Lawrence Lessig is one of the smartest guys in the world. And when he speaks, we should take heed. Right now, he is concerned that the “read–write” internet is becoming a “read-only” one, where corporations are using it to further their own profit motive, away from the creativity of people. As reported at if:book:

The cable and phone companies believe that since it’s through their physical infrastructure that the culture flows, that they should be able to control how it flows. They want the right to shape the flow of culture to best fit their ideal architecture of revenue. You can see, then, how if they had it their way, the internet would come to look much more like an on-demand broadcast service than the vibrant two-way medium we have today: simply because it’s easier to make money from read-only than from read/write—from broadcast than from public access.

   The law of copyright, too, is being moved away from the idea of authorship to one where monopolies can be formed—something that has been creeping in over the last century. And that can only be bad for creativity, and for democracy. It’s more reason the internet should not reflect our less than stellar world—but be an ideal, global frontier for the unity of all humankind.
   I’d like to hear what we can do about this. My most ready suggestion is being aware and voting with your dollars away from corporations that have a tendency to control “our” media.

Del.icio.us tags: internet | media | profit | copyright | monopoly | culture | creativity | democracy Posted by Jack Yan, 22:39  permalink

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