally gives each and every one of us a chance to be heard and understood. In our physical society, we only have to look around to see that this is not even remotely true. Those who have the most money or power are the ones who are heard loud and clear. The rest of us…not so much. We are those frail wraiths who are floating against the onslaught of hot air that carries little message of value through the norm. Although to the norm, this value is fundamental because it is something that can be measured and given a price tag.
Those of us on the digital network that are fighting tooth-and-nail against that hot air blowing across the lands and oceans know all to well that this domain is our last stand. But it’s not as hopeless as the words “last stand” might signify, because we’ve managed to build a vibrant community that hasn’t unleashed the multitude of horrors easily found in the physical world. Yes, we are physical, but we are also metaphysical. We’re much more than flesh and bones. We’re also emotions, ideals, dreams, hopes, and frustrations that push us to be more than physical. That’s probably the reason why digital netizens (I know, most people hate this word) choose to reject the divisions that seek to exclude. We get that we’re embracing contradictions, but we’re doing so because we don’t ever want to reach the point where there is something that we can’t uncover.
Life is full of good and bad in whatever forms they choose. Those forms are indistinct because they can easily change with perspective. And because we are all individuals, we get that there are billions of perspectives out there…7 billion at last count and growing. But all of those perspectives branch off into common links that help evolve our understanding of what there is to understand.
I saw a quote by Richard Bach, “Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive, it isn’t.” Those words sum up for me the importance of this network that makes up the digital domain. No, it’s not tangible, and it doesn’t fit into our current system of law. But it is important because it is always brave enough to call those laws into question when it thinks that they are harmful to the inclusive well-being of us all.
When you have a network that embraces all of the chaos that comes with openness, yet still manages to create and inspire us to seek more about ourselves and the world around us, then you might think it’s special. And when that network steps up to help even the playing field and allow everyone equal opportunity, then you might call this network transformational. But it’s most important strength is that it constantly reminds us of our humanity.
Nothing we have created has ever had such a dramatic, global impact as the Internet has. And you understand that when you see millions of individuals, who normally can’t agree on the difference between good and bad, stand up and speak in a unified voice: “Keep your hands off of our network. The Internet belongs to us all and it must be free.” Sure, it’s built with physical components, but it’s run by the biggest intangible of all, our collective humanity. And that’s something that evolves towards better at a much more appropriate pace then the institutions promoting law and order.
Note: If we want those who wish to chain the Internet down through legislation to understand our feeling, we need to explain them in a way that they’ll understand. Here’s my first attempt. Now, it’s your turn.
