[lbo-talk] The role of social media in the Egyptian uprising

Shane Mage shmage at pipeline.com
Thu Feb 10 14:07:19 PST 2011


On Feb 10, 2011, at 4:44 PM, Doug Henwood wrote:


> On Feb 10, 2011, at 4:39 PM, Shane Mage wrote:
>
>> Neither of these profound thinkers seem to realize that, *in the
>> past ten years*, hundreds of millions (and soon billions) of people
>> have become instantly interconnected via electronic media.
>
> Thanks Shane! I didn't realize that. I must keep up. All along, I
> thought we'd been communicating by smoke signals.

Well, maybe I was careless in thinking that Carrol, for a change, knew what he was saying when he wrote "I agree with Doug." But really, you wrote:


> "We can see in hindsight the effect of the printing press on western
> consciousness; social media is having a similar impact though few
> have the patience or insight to articulate it.

Really? If I hear another hymn of praise to social media, I may fucking scream."

Do you really think that comparing a technology of mass consciousness which doubles every 2-3 years to a technology of mass consciousness that once, for a while, doubled every 2-3 generations is a "hymn of praise" rather than a rhetorical underestimation?

Shane Mage

"Thunderbolt steers all things." Herakleitos of Ephesos, fr. 64



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