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On Monday 16 May 2011 06:28 PM, Norbert Bollow wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:20110516125855.5464415C0DF@quill.bollow.ch"
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<pre wrap="">McTim <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:dogwallah@gmail.com"><dogwallah@gmail.com></a> wrote:
</pre>
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<pre wrap="">On Thu, May 12, 2011 at 7:45 PM, Norbert Bollow <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:nb@bollow.ch"><nb@bollow.ch></a> wrote:
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<pre wrap="">Suppose someone invested a lot of effort into building something
which meeting similar communication needs as FB, but with better
privacy properties. Network effects would likely cause this new
thing to be very unattractive to potential early adopters because
"everyone is on Facebook" unless sufficiently rich APIs are
available to effectively integrate the users of facebook.com
with the users of the new site into a single social network.
Even if we assume that suitable APIs for doing this exist *now*,
in the absence of any effective governance mechanism that takes
adequately into account also stakeholder interests which may
conflict with those of Facebook Inc. and the perceived interest
of the U.S. government, the company is not in any way obligated
to play along -- and the risk that they possibly wouldn't is
probably enough to prevent anyone from making the above-mentioned
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<font face="sans-serif">Very much agree with Norbert's analysis.<br>
<br>
There is this school of thought among many progressive techies
which still holds that by practice alone (making better and more
open alternatives) we can keep the Internet as we want it to be.
It is time that we all recognised that this is not true. Neither
markets, nor voluntary tech contributions, are enough. Public
interest regulation is a must, and since the Internet is global,
the legitimate processes and institutions for such regulation have
to global - democratic in all ways - participatory,
multistakeholder etc... <br>
<br>
How this would be done is not an easy thing at all. But then we
must at least begin to address the imperative. At least frame the
'problem' and start looking for the right way forward. <br>
<br>
Parminder </font><br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:20110516125855.5464415C0DF@quill.bollow.ch"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">investment.
Greetings,
Norbert
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font color="#666666"><font
face="FlamaBook"><font size="2"><span lang="en-US"><span
style="font-weight: normal;">Parminder Jeet Singh</span></span></font></font></font><font
color="#666666"><font face="FlamaBook"><span lang="en-US"><br>
</span></font></font><font color="#666666"><font
face="FlamaBook"><font size="2"><span lang="en-US">Executive
Director<br>
IT for Change <br>
NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United
Nations ECOSOC</span></font></font></font><font
face="Times New Roman, serif"><span lang="en-US"><br>
</span></font><font color="#666666"><font face="FlamaBook"><font
size="2"><span lang="en-US"><a
href="http://www.ITforChange.net/">www.ITforChange.net</a><br>
Tel:+91-80-2665 4134, 2653 6890. Fax:+91-80-4146 1055<br>
<img alt=""
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