The internet just celebrated its 20th anniversary and the way it looks, in 10, let alone 20, we probably won’t recognize it. In too many ears, freedom has a bad ring to it, too many good intentions are watered down by the bad kind of compromise and protest happens too concentrated. The web is chaos, egalitarian, hobbesian chaos. For the past ten years, the generations X, Y and millenials have shaped a free space with some central focal points like amazon or ebay. However, it seems like we are going to live in gated communities some time soon, both analogue and digital ones, who knows what might happen if we didnt? Freedom needs the knowledge of possibilities, so once again, it all comes down to education. However strong the need for educating the powerful, educating the many has to be of a similar importance even as it is harder to do.
The question that only time can tell the answer to, will be if ‚the good‘ in digital terms will be determined through a common corporate responsibility, or by de-central forces in more public processes. The chances and benefits are obvious, alas, only to those willing to take them…
However the answer will be, in SocietyCon we will try to work out patterns of phenomena, figure out a European point of view on what is happening and use this digital state of Europe to influence and inform.
– a commentary by Moritz Borchardt –
SocietyCon 