Nothing -- we were in this same bad spot yesterday, too. The point isn't that there's a new development here. The point is that because it's in the news and we're all feeling out the right take on the situation, the right take is "oh fuck we shouldn't let corporations control who gets to speak in the public square."
I feel like theres something wrong with calling online spaces the 'public square.'
you know how the term 'free market' evokes a deceptive image of how capitalism is just like a small town where three family owned grocery stores compete and the business with the best service thrives and blah blah blah. the term 'public square' evokes a similarly deceptive image of the 'free market of ideas'; where everyone gets a chance to speak and the best ideas win out.
obviously online spaces are important but I feel like for a while now we've been confusing shitposting with the real work of organizing(hint hint #forcethevote)
this is more or less a pedantic criticism but given how fruitless our online precense has been, maybe we should seriously reevaluate the value of social media.
worst case scenario this is just another minor blow imo. doesnt everyone just coalesce into their echo chamber anyways?
It's absolutely a radical development. Media ownership is more unified than ever, and it's easier than ever for corporations to just shut down or ignore big segments of unpopular public discussion.
As for new, I guess it's "new" in the sense that it's really metastasized in the past decade, but now we're just talking about what "new" means in this context. When this problem came about isn't as important as what to do about it.
Nothing -- we were in this same bad spot yesterday, too. The point isn't that there's a new development here. The point is that because it's in the news and we're all feeling out the right take on the situation, the right take is "oh fuck we shouldn't let corporations control who gets to speak in the public square."
I feel like theres something wrong with calling online spaces the 'public square.'
you know how the term 'free market' evokes a deceptive image of how capitalism is just like a small town where three family owned grocery stores compete and the business with the best service thrives and blah blah blah. the term 'public square' evokes a similarly deceptive image of the 'free market of ideas'; where everyone gets a chance to speak and the best ideas win out.
obviously online spaces are important but I feel like for a while now we've been confusing shitposting with the real work of organizing(hint hint #forcethevote)
this is more or less a pedantic criticism but given how fruitless our online precense has been, maybe we should seriously reevaluate the value of social media.
worst case scenario this is just another minor blow imo. doesnt everyone just coalesce into their echo chamber anyways?
The article you shared seems to make it out like some sort of new or radical development.
It's absolutely a radical development. Media ownership is more unified than ever, and it's easier than ever for corporations to just shut down or ignore big segments of unpopular public discussion.
As for new, I guess it's "new" in the sense that it's really metastasized in the past decade, but now we're just talking about what "new" means in this context. When this problem came about isn't as important as what to do about it.
Correct. This should be the main focus, not whether people think the issue is trivial or whatever.