First of all, let me wish everyone a very Happy New Year! I actually drafted two or three, far timelier, New Year's greetings before this one, so I was thinking about you. I've been terribly busy IRL, though.
I'm working on some lengthy posts breaking-down Cyberculture and its relation to pop-culture, which has changed considerably since The Cyberculturalist began. These aren't retrospectives, nor are they blog-specific ("This is what we said about USB 10 years ago..."), but they do have a lot of links, and my mouse died. There's no way I can add links using a mousepad. *
In a sense, it's time to re-evaluate what constitutes Cyberculture; it has become so intertwined with pop-culture that they're now almost inseparable. TV, film, and popular music reference the Internet constantly, and use it as a promotional tool and distribution model; acronyms and words invented for, and describing, the Internet and online activity have entered the vernacular; and important political announcements are regularly tweeted by world leaders.
In fact, despite a lot of problems with coverage/access (specifically in America), several records for Internet usage were set in the last few years. More people than ever before are using internet technology to connect, communicate, and even live virtual lives in virtual communities. We'll be examining these issues and developments more closely, especially in conjunction with the upcoming meetings between Big Tech execs and the political Big Wigs. There's going to be a lot of political coverage, sadly, because bad politics poorly practiced by unethical actors is behind all of this.
Tech giants scrape data to sell to anyone with the money. Think tanks analyze this data and make predictions upon which the political operators base their decisions on how online "hacktivists" and botnets behave. And they have those who uncover, and oppose, their unethical behavior sequestered, "demonetized," libeled and defamed, and "deplatformed" -- they are literally sanctioning American citizens for reporting their Treasonous practices, much less defying them.
It sounds conspiratorial because it is! These organizations exist specifically to conspire! They are actively conspiring to influence the outcome of US elections; they are actively conspiring to engage in unconstitutional and extra-judicial duties against online dissenters; they are actively conspiring to influence the media; they are actively conspiring to do these things without your knowledge, without your consent, and against your will; and they are actively conspiring to cover it all up.
In most cases, that's the single reason the organization exists; outside of its role as co-conspirator, it has no purpose. Outside of this conspiracy, people would be like, "Defense Contractor? That's just a front for terrorism and arms trafficking, and that's illegal." Or, "Political Strategist? That's just a fancy name for Jury Rigging Elections -- that's at least Sedition, and that's illegal."
So, yes; yes, this is a fucking conspiracy. And only the truly stupid are unaware of this.
I drafted a lot of posts over the last few weeks, but I took some time away to enjoy the holidays and IRL dropped by (an upstairs toilet burst, flooding both floors) -- see what I mean about the acronyms and vernacular? smh
But I also took, like, five online courses since I've been away, and cleaned my house from floor to ceiling (pre-Flood, unfortunately). I have some DIY repairs and rearranging to do, and am still enrolled in a couple of courses. I love that the Internet exists, and I love dissecting the virtual world in which I exist, but I also have a lot of IRL projects to avoid, so I'm forcing myself to do them.
Anyway, I am working on resuming regular posting. But I plan to make the year-end holiday vacation a routine. I can't post links with an onboard mousepad *. But I have a lot of scrapped material to work with, covering a lot of ground, since Cyberculture is now part of the mainstream culture and political apparatus around the world.
That is not going to change, but it has changed the nature and role of Cyberculture in our society.
---
* After writing this, but before publishing it, I got some more batteries. But I did not feel like doing more work.
© Copyright 2019, The Cyberculturalist
I'm working on some lengthy posts breaking-down Cyberculture and its relation to pop-culture, which has changed considerably since The Cyberculturalist began. These aren't retrospectives, nor are they blog-specific ("This is what we said about USB 10 years ago..."), but they do have a lot of links, and my mouse died. There's no way I can add links using a mousepad. *
In a sense, it's time to re-evaluate what constitutes Cyberculture; it has become so intertwined with pop-culture that they're now almost inseparable. TV, film, and popular music reference the Internet constantly, and use it as a promotional tool and distribution model; acronyms and words invented for, and describing, the Internet and online activity have entered the vernacular; and important political announcements are regularly tweeted by world leaders.
In fact, despite a lot of problems with coverage/access (specifically in America), several records for Internet usage were set in the last few years. More people than ever before are using internet technology to connect, communicate, and even live virtual lives in virtual communities. We'll be examining these issues and developments more closely, especially in conjunction with the upcoming meetings between Big Tech execs and the political Big Wigs. There's going to be a lot of political coverage, sadly, because bad politics poorly practiced by unethical actors is behind all of this.
Tech giants scrape data to sell to anyone with the money. Think tanks analyze this data and make predictions upon which the political operators base their decisions on how online "hacktivists" and botnets behave. And they have those who uncover, and oppose, their unethical behavior sequestered, "demonetized," libeled and defamed, and "deplatformed" -- they are literally sanctioning American citizens for reporting their Treasonous practices, much less defying them.
It sounds conspiratorial because it is! These organizations exist specifically to conspire! They are actively conspiring to influence the outcome of US elections; they are actively conspiring to engage in unconstitutional and extra-judicial duties against online dissenters; they are actively conspiring to influence the media; they are actively conspiring to do these things without your knowledge, without your consent, and against your will; and they are actively conspiring to cover it all up.
In most cases, that's the single reason the organization exists; outside of its role as co-conspirator, it has no purpose. Outside of this conspiracy, people would be like, "Defense Contractor? That's just a front for terrorism and arms trafficking, and that's illegal." Or, "Political Strategist? That's just a fancy name for Jury Rigging Elections -- that's at least Sedition, and that's illegal."
So, yes; yes, this is a fucking conspiracy. And only the truly stupid are unaware of this.
I drafted a lot of posts over the last few weeks, but I took some time away to enjoy the holidays and IRL dropped by (an upstairs toilet burst, flooding both floors) -- see what I mean about the acronyms and vernacular? smh
But I also took, like, five online courses since I've been away, and cleaned my house from floor to ceiling (pre-Flood, unfortunately). I have some DIY repairs and rearranging to do, and am still enrolled in a couple of courses. I love that the Internet exists, and I love dissecting the virtual world in which I exist, but I also have a lot of IRL projects to avoid, so I'm forcing myself to do them.
Anyway, I am working on resuming regular posting. But I plan to make the year-end holiday vacation a routine. I can't post links with an onboard mousepad *. But I have a lot of scrapped material to work with, covering a lot of ground, since Cyberculture is now part of the mainstream culture and political apparatus around the world.
That is not going to change, but it has changed the nature and role of Cyberculture in our society.
---
* After writing this, but before publishing it, I got some more batteries. But I did not feel like doing more work.
© Copyright 2019, The Cyberculturalist
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