Any sufficiently advanced web technology has three things in common: Cat pictures, political action, and porn. Ethan Zuckerman provides a fascinating rumination not only on what a successful network technology needs (uptime and usability, of course) but on what the hallmarks of that success are. In the case of activism, access to the media in many countries is a matter of getting in, through, and around sometimes draconian controls; the service itself has to operate fluidly, quickly, and broadcast as broadly as possible or it will be replaced with something cheaper, easier, and more effective. The most successful web platforms (such as YouTube and Twitter) become vital channels of communication in ways that are sometimes only obvious in hindsight.
This is the best essay I’ve read in the past week.
