Is the internet forking?

in #writing6 years ago

We hear of cryptocurrencies forking.. But.. Is the internet itself forking?

I saw someone else mention something along these lines the other day on steemit. And it made me think..

I had actually made a post not too long ago about how I feel steemit is sort of like a break away society and I think I'm starting to understand the bigger picture a lil more now.

Digital money created by individual entities that has perceived value and which can be mined, traded and which also can nr converted to physical fiat money is a sort of new idea.

We have evidence the government has been toying with the idea since the 1990's at least yet I don't think what we have evolving is the "cashless" society that they wanted or had envisioned. This one I think is scary to the continuation of their power structure instead of empowering them more.

And now.. We have people choosing between YouTube or Dtube. Fiat money vs digital money.

People choosing between Instagram and steepshot.

There's a replacement for virtually everything on the "new" internet and if it's not there yet there's probably someone or a team working on it or someone or a tea who will.

People leaving their old audiences and friends behind to discover a new world of exciting mindbending possibilities.

Yet.. Many aren't ready. They are. Comfortable with and like the old social media they are used to.

Some are also just not ready for the lack of censorship. They need an authority figure to ban and control things that they don't like.

So.. We have this fork or bifurcation point sort of where libertarians and anarchists and freedom minded people are flocking in mass to this new technology and people who are more comfortable with the status quo seem to be hanging around the status quo so to speak.

I'm generalizing here this doesnt apply absolutely, don't get mad at me if you feel this applied to you.

Anyways.. If you did get annoyed maybe reflect. I'm not one to water down my language if it means the message is lost.
I do think that is a strong element here.. Some people are not ready for this level of freedom.

I still sort of think this is eventually going to lead to some sort of conflict between both worlds and at the very least for some people it already is as they try to juggle both the old internet and the new one.

I know which world I favor more. The more free one. In two years just posting on steemit I've been able to do many things I've never done before. And I haven't been censored even once!

I've made thousands of dollars, created an awesome contest that rewards people, and I've never been censored.. It just seems clear to me. Plus.. This is just the start! I have a feeling the future is going to be positively surprising in regards to this tech.

And for people in poorer places in the world like Africa it can be a life saver. You can change lives with your time if you used steemit instead of old tech. Or some other similar platform. There's a few others out there like steemit now.

But every day I look on Facebook and see people not making money talking mostly about trivial stuff and posting selfies and pics of their pets and food. And I see some people complaining of being censored all the time.

And.. I just think.. You could be doing the same thing. Making money and then giving some of it to people who are in more need than you. sigh..

I do think the internet is forking. I've met many others like myself now. I feel like I'm part of numerous communities of likeminded people and we're helping to make things better in the world in the ways we can.

But.. So many are so comfortable in the old world. They want an authority to control things and true freedom scares them as much as they claim to wrap themselves in the flag of their Nation founded on liberty.(referring to U.S. people here)

I think it might be a while.. The gatekeepers have a strong hold on the masses and anything they claim is fake news essentially is to their flock.

But if we just keep doing what we're doing.. I think in time more and more will want to come over to the more free internet just like so many people all over the world wanna flock to the United States for all the freedom is represents.

If true.. At some point I foresee mass abandonment of the old internet as people who want more freedom begin to migrate over.

And to be fair, might not be to steemit. Might be to another social media. I think steemit will continue to be a player for at least 10 years, but.. I think(hope) that in the not too distant future that Facebook will be like Myspace, and that more people will choose more freedom and not less.

I could be wrong. The current monopolies could remain for a while! The people may choose more authoritarian control and less freedom.. But.. I have hope and I am optimistic that humanity is heading in a better direction . :)

In what I see as a better direction anyways. Though I admit I'm a bit biased.
I do want to see more freedom. I try to be fair and neutral, though I worked most my life to try to promote such.

So.. Yeah.. You may disagree, feel free to let me know if you do and why! I enjoy hearing other perspectives.

Thanks for reading if you did! Bye until next time.

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That is a very interesting idea. I personally think it relates to personality as well - to some degree. Some people seem to be more open to new things while others want things to remain traditional. Many people fear change and I think that everyone feels comfortable interacting with the things that they know and are familiar with.

I have had a similar thought recently to what your article discusses. I sometimes wonder if our species (humans) are forking (as you put it). It seems that peoples ideologies are becoming increasingly polarized. There seems to be this left vs right mindset/ideology that leaves little room for collaboration between the two. Often people have difficulty discussing opposing views and people seldomly "switch sides" or even find common ground. It's kind of a "you're either with me or against me" mentality. I think that relates to what you are saying about internet preferences.

Anyway. Very interesting article and idea in general. It obviously got me thinking - so thanks :)

You're welcome. Glad you found some use out of the article! Thank you as well for the positive feedback and for getting me thinking also! The idea that humans themselves are forking is a fascinating thought! Maybe we're seeing different species emerge almost? Lol... I kinda doubt it but it sure is fascinating to think about and ponder.

I have heard people say similar before to the extent they believed there were different species of humans and some more open minded than others.

Perhaps there's truth to that but I think it's less genetic and more choice/environment. Many get conditioned and domesticated but I think on some level even that is a choice. Maybe not in all cases, but for most humans it seems like we all have access to the same info and should be able to come to similar conclusions though those who seem to really care seem to be a minority it's weird.

Anyways.. Thanks again! :D Some interesting things to think about.

I wasn't really thinking that the human species may be branching/evolving but that is an interesting thought hahaha. Evolution is a continuous process so eventually our species will evolve. But that is another topic.

What came to mind for me was more in line with what bees do when the colony becomes too large. In such cases, my understanding is that a new queen is born and a large cluster of workers and scouts head off with the new queen to start a new hive. Humans likely did this a well in the past when groups were smaller and there was more space to start fresh in the world. When Individual leaders disagreed in ideology they likely parted ways and began their own colonies/tribes.

In todays world and if our technology allowed us to travel through space to distant planets, I wonder if our species would actually split between the two polarizing mindsets (i.e. left and right wing ideologies) and if one group would stay on earth and the other leave to start fresh on another planet. Its just an entertaining thought I've been contemplating recently.

I wasn't totally sure what you meant and I guess I let my imagination go a lil there. Heh. That's interesting what you said about bees and early tribes and especially at the end there in regards to the left and right going their own ways in space.

I'm open to that possibility though I sorta think left and right are false options at the moment and are not necessarily inherent archetypes or something like that. More artificial ones. I think something sorta like Atlas Shrugged comes to mind which is why I mentioned the break away society earlier.

At this point there's so many ideologies I think it would be more than two as well.
Sorta like pioneers exploring a new land I suppose? Whatever the case it's fun to think about at least. ._.

It's understandable that you weren't sure what I meant. I wasn't all that clear lol. I agree that right and left wing ideologies are not necessarily inherent archetypes and that there are probably many more ideologies out there. I'm not familiar with "Atlas Shrugged" though.Maybe I'll have to give that a read. Anyway, nice chat :)

No. I'm not.. I'll take a look though, thanks!

To the question in your title, my Magic 8-Ball says:

Yes

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