{"id":2726,"date":"2015-12-28T11:11:38","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T16:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chrisgrundemann.com\/?p=2726"},"modified":"2021-07-08T11:15:24","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T15:15:24","slug":"the-shadow-of-the-web","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisgrundemann.com\/index.php\/2015\/the-shadow-of-the-web\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shadow of the Web"},"content":{"rendered":"

I believe in the Internet<\/h3>\n

As an ideal. As a web of human minds. As a wonder of the world, not built through totalitarian control but rather through fierce coopetition<\/a>. As a technological pillar held up by a newer, better, governance structure. As the facilitator of knowledge sharing and communication on a level so advanced that it would appear supernatural to folks living just a century ago, or less.<\/p>\n

I worry for the Internet<\/h3>\n

While it has been a major disruptive force, it is also susceptible to the existing paradigm. You can\u2019t actually give away free services. Output requires input.\u00a0The Internet, and our favorite interface to it, the Web, must be paid for. Today, we buy our Internet connection directly, but our use of the Web is mostly \u201cfree.\u201d Capitalism works by customers paying for goods and services.\u00a0What do you pay to use Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Snapchat? Periscope? Etc. Nothing. So how are they funded? Ads. Most adults seem to understand this, at least on some level. What we may fail to grasp is what that means about our relationship with these companies. We don\u2019t pay, so we\u2019re not the customers.<\/strong><\/em> That means that these services are not built for us. Who are they built for? The customers. The companies who want to sell you stuff. They pay for your eyes and for your history and for your habits. Moo.<\/p>\n

The dream I believe in is one of freedom through unfettered access to information and ubiquitous communication. But we\u2019ve already signed up as cattle to be data mined, profiled, and targeted with ads.<\/p>\n

Users vs. Customers<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re not the customer, the service is not built for you. Only the folks who pay get to have a voice. Your needs are met only as far as the ROI\u00a0stretches. Keeping users happy is of course a priority. Happy cows make better milk, right? But make no mistake – the service is built to the specifications of the people paying for it. I think of this every time a platform like Facebook changes something and people complain. We “users” are not the customers. How much care is taken to ensure the cattle like\u00a0the color of the new milker? This is why our complaints go largely unanswered.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take this the wrong way. I\u2019m not against capitalism. I don\u2019t think these companies shouldn\u2019t make money. But I do think it\u2019s important to understand where you fit in the business relationship. When I\u2019m the customer, I should expect what I pay for. When I\u2019m the merchant, I should get paid for providing the expected, to my customer. When I\u2019m the product, I don\u2019t really have much say\u00a0in the transaction.<\/p>\n

This is the shadow we find ourselves in<\/h3>\n

The potential of the Internet is there. The potential for each individual to learn literally anything they\u2019re willing to study. The potential to meet and stay in touch with friends all over the world. The potential to share your ideas and your talents without any gatekeepers. To develop empathy. To resist and even remove tyranny. The potential to become a truly global people. We\u2019re still distracted by consumerism though. We satiate our whims so easily that we stop striving. Rome had it\u2019s gladiators; we have same day shipping. The constant bombardment of advertisements shapes our view of the world, if even subtly. It focuses us towards thoughts and behaviors that lead to sales; not towards freedom, full expression of self, and authentic community. Worse yet, that barrage is aimed by\u00a0studying our digital footprints<\/a>. Retailers (and politicians<\/a>) are\u00a0constantly using our own data to get better at influencing our behavior. Queue the cheesey 80s sci-fi distopian mega-corporation future backdrop.<\/p>\n

How do we get out of the shadow?<\/h2>\n

We pay.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think ad driven websites and applications should go away. I do think there should be other options when using the Web. Shareware was an early model of opt-in payment. Today this idea has morphed into freemium<\/a> services. Spotify, Dropbox, and Evernote are examples. You can listen to music on Spotify (and Pandora) for free, supported by advertisements. You can also pay for \u201cpremium\u201d service, which removes the adds (and often adds features). More options like this are a step in the right direction. By paying for a\u00a0service, you become a customer, and find your voice.<\/p>\n

There\u00a0are\u00a0challenges.<\/p>\n