Tom Hodgkins at the Guardian rants against Facebook. Some of this is familiar neo-Luddite stuff ("Why would I want to waste my time on Facebook when I still haven't read Keats' Endymion?") and the usual privacy concerns but the stuff about the politics of the founders is news to me.
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I don't understand the luddite objections because they could be restated as "Why should I be sitting here at my desk writing a letter to my friends when I could be out in the real world dealing with people"
For some reason they have no problem with some communication technologies and not others. Facebook isn't utopia, but it's faster and easier than writing letters to people.
They also assume that the people most important to you will be geographically proximate, which is simply not true.
Comment #1 :: link :: January 16, 2008 11:17 AMAnd even when they are geographically proximate, do they call you and have lunch?
But seriously... the luddite stuff is the least interesting about this article, it's the political stuff that inspired me to post it.
Comment #2 :: link :: January 16, 2008 03:38 PMI bet he wouldn't have known all that political stuff about the founders if it wasn't for...wait for it...
the INTERNET.
And of course we wouldn't be reading his diatribe if it wasn't for...wait for it...the INTERNET.
And we wouldn't have the internet if it wasn't for...wait for it...wait for it...
the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.
Which, was of course, a response to the strength of the Soviet Union, which was controlled by Communism, which was started by a couple guys meeting in a pub. Which is where the author says we should all be anyway
