The Web is a beautiful thing.
The only thing I can think to compare it to is the universe itself. It’s always growing; expanding. And just when we think we’ve begun to understand it, a new paradigm turns our understanding of it upside down. But most importantly (or at least for this comparison), no matter how much we try to wrangle, corral, or otherwise control it, we always fail.
I think people recognize the power of that last part. They’ve already shown they will fight against anyone who tries to control the Web, whether it’s for power, money, greed, or just personal fame. The reason is that the Web is no longer just a medium. It represents the free flow of ideas (Let’s call it FFOI). And now that a billion people have had a taste, they’re not going to give it up without a fight. Let’s talk examples:
Censorship: This one can go in many different directions, from pornography to politics. No matter where you land on the political or moral spectrum and no matter what the content, it comes down to whether or not there’s an audience. If there isn’t an audience, the content will go away. If you try to limit, block, or curtail content that does have an audience, you only serve to publicize the content you’re trying to kill even more.
Just look at the revolutions in the Middle East. Most of the rulers thought they could simply flip a switch and shut off the Intranet in case the people got restless. Not gonna happen…unless you shut off the power, too. They were better off not having allowed the FFOI in the first place.
In the end, the best any censorship advocate can do, whether it’s naked people or naked ambition, is try to influence the FFOI. The Web is too big for any leader or activist group to control now.
Tax: So we’ve talked about power, but what about money? Well, from within the industry, it comes from SEO experts promising to make your business number one in a keyword category. While they can immeasurably improve your chances, no one can promise that. They’re lucky just to understand the mystical magical Google algorithm.
From the outside, governments (especially states) are constantly looking for ways to tax it. They don’t like the fact that they’re losing sales tax because people are buying online. The latest bill to make headlines is from California. They want out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on purchases if they have any affiliates in the state of California. It’s a sneaky way of saying, “We want some of the money you’re making inside of our state.” Now, I’m no lawyer, but isn’t that still interstate commerce and doesn’t the federal government control that? Even if it did stand up in court, it would be wildly unpopular. Plus, marketing experts claim that the law would actually lead to a huge loss of jobs and revenue due to higher costs.
The truth is that the Web has come upon us so quickly and has caused such a shift in everything we do that we really don’t know what to do with it. I’m guessing it was the same with radio and TV when they were new. The difference is that the content on the Web can never be fully controlled…unless you shut off the power. So, I respectfully say to all of you who are trying, “give it up.”
Save your energy for something you can control, like turning off your browser.