The Net Delusion--the Dark Side of Internet Freedom will run tonight
(will be uploaded as a video here & other talks here
As bloggers concerned about the world, freedom of life, we might want to know what social scientists are learning and thinking about this awesome political tool the www. Still in its infancy, and politically there is so much power in it. But we need to be aware of how others see it and Use it (so its not used against us).
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A blurb concerning the webcast "event":
Crowds surge through the streets of Tunis and Cairo, inspired by a campaign launched on Facebook and drawn to protest sites by text messages. Meanwhile, images of pitched street battles are captured on cellphones and instantly sent around the world. For years, policymakers and pundits alike have predicted that dictatorships will collapse under the onslaught of social media. All the West needed to do, they argued, was unleash the power of the Internet and let a thousand Twitter revolutions bloom.
But Evgeny Morozov, author of The Net Delusion (PublicAffairs) and a former Open Society Fellow, warns us to reject the hype. The Internet, he says, is an uncontrollable and inherently political medium that will frustrate those who believe democracy can be promoted with the push of a button.
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Also check out the Fellowships page and the Grants page (these are world wide opportunities for photographers, writing teachers in Istanbul this summer, social scientists, thinkers, artists, etc.). I get so many "visitors" on this blog from many of these places, so spread the thought around, if its good!
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Yehuda Bacon
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The jewel is lost in the mud, and all are seeking for it; Some look for it in the east, and some in the west; some in the water and some amongst stones. But the servant Kabîr has appraised it at its true value, and has wrapped it with care in the end of the mantle of his heart.
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The lock of error shuts the gate, open it with the key of love.
from 15th century mystic Kabir,
Gutenberg's full text here_
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I am with friends here so am officially offline till late February.
Happy sweet-sweet Valentines to you all.
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when u see turmoil, think
peace & peace
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