Optimism that I like-ish Trippi

It really is amazing to me how Trippi paints Howard Dean’s campaign as a new democracy in which the internet equalizes and brings truth. And in many ways, I think he is correct. With the internet, we get to discuss, we get to find our own information, we get to make our own decisions. The days of polar issues are no longer quite as necessary. Americans can sometimes have more than two opinions on issues, which was rare in the past. Do I think he is overly optimistic thought. Maybe, but he at least acknowledges that problems will come with greater use of the internet. “The world ahead won’t be perfect. There will be new problems” (227) But what I do not like is that he seems to feel that these problems will not be as inherent as the current systems “But I  am not worried. The internet is a the best solution to the problems we can create. It is a problem-solving medium that runs on the combined power of a billion computers,  on the remarkably innovative power of people” (227). And I am just not sure how true that is. Yes, the internet gives us access to more opinions and information. But at the same time, television has begun to be a much more inclusive media. The internet might have more capabilities, but it still has the potential op putting power in the hands of the select few. The original information must come from somewhere, regardless of who that is. At least when we know that all of our information is coming in from three news stations we know who to monitor, who to hold accountable for correct information and who to call out if it’s wrong. On the internet, possibilities are endless and responsibility is diminished. In a way, I am not even allowed to assume the information I obtain form these medium is accurate unless the source also has an offline sector (Like the New York Times online).

All of this is not to say that I don’t agree with Trippi, in the long term. “These are not just markets anymore. They’re communities . And we’re not just consumers, we’re citizens. We’re looking for companies, politicians, and institutions that will build the best communities” (209. The internet is making us demand a lot more of companies that want to stick around, that want to be in our good graces. However, the internet, the making of the instant and anonymous also gives people a sense of impermeability while being able to permeate everyone else. If I want to make a scam company, easier on the internet. False information, easier on the internet.

However, (last switching of sides) my favorite quote Is “Americans must participate fully in democracy for it to work. And I believe the Internet is the best tool we’ve ever created to help achieve that” (226). Near the middle of the reading, Trippi comment on how so much of what the populace wants, the most democratic populace in the world, doesn’t seem to happen. Yes, the internet isn’t perfect, it might even be more flawed than Trippi lets on, but I agree, it is probably the most democratic technology we have invented. Those possibilities also make it a scare technology, because they could work the other way, but the old systems are only digging us further into bribery, debt, and consumerism. At least with the internet we have hope positive change.