While the impact of the Iranian elections earlier this year has mostly quieted down outside of the internet, the ripples can still be felt from the Twitter messages that were heard across the globe. The Internet showed how powerful it can be when people take matters into their own hands and demand that the truth get out- Which is exactly why several countries (dictatorships mostly) do not like the Internet. It is not their friend. They are not fans of it. They no Can Has.
They have taken it upon themselves to engage in a war against the net; either seeking to control access to it or possibly control of it.
To them, the internet is a dissident voice, except magnified to a global scale and able to be everywhere and anywhere at once. It is the ultimate tool for fighting propaganda and getting your voice heard. Which is the problem: If you’re a heartless genocidal dictator, the last thing you want is an extremely mobile, fast, global outlet for your competition.
Culturally, signs are beginning to point to a new era of technology and corporate interaction. One that closely resembles Cyberpunk, or Shadowrun from the outset. We will start to see corporations privatizing hackers and hacker groups much like mercenaries in previous conflicts. The world governments will try more and more to restrict access and limit resources pertaining to the net. Jobs, international conflicts, guerrilla warfare and entertainment is already moving in the direction of total online immersion, whether they’re aware of it or not. Technology is starting to adapt to the need for more mobility and personal use with the acceptance of Augmented Reality and it’s emerging practical applications, the shrinking design of portable wifi and all of it’s peripherals, and a new generation growing up with a greater understanding of technology than the previous generations who happen to be in power.
With that kind of disparity growing wider and wider between a mindset of ever increasing restrictions, paranoia, profitability and blind ignorance of something they simply refuse to accept vs a growing number of younger, more adept and understanding people who are getting increasingly agitated with said restrictions, paranoia and profitability, something is bound to happen sooner or later.
The new battlefield is one that surrounds us at all times and we look across it everyday. It is populated by not just millions, but billions of people, worldwide. You cannot bomb it, you cannot make it surrender, you cannot buy it off. But you can use it; you can accept it, embrace it, and realize the full potential that the web offers.
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