China takes up Pakistan's example

            In a previous blog post, I wrote about Youtube removing content deemed by some to be offensive to the Islamic faith.  They did this in response to Pakistan placing a nation wide ban on the site.  Well since then, Chinese officials have done the exact same thing (obviously this means that the Chinese government reads my blog).  The Youtube ban, which bars the country’s internet service providers (ISPs) from granting users access to the site, is in response to video’s posted of many Tibetan protests that have taken place over the years.  This puts Youtube in a terrible position.  First of all, if Youtube again censors its content due to political pressure, I have no doubt that other countries will follow suit.  The last thing Youtube wants is for countries banning access to become a trend.  Another problem lies in the motives behind the ban.  While China’s and Pakistan's ban may appear to be the same issue, this actually isn’t the case.  Pakistan's ban, and Youtube’s decision to meet their demands, was centered the fact that the videos were clearly examples of religious intolerance.  Many of the videos China is objecting to are of Chinese police using what many would define as unnecessary, even brutal force against Buddhist monks, Tibetans in exiles, and others participating in the demonstrations.  The difference here is that with the Pakistan situation, Youtube was acting against intolerance.  China, however, is the oppressor in this situation.  Many people, including myself, would see the removal of the Chinese protest videos as assisting China’s attempt to cover-up human rights violations (See: “Tiananmen Square Massacre”). 

Video Example:

Youtube finds itself in a tough PR situation.  If they ignore the demands of the Chinese government and leave the content up, they will most likely lose all patronage from the Chinese people.  This is no small issue since China makes up a relatively large piece of those who visit the site.  On the flip side, if the site does cave and remove the content, it could put them in an even worse position.  There is no doubt that numerous people around the world, myself included, would view this as Youtube not only turning a blind eye to human rights violations by actively censoring others speaking out against them.  Not to mention that doing so would go against Youtube’s core philosophy of free expression.  

So what’s a video-sharing site to do?  Here's what I think.  Taking down the content the Chinese government is objecting to would be a BAD move on YouTube's part.  A line in the sand needs to be drawn to prevent countries, or any group/organization for that matter, from trying to bully YouTube into censorship.  This is a good place to dig in and refuse to remove the content.  Unfortunately, I believe that this powerful tool for free speech and self-expression may be reduced to nothing more than a way to watch clips of skateboard accidents, sneezing pandas and “lol cats” while on your lunch break.

Chapter 1 Citizen Marketers - My favorite firecracker

The summer before last, my roomate and I became obsessed with a video on Youtube known as "Drama Chipmunk".  This video is the definition of a firecracker.  The video depicted a prairie dog (not a chipmunk) giving a weird look to the camera, set to some very dramatic music.  I'm not really sure why the video was so funny, but believe me, it was.  Almost overnight, the video was everywhere.  I saw it posted on my friend's facebook walls, all over video sharing sites like youtube, it was even played on television a few times.  In addition to all of this, dozens of remakes and parodies of the drama chipmunk started popping up all over the place.  It was strange how popular the drama chipmunk became.  Why did this particular video succeed where so many others failed to become viral?  What makes a firecracker a firecracker?

Internet Democratization, Advancing Technologies, and a Grandma

Chapter 3 of Citizen Marketers, entitled “The Democratization of Everything”, covers a great deal of information regarding Web 2.0 being a “…multiple-way communication between Web-site owner and visitor, and visitors with other visitors.” This is in stark contrast to the “Web 1.0” model, in which the communication is passed one-way, from the content’s creator to the viewer, much like more traditional mediums (Newspapers, television, ext.). I found just about everything covered in this chapter to be, not just interesting, but exciting. However, it was what the authors, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, said regarding the younger generation that really sparked my interest. Quotes like, “Children are actively using personal music devices, digital cameras, and DVD players by the age of 7…” and, “Twice as many kids aged 4 to 14 owned personal music devices and digital cameras in 2005, while cell-phone ownership in the age group has shot up 50 percent since (2005).” made me take a moment to stop and think about how quickly our nation’s youth pickup these technologies and then surpass the generations in front of them in both know-how and creativity. It reminded me of a story a professor of mine once told to our class.

It was my first semester at St. Edward’s University and I was being taught Darwin’s theory of evolution by a Professor affectionately known as “Dr. Dave”. I can’t remember why, but one day he brought up his grandmother. He said that she was in her late 80’s and, bless her heart, simply could not comprehend that documents, pictures, ext. could be saved on the computer. She held the belief that once the computer was turned off, everything that was on it was lost for good. So, she felt it necessary to print everything out on paper. Dr. Dave told us that every year a different member of the family would take up the quest of getting grandma to understand the computer’s save function. And every year that family member would walk away defeated, their frustrated mumbling muffled by the sounds of grandma’s printer churning away in the other room. It’s been over four years since Dr. Dave shared that story with me, and yet I still remember it as if he had said it to me just moments ago. As for my recollection of the subject… Hmm, I know it had something to do with monkeys...

Anyway, I think this story stuck with me through all these years for two reasons. The first is that it’s adorable. The second is the fact that it forces me to ask myself a difficult question: “What kind of technology will I be unable to wrap my mind around as an old man? Could we really advance so quickly that I will not only fail to keep up with technology, but find myself unable to even comprehend it?” I’m not really sure. Sitting here in front of my computer as a 22 year old , it’s hard for me to even imagine myself as an elderly gentleman, becoming frustrated and perhaps even fearful of new emerging technologies. Could this really be my fate and if so, is there anything I can do to prevent it? After a bit more thought on the matter, I came to this conclusion: As long as I get to ride around on one of those Rascal Scooters, I don't really care.