I like to take screenshots of my desktop just to see how it evolves over time, and I am particularly pleased with my current setup. I’m currently using the Equinox theme for GTK, and I really like the fact that it balances out well with my dark wallpaper.
Today, a federal appeals court made the decision that Comcast (and thus other ISPs) may filter, block, or otherwise control data that goes through their networks. In other words, our ISPs are legally allowed to control what kinds of information can go through to our modems. As someone who is a huge advocate of net neutrality, this came as a bit demoralizing. I cannot imagine that any consumer would be interested in paying for an internet service that is filtered down and censored to meet their ISP’s wishes, and I certainly myself would never stand for this.
As you may well know, I am a believer in freedom. Humans are beings that have different desires and interests, and they want the freedom to explore those desires. The internet is a huge expanse of information. You might remember the old term “Information Superhighway,” a moniker that the internet used to go by. Information must never be limited, or freedom, growth, knowledge, innovation, and more will be stifled.
Let’s take a trip back in time. Remember the Dark Ages? The Dark Ages (spurred on by a then information-restrictive Catholic church) were a time of great depression and a huge lack of innovation and real inventiveness. Once information was brought into the public’s eye, a huge boom of creativity and sheer brilliance appeared, which we call the Renaissance. That is just one example. Will we ever learn from history?
The internet is comparable to a library. It is full of information that, if restricted or stifled, would become absolutely useless. It is extremely dangerous to give large companies such as Comcast or AT&T the ability to control what goes through our modems. Where I live, there are only three ways to get internet access: Time Warner Cable, AT&T DSL, or a 3G modem (which could be an AT&T modem). If internet is continued to be treated as a service that can be controlled, we will lose the unlimited access to information that we have become accustomed to.
Information, or truth, is just one more thing that is becoming more difficult to guarantee. We know what happens when freedom, truth, and information are removed. We cannot let things like this happen again, or it will be a perhaps horrible detriment to society. People cannot ever be given ultimate control over anything involving other people. Not everyone has a generous heart.
We’ve all heard countless things on password safety, but the issue cannot be stressed enough. Be careful with your passwords!
I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the state of Twitter (original, eh?). Admittedly, I have somewhat purposely been avoiding Twitter for a few months now (I’ll get to that later). However, I just wanted to make a few comments, and hopefully get some feedback.
Alright, so here’s the debate that’s been going on for about two years or so now: What on earth is the point of Twitter? Well, after living in the “Twittersphere” for over a year, I would say that there is no real point to it. Essentially what it does is create something where people can share their thoughts and feelings semi-anonymously. Coming from an introvert like myself, that is hugely appealing. Sharing my feelings without any social recourse, if you will, is very attractive. Although this (I believe) was the original intention of Twitter, it has steadily dissolved into a MySpace of sorts–harsh, I know. But what is Twitter now? Twitter is basically like high school, in my mind. It seems to me that many people compete with each other to make it in others’ following recommendations and such. Because of the versatility of the Twitter platform, it seems that the “top friends” idea from MySpace has found its way over to Twitter. And that just plain sucks.
Hear me out. I’m not saying that I am against advertising other peoples’ good ideas. The nature of things is to separate the good from the bad. However, the very nature of Twitter rewards you for having more and more followers. It’s essentially a personal advertising scheme.
Speaking of advertising schemes, what are the most-followed profiles on Twitter? Is it people with good ideas? People with interesting thoughts? Not really. I mean no offence to the folks who run whichever profile, but the point remains that Twitter is just another avenue that allows for celebrities and various companies to advertise. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really have a problem with this. However, when I joined Twitter, I had the idea in mind that Twitter was a device I could use to voice my thoughts and listen to others’ thoughts. I don’t exactly care a whole lot about the latest news from Celebrity A and Large Corporation B. But, that’s for another post.
So what’s my point? My point is that Twitter had so much potential. It could have been so much different, and, in my mind, more successful. Instead of creating yet another advertising venue, Twitter could have created what would be an incredible source of information. The superficiality created by the advertising atmosphere is, well, irritating. Anyhow, before I decide whether to return to Twitter, I need to clean through my follow list. Adieu.
