The Glass Panopticon

"There's an amplifying factor to the web -- a lot of people pick it up and discuss it and it becomes something you could say is a lot more in the public's interest than a crime that would go unobserved," Levin said. "That's a good thing. If (police) could respond to more of these things, a lot more people would be happier."

 

Divide-and-conquer is an age-old method of population control.  There's this thing, though, where it relies on those being controlled not being able or motivated to communicate with each other.  People, however, are designed to come together, so this is an impossible challenge that will inevitably wear those who would selfishly hoard power down.  It's a cyclical story we've seen again, and again, and again.

 

Society and technology continue to evolve in steadily rapid contractions; what's emerging is a fully-integrated, transparent and communicative system that requires each part to be at its best for the whole to excel.  This is what Don Tapscott calls Networked Intelligence; it's what I call the Conscious Society.

 

The truth will set you free; we are increasingly conscious of the fact that, in person or online, we all live in glass houses - even the people at the Centre who once were confident of their concealing cloaks.  It's unwise to throw stones when all turns to silver glass; fortunately, there's another use for stones - they can build, too.