3. Too much of a good thing?

I found John Barlow’s article, "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace", absolutely fascinating this week. I really enjoyed feeling the passion that can be extracted from it, however, despite Barlow’s enthusiasm and absolute belief in his argument, I can’t quite come to grips on accepting the idealistic situation he illustrates.

Barlow describes cyberspace as "the new home of the mind, which grows itself through collective actions". It “consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself, arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live.”

I love this definition, and the idea that humans have created this amazing industry based on these intangible qualities. Kelly says that “as tremendous as the influence of financial inventions have been, the influence of network inventions will be as great, or greater,” and I agree. The Internet has changed the way humans live their lives, but can too much of a good thing turn bad?

Despite Barlow’s optimism, I believe that our cyberspace needs some sort of control and regulation, where this line should be drawn is a question for another time. Laws and regulations are already having difficulty keeping up with the pace the Internet is growing, and we need these laws to help address the myriad of problems (including privacy, security, and copyright) that come hand in hand with entering cyberspace. Will we ever be able to manage Internet regulation? Or are we going to spin out of control with too much information, too much freedom?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Em