What The Internet Does

This post at SDA provides an excellent view into what the internet can do for us - It builds connections among communities such that truly eclectic thinking and discussion can take place. This will allow real people to make real decisions that can have a real and positive effect on the community at large. The internet gives us an opportunity to escape the darkness of the control of elitist entities - like the know-it-all “press” that thinks its role is to tell us how to think exactly like they think. No more.

The internet didn’t just connect politically like-minded people whose views are under-served. It connected the highly trained and knowledgeable across geographic regions and fields of expertise, enabling them to compare notes and realize “it’s not just us”. That by and large, journalism is perhaps the only profession where the utterly unqualified are given the privilege of writing to a mass audience on topics that they really not ought to.

At one time, the error in basic chemistry or math might only be spotted by a few trained individuals in the field. A messed up report on the Canadian Wheat Board would raise the ire of ag producers but not much more. Misidentifying a weapons system would pass unnoticed by all but the military.

Today the chemists, ag producers and military talk to each other, and the conclusion they’re coming to is that an uncomfortably large percentage of journalists are not merely tainted by political assumptions - they’re lazy, stupid, or both.

To some degree, the “new” connectivity may have been common in the many-decades-ago past when a small town was a micro universe of self sufficiency. Then as small towns grew, became more connected, and small businesses transformed into multinational corporations, we all moved toward specialization.

Over-specialization leads to single-issue politics as individuals perceive their fortunes tied only to their area of specialization. Now that can change back toward the way it ought to be where thoughtful individuals, connected to a diverse collection of other individuals, can move toward decisions that reward success, reinforce healthy values, and build prosperity for those willing to participate in a productive way.