The Battle to Control the Internet
Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in Greed , Internet , Money , Power | Posted on 2:22 PM
With the growing age of the Internet and the ever expanding
digital world it seems as if there is a deadly war raging on throughout and
surrounding the Internet. What was once a humble place for us mortals to spend
some time in quiet research, enjoying leisure game play or connecting with our
loved ones has now become a digital battle ground for those consumed by greed
and profit!
Much like the battles in the real world where Good vs. Evil,
the mighty war for control of the Internet is well under way. I was first drawn
to this battle for control of the Internet with the debate over UBB (UsageBased Billing). Big Telecom’ companies fight over what they believe is their
right to force UBB on the masses when they themselves are the biggest polluters
on the Internet, forcing millions if not billions of people to view their often
misleading advertisements. [Sound familiar?] No matter where you may land on
the Internet today there are always enormous amounts of unnecessary advertisements
and media. Media which is extremely bandwidth intensive hugely brought on by
the ‘Big Telecom’ companies and their partners while they battle for control
and the almighty dollar demanding we should pay for this.
Internet news media, online retailers, desktop application
developers and Internet security software manufactures [just to name a few],
all battle for your patronage in this battle for control. Yet just where are
the people responsible for making sure that the masses have a fair playing
field and are not being mislead by the hordes of online marketing fanatics and
their tactics forced upon us daily in our search for leisure while we browse
the Internet? Are not they the very same people who seek to take control of the
Internet?
With the vast potential of wealth to be had on the internet
and the lure of easy money, it is no wonder we see every walk of life
scrambling into position. Recently we see how the battle is intensifying in the
social media. From the early pages like My Space and My Yahoo and my MSN now
comes along Twitter and Facebook with its 800 million strong and still
counting. Facebook has dealt a crushing
blow to those less fortunate leaving countless others determined to earn this
top spot. More recently a fairly new
player in the social war is Goggle+ and its circle of friends which have yet to
be determined. I recently had a chance to check out this latest entry and so
far I don’t foresee any immediate threat of Google+ taking over the reins.
Perhaps it is just a launch pad for a super weapon of some sort...
Needless to say, as in the real world the war rages on and
countless players will succumb to the mighty all in the name of profit. There
will be those who have and those who have not! Much like what is happening in
our everyday lives, the rich will get richer all at the expense of those less
fortunate. What the rest of us need to decide is where we want to stand in this
battle in which may seem we have no control? Just remember, it’s all about the
$$$... Don’t be swayed by the Promised Land.
The wealthy and rich would like to inherit the earth! Personally I would
like to stay in the middle… if only they let me!
We're into a whole new world with the Internet, and whenever we sort of cross another plateau in our development, there are those who seek to take advantage of it. So this is a replay of things that have happened throughout our history. ~Bill Clinton
