More South by So What?

In a wide-ranging talk about the Internet and government, Al Gore urged the techie crowd at South By Southwest to use digital tools to improve government.

Unless Algor’s definition of “improving government” is “getting it out of our lives”, or unless the tools he’s talking about include autonomous Glock and heroin vending robots, he might as well just sit the f–k down and shut the f–k up.

He pushed for the creation and implementation of digital tools and social media to “change the democratic conversation.”

Gore talked of a “Wiki-democracy” of “digital flash mobs calling out the truth” and “a government square that holds people accountable.”

What evidence is there that “Wiki-democracy” will work any better than Wikipedia? “a government square that holds people accountable”? What does that mean?

... Votizen, an online network of voters that leverages social networks to campaign for their issues.

I actually kind of like this idea. Here’s why: the thing about “leveraging social networks” is that it can turn around and bite your ass. Look at “Kony 2012“. Their plan was to “leverage social networks” to get the word out about their film and get donations to Invisible Children. But the social media campaign ended up bringing a lot more attention to Invisible Children’s critics, and a lot more skepticism directed at the project. Remember: this is the Internet. We can fact check your ass.

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