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The monopolization of technology

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@tarazkp
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5 min read

Over the last 48 hours the news of YouTube targeting and removing crypto related content from its platform has been spreading. This is of course a great opportunity to introduce those who have been affected or fear impact in the future to the likes of @threespeak and @dtube. The reasons for the targeting might be varied, but I believe that what they are doing is hijacking the narrative, which will begin with a purge of the current and then an introduction of their version to replace the conversation and redefine the terminology.

How long until Google introduce their cryptocurrency to the world and, where are they going to disseminate the information about it?

Due to the way we have demanded and consumed our world to be organised for convenience, what we have done is created a handful of globalized monsters who control nearly every bit f the infrastructure and data flow on the internet. Time and time again they have offered to swap a product for a little bit of our free soul, and we have systematically made the trade, with each transaction making the next more likely.

We have not only taken the bait hook,line and sinker, we are now kept in digital cages in the sea of information, which we will never have access to, will never see. This is the trade-off for convenience, reliance and a loss of freedom.

But, it is not going to end with crypto as every technology is slowly being brought into the fold of the handful and in so doing, they will continue to grow in power while our own ability to resist diminishes. This is going to be pushed even further once data begins to be pushed through the 5G networks, as because it is so fast, all information can be served from the cloud and this means that it can all be controlled, filtered and disseminated before the general public ever has the chance to consume a drop. This will be great for some things and will offer many more conveniences that will mean we will buy again and sell a little more of our soul.

For the last 100 years, the battle has been building that is going to wrest control away from the governments and place it firmly in the hands of the corporations and investment organizations that support them. Already the governments can do little to control the corporations and this is only going to get worse. We are already slaves in their consumer debt cycle, soon thy will be the governing body that controls our behaviors and thoughts through the framework of product and service, and the data they personalize for us for our own convenience.

Honestly, I have no idea whether there is any stopping this process that is going to lead to a massive change in the way we live our lives, with many of us suffering as we will not be able to pay as we ourselves are automated out of the workforce. But, doing nothing is also not a very attractive option for either the future of humanity or we as individuals who must live in this world.

We look at the problems of the world from wherever we as an individual may sit, but the fact is that we ourselves are to blame for our position and our cultural behaviors and group dynamics play a dramatic role in the directions we take. Culture is the thing that drives our behaviors and while we often look at it from a nationalistic or large grouping perspective, where the action actually happens is much more personal and narrow as an individual is much more likely to act according to the influence of family than one of country.

This means that there are people in large and quite diverse cultures that behave much more similarly to a subset across many cultures than as people within their own locality. When it comes to technology, this means that there are some people who are willing to risk and adopt early, others who look to jump on the bandwagon and others still who will only switch once forced. The vast majority of people in this world are not early adopters, just like the fast majority are not murderers.

The problem we face is that the vast majority are the ones who are happy to pay the cost of convenience as they are not curious enough to do the research first, just like near 100% of people install an app without reading the terms and services first. Because of this, the demand, supply and subsequent debt cycle can keep on keeping on until the entire system implodes and collapses. Which it will eventually.

When it breaks however, it will be the majority who pay the largest costs and be disrupted the most, as those who have been able to leverage the broken system to pad themselves will be able to absorb the costs and invest when there is blood in the streets - as while there will be some - most of the blood will not actually be theirs.

I hope it is not too late to change the outcomes, but even if it is not, it is still going to be highly uncomfortable and many will be affected by the coming changes. However, what I am hoping is that people here on Steem are really waking up to the possible future and start weening themselves off of convenience, start posting exclusively on Steem for video - even if there is a cost to do so with a lack of convenience and audience. Invest now, as the longer that it takes, the harder it will be to break away from the handful. This includes consumption.

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And when I am for myself, what am 'I'? And if not now, when?"

It isn't easy is it? Facebook are where the friends are, Instagram has a massive scrolling audience, people talk at Twitter and YouTube is just so filled with useful content and plenty of entertainment value.

If not now, when?

When we look back we can use counterfactuals to imagine what life could have been like if events had been different, if we had acted differently. Five or ten years from now and when we look back at Steem, what counterfactuals will we use?

  • What if we had invested?
  • What if we hadn't maximized so heavily?
  • What if we had marketed?
  • What if we had developed a different culture?
  • What if we had supported each other rather than a handful of corporations?

There are lots of what ifs in this world, and the future is always open.

Will we hold our digital souls or will we have sold out for convenience?

Taraz [ a Steem original ]

Posted via Steemleo | A Decentralized Community for Investors